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Miguel Torga was a famous short-story writer and poet, born in the Sabrosa region of north Portugal in 1907. This tribute to a Portuguese icon and local hero is accentuated by subtle design features around the ship, the black and white photographs of Douro regional landmarks and views decorating public areas and in each cabins, as well as the use of a rich ruby red for onboard textiles. House port is featured in the inclusive drinks menu and evening entertainment showcases Portuguese traditions, such as the fado, a musical genre popularized in the early-19th century.
The onboard atmosphere is relaxed and friendly, with a European vibe and a French bias. It's not exclusively French -- you will find a mix of passengers from across the world, and customer-facing staff all speak English. This is an ideal ship for an outward-looking cruise passenger, willing to mix with other nationalities, who has an easy-going, patient attitude toward the mix of languages being spoken and is understanding when the crew might not get it right first time.
Wi-Fi is included throughout the ship, which generally benefits from a strong connection, especially when docked in port. The swimming pool on the Sun Deck is a standout feature of this ship. Excursions tend to depart on time, and lunch and dinner are served at set times, but outside of those parameters, you're at liberty to sit back and enjoy the stunning Douro scenery.
CroisiEurope in general has a very relaxed, unfussy dress code and this ship is no exception. Passengers will want to be comfortable for the daily excursions, which include spells of walking, sometimes on uneven terrain, so flat shoes are advised. Temperatures in the Douro region regularly hit 100 F (40C) in high summer, when cool, light clothing is needed, and sun hats recommended. However, in the shoulder seasons, the weather can be more unpredictable so pack sweaters and rain jackets.
In the evenings, many will change into smart casual outfits for dinner, but Croisi does not demand it. The weekly gala dinner is the dressiest of nights, but still not formal. Leave the cocktail dress and suit at home.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner are included, plus drinks with onboard meals and at the bar, for example, sparkling wine, house wine, beer, select aperitifs and digestifs, water, fruit juices, fizzy drinks and coffee. The exception is the special wine list, Champagne and premium spirits. Small bottles of water are given out ahead of shore excursions and water is placed in cabins too.
The onboard currency is the euro.
Shore Excursions
There are daily excursions on Miguel Torga. Day one commences with boarding from 5 p.m., after which there is an evening cruise to discover Porto by night. Most days after that, passengers have the choice between a Classic coach/walking tour and a Discovery tour.
Excursions need to be reserved in advance and are more expensive if you book onboard, rather than at time of booking the cruise.
Vox Tours audio sets so they can hear everything the guide says, even if not at their side. The guide generally switches between French and English, although larger national groups will be given a dedicated guide speaking only their language. Those with limited mobility could struggle with the walking parts of the tours as the terrain is not always flat.
Daytime and Evening Entertainment
As you would expect from a river cruise, the scenery is the entertainment, with passengers happy to soak up the views as the ship plows its course along the river. A series of locks provides a chance to marvel at feats of mechanical engineering. There is a daily picture quiz, themed around film stars or global tourism landmarks, offering the chance to win a bottle of Portuguese favourite Mateus rosé.
Evening entertainment is inspired by the ship's Douro location, and most evenings after dinner there is a program inspired by traditional folklore, with local performers showcasing their talents and the region's history. CroisiEurope staff provides commentary, explaining the stories behind the songs. When it's dancing, expect audience participation by the end. In Porto, the focus switches outside the ship, with an evening cruise to discover the city all lit up at night.
There is one bar/lounge on the Middle Deck with panoramic views. This leads into a small outside area with seating at the bow of the ship. The lounge is relaxed and informal, with sofas arranged in sociable configurations around coffee tables. It feels spacious, with plenty of natural light. The dark red colour scheme for the furniture and cushions is reminiscent of a ruby port wine, but not too overbearing, blended with more neutral tones. There is a large TV showing CroisiEurope footage from various itineraries around the world.
The bar is positioned by the entrance of the lounge, with stools along two sides. There is a featured daily cocktail, a well-known recipe such as Sex on the Beach or a piña colada. This is complimentary, and you can have house wine, beer, coffee and tea all day here. The bar typically stays open until midnight, and there is a small dance floor, used mainly by the local entertainers.
The Sun Deck runs the length of the ship and has a mixture of chaise lounges and tables and chairs. Miguel Torga is the first ship on the Douro to have a large 24-square-meter (258-square-foot) pool. This is hydraulic, because it needs to be lowered to fit under the lowest bridges. At the start and end of the season, the pool is heated. Chaise lounges are positioned under a canopy, another fixture that must be removed for the lowest bridges, along with the railings. The Sun Deck is the only area of the ship where smoking is permitted. Bikes are loaded onto the ship for special themed bike cruises.
Guest services are located on the Middle Deck at the entrance to the bar, where there is also a large glass cabinet, filled with Portuguese souvenirs, plus postcards and stamps for sale. The reception desk is manned day and night.
Miguel Torga has just the one dining room on the Main Deck, with meals included in the overall price. CroisiEurope is unusual in that it serves a set menu for both lunch and dinner, with no choices offered. The line's chefs will cater for dietary requirements, but passengers are asked to make special requests at the time of booking so food can be sourced in advance.
That goes for vegetarian meals too. That said, they are willing to accommodate a little last-minute flexibility. When I turned down foie gras, it was replaced by the vegetarian option pretty quickly.
The menu is almost exclusively French fine dining, with a few Portuguese traditional favourites thrown in for good measure, and of a consistently high quality. Menus are posted every morning in reception and on TV screens in cabins.
Breakfast is buffet style from 7 or 7:30 a.m., depending on the itinerary. Pots of coffee and pastry baskets, with rolls and croissants, are placed on every table, and the buffet spread is predominantly continental-style, with cold cuts, cheese, fruit salad, yogurt, cereal, pastries, bread and preserves laid out. Eggs and sausages are provided, and there's hot water to boil your own eggs and a self-service toaster.
Lunch and dinner are both served as set menus, with three courses: appetizer, main and dessert, with an extra cheese course at dinner. You should advise before the cruise if you need vegetarian meals. Portion sizes are sensible but you may still feel like you have over-eaten by the end of the cruise and if you prefer good old plain comfort food, then you might struggle with the menus.
Seating is set at the beginning of the cruise, with staff aiming to sit groups and nationalities together, in tables of two to eight maximum. Once tables are designated at the start of the cruise, everyone tends to stay in those places, but you could ask to move if you were not happy with your setting.
Lunch generally starts at 12 or 12:30 p.m., depending on excursion timings. A typical lunch might be calamari-stuffed Coimbra; lamb rack, viennoise mustard, green asparagus, pumpkin and Duchesse potatoes; and pineapple carpaccio with rum-dried fruit ice cream.
Dinner starts around 7:30 p.m., and might entail duck foie gras and gingerbread brioche; veal with white bean fricassee, Provencal tomato and polenta; goat cheese marinated in olive oil and herbs; and natas do céu to end. This is a Portuguese dessert, translated as "cream from heaven."
Lunch and dinner are both served with complimentary red, white and rose wine. Bottles from the premium wine list can be ordered at extra cost. Coffee is served at the end of every meal.
Once every cruise there is a gala dinner, which features the traditional flaming baked Alaska paraded around the dining room. As you would expect from a French line, meals are there to be savoured and enjoyed, and service is efficient, but unhurried. Tables are set with crisp white linen and you'll not be rushed out the dining room if your conversation carries on well after the plates have been cleared from the tables.
All 66 double occupancy cabins are river facing and spread across three decks: Upper, Middle and Main. There are four suites and one accessible cabin. The Upper Deck has 34 double occupancy cabins, the Middle Deck 14 and the Main Deck 18.
Given their compact size, the cabins are well designed to maximize storage opportunities, but the lack of seating means you are unlikely to spend hours in them, aside from sleeping.
The décor is neutral, with white linen and soft fur throws across the beds giving a clean, homey feel. Beds in all cabin categories can be configured as doubles or twins, with separate duvets and two big pillows each. Suitcases can be stowed beneath beds.
Space is tight within the cabins and there are no easy chairs, so the beds double up as seating, facing directly out the window. This is fine when you're sailing along the Douro, which is light on other river traffic, but when the ship is docked, particularly in busy Porto where as many as four Croisi ships might be lined up side by side, you will want to check what's outside the window before flinging back the curtains to enjoy the view from the comfort of your bed.
Cabins have air conditioning and central heating, TV, radio, hair dryer, full-length mirror and a safe. The TV has CNN, BBC and other European channels, plus ship information and an overview of the daily program plus menus.
Cabin lighting is good and includes bedside reading lamps and a main switch that can be pressed from the bed. However, you do need a key card to activate the electricity, so if you leave devices charging and exit the cabin, removing the key card from its socket, devices will no longer charge. Onboard voltage is 220 volts with European sockets.
Bathrooms include a generous-sized shower, with a folding door. Tiles are white with a mosaic frieze adding a little colour. There is not much room around the sink for bottles and towels are placed on a towel rack and on a ledge above the toilet. However, there is a cupboard below the sink where you could place a toiletry bag. This is where the hair dryer, which isn't particularly powerful, is fixed in place.
Onboard toiletries are provided, miniature bottles of shampoo and body wash, and there is a fixed liquid soap dispenser by the sink. The bottles do contain CroisiEurope's own brand, so bring your own if particular about your beauty products. Other amenities are minimal, a box of tissues, two large bottles of drinking water and two miniature bottles of hand sanitizer are provided and re-supplied when necessary, and there is a phone for onboard calls only.
Standard: Virtually all cabins fall into this category and measure 143 square feet. On the lower Main Deck, there are 18 cabins with rectangular pictures windows that don't open and are above the water line. Although they don't open, they still offer views of the passing scenery, but you do feel close to the water. There are 12 more standard cabins on the Middle Deck and 32 on the Upper Deck. These all have French balconies and floor-to-ceiling sliding windows. There are five cupboards with two shelves for storage and a wardrobe with 10 wooden clothes hangers. A small desk area with a round stool is situated next to the wardrobe and behind the headboard.
Accessible: There is one wheelchair-accessible cabin on the Middle Deck, closest to the lounge, and an elevator provides access to the restaurant on the lower Main Deck. It has a larger bathroom than the standard cabins, equipped with grab rails and a plastic stool for use in the shower.
Suite: The ship's four suites are located at the rear of the Upper and Middle decks. Measuring 204 square feet, they are one room, with a French balcony to the side, and a panoramic floor-to-ceiling window that opens into an outdoor balcony overlooking the aft of the ship. These outdoor balconies have two easy chairs, with cushions, and a small coffee table.
The extra space is the main reason to book these suites. They have ample space to walk around the bed and a large area of floor between the bed and access to the balcony. There's an extra chair for the dressing table area. There's a wide mirror and storage to one side of the bed, and the French window to the other side. The TV is fixed to the wall and can be swung round to face the bed.
