I am on my first river cruise. As I write this, our ship, Queen Isabel, has just crossed the deepest lock in Europe, the Carrapatelo Dam, at 35 metres. It’s quite an amazing experience, watching your boat rise to meet the other side of the river, and you marvel at the engineering feats that have made these crossings possible.
Our captain, who’s been sailing on the Duoro River for more than 20 years, tells me the ships that sail this main waterway of Portugal are custom-made to cross the locks. On this journey from Porto where we will eventually end up in Madrid, we will cross five locks.
Waiting our turn to cross the Carrapatelo lock. It’s a 35m lift and a fascinating operation to watch.
Beyond learning about the engineering feats, I’ve been amazed at this new world I’ve discovered, that of river cruising and a market segment I’ve written about but never lived it first-hand and now that I am myself nearing my silver years, will soon be a part of.
There are close to 100 passengers onboard this seven-day sailing. They are mainly retirees, mostly couples and groups of friends, ranging from 60s to 80s from the US and UK, with some from Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
I think, at first sighting of my god-daughter and I during the cruise briefing, they probably thought we’d join the wrong holiday. Not only were we the only customers from Asia – our waiter tells us that we’re the first Malaysians he’s ever served – my god-daughter, Kim, in her early 20s, is definitely not in their demographic and dare I say, myself included.
Getting to know each other during the cruise briefing.
So you may wonder why I chose to go on this Uniworld river cruise. One, I wanted to slow down, two, I wanted to experience Portugal, three, I wanted a holiday where I didn’t have to think and make decisions, four, I wanted to not have to pack and unpack, and five, I wanted quality time with Kim.
So far, it’s ticked all the boxes and lived up to expectations. The scenery is amazing – vine terraces, green hills, picturesque river scapes – the service onboard hospitable and you can see the crew making an extra effort to look after their two “outlier” customers. (I just wished they’d stop playing Kenny G elevator music.)
The wine terraces of Duoro Valley, the most important wine region of Portugal.
What I didn’t count on was the insight I would get into a customer segment that’s largely been forgotten due to all the current hype about Millennials, Gen Z and what-not.
The people I am travelling with are folks who’ve worked hard all their lives, raised their families, paid their dues and now have the time, means and desire to experience places at their pace.
There’s Bobbie and David who are retired in Florida. David was a CBS journalist and a university lecturer in media programmes, and then retired. He said he needed a holiday to recover from post-Trump depression. Bobbie clearly calls the shots in this relationship, David says it’s easier this way. They’ve been together more than 60 years, meeting as teenagers in New York.
There’s Rob and Nancy who live in Las Vegas. Rob’s a recently-retired radiologist and the couple, with two daughters who have flown the best, are enjoying their newly-found time off, taking frequent holidays at home as well as in Europe.
There’s Brian, a former diplomat from New Zealand, who enjoyed telling me stories of how he’s a friend of the late President of Singapore, SR Nathan, and how he once was involved in arranging a trip made to his home country by the late Lee Kuan Yew.
Said Brian, while we were walking through the streets of Amranthe on our city excursion, “I was told that he’d only have 30 minutes to spend with the group I put together but at the end, he said to me, I am enjoying myself here, why rush it?”
The colours of Porto. Portugal’s second largest city has a relaxed, laidback vibe that beckons you to walk its streets and enjoy its cafes and bars.
Most of them are veteran cruisers and they compare notes about which cruises to they’ve done and which companies are better. They are their own TripAdvisor.
Some booked direct with Uniworld, one went through a travel agent he wasn’t impressed with but now that he knows, he says he will book direct. “You really need to find out from people who’ve been there and done it, you can’t find out from sites like Booking.com or Expedia,” Martin, a retired car dealer from Suffolk, told me.
Cruising is a huge segment that’s yet to go fully online, and it’s certainly a growing trend in Asia. I can see it’s a lucrative segment too – having paid for the cruise upfront, they think little of spending on shopping during shore excursions.
The upper deck of Queen Isabel with panoramic view of Porto
In every stop we make, the women return with little bags of gifts. “For my grand-daughter,” says one as she pulls out a little dress from a shop in Obidos, a medieval town we stopped at on the way to Porto.
They also seem to be very appreciative customers. They listen attentively during briefings – they definitely have longer attention spans than people I am used to, they are punctual, they are interested and curious travellers, they pay attention to the tour guides’ commentary and they enjoy experiences.
I may be having an idealised version of them as customers – I am sure there are those who complain – but overall the mood onboard is of warm camaderie forged between strangers who’ve chosen to spend time together on this journey.
And I now see for myself that there’s indeed gold to be mined in this silver market. They have the money and time, and the temperament and attitude, to be better travellers who benefit not only our industry but also local communities.
Kim, the outlier, with fellow cruisers on a shore excursion to Obidos.
I know they are curious about Kim and I. We’ve made up our story. They clearly feel sorry for us. Last night, Bobbie came up to me and took my hand and said, “You’re sitting with us tonight.”
One night, as we watched couples dancing to music by Miguel, who sings everything from Portuguese love songs to Elvis and Beatles, I remarked to Kim that there’s probably 400 years’ worth of marriage and companionship on that dance floor.
She responded, “It gives me hope.”
It certainly gives me hope that as I age, as we all will, that there are better travel experiences out there waiting for me.
Said Bobbie, “As long as I can travel, I will.”
