Eighty metres on the Douro
The ms Andorinha was built for a river that does not take large hulls.
Eighty metres, four decks of which three carry cabins, 42 cabins and 84
travellers. Hull assembled at the Vahali yard in Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia,
completed in the Netherlands, launched in the spring of 2020. The first
commercial season slipped to 2021 for the reason everyone remembers.
She sails between Porto and the Spanish border, on a river among the most
spectacular in Europe and among the most locked: several deep locks, one of
them the tallest on the continent.
Two things we are correcting
Our page states a Swiss flag. Vessel-tracking data place the hull under the
Portuguese flag, registered in Madeira. The Swiss mention most likely comes
from the rest of the fleet, which sails the Rhine under that flag. We no longer
publish a Swiss flag on this page.
Crew numbers range from thirty-six to forty-three depending on the source,
with none reconciling the gap. We therefore publish no crew figure.
A lift exists on board, but the decks it serves are published nowhere. On an
eighty-metre hull with three cabin decks, the question is not theoretical. The
upper categories have a French balcony; the window type of the lower deck
cabins is not specified by the operator.
Our inventory counts seventy-eight departures, twenty-two in 2026 and
fifty-six in 2027. It is the fullest calendar of the fleet.
The other ships in the fleet
The ms Saudade joins her on the Douro in 2027 and will double the operator's
capacity on that river. The ms Lumière holds the Rhone. The ms Serene holds the Seine. The ms Reverie
enters service in 2027 on that same Seine.
The ship does not belong to the operator
The hull is the property of Scylla AG, the Swiss shipowner in Basel, which
builds her, crews her and charters her exclusively to Tauck. The operator
sells the journey, trains the onboard staff and signs the experience; it does
not hold the ship.
The consequence showed in 2026: the shipowner took one hull of this fleet
back for its own brand. She has sailed under another name since. That is the
normal risk of an entirely chartered fleet, and it is better known before
booking two years ahead.
The fare includes a great deal, except the plane
No excursion is sold aboard. They are all in the fare, which changes life
on board: nobody spends the evening comparing options. Gratuities to the
crew, the guides and the cruise director are included too, as are transfers
and luggage.
Standard alcoholic drinks are included on board the ship, all day. That
inclusion applies on the ship; ashore it does not automatically follow.
The international flight remains your cost. It is the main missing line,
and the one your advisor builds with you.
What the operator says about accessibility
It cannot accommodate wheelchairs on its European river cruises. The
wording is its own and leaves no room: narrow hallways, unavoidable stairs,
difficult ground ashore. Mobility scooters are refused on all its trips
without exception.
Anyone needing help to walk, to eat or with personal needs must be
accompanied by an able companion. A medical certificate may be required.
On the number of adapted cabins, nothing. Neither the operator nor the
shipowner publishes a figure, for any hull. An honest page says so rather than
filling the gap.
The legal frame, before signing
Any dispute: Connecticut law, Connecticut courts. No imposed arbitration,
but a written waiver of class action and of punitive damages. The operator
publishes a California seller of travel registration and nothing else; no
Quebec licence is established.
It is the agency that brings the Quebec protection. A licence from the
Office de la protection du consommateur, a separate trust account, the
Compensation Fund for Customers of Travel Agents: those three follow a booking
made here, and only that one.
