Douro

AmaWaterways christened its newest luxury river cruise ship, AmaSintra, last week and the vessel officially embarked on its inaugural voyage along the Douro River in Portugal. The launch of this new ship further strengthens AmaWaterways’ presence in Europe.

Tauck hosted 76 guests, consisting of 45 Australian travel advisors plus their guests, at the Tauck Australia Academy in Portugal last week.

Eighteen senior leaders from Flight Centre Travel Group (FCTG), including Graham “Skroo” Turner, and their travelling companions were welcomed aboard Avalon Waterways’ newest ship the Avalon Alegria, on the Douro River in July.

Travel advisors can now take advantage of early booking savings for APT’s luxury European river cruises, small ship cruises, rail and land journeys for 2024, with the travel operator announcing the launch of the full range of its 2024 European holidays.

Tauck has commenced sea trials in the Netherlands of its purpose-built ship for Portugal’s Douro River, the 84-guest ms Andorinha riverboat. The test run has also meant that future guests can now preview some of the ship’s facilities ahead of her full launch.

Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection has postponed the debut of its brand new Portugal-based ship by two weeks. The setback comes as Uniworld revealed a first look of the Super Ship S.S. São Gabriel, now launching from Porto on 12 April, 2020. S.S. São Gabriel was originally slated to commence service on 26 March 2020.

AmaWaterways has christened its newest river cruise ship, AmaDouro, with a festive ceremony in Porto, Portugal.

Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection has announced plans to evolve the cruise company’s offering over the next two years, which will include more than half of the ships evolving to “Super Ship” status, along with the addition of three new vessels in Vietnam, Egypt and Portugal. Another Super Ship renovation in Italy has also been confirmed. The new floating boutique hotels will feature the signature touches and distinctive themes the company’s ships are known for – more suites, more dining venues and more luxurious finishes – while maintaining their high crew-to-guest ratio.

Tauck has revealed the name of its new Douro River riverboat will be MS Andorinha. The vessel will operate three new itineraries in Portugal in 2020. ms Andorinha will have a capacity of just 84 guests, carrying fewer guests than any other vessel currently operated by a major line on the Douro.