7/15 Helgrim Home
Our first time on a longship, even a baby one
07/15/2019 - 07/15/2019 79 °F
After a final Altis breakfast, we are off on a 20-minute Uber ride to Santa Apolonia train station where we will meet Allan and Nancy for our noon train journey up to Porto. The trip is scheduled to take two hours and forty minutes to cover the 190 mile distance. We cannot board the good ship Helgrim until 3:00pm so we are in no great rush. B4 enjoys the journey as only she can--by working--until motion sickness interrupts her work.
This is our maiden river cruise voyage; neither of us has ever set foot on a river cruise ship before. I’ve boarded big ships along side 6,295 fellow passengers on Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas and, most recently, small ships with 45 fellow passengers on the ice-hardened M/S Quest. But nothing like this.
Helgrim is small and she is a river ship, neither a cruise ship nor ocean liner.
Here, we join about 100 others aboard the Viking Helgrim, named for what appears to be an obscure historical figure (no Wikipedia page) who “co-led (with somebody named Osfrid who is the namesake of a different Viking vessel) the first recorded mission from Norway to England at the command of Harald I, King of Norway,” to gift the “fine ship” they sailed to the English.
Helgrim boasts 53 outside staterooms, eleven of them 302 square foot “Veranda Suites” such as ours: mid-ship, upper deck #312. For comparision purposes, the standard cabin on an ocean-going Celebrity Cruise Line ship is just over 180 square feet. Happily for us more mature adventurers, the Helgrim has no facilities or programs for children; you’ve got to be at least 18 years of age to sail on her. Here is the Porto view from our balcony.
Click here to leave this blog, arriving at Viking's site for a 360 degree tour: https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/content/douro/start.html?secure=true#.XR-f1i3Mxn0
Here's our tour:
Brand new, referred to as a “baby longship” she’s small: 262 feet long and 39 feet wide, four decks and capable of river cruising at 17 mph. She operates in a partnership between the ubiquitous Viking line and Douro Azul which is Portugal’s largest cruisetour company and Allan’s connection.
There are two ways to dine, one restaurant and “The Aquavit Terrace”, one lounge, one tiny pool and one organic garden. Complimentary wine, beer and spirits are served with both lunch and dinner. You can opt for breakfast or lunch in the Lounge or take your own plate to the Sun Deck. Normally, breakfast is 7:00-9:30, lunch is Noon until 2:00 and dinner is at 7:00pm.
If you want a cocktail before dinner, you must pay for it. Beverages are always an interesting cost item. For an additional flat fee of $150.00 per person (with two to a stateroom, both must purchase the package), you can opt for the Silver Spirits Beverage Package which includes a bottle of sparkling wine and premium local wines and beers and soft drinks available any time, not just during lunch and dinner. You may bring local wines aboard which can be served to you by waitstaff without a corkage fee. Nice. At least one of the offered daily excursions is complimentary; others are available for a fee. Good for B4 and me: WiFi aboard Helgrim is FREE but the connection relies on cellular and/or satellite connections so both speed and capacity are limited and interruptions are to be expected.
This vessel concentrates on 10-day excursions (seven on the water and three in hotels) on the Douro River from Porto to Porto. Dress during the day (which is either on board or ashore) is "casual" meaning shorts, slacks or jeans. Aboard at night, recommended dress is "elegant casual." That means dress, skirt or slacks with a sweater or blouse for B4 and trousers accompanied by a collared shirt for me. Ties and jackets are optional but an email inquiry sent to my sailing mates prior to embarkation revealed that the other men are taking a sports coat so I will do the same. Clearly, there are no formal nights (which I enjoy completely with the exception of packing for them).
Viking suggests onboard staff gratuities in the amount of $18 per guest per day which is, unless you instruct them otherwise, added to your onboard account. That amount is later shared with the Program Director, waitstaff, stateroom stewards, galley staff, nautical staff, motor-coach drivers and others. Local excursion guides are recommended to be tipped directly ($2 per person per day is suggested).
The ship has its own phone number: +351 924 005 514. One interesting fact: The top deck is the Sun Deck. "For safety reasons, guest access to the Sun Deck is restricted during lock transits and when the ship is sailing under low bridges." The Wheelhouse--what would be called the Bridge onboard a cruise ship--typically offers visitation times. Smoking is allowed only on the Sun Deck in a designated area; there is no smoking allowed on verandas. Electricity is via "German Schuko" two-pin safety plugs so U.S. travelers would be well advised to bring an adapter. There is a USB port in each stateroom for charging mobile phones. There are no specialty restaurants so it isn't possible to incur any additional food charges. Laundry--not dry cleaning--is available for an extra charge.
River cruises are mostly seasonal, usually April to October in Europe. There may be some holiday cruises added.
Water levels in the rivers vary. Itineraries are adjusted if the river is either too high or too low. If the river is too low, you would be bussed to a destination rather than cruising there. Since river cruises cover so few miles, perhaps only 20 in a day, that isn’t nearly as bad as it sounds but it is not good. This week, the Douro is neither too high nor too low; in Goldilocks fashion she is just right.
River cruise ships are, from the outside at least, quite similar due to size restrictions required on a particular river. The ships are small so there are fewer facility choices. The differences in ships—and the lines that sell them—are inside.
When the ships dock in a city or town, they often must tie up to each other in a parallel fashion. So, you might be tied up to another ship whereby your balcony is immediately adjacent to the balcony of the ship next door. The ship farthest from shore will discharge its passengers across the next ship and your ship and the next so they can reach shore.
You’re not alone on your river. There will probably be several river cruise ships in each port each day. This is even more true of the rivers other than this one--the Rhine, Rhone, Danube, Seine, Elbe, Volga and six others. Across the world, there are 32 river cruise operators sailing today with the best said to be Tauck, AmaWaterways, Crystal, Uniworld (called the most luxurious), Scenic and Viking.
Schedules are more regimented than on a cruise ship. Wake up at a certain time, breakfast at a certain time, get on the coach for the excursion at a certain time, dinner at a certain time.
When they say that they are all-inclusive, that may mean different things. On our voyage, wine beer and soft drinks are included at meals but not at other times.
River cruises are not advised for children or for adults with mobility issues. Wheelchair users, sources say, won’t be happy. Passengers should be active and fit when traveling this way. Most passengers are older; in their fifties at least. Baby boomers are the most common passenger type. There are lots of solo travelers but they will pay a steep single supplement for the privilege.
On most river cruises, there will be lots of locks. They’re fun if you enjoy the mechanics and process of locks. (I can only think of Panama Canal cruises that include locks in the ocean cruise segment).
River cruises are slightly noisier than ocean cruises. You are often advised to bring your earplugs.
Dress codes are “casual.” They don’t want denim jeans or shorts in the dining room at dinner, however.
After the Welcome Aboard, Drinks and Live Music, mandatory safety drill (life jackets on but there are no lifeboats because the river is only 3.5 meters deep) and the introductory Welcome Briefing, the eight of us evacuate the ship for a 20 minute taxi ride to the Praia Da Luz Restaurant where we are the guests of Mario, raconteur, entrepreneur, world traveller, innovator, investor, operator, et al. A finer meal accompanied by finer conversation has never been recorded. I am taken by Mario; he has notched adventures to which I aspire.
A harrowing taxi ride back to Helgrim and we are soon in 312 and finishing up this entry and answering emails, etc. A fine day has come to an end leading to the beginning of adventures on the Douro.
