This is my personal opinion, which may not agree with others who have taken this cruise.
We had a nice time. But.... This was our least favorite of our four Viking River Cruises. It was well run, as Viking is a superbly run organization. The quality of food was excellent as were most of the guides. So, what bothered us? Portugal is the oldest established country in Europe but we heard the same few stories over and over. We heard little about some of the fascinating aspects of its history. The best part of the trip was the Maritime Museum in Lisbon. The trip back and forth on the Duoro was beautiful with its unique construction of terraced vineyards. But how many can you see before the uniqueness diminishes? Nonetheless, I enjoyed the wine, which is one of Portugal’s best aspects. But how many wine cellars do you want to visit? If you're looking to relax and see a beautiful place, you could skip most of the day trips and enjoy the views, the food, and the wonderful way you're treated by the Viking crew. There are some churches and castles to see along with restaurants, but they pale in both elegance and historical interest with those on our other trips on the Rhine, Danube and Seine.
Bottom line- I would recommend visiting Portugal and spending time in Lisbon and seeing Coimbra, which we did on our last trip. There are a few other small places to visit that are unique and fun. On the other hand, had this been our first rather than fourth Viking cruise, it might have been our last. We do, however, look forward to the two other scheduled Viking cruises.
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