Lisbon cruise port, Portugal
On All Saints' Day 1755 an earthquake, then a tsunami up the Tagus, then three days of fire destroyed most of the city and shook Europe's confidence in a benign universe. Belem survived: Vasco da Gama sailed from there for India in 1497, and the tower and monastery are still standing. The ship comes in under the long red suspension bridge, which is worth being up for.
Worth knowing. The quake struck on a holy morning with the churches full of lit candles. That is why the fire did as much damage as the shaking, and why the survivors were mostly out in the open.
What to do in Lisbon for free
The terminal gate opens onto the bottom of Alfama and the hill starts at once. Ten minutes up it are the Portas do Sol and Santa Luzia terraces, which are public and free, and the whole tiled roofscape falls away underneath them. Praca do Comercio is ten flat minutes the other way along the water.
What costs money
The ship's own excursions usually cost more than booking the same trip yourself. Two things come with the price. The ship waits for its own excursions and does not wait for you. And if the port is missed, P&O refunds its own without you asking. A trip you booked yourself is a claim on your travel insurance, so check what your policy covers. The ship sells its own trips to all of these, and the desk is open on board if you would rather do it that way.
Tram 28. The old wooden tram that grinds up through Alfama to the castle. It is packed from mid-morning until teatime, so it is an early thing or a late one and never a lunchtime one.
Belem. Seven kilometres west, and tram 15 from Praca do Comercio takes twenty minutes or so. The day here is long enough that this need not be a rush.
Alfama after dark. The ship stays late here, which is rare, so the evening belongs to you. The fado houses in the lanes under the castle open when the day visitors have gone.
Which ship calls at Lisbon, and when
Every call here between 15 August and 28 November 2026, with the hours ashore P&O published. These times are a guide, not a promise: the captain gives the real ones the day before.
| Ship | Sails | Day | Ashore |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iona | 3 October 2026, 14 nights | Day 10 | 09:00 to 23:59 |
| Iona | 21 November 2026, 14 nights | Day 10 | 09:00 to 23:59 |
| Iona | 5 December 2026, 14 nights | Day 11 | 09:00 to 00:00 |
| Iona | 5 December 2026, 14 nights | Day 12 | 00:00 to 17:00 |
| Iona | 19 December 2026, 16 nights | Day 13 | 09:00 to 23:59 |
| Iona | 27 February 2027, 14 nights | Day 11 | 09:00 to 00:00 |
| Iona | 27 February 2027, 14 nights | Day 12 | 00:00 to 17:00 |
| Iona | 13 March 2027, 14 nights | Day 10 | 09:00 to 23:59 |
| Iona | 2 October 2027, 14 nights | Day 12 | 08:00 to 17:00 |
| Iona | 30 September 2028, 14 nights | Day 12 | 09:00 to 18:00 |
How long you get ashore in Lisbon
The published times give you between about 9 and 17 hours alongside, depending on the sailing. Take off the time it takes a few thousand people to get off, and the time you need to be back on board before the ship leaves, and that is your day. P&O give the real hours the day before, and the all-aboard time is earlier than the departure time.
The other stops on these cruises
Every one of these is on at least one of the sailings that calls at Lisbon.
- Arrecife de LanzaroteBetween 1730 and 1736 the ground opened and buried a quarter of the island under lava; the Timanfaya field is still hot enough a metre down to cook on.
- Cadiz (tours to Seville)Probably the oldest continuously lived-in city in western Europe: the Phoenicians founded Gadir here around 1100 BC.
- FuerteventuraThe oldest of the Canaries and the flattest, a hundred kilometres off Africa and made mostly of wind, sand and goats.
- Gran CanariaColumbus put in at Las Palmas in 1492 to mend a rudder on his way west, and the house he is said to have stayed in is now a museum about him.
- La CorunaThe Spanish Armada sailed from this harbour in 1588, and it is still guarded by the Tower of Hercules, a Roman lighthouse from about the year 100 which has never stopped working: the oldest one on earth still doing its job.
- MadeiraPortuguese sailors found it uninhabited in 1419 and set the forest alight to clear it; the fire is said to have burned for years, and the island is named for the wood.
- TenerifeMount Teide stands 3,715 metres over the island, the highest point in Spain and, measured from its base on the sea floor, the third largest volcano on earth.
- VigoEurope's biggest fishing port by weight landed, and it smells honestly of it near the market.
Money and language in Portugal
Euro (EUR, €). Cards are widely taken. Madeira is Portugal and uses the euro as well. Onboard is always charged in sterling, so this only matters ashore.
English is widely spoken in Lisbon and in Funchal.
| English | Portuguese | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| Hello | Olá | oh-LAH |
| Goodbye | Adeus | ah-DEH-oosh |
| How much? | Quanto custa? | KWAN-too KOOSH-ta |
| Thank you | Obrigado | ob-ree-GAH-doo, and obrigada if you are a woman saying it |
| Please | Por favor | poor fa-VOR |
Free, and it works with no internet. Give it the dates you sail and it works out your own stops and saves the street map for each one. It shows you round the ship too.
All the ports written up so far, the things to do before you sail, or the ship pages for Iona and Arvia.