We made the mistake of going all the way to Pinhoa, when we should have disembarked at Regua, some 43 miles away instead. Had we chosen the closer destination, we would have saved three hours of a pretty exhausting day, coming home at 6 p.m. instead of 9 p.m. And the "wine tour" that we received on the longer trip consisted of less than an hour in a winery, where we stood in the broiling sun listing to a 10-minute presentation about growing grapes, then marched down a dusty trail to the tasting house for one tiny glass of rosé port and the sales pitch. That being said, the cruise itself was great. We enjoyed a fine Continental breakfast and an excellent lunch of roast pork, vegetables and potatoes with a bottle of wine. Service was remarkable for a fully crowded boat. And the cruise itself is very scenic with two locks before reaching Regua, Highly recommended, just don't go all the way to Pinhoa.

A busy day between breakfast (of much better quality than that of the 4 * hotel where we were), the passage of all the dams, the midday meal, and the tasting visit of the port house, we Didn't see the time pass Just one downside: the lack of outdoor seating on the Boat requiring either standing or being inside while the sun was shining

It was a wonderful way to see the country from a different perspective. There are no guarantees that your group will mesh but ours did and we were able to make amazing new friends. One word of caution check your transportation, we had ours confirmed until the night before and then were told we were outside their boundary for pick up and ended up having to taxi. Then we were told that time for reimbursement would be 8-10 days. Just a heads up