Algarve Cruiser

...the internet I found the Algarve Cruiser, which offered a mixture of sea and river cruising. In no time at all, we'd booked and paid for it and the tickets arrived!

The Company who own the Algarve Cruiser
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They are called Douro Azul, and started back in 1994 as Ferreira & Rayford Turismo Lda. with the view to promoting cruises on the River Douro, having purchased the VistaDouro, ...
...exploring the coast of the Algarve and the Rivers Arade and Guadiana with week-long cruises. Like the other hotel boat cruises, this includes land excursions and visits to places of historic, scenic and/or cultural interest.

Vital Statistics!
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This was important to me as I didn't fancy going on a large cruise ship. The Algarve Cruiser is 78m in length and 11.40m width, and can travel at a speed of 12 knots ... more

Holidays are what we work for, a little luxury a few times a year, especially in the sun. But, for once I resisted booking a holiday as I had injured my leg and after a few months still found walking painful. I really didn't fancy being stuck in a hotel somewhere and not getting out much, so my husband suggested a cruise. Mmm? I don't really enjoy boat trips, the canal is OK, but anything with too much motion count me out! So googling on the internet I found the Algarve Cruiser, which offered a mixture of sea and river cruising. In no time at all, we'd booked and paid for it and the tickets arrived!

The Company who own the Algarve Cruiser
***********************************************
They are called Douro Azul, and started back in 1994 as Ferreira & Rayford Turismo Lda. with the view to promoting cruises on the River Douro, having purchased the VistaDouro, then two years later, the company purchased Douro Azul Sociedade Marítima Turístida Lda. and the Princesa do Douro, a ship with a capacity for 200 passengers. They keep expanding and now own several ships and organise different types of holidays. In 2004 they ordered two more boats and one was to create a new "adventure" - exploring the coast of the Algarve and the Rivers Arade and Guadiana with week-long cruises. Like the other hotel boat cruises, this includes land excursions and visits to places of historic, scenic and/or cultural interest.

Vital Statistics!
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This was important to me as I didn't fancy going on a large cruise ship. The Algarve Cruiser is 78m in length and 11.40m width, and can travel at a speed of 12 knots for people who understand such things.
There is a sun deck which has an area of 300sq. metres and 38 cabins on the Upper deck with a small verandah which have an area of 15sq. metres and 27 cabins measuring 12.5sq. metres on the main deck. As all cabins are twin this means there could be 130 passengers. The reception and Panoramic lounge bar are also on the main deck and the Restaurant and shop are on the lower deck as are the kitchens, laundry and cabins for the crew.
Incidentally there are about 30 crew and we were introduced to the main people at the beginning but on the last evening all the staff paraded through the lounge at our cocktail party so we could show our appreciation.

Reception
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On arrival in Portimão at the ship we left our cases to be carried on board and walked up the gang plank onto the Main deck level, there were two people on Reception, which was compact but built from beautiful wood. Notices displayed the programme each day and expected weather conditions. We waited in the lounge with a welcome drink, as they quickly allocated rooms, handed over the door key cards and took passports in to check. We were shown to our cabin, and the cases were carried along within minutes, each with a sticker with our cabin number. Very efficient and friendly reception staff and later a young man who seemed to be in charge also joined the staff on Reception.

In this area there was a unisex toilet, with a basket of small white towels. Unfortunately the lift which was on this level was not working on our trip.

The Cabin
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We had gone for the larger cabin with verandah, as somewhere I had read always go for the best you can afford on a cruise ship, the smaller cabin on the lower deck had a large picture window, but we were able to sit on the verandah if we wanted some privacy or a seat in the sun without being on the sundeck.
On entering the cabin, there was a double mirrored door wardrobe, which had a shelf in the top and bottom, the one had spare blankets the other two lifejackets. But there were plenty of good quality wooden coat hangers, which you could lift out easily - I hate the fixed variety! Two single beds, with lovely heavy covers, in cream with a little pattern in deep red, green and gold which complimented the deep red carpet. Also a couple of gold coloured cushions. Heavy lined curtains kept out the sun and kept the room dark in the morning. The walls were a lovely panelled wood on the lower half and panels of cream leather on the top, with a white panelled ceiling and two large pictures of yachts hung on the walls of the cabin. Both wall and bed lights meant you could choose how bright the cabin was lit at night. There were small bedside tables with 3 drawers and a vanity unit with mirror and with 5 drawers. Above this was a wall mounted flat screen television which had excellent reception, although we only watched it briefly just to keep up with the news and weather! The bathroom was opposite the wardrobe, near the door and you stepped up into it, almost lozenge shaped it was compact but more than adequate. The shower was fabulous with plenty of hot water and the toilet flushed efficiently with no nasty smells (that was one of my worries after reading horror stories about cruises!) A large washbasin fitted in marble and plenty of mirrors plus a large shelf underneath for wash bags. Bottles of shower gel, shampoo and soap were replaced when needed, and a shower cap was supplied. The fixed hairdrier was like many hotel ones- in other words, works but is not powerful! The towels were in excellent condition, white, fluffy and replaced twice each day. It was lovely to discover after returning from dinner that the beds had been turned down, nightwear laid out attractively and clean towels for morning. A little sewing kit was a useful addition too and a box of Kleenex tissues.
A bag was supplied if you needed laundry or if you needed a suit pressing, although there was a charge for this.
There was piped music which you could turn off if wished, air conditioning/central heating and tannoy messages, when it was time to leave the ship for a trip.

The Lounge Bar
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Situated at the prow of the boat on the Main deck, comfortable padded seating in semi circles and some armchairs with coffee tables made this a popular place to sit and watch the world go by, or perhaps it was because the bar was here with two or three great barmen, willing to bring you what ever drink you might fancy! The seating in the centre of the room was dark leather and very comfortable. In the afternoon there was a complimentary cup of coffee or tea, and they had a great selection of fruit teabags and jar of biscuits in case you felt peckish. There was a minute dance floor, which was used two nights of our cruise. The lounge was again made from beautiful wood, giving it a feeling of luxury and there were lots of plants in pots, a nice change to the artificial plants seen in many hotels.
There was a small selection of cards and board games and a library of books donated by other passengers.

The Restaurant
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One of the most important places on board! Food can make or break your holiday. It made ours, but the scales at home must have broken as I can't have put on that much weight in a week!
Wood panelled with a huge buffet in wood and marble in the centre, with cupboards underneath to store the huge array of china, which deserves a mention as it was so unusual. Made in Portugal in the familiar blue and white it had a design with a compass, ships and maps on it, very fitting for a cruise ship. The rectangular tables were set for 8, 6 or 4 and a few round tables for 2. We joined other people for meals most days, but could sit alone if we wanted to, although if the ship was full this would not be an option. The captains table was oval and used a few times during our trip, when special guests came aboard and at the Captain's dinner, when everyone dressed up a little more.
Breakfast was a buffet, a selection of fruit juices on one dresser, bread and the toaster on another, and the main buffet was laden with bowls of cereals, dried fruit and nuts, yogurts, fresh and tinned fruits, warm bread rolls, cake, pastries, cheese, cold meats, and porridge, eggs, sausage bacon etc.
Lunch was also a buffet and although there were 4 courses available, I tended to limit myself, as I couldn't cope with so much food! A choice of soup, cold and hot starters and salads, plus usually fish, meat and pasta in the main dishes. It was the desserts I loved at lunch time - which accounts for the weight gain I suppose! Gateaux, and almond cakes galore, plus fresh fruit, which came back to the table beautifully prepared, it's amazing what you can do with an apple! Mangoes turned into hedgehogs and my banana looked like a Viking boat with grapes threaded on a wooden skewer as a mast! No looking like a chimp peeling a banana here! Should you have room left the cheeses were amazing and served with walnuts and quince jelly, which went down very well.
Dinner was waiter served and after choosing wine decision time came, but if you didn't like it they went and got you something else. Brilliant service. A choice of soup, warm rolls, a starter, then a meat or fish dish with vegetables and a dessert and coffee. Water was provided which was chilled and bottled. There was a good wine list and if you only wanted a glass that was possible for some types of wine or they would keep your bottle of wine for another day.

I can't remember every meal, but one example of dinner is - Cream of Cauliflower soup or vegetable Consommé, Cream cheese puffs with caramelised onion and Balsamic vinegar, Gadidae fish (Hake) stuffed with spinach and a crispy mushroom crust with a piped cream potato and mixed vegetables, and an Algarve apple tart. The alternative meat choice that night was Roast Pork stuffed with prunes and with Red cabbage which I was told was delicious.

Shop
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This was beside the stairs near the dining room and had some lovely pieces of china and some gifts to take home, plus hats and t-shirts with the boat logo, the shop was only open for an hour on certain days and although we looked in the window we didn't buy anything.

The Sun Deck
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There were plenty of seats, although if the ship was full I'm not so sure if quite everyone would be accommodated. There were a mixture of sun beds, lower seats with high backs and chairs at tables. The chairs and tables were under a canopy, for protection from the sun - or rain as the case might be! There was a bar and ice cream freezer, although these weren't operating as it was the first cruise of the year.
There was a swimming pool and two small Jacuzzis, these were heated and in fact it was like sitting in a hot bath! Bright yellow towels were supplied. The swimming pool was really too small and too shallow to swim in, but it was amazing just how much water was in it, as it flooded the sun deck on the days we were at sea and no one would have been able to use the Jacuzzi as it was rather a rough journey! The floor was covered in bright blue artificial grass, and the crew hosed down any areas were a bird left their calling cards, making the sun deck as nice and clean as the rest of the boat. The gang planks were stored on the sun deck when travelling, the life rafts were up top too, and two staircases led down to the main deck, one with a chair lift.

Booking
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We looked at the web site but discovered it was cheaper to book with another company, although it meant our start date was a day earlier. I'll whisper who we went with, as it is a company I said I was too young to travel with! Who you ask? It was SAGA! I always thought their holidays were for the elderly, but we weren't the youngest travellers! We flew out on the Friday, but some other people joined the ship the following day and actually, got a slightly longer cruise!
Booking with SAGA was simple and very efficient and I can recommend it for over 50's, but that is another review!

The Cruise
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We had received an Itinerary from SAGA and details of the optional trips, which could be booked in advance at a saving, by paying £119. We choose not to do this as we had already been to some of the places and this was meant to be a relaxing holiday for me, without too much walking.
We also received another Itinerary from the ship when we arrived, and it states may be subject to change during the week! They supplied details of each of our ports of call and of the places you could visit and the cost of individual trips and when they had to be booked by. Although this wasn't a problem on our cruise as the boat wasn't fully occupied. The coach travelled to each place we moored at and the coach driver doubled as an assistant in the docking! Maps were available at each place too, with the ship marked on them, so we could find our way back, each evening when the beds were turned down the fpllowing days programme was left for us.
Trip from Portimão to Lagos costs 27€, Portimão to Monchique 27€, from Ayamonte to Seville 79€, Alcoutim to Mertola 39€, Olhao to Faro 27€. These trips were organised by the cruise ship, and the assistant cruise director, and SAGA representative went on each trip as well as a multi-lingual guide.

Briefly here is where we cruised and what we did. The ship remained in Portimão until the Sunday afternoon when we set sail down the Arade River and along the coast to Olhao. This stretch of coastline is very scenic, with towering cliffs, little coves and spectacular caves. After Armacao de Pera, the beaches become sandy but after Albuferia you then see red sandy cliffs. Dolphins accompanied the boat for a short distance. The coast then becomes flatter and when we sailed into the protected Rio Formosa area, the ship became more stable and the rocking motion stopped. This is a lovely area to sail up, with birds, tiny villages reached only by boat and little ferries. We moored for the evening at Olhao which we explored the next day, entertained by the antics of many storks. That evening the local dignitaries joined the Captain for dinner as it was the first time they had moored here, and we were entertained by local dancers and singers, and several of the passengers were encouraged to dance, a great evening's entertainment.
We left after lunch and sailed to Vila Real de Santo Antonio, which is at the mouth of the Guadiana River separating Portugal and Spain. The sea decided to attack our ship and we were really rolling, although it wasn't cold so we sat on top deck watching the scenery, or trying to as we tossed and pitched. We arrived in Vila Real just before dinner, but there wasn't really time to visit this town and we were due to leave early the next morning but were delayed as we had to wait for fuel. The sail up the river was beautiful, and we arrived in time for lunch. Eat. Eat. Eat! Some left the boat after lunch to visit Mertola, but we stayed and walked around Alcoutim, a small quaint little place with a castle, where we went to see a video of the history of the area and then for cocktails in the evening sunshine. In warmer weather dinner would be served in the castle grounds. Looking across to San Lucar in Spain was lovely as the sun highlighted the white buildings.
The following morning we were due to sail at 7.00 am so that we could arrive in Ayamonte for people to go to Seville, but it was a misty morning , and we had to wait for it to clear, the bus left with a lot of passengers and the remaining few spent a lovely morning sailing down the river. Mooring in Ayamonte was interesting as this was another first! There was much arm waving and shouting, but in Spanish and most of our crew were Portuguese! Eventually we moored and there was plenty of time to explore this lovely Spanish town. That evening after a huge thunderstorm we were entertained by Flamenco dancers who put on a very slick show.
During breakfast we set sail, on the last part of our cruise, we moored for a couple of hours in Rio Formosa nature reserve area, before continuing to Vilamoura which was our final mooring place. Fortunately the sea was kinder to us on this journey and we had lunch as we were underway. Watching the waves washing the restaurant windows was a strange experience!
Vilamoura is a purpose built resort and we ended our cruise with dinner at the Casino and watched a Show, there was chance to have a flutter too, but most people had an early morning start for flights home, so left after the Show. Transport was laid on by the ship's coach.

The Staff
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The captain spoke reasonable English and along with the first Officer and the Chief Engineer, ate in the Restaurant at a staff table. How they manage eating such wonderful food everyday I don't know! All the staff were courteous and very helpful. It was suggested in the information we received that it is usual on a cruise to tip the staff or should I say give them a "Gratuity" and the amount is 10€ per day per guest. Plus 1.50€ for the coach driver and tour escort, envelopes were provided! As you can imagine that is quite a sum, and sometime I think that should be added to the cost of the cruise and staff paid a better wage! This way all staff get a tip not just the waiter, barman or cabin maid as would happen in a hotel, but we still tipped our waiter as he was excellent. The envelopes went into sealed box which would be opened by an official and divided between staff.

Cost
*****
There has to be a sad point doesn't there! It was not a cheap holiday, although drinks were not too expensive. Coffee was 1.75€, non-alcoholic cocktails 3.50€, beer 2€ and wine from 10.50 - 16.50 for a bottle of excellent white Portuguese called Evel or a crisp Chardonnay. Coffee was served after every meal and in the afternoon, so it was only a morning coffee that was needed!
As I mentioned previously we booked with SAGA as this was cheaper than booking direct and arranging our own flights and transport. Unfortunately flights were from Manchester in the early morning so it involved an overnight stay at a hotel (another review will follow!) A twin bedded cabin with verandah in early April was £904 per person, less £24 as we had our own insurance, but as we flew from Manchester we had to pay a supplement. This did include free rail travel from our local station to Manchester airport, which we upgraded to First class by paying a little more.
The most expensive week with SAGA is beginning September 21st and costs £1099 per person, with a supplement increasing it to £1354 for sole occupancy. There were a lot of single people on our cruise. It roughly costs an extra £100 per person for the cabin on the upper deck with the verandah.

Verdict
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The weather wasn't brilliant everyday, but that is something no one can control. The boat was lovely, in good condition and quite luxurious. The staff were marvellous, the food was great, but perhaps a bigger choice at night would be good, although I realise they don't have a lot of staff. The trips were well organised, the only real thing I felt that let it down was, that the ship was basically a river cruiser, and although we were told it was built for sailing along the coast, the captain did apologise for the rough journey, saying it sails better on the river! But it is advertised as exciting, and an adventure and it was both!
If you are considering going on a cruise, remember you are in a small space, it helps if you get on with your fellow travellers, especially if you have to share meal times with them. We were lucky and as it was only a very small number it was easy to get know and chat to other people.

Would I go back?
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The company have cruises on the Douro, and we may well try that out another year- no coastal waters, just smooth rivers!  

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