Spain, Portugal Viking on the Duro River

May

Pros: Great trip, beautiful country, Viking did it great!

Cons: on board the temperatures were too hot!

Recommended: Yes

Over all the trip was great, Viking does it up first class all the way. The country is beautiful and full of history. Lots of Port tastings! We did the 4 day in Spain prior to sailing and the transfers were great. All excursions were meet with great guides and lots of information and time to spend in each stop. The temperatures on board ship were too warm!

Our River Cruise in Portugal

April

Pros: The Viking Staff was incredible!

Cons: Even though we had a suite on the river ship our bathroom was very small and very inconvenient.

Recommended: Yes

We didn't have the best weather, but since we were on the bus a lot it wasn't a problem. It rained on us almost every day, at least for a few minutes. The shore excursions were good and kept us very busy! Our meals were very good and we had very good choices. We skipped some of the entertainment but did see the female Flamenco dancers and they were very good! We had a lot of Port wine tastings and all of it was very good. If you have a chance to go to the Graham's Port tasting and dinner you should definitely go. It is expensive, but we went the first night and had a great time! After that, no other tour was quite as exceptional!

Portugal

September

Pros: Smaller than a typical Viking Long Boat; only 53 staterooms; intimate, superior service.

Cons: None

Recommended: Yes

We have been on 2 previous Viking River cruises (Danube & Rhine) and enjoyed both very much. Each cruise experience got better. This one was the very best to date! Highly recommend doing both the pre-cruise excursion (Madrid) and post-cruise excursion (Santiango). So much history and beautiful scenery to see in all locations. Shipboard service was at its very best. Particularly the dining experience, stateroom service, Hotel management, cruise excursion selections and quality guides all wonderful!

Small boat

September

Pros: attentive staff

Cons: rooms seemed smaller than previous Viking ship

Recommended: Yes

The Viking Hemming doesn't have one of the features we enjoyed the most on our previous Viking experience - the Aquavit dining area. Viking seems to have mastered the use of space but if you get one of thermal rooms on the low deck you will find the space a bit challenging. Given the smaller size of the Hemming I think the rooms were a bit smaller but this may just be my memory.