Tauck has announced that it will offer its first-ever cruises on the Douro River in Portugal next year and that its three new itineraries will sail aboard a riverboat that?s being designed and built specifically for the Douro.
With the new ship, the ms Andorinha, the tour operator chooses to offer more suites and more spacious public areas while keeping the number of guests onboard smaller. With a capacity of 84 guests, the ship will be carrying fewer guests than most other vessels operated by major line on the Douro.
Dan Mahar, CEO of the tour operator, said: "At Tauck, we measure success by the quality of the experience we provide our guests, and one of the best ways to ensure a warm, relaxing and engaging atmosphere on board is to avoid crowding too many guests into a limited space.?
Riverboats sailing the Douro average 260 feet in length, noted Mahar, and accommodate as many as 130 passengers. ?That?s 55% more guests in the same space, and you just can?t deliver the same level experience or ambiance with those kinds of numbers.?
He continued: ?The Douro is a very different river, and so we?ve been consciously deliberate with the ship?s design,? said Mahar. ?We won?t be the first company to operate on the Douro when we launch next year, but in terms of infrastructure, we?re excited to have some surprises in store that will truly differentiate us.?
The operator is teaming with its longtime partner Scylla AG on the design and construction of the new ship. The ship?s hull will be fabricated at Vahali Shipyard in Serbia, while final outfitting will be done in Hardinxveld, the Netherlands prior to its launch in the spring of 2020.
The new ship will have a crew of 36, and it will measure 263 feet in length with a beam of 38 feet. Guests will be accommodated in 42 cabins, including 12 300-square-foot suites on the upper Diamond Deck, and 20 225-square-foot staterooms primarily on the vessel?s Ruby or mid-level deck.
The remaining accommodations ? six 200-square-foot cabins and four 150-square-foot cabins ? will be on the lower or Emerald Deck.
Three new Douro River itineraries aboard the ms Andorinha will be offered: a 12-day journey that bookends a seven-night Douro cruise with two-night hotel stays in Lisbon and Madrid, an eight-day ?cruise-only? itinerary along the river, and an eight-day Tauck Bridges cruise designed specifically for families with four departures slated for late June/early July 2020. Itinerary details and pricing will be announced later this year.
Visit www.tauck.co.uk to find out more
