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Itineraries of the S.S São Raphael

Price and Availability Notice
Prices displayed are provided for informational purposes only. They reflect the rates in effect at the time of their most recent update and are shown in Canadian dollars, per person, based on double occupancy, unless otherwise specified.

Supplier rates, exchange rates, taxes and fees, room or cabin categories, and promotions are subject to change at any time. The applicable price is the one confirmed by a travel advisor at the time of booking, subject to availability. Only the confirmed price shall be considered valid.

It is the traveler's responsibility to confirm the price, inclusions, and applicable terms and conditions before making a reservation. While every effort is made to keep our content up to date, transmission, display, or pricing errors may occur. In such cases, the correct price will be communicated to the traveler before any booking is confirmed. Certain terms, restrictions, and exclusions may apply.

    Technical specifications

    • Passengers:  94
    • Length:  80 m
    • Width:  11 m

    The ship exists, the dates are missing here

    Uniworld announces S.S. Sao Rafael for 2027 on the Douro. Our inventory showed zero departure dates on 26 August 2026. Both statements are true at once: the ship is indeed announced, and the departures are not yet loaded in our system.

    We say so rather than leave a silent page. If the Douro in 2027 interests you, an advisor can check availability directly with the line and have it opened. The gap is on our side, not theirs.

    The announced hull

    Eighty metres, 94 guests, 37 crew, 47 accommodations. The ship is the sister of Sao Gabriel, in service since 2021 on the same river. Both hulls share length, beam and crew number.

    The differences are fine and real: four guests and two accommodations fewer than its elder, fewer Deluxe cabins but larger ones, and slightly roomier Classic cabins. A traveller hesitating between the two should look at the specific category rather than the ship.

    The Douro and the name

    The name comes from the Sao Rafael, the ship commanded by Paulo da Gama, Vasco's brother, on the 1497 expedition to the Indies. Sao Gabriel was the flagship of that same flotilla. The two ships will therefore carry on the Douro the names of two hulls that left Portugal more than five hundred years ago.

    To sail the Douro right now, S.S. Sao Gabriel is the one to look at. S.S. La Venezia holds the Venetian lagoon, S.S. Bon Voyage the Bordeaux vineyards, and S.S. Marlene arrives on the Danube the same year.

    What is included, and what is not

    Start with the part that surprises people: shipboard gratuities are already covered. You do not end the cruise with a list of envelopes to prepare. Meals follow, with a selection of wines, beers and spirits available through the day. Scheduled excursions and the transfers in your file are included.

    Wi-Fi is provided aboard as a courtesy. Uniworld guarantees neither availability nor speed, and losing the signal in a lock is normal rather than exceptional.

    You pay separately for airfare, visas, travel insurance, laundry, spa, communications and optional excursions.

    Moving around aboard and ashore

    The line promises reasonable efforts without guaranteeing accessibility. No mobility equipment is provided aboard. A traveller who needs assistance must sail with someone who can genuinely provide it, not merely in principle. Ashore, historic centres are cobbled and not every quay is fitted out. Have the exact configuration of your chosen ship confirmed.

    Leaving from Quebec

    The time difference works against you outbound and for you on the way home. An evening departure from Montreal lands you in Europe in the morning, with a full day ahead and a broken night behind. Advisors who know these itineraries book a hotel night before embarkation almost every time.

    Voyages AquaTerra is licensed by Quebec's Office de la protection du consommateur. Your payments pass through the trust account Quebec law requires, and the Compensation Fund for Customers of Travel Agents applies to your file. Ask for the paperwork. You are entitled to it.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Not through our inventory for the moment. The ship is announced for 2027 on the Douro, but no departure dates were loaded with us on 26 August 2026. An advisor can check directly with the line.
    Nothing suggests so. No source reports a slip against the announced schedule. The absence of dates with us is an inventory gap rather than a sign of yard delay.
    In 2027, according to Uniworld. It has never sailed: this is neither a withdrawn ship nor a transferred one, it is an announced newbuild.
    Ninety-four guests and 37 crew, in 47 accommodations. The announced hull measures eighty metres, like its sister's, because the Portuguese locks allow nothing longer.
    S.S. Sao Gabriel, in service since 2021 on the same river. Both hulls share length, beam and crew number, and from 2027 the two will work the Douro together.
    The differences are fine. Four guests and two accommodations fewer, fewer Deluxe cabins but larger ones, and slightly roomier Classic cabins. Compare the specific category rather than the ship.
    From the Sao Rafael, commanded by Paulo da Gama, Vasco's brother, on the 1497 expedition to the Indies. Sao Gabriel was the flagship of that same flotilla.
    Sao Rafael, with an f. The spelling Sao Raphael still circulates, including on some of our own pages, and will be corrected. The official name published by the line is Sao Rafael.
    Because the Portuguese locks impose a limit well below the Rhine's. A 135-metre hull does not fit, which explains the eighty metres and the capacity of around a hundred.
    Speak to an advisor. They can check the new ship's availability with the line, or place you on its sister, which already sails and carries a wide calendar.
    Yes, on suite categories, as on its sister and the line's other European ships. Lower categories do not include it, and the service does not exist on the line's ships outside Europe.
    Its sister has a heated outdoor pool on the upper deck. For this ship the final fit-out will be confirmed nearer delivery, so we assert nothing yet.
    April to June for the green terraces, September and October for the harvest, still done by hand at several quintas. July and August are hot in the deep-cut valley.
    Yes. We measure the inventory regularly, and the day the departures are loaded, the page will change. Your advisor can alert you as soon as dates open.
    For the trust account and the Compensation Fund for Customers of Travel Agents, neither of which applies to a booking made outside Quebec. Add someone who answers the phone when an itinerary changes mid-trip.
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