I’ve never been one for organised tours. I’ve backpacked around the world with no plans beyond a departure and arrival date. I like to follow the wind and get to know a destination. A bus with a microphone? Group dining rooms? I’ll pass, thanks.

At this moment, however, standing alone on the sundeck of Viking’s 106-passenger The Hemming with a cocktail in hand, watching the vineyard-dotted hills along Portugal’s Douro River glide past ... I see the error of my ways. The cocktail is a Grasshopper. I discovered it on the Viking’s cocktail night and am impressed by the frothy minty concoction. (I was a kid in the 1970s, so there’s catching up to do.)