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LoginOverall excellent service. Boarding was very smooth. we were the first to board. Rooms were smaller than other Uniworld boats. We were on the lower level. this boat had a wider wall than othe...
We were traveling with a group of friends on a trip organized by a local vineyard wine club, of which we are members. This was our first European adventure and our first riverboat cruise, so we wer...
We have cruised with Uniworld two other times on the Danube mostly with some time on the Main River This cruise was quiet with only a limited number of excursions compared to the other cruises w...
Editors Note: Queen Isabel will be replaced in 2020 by Uniworld's new vessel, S.S. São Gabriel.
Queen Isabel launched in spring 2013 as the newest and one of the most luxurious ships on Portugal's Douro River. The ship is owned by DouroAzul, one of Portugal's leading river cruise companies, with an impressive portfolio of riverboats and ships (including the Spirit of Chartwell), as well as extremely smart new coaches, which coordinate with the ships for shore excursions. Queen Isabel is currently chartered by boutique cruise line Uniworld Cruises for all its cruises along the Douro.
Built in Portugal, furnished with locally crafted furniture and staffed by Portuguese crew (with the exception of the Dutch chef), the ship is reassuringly authentic. It's relatively small when compared with other European ships. At just 260 feet long by 37 feet wide, Queen Isabel's dimensions are dictated by the relatively short and narrow locks that pepper the Douro. As a result, the ship's 59 cabins are fairly small, particularly in comparison with those found on Uniworld ships on, say, the Rhine and Danube. However, cabins on the lower deck have large windows, and all the cabins and suites on the upper two decks offer balconies that are beautifully appointed. There are also good bathrooms and adequate storage space.
Queen Isabel further boasts an excellent restaurant, with a small, separate, alfresco dining area; a spacious lounge with an open-air bar, where light lunches are served and can be enjoyed out on deck; and a large sun deck with elegant furniture and a small (thigh-deep) heated swimming pool. There's a shop stocked with tasteful local merchandise, a tiny yet functional spa and gym, and broadband Internet that's both fast and reliable, accessed via numerous public Wi-Fi hotspots and in cabins.
Passengers familiar with Uniworld's ships will find the decor reassuringly familiar: Beatrice Tollman, the president and founder of The Travel Corporation, parent company of Uniworld, and winner of the Hotelier of the Year Award 2012, played a leading role in the creation of Queen Isabel's interiors. Expect lavish fabrics in muted colors, moderately ornate furnishings and high-tech in-cabin facilities.
Finally, Queen Isabel features a 1,679-square-foot area equipped with solar panels on the sun deck, which generate a significant proportion of the energy used by the ship.
Passengers aboard Queen Isabel are typically well traveled, fairly experienced cruisers and range in age from 40s to 70s. The majority tend to hail from North America with a smattering of Britons, Europeans, South Americans and South Africans. Given that exploration of the port wine growing area and vineyards is a major focus of voyages on the Douro, many passengers already possess significant knowledge of wine and are eager to learn more.
The dress code for the duration of the cruise is casual, bar two evenings deemed smart casual. The captain's welcome dinner has been replaced with a less formal evening with a smart casual dress code.
Fares are inclusive of gratuities for onboard and onshore services, including pre- and post-cruise extensions.
There are 59 cabins, all of which are outside. There are 16 staterooms on the Lower Deck (categories 2 and 3), which each measure 161 square feet. The four Category 3 staterooms are located toward the rear of the ship, closest to the engines and are thus slightly noisier than those positioned farther away from them. The 23 staterooms on the Main Deck (all Category 1) are the same dimensions (161 square feet) as those on the Lower Deck but benefit from French balconies. The Upper Deck houses 18 Junior Suites (215 square feet each) and two sumptuous Suites (323 square feet each), all of which have full balconies.
Every stateroom and suite has comfortable hotel beds and linens, an HD TV with access to several major international channels and a video-on-demand system, an iPhone/iPod charger, individual thermostat, hair dryer, bottled water and a safe. The bathrooms are well stocked with L'Occitane bath and body products, plush towels, waffle bathrobes and slippers. Passengers staying in suites further benefit from a welcome bottle of wine and a fresh fruit basket, replenished daily. There are multiple power sockets, all two-prong European plugs.
Decor in all cabins is traditional and elegant, with silk and chintz throws, curtains and wallpaper in muted colors (duck egg blue, mint green, taupe and cream) set against dark wood and brass furnishings. There is sufficient storage space, with plenty of little drawers in which to stow your belongings. There's also under-bed storage for luggage.
There's one main dining venue, The Restaurant, on the Main Deck, where panoramic windows showcase views of the passing landscape. Friendly and efficient staff oversee a breakfast buffet with an egg station, buffet lunches and sit-down dinners with waiter service. Open seating applies at all meals, with tables for two to ten people. Walk through the restaurant toward the front of the ship, and you'll find the intimate alfresco dining area, which has heating lights for cooler evenings and transparent plastic curtains to protect from breezes and insects. You do have to reserve tables there in advance for dinner (not for lunch), and its popularity grows over the course of the voyage as passengers realize how idyllic it is.
Breakfast is typically served between 7:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. in The Restaurant, with an egg station manned by the ship's cheery head chef. The buffet is fairly varied, with everything from sausages and hash browns to fish and beans. There is also an adequate selection of cold meats, cheese and some excellent breads and pastries, as well as a wide choice of fresh and dried fruits, yogurts and cereals.
Lunch is usually available from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. (itinerary depending) and served buffet-style. The omnipresent Dutch chef serves up a different fresh pasta each day, which is complemented by a wide choice of hot and cold dishes (always including traditional Portuguese offerings like green soup and salt cod), and a generous salad bar with breads and a cheeseboard. There is also a wide choice of desserts and a regular gelato bar, which always proves popular.
Dinner is generally served from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in The Restaurant, and it's ordered from a menu. As with lunch, there is always a decent selection of meat, fish and vegetarian dishes on offer, with some popular options like salmon, steak and pasta always available, as well.
The wines served onboard (included in the cruise fare) are virtually all local to Portugal and, on the whole, extremely good. Each evening brings a different port to enjoy with dessert and/or the cheeseboard.
Early-bird breakfast (6:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m.), light lunch (1 p.m. to 2 p.m.) and afternoon tea (4 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.) are served daily in the lounge. The light lunch is far more limited than what you find in The Restaurant, offering soup, a salad bar, sandwiches and a dessert. It is possible to take your food outside onto the small outdoor bar area in good weather. It's a great spot from which to admire the narrow gorges of the Alto Douro section of the river.
Finally, there is a 24-hour tea, coffee, hot chocolate and snack station located next to The Restaurant.
As is the case onboard most river ships, evening entertainment is largely limited to live piano recitals given by the resident musician (on a real piano, as opposed to a keyboard) and occasional local musical performances.
Shore excursions (included in the cruise fare) are generally excellent. The local company -- DouroAzul, which owns the Queen Isabel -- commands a fleet of brand-new, luxurious coaches, complete with reclining leather seats, that whisk passengers directly from the ship to lofty wine estates, picturesque villages and the cities of Salamanca and Guimaraes. The friendly, professional cruise director ensures that all passengers are well looked after, that their Quietvox radio receivers are working and that the pace is suitable. Younger, more active passengers might find there isn't quite enough time spent in each destination, but more mature travelers find the excursions to be well timed.
The bright, comfortable lounge, located on the Main Deck at the very front of the ship, is Queen Isabel's primary public area. In addition to plenty of comfortable sofas and chairs, prettily upholstered in pale blue and cream materials, there are six tables arranged on a small outdoor terrace leading out from the lounge, ideal for enjoying sunsets or a light lunch on a fine day. The friendly bar team keep cruisers content with cocktails and local wines, and there's an adequate selection of books for readers to borrow, ranging from novels to reference books about local birds. Next to the lounge is a shop selling carefully selected, tasteful local products like jewelry and wine glasses.
The sun deck is large, furnished with comfortable teak loungers, and features a large shaded area and a small pool. The pool is only about thigh deep, so it's better suited for paddling than swimming. (There is a powerful Fastlane jet to create an adjustable current against which to swim, enabling so-called "endless swimming." Unfortunately, we found the pool too shallow even for that.)
Queen Isabel has a very small fitness room with a treadmill, exercise bike and some free weights. A small cabin located opposite the gym is used by the resident physiotherapist and massage therapist for well-priced treatments, including Swedish massages and aromatherapy.
Queen Isabel does not cater specifically to children, but children are welcome onboard.
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