What it’s like to cruise the Douro onboard the new Avalon Alegria

Avalon Waterways has introduced its first ship on the Douro, Portugal’s majestic historical river. We boarded Avalon Alegria to see how she stacks up.

The 16th ship in the Avalon fleet is in some ways very unlike like the others yet, in the most important ways, the same as the 15 that came before her.

The Douro does not accommodate the typical 135-metre ship as the locks are smaller. Therefore, Alegria is 80 metres in length with a max of just 102 passengers versus the 166-passenger capacity of the others. But when it comes to Avalon’s signature quality of service and experiences, it delivers the same standard as the rest of its fleet.

Alegria translates to ‘happy’ in Portuguese, we spent four nights onboard to figure out just how happy it could make guests.

About Avalon Waterways

Avalon has built a reputation around three core guest commitments.

Avalon Waterways unveils Avalon Alegria on the Duoro River, Portugal.

First, the hardware (industry talk for the ship, interior spaces rooms, et al.) is designed to be as immersive as possible with an emphasis on making sure every view from any part of the ship welcomes the outside in and vice versa. The logic is pretty straightforward; you don’t board a river cruise ship to look internally.

This is best expressed in the floor-to-ceiling windows throughout and its 2011 innovation of in-suite sliding doors that create a balcony without sacrificing floor space. This is the Panorama Suite for which they are famous.

Panorama Suites feature open-air balconies.

The second is around choices.

There are no set dining times as per other river cruise ships but you can dine between 7pm and 8:30pm and receive a full meal. The flexible dining room configurations means there are mostly tables for two and then you can combine if you find friends with whom you want to share a meal.

Or alternatively, the Bistro Dining option in the lounge is more tapas style than the formal dining room. Breakfast in your suite is also available and the in-room coffee table can be lowered or raised depending on how you choose to use it.

The dining room onboard Avalon Alegria has special sound-absorbent structures so guests can enjoy lively conversations (depends on how many complimentary wines you have right?).

But the choices are not just around food. There are seemingly endless bedding options – three different pillow styles and you can request four different levels of bed firmness, from fluffy cloud to concrete slab (my words, not theirs). That is a lot of choice.

The third and final pillar is the mix of excursions that offer classic, active and discovery options. Each of these is designed to give passengers a choice to suit their particular travel style or mood on any given day.

Avalon Alegria‘s Panorama Lounge has a mix of large lounge settings for groups of friends or more cozy lounges for couples.

This review is divided into the following if you wish to jump ahead:

• Panorama Lounge
• Dining Room
• Club Lounge
• Sky Lounge
• Rooms and Suites
• Excursions
• Food and beverages
• Sustainability
• Gym
• Itineraries
• What we loved
• What we would change

Panorama Lounge

The heart of Avalon Alegria, the lounge is as it should be: a relaxed space perfect for a pre-dinner drink or after-dinner drink and boogie.

Seating for about 100 is spread across tables and lounge chairs plus squares of three-seater- sofas for larger groups. The palette is beige and cream with velvet chocolate ottomans.

Relax with a drink, bistro-style tapas meal or late-night jive in the luxe Panorama Lounge.

The dance floor takes pride of place. And true to the Avalon DNA, the bar is tucked into a small corner of the lounge so to not depreciate the view.

In pursuit of the choices mantra, there is an extensive selection of included cocktails at happy hour – think Cosmopolitan, Margarita’s and Old Fashioned or a good ol’ G&T or V&T.

Pull up a chair at the Panorama Lounge & Bar.

The Panorama Lounge does have an additional al fresco space at the very bow of the ship. Cinnamon chocolate outdoor tables and chairs, plus a delightful lover’s swing, make for a great ‘front porch’ experience. Much like the Club Lounge (see below) but al fresco, the outdoor area lends itself to soaking in the spectacular scenery or lazing on the swing with a book.

Club Lounge

Tucked into the very back of the ship, Avalon has chosen not to turn this sought-after real estate into suites but a small lounge. Open 24 hours the coffee machine makes a wicked hot chocolate and there is a constant supply of muffins, double chocolate chip cookies and nuts.

The BeWell water station is novel. Serving up flavoured ‘wellness’ water drinks like the Body Guard; Lime + Ginger or something called Magnesium Mineralised Water that BeWell describes as “Water, but better”.

The green lounges and tables and chairs make a relaxing and inviting space that guests utilise for everything from the 2am jet lag tea to breakfast and an afternoon spent relaxing with a book.

Cosy up with a drink in hand at the Club Lounge.

Dining Room

The dining room is awash with vivid blues and lilacs. The room is divided by a centre bench seat dotted with tables designed for a couple that can then be pushed together to make larger seating configurations.

At the far end is the service area for the breakfast and lunch buffet.

In a nod to the location, four large round Portuguese tile artworks are hung on the walls. Careful consideration has been given to sound so the ceiling above the main bench seating has wooden slats designed to keep ambient sound to a minimum, allowing pleasant conversations to be had without the need to yell.

Enjoy chef-prepared daily breakfast and buffet meals in the dining room.

Sky Lounge

The signature experience of any river cruise is enjoying the rooftop deck while playing spot a castle, church or cellar door. Alegria has an added couple of highlights worth mentioning.

Weather permitting, the open-air grill is used for a BBQ dinner twice on each sailing of the Duoro River.

The heated pool is a worthy guest service. Unfortunately during our stay, relentless rain didn’t inspire a dip.

The scenery is even better from the heated pool on the Sky Deck.

The other highlight, again not realised thanks to the precipitation, is the grill area. In better weather, a barbecue on the Sky Lounge will be a highlight.

The loungers on Avalon Alegria‘s Sky Deck are suited to Portugal’s warm temperatures.

Rooms and Suites

There are two room types onboard Alegria, 37 of the signature Panorama Suites and 14 Deluxe Staterooms for a potential total of 102 guests.

Deluxe Stateroom

The entry-level Deluxe Stateroom is on the bottom deck at water level. The elevated window gives you a swimmer’s view of the river flowing past.

The elevated window lets in plenty of natural light plus a fish perspective of the Douro River.

At 172-180 square feet (16-16.7 square metres) Avalon claims they are offering a far bigger space than its competitive set.

The Deluxe Stateroom is much the same clever floor plan of the Panorama Suite with the bathroom placed behind the bedhead offering a sizable WC space.

The Deluxe Stateroom is relatively spacious for ‘entry-level’.

Panorama Suite

The signature Panorama Suite is cleverly designed to maximise space. The queen-sized bed faces the floor-to-ceiling three-metre sliding doors. The door retracts two-thirds of the way to form a balcony (there is a verandah structure on the outside to form the barrier) again, bringing the outside into the space.

The bed is on a slight angle, so the bathroom widens at the shower well to form a spacious shower.

Panorama Suite ushers in dreamy river cruise vistas; the essence of a river cruise.

A single adjustable shower head (no rainwater shower head) has great pressure and temperature controls. L’Occitane pump bottles ensure high-grade toiletries without the single-use plastics (see Sustainability below for more).

The suites come with a spacious bathroom and oversized shower.

The beds can be configured as two queen singles or a queen double against the wall. Meanwhile, up to four suitcases can fit under the bed and the hanging cupboard accommodates roughly 20 items of clothing on coat hangers plus five shelves.

Check into the cosy Panorama Suite. (Image: Quentin Long)

A lounge chair swivels to either face the large wall-mounted television (it’s on a bracket that can swing out to face the bed), the view through those magnificent floor-to-ceiling windows or (when they are retracted) the great outdoors, or the 1.5-seater lounge.

The Panorama Suite is complete with modern amenities. (Image: Quentin Long)

Meanwhile, the adjustable table can be set high to accommodate a laptop or low for a bottle of wine, glasses or breakfast.

The in-room adjustable table has all you need to get yourself comfortable. (Image: Quentin Long)

And finally, the bed has the aforementioned four firmness settings and the housekeeping staff can offer you three different sizes and types of pillows from wafer-thin to plush trampolines for the head.

Choose between three different types of pillows and four different bed firmness’ onboard Avalon Alegria. (Image: Quentin Long)

Food and Beverage

The food and beverage are slightly hit-and-miss (understandable on a first sailing). It is more hit than miss and the failsafe always available “alternative options” do make sure you can always find something to please.

Breakfast and lunch in the dining room are buffet style or guests can choose from the small a la carte option.

The a la carte breakfast menu has four options including a classic eggs benedict or breakfast wrap. The buffet option is the typical breakfast buffet ranging from pastries, fruit, yoghurts, cold meats and cheese plus the usual hot inclusions of bacon, sausages and an eggs and pancake station.

Lunch standard a la carte options are Caesar salad, burger, cheeseburger and veggie burger. Items from the buffet that we enjoyed included a white cabbage and cumin seed salad, roast lamb, roast veal and creamy Portuguese-style clam chowder.

Dinner is al a carte. The menu typically has three starters, two soups, four main courses and five desserts. Again, leaning into their determination to offer choices, aside from the daily menu the always available “alternative options” are Caesar salad for starters and for main grilled chicken breast, beef tenderloin or salmon with sides of the day.

Matching wines are served complimentary during the dinner service and the Avalon team have crafted an impressive local list. We enjoyed a huge variety of Portuguese wines that is fair to say will not be arriving in Australia anytime soon. For example, a zesty Arinto dos Acores from the Azore islands.

It is worth noting that the Douro is different to other European rivers in that the locks are not open overnight, so ships stay docked for an evening. Therefore, depending on the village, you can venture into the local restaurants. Specific mention for Bomfin 1896 in Pinhão.

Shore Excursions

Shore excursions come in three categories: Classic, Active and Discovery.

They do what they say on the tin.

Classic is an overview of a destination and is typically very relaxed and easy to walk.

Active tours are more energetic so think kayaking, biking and hiking.

Discovery is more immersive with greater insightful experiences like meeting a countess on a historic vineyard or a wine museum in Porto.

Explore the towns and villages with the excursion program. (Image: Quentin Long)

The Active excursions for the Douro are still being assembled.

Our Discovery and Classic excursions were outstanding. The highlights included a tour of the historic Casa dos Viscondes da Várzea house and vineyards with the enigmatic Countess Maria Manuel Cyrne and a walking tour of the medieval wonder and birthplace of Portugal, Guimarães.

Wake up to panoramic views of rolling vineyards.

Gym

It’s there, it’s tiny. Observe the sunken treadmill that allows those taller than a typical Portuguese waiter to run without the threat of bumping their head.

You are encouraged to take the mats and TheraBand to the SkyLounge to exercise in the open air.

Sustainability

Avalon tells us that their shipbuilder claims Alegria is the most sustainable ship on the Douro largely due to Alegria using the latest generation engine that meets the Stage V emission standards set out by the EU.

In addition to the lowest possible emissions from the engine, a power lock system allows the engines to be turned off while docked, which partnered with low-energy LED lighting does reduce the requirement for generating electricity.

The waste management has been greatly improved with no single-use plastics and a 95 per cent reduction in paper (think daily itineraries are now on the app, etc.) plus a recycle and reuse system conducted by the staff.

Venture into the Douro Valley with Avalon Alegria.

And finally, Avalon does offset every passenger’s journey; two trees are planted for every passenger via the Trees4Travel initiative. A worthy effort.

Further, Avalon is part of the Globus Family of Brands that have the Lighthouse Project. Through the Lighthouse Project, they support some worthwhile initiatives to better the planet, people and places.

This is visible onboard where your earpiece for the ‘Whispers’ audio guides is delivered in bags made by Landmine Designs, a charity that employs women at risk of being trafficked in Cambodia to make jewellery and textiles. See all the Lighthouse Project work here.

Disappointingly for everyone and despite their best efforts Avalon has said they will not meet their stated objective of having a zero-emission ship on a river by 2027. The battery technology has unfortunately not evolved fast enough to meet their ambitions.

Alegria is the most sustainable ship on the Douro. (Image: Quentin Long)

Itineraries

The itinerary for Alegria is eight days, seven nights from Porto to Porto.

There is a three-day pre-departure Lisbon extension available.

What we loved about the Alegria

The overall aesthetic design and comfort were relaxed luxury at its best. The team and excursions were excellent.

The Douro is a magnificent region almost custom-built for river cruising.

It was such a pleasure to cruise on and we were left wanting more, particularly remarkable considering we had rain the entire trip.

Relaxed luxury is at the heart of the Avalon Alegria experience.

What we would change

The food could be a little fresher with less overpowering sauces. Having said that, there were enough choices to keep us interested.