IT’S TIME FOR A CHANGE OF SCENE

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As cruise ships may only sail the Douro during daytime, my FOMO (fear of missing out) new vistas and lock experiences whist sleeping was allayed. Emerald also seemed to have bagged the best mooring spots and rarely tied up alongside other ships, allowing us uninterrupted views through our cabin’s floor-to-ceiling windows. (I’ll never forget on my first ever river cruise standing stark naked and flinging open our curtains to greet dawn on the river Nile, only to find a startled man sitting in his cabin inches away from ours. A ship had quietly docked beside us overnight).

The sheer convenience of having Radiance’s fine-dining restaurant within easy reach of our room was a real bonus. Carefully planned menus and accompanying wines reflected local or national produce wherever possible. Chef positively beamed when he tempted this vegetarian to taste slow-roasted pork sourced from a local piggery bred to produce the sweetest most tender meat. Melt-in-the mouth butterfish from the Azores starred in another memorable meal. Our charming and most attentive waiter, Daniel, remembered our drink preferences and gracefully met our cheeky requests for extra cheese and biscuits with a glass of tawny port.

Fellow guests helped make the whole experience even more special. We soon found our ‘tribe’ amongst the mixed group of Australian, Canadian, American and British guests. Our competitive gang of 60-something boomers outdanced and out-sang the competition during a music quiz. We all agreed we hadn’t laughed so much in ages. Many were returning customers with one couple enjoying their 8th cruise with Emerald – I can certainly see why.

Next steps:

To take an Emerald Cruise like Carole’s or to find out about their worldwide voyages and to book your Cruise, call our Silver Travel Advisors on 0800 412 5678 or visit silvertraveladvisor.com