Spirit of Chartwell barge

The 1997-built MV Spirit of Chartwell ship is a top-luxury hotel barge currently owned and operated by the Portuguese company Douro Azul. The former "Queen's Jubilee barge" (aka "Royal barge") was bought in September 2012 by Mario Ferreira - president of Mystic Invest Group and CEO of Douro Azul. The ship was fully refurbished to a premium riverboat deployed year-round on Douro River in Portugal.

The barge was initially UK-flagged (MMSI 235078225, London-registered) but unred the Douro Azul ownership the flag-state was changed to Portugal (MMSI 263751940).

The vessel was launched under the name "MS Vincent van Gogh" and initially operated barge cruises on Rhine River (in Germany). In 2010, the boat was drydock-refitted and completely refurbished in Dordrecht Holland (at Shipyard Kooiman Hoebee BV, owned by Kooiman Marine Group) to become the luxury Thames River barge cruise ship Spirit of Chartwell. Back then, the vessel was owned and operated by "Magna Carta Steamship Company" in England, being deployed on Thames River year-round.

In late 2011, Spirit of Chartwell was selected to be the "royal barge" as part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of HM Queen Elizabeth II. On June 3, 2012, the boat transported the Queen and Prince Philip (Duke of Edinburgh / 1921-2021) along with a flotilla of 1000+ vessels during the "Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant".

In June 2012, the ship was sold to Mystic Invest and transferred to the Douro Azul fleet.

During her UK service, Spirit of Chartwell was designed in the style of Cote d'Azur Pullman Express deluxe train. The ship still carries artifacts from the authentic train and ocean liners, like SS France, RMS Windsor Castle, RMS Kenya Castle.

Among the 5-star-hotel ship's amenities are Lobby area (with Reception Desk), Piano Bar (Somerset Maugham, with a Steinway piano), Dining Room (George Bradshaw Restaurant, with a full seating capacity), Lounge (with leather sofas and armchairs), spacious Sundeck with a sunbathing area (premium wooden furniture/padded loungers, 2-seat tables, deckchairs) and Charles Dickens Solarium (an outdoor lounge with shaded seating/awnings), Wheelhouse (Navigation Bridge), Promenade Deck (outdoor walkway encircling the boat).

Decks and cabins

The unique Douro River hotel barge Spirit of Chartwell has 3 decks and a total of 15 staterooms (14x cabins + 1x Royal Suite), served by 14 crew/staff. The boat can accommodate max 30 passengers 30 as all staterooms are double occupancy.

All cabins are fitted with single beds (luxury mattresses, under-bed drawers, plush cushions, wall-mounted reading lamps), premium custom-made wooden furniture and accessories (mirrored vanity table with drawers, wardrobe with drawers, chair, power plugs, USB charging port), en-suite bathrooms (washbasin, shower, WC-toilet), 32-inch HDTVs.

The Royal Suite has a King-size double bed. All staterooms have non-opening windows covered with plush drapes.

Itineraries

In 2019, Douro Azul (Mystic Cruises) introduced a new 10-day Douro River itinerary roundtrip from homeport Oporto. Prices started from USD 2030 pp (double occupancy rates).

Note: You can see the CruiseMapper's list of all river cruise ships and riverboats in the "itinerary" section of our River Cruises hub. All companies and their fleets are listed there.