ms Vasco de Gama

MS Vasco de Gama ship cruises on Douro River in Portugal (wine region). Itineraries are round-trips leaving from homeport Oporto Portugal. This riverboat cruises in Portugal together with the CroisiEurope ships Fernao De Magalhaes, Gil Eanes, Infante Don Henrique, Miguel Torga, Amalia Rodrigues.

Decks and Cabins

The riverboat has 71 passenger cabins (equally sized at 129 ft2 / 12 m2) in 2 grades, including 5 cabins with 2 single beds. Main Deck staterooms (15 double) are with Riverview windows (non-opening). Middle Deck (18 double) and Upper Deck cabins (38 double) are with French balconies (slide-opening windows). Upper Deck additionally has 2 Suite accommodations with private verandas (terraces). As for amenities, each stateroom has private bathroom (WC, sink, shower cabin), wardrobe/closet, satellite TV, radio, phone (only for internal calls), hairdryer, personal safe, individual air-conditioning.

Shipboard facilities

The ship's amenities and facilities include a lounge (with a dance floor and its own bar), a dining room (Vasco de Gama restaurant), upper deck lounge with a terrace, sundeck relaxation area (with shaded seating, loungers and deckchairs), gift shop, library, elevator, also complimentary Wi-Fi Internet usage. The Vasco de Gama ship’s Douro river cruise itinerary is in Portugal, with optional tours to Spain. The ship is leaving from Porto on roundtrip itineraries. The provided by CroisiEurope gourmet dining options on the ship, along with the organized tours with themed food and wine tasting events allow the Vasco de Gama's guests to enjoy the local Portuguese cuisine and wines along the cruise itinerary routes.

CroisiEurope Douro River cruise itineraries

The Vasco de Gama ship’s Douro river cruise itineraries from Porto are themed:

• (code PPH_PP) "Porto, Douro Valley, and Salamanca" (Portugal and Spain) - 8 days with two overnights in Porto (after embarkation and before disembarkation).
• (code POB) "Pleasant Portugal" - 6 days Douro Valley cruise (two overnights in Porto).
• (code POC_PP) "The Douro River" (cruise-only deals, flights/transfers are not Included) - 8 days with an overnight in Porto before disembarkation.
• (code POC) "The River Douro" (deals inclusive of flights and transfers) - 8 days with two overnights in Porto (after embarkation and before disembarkation), airport transfers (to/from the boat) and two Porto Portugal flights (from/to France).

Among the tours and excursions along the Vasco de Gama ship’s Porto cruise itineraries are:

• (day 1) Porto - embarkation (welcome aboard cocktail), guided tour (optional, with wine tasting)
• (day 2) Regua (afternoon arrival, overnight stay) - Lamego (guided excursion)
• (day 3) Vila Real (bus excursion, Casa de Mateus), boarding in Pinhao, evening arrival in Barca d'Alva (overnight stay, Flamenco show on board)
• (day 4) arrival in Vega de Teron (Spain, disembarkation) - Salamanca (UNESCO site / guided excursion to Spain), re-boarding in Vega de Teron, evening arrival in Senhora de Ribeira (overnight stay, themed entertainment)
• (day 5) arrival in Ferradosa - "Wines of Porto" (vineyards route /wine tasting tour), afternoon Douro Valley cruising to Entre Os Rios (overnight stay, Gala Dinner event)
• (day 6) Douro Valley cruise to Porto (afternoon arrival, overnight stay) - guided tour (optional), Fado music entertainment on the ship
• (day 7) Porto (free time) - Aveiro (afternoon bus excursion), overnight stay, themed folklore entertainment on the ship.
• The 6-day "Pleasant Portugal" cruise itinerary visits Porto Antigo (afternoon arrival on day 3, overnight stay)- Solar de Mateus (house & gardens / optional excursion).

MS Vasco de Gama cruise prices are per person and based on double occupancy. These are only indicative CroisiEurope Portugal cruise rates. They might be different when you book your CroisiEurope Douro river cruise deals, influenced by travel agency promotions, special offers, and discounts, group travel booking or last-minute deals rates. Know, that CroisiEurope cruises in Portugal are price-inclusive of all beverages (coffee, tea, juices, soda drinks, also wine and beer at lunches and dinners), but tours and excursions ashore are optional and cost extra. Until we list here all 2016 dates, see in the following table a list of exemplary itineraries with prices per person.

The CroisiEurope cruise company is family owned and based in Strasbourg, France. Established in 1976, this premium line operates all aspects of its cruises: from the vessel building (design and construction) to cuisine and hotel services. CroisiEurope is among Europe's largest cruise line companies.

CroisiEurope river cruise deals are inclusive of soft drinks and alcohol (wine and beer with lunch and dinner (year-round). The line offers deals inclusive of unlimited drinks during Europe's high season (April through October) each year. However, unlike most river cruise lines, CroisiEurope charges its guests additionally for shore excursions.

The Vasco de Gama ship cruises on Douro river in Portugal and Spain (with round-trip itinerary from Porto, Portugal). From the same class are the CroisiEurope ships Cyrano de Bergerac, Gerard Schmitter, L’Europe, Vivaldi. The CroisiEurope line also owns the Douro riverboats Gil Eanes, Infante Don Henrique, and Fernao de Magalhaes.

Other major European river cruise lines' ships in Portugal are the AmaWaterways' AmaVida, the Viking Cruises longships Hemming, Torgil, Osfrid, also Scenic Azure and the Uniworld's Queen Isabel.

Fun fact is, that this river cruise ship has two namesakes - the CMV-owned Vasco da Gama (ex-Pacific Eden) and the CMA-CGM box ship Vasco De Gama. The container vessel is 175,000 GT tons, can carry up to 18,000 containers, and was launched/inaugurated in 2015.

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.