Douro River Cruise 2025
Leaving in August for river cruise, Portugal to Spain. Having dinner one evening at the Queluz National Palace. Anyone know the dress code for men. Is a sport jacket preferred? Surely no tie or my husband will kill me!
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Leaving in August for river cruise, Portugal to Spain. Having dinner one evening at the Queluz National Palace. Anyone know the dress code for men. Is a sport jacket preferred? Surely no tie or my husband will kill me!
Comments
The packing list for this cruise states sport coat/tie are optional. (you can find this on Tauck's webpage and it will be listed in your final travel documents) Frankly it's likely to be so hot in Aug you'll see very few men in sport coats and those that do may well remove them part way thru the meal.
A nice collared dress shirt and slacks will be fine for that night. My husband never takes a sport coat unless the packing list doesn't list them as optional. On less dressy nights he wears collared knit shirts and slacks. Jeans again would be really hot for August in Portugal.
We did this tour a couple of years ago. Going in August, a sport jacket with open collar will put your husband in the majority of the men. More or less than that (tie, suit, no jacket, smart casual) and he will be in the minority but acceptable. From my perspective, it is a matter of what you are comfortable with.
I would not consider going to Portugal in August, it’s too hot. The thought of being a man and having togwear a sport coat at that time, crikey.
I went on this tour in September, still very hot, only saw a couple of men with sport coats, most men had nice collared dress shirts and slacks like Claudia mentioned.
The packing lists on the Tauck website can sometimes be confusing/conflicting/...
Suggest you either call Tauck or just do what feels right for you.
For my upcoming Danube river cruise the following are extracted from the Tauck website What to Pack section. One section states a coat and tie is optional where as the other section states they are suggested. If not conflicting, at least a bit confusing.
We went on this tour last summer. It was HOT!!! My husband always brings a sports coat and will wear it without a tie. The cocktail hour at Queluz Palace is outside in the garden. Some men had jackets but most did not. The dining room is not air-conditioned, so you would likely take a jacket off.
While you may think that the temperatures on the boat will be comfortable with cool breezes, this is not the case as you approach Spain. You are going higher and higher into drier climes. During the morning the temperatures on the boat were wonderful in the 70's, later in the day they were in the 90's. By the time we got to Madrid, it was over 100. The Royal Palace is not air-conditioned. Even with a tank top, perspiration ran down your back.
Keep checking your weather app. This year may be different but not too likely.
We did this trip last August and my husband did not bring a jacket as we knew it would be quite hot. Ended up that it didn’t matter what we packed as our luggage vacationed in Heathrow while we were in Spain and Portugal. Managed to buy a few things in Madrid and in a few small towns along the Douro to get by. In spite of the luggage mishap, this was a great trip