Amazon River on Marina

[grmmybtty]

We cruised from Miami to Rio on Sirena in January 2019 and had a similar assessment of the cruise as rialannah.  This is an area that needs some research before committing to visit. There are a lot of preconceptions and expectations, the greatest being the amount of wildlife one can see in the Amazon on the way to Manaus. The river was very wide during our journey and there were many times that we could not see the shoreline. Once on shore, even in very forested areas, it is difficult to see whatever wildlife there is because they are hiding and wary of humans. One of the only Oceania excursions we took was on our one day visit to Manaus that went to the Opera House, a zoo and a nature preserve, which was the only place we really saw any wildlife. We have been to the Peruvian and Ecuadorian Amazon where there are thousands of birds, crocodiles, fish and large insects, but the rivers are deep in the jungle and narrow.

 

The towns on the Amazon are not going to be like New York or Yellowstone. Many were small villages of river dwellers, remnants of rubber plantatations and Western exploitation. The climate his hot and humid. Paint peels and plaster crumbles in such an environment. We took tours in Santarem and Altar do Chao with a private provider, Gil Serique which gave us a lot of insight into life in the Amazon. We were able to see the dolphins and the birds in the trees. We did the same thing in Boca da Valeria as rialannah, walk through the village, left pencils and notebooks at the school and took a $5 canoe ride down the river from the village. We saw small villages and settlements and shore birds.  Best $5 spent.

 

If one goes on a journey, do the research and have reasonable expectations, you will not be disappointed.

[ORV]

5 hours ago, tvmovielover said:

In case we get to do this cruise late next year, do the kids want Brazilian or US money or what ever we have?

Interesting about the kids, we were on a tour in Dominican Republic and the kids came out at a plantation stop to the truck. Our guide(wonderful young man from Haiti) encouraged us not to give them any money as it only teaches them to be beggars and not work. Of course there were some that went ahead and gave them some. 

[Queen of DaNile]

45 minutes ago, ORV said:

Interesting about the kids, we were on a tour in Dominican Republic and the kids came out at a plantation stop to the truck. Our guide(wonderful young man from Haiti) encouraged us not to give them any money as it only teaches them to be beggars and not work. Of course there were some that went ahead and gave them some. 

Agree. Handing anything to begging children is not helping anything.  Look what it did in places like Egypt - you can't walk anywhere withour being mobbed by kids begging. The best alternative to giving children money is to find a reputable NGO or charity and donate to the organization or make a donation to the local school.

[tvmovielover]

Sometimes, it is a matter of kids being future beggars and sometimes it is a matter of them being sent out to help get money for food for the family.  I never give out money or pencils or gum etc (that tourists often give) if a guide explicitly says not to because they know who the kids and adults are.  When we were in Egypt at the end of 2012, there were many adults and kids following tourists around with hands out-they were not in good shape or begging for fun.  What the guide suggested was to buy the trinkets, toilet paper, etc that they were offering to help them out.   If that cruise goes off in 2021, I will have money on me to buy their little things or hear their song or whatever.  Donations to a local charity or school may never get to all who need it.  When we lived in Venezuela when times were better there, I was once approached by a kid about 6 with his hand out.  He attended the school for poor kids that my group helped run.  He was eating and learning okay but the rest of his family may not have been.  Things are much worse around the world these days for "Have Nots". 

[Wuzzle10]

On 9/9/2020 at 6:32 PM, Hawaiidan said:

Ok, I have not been on the cruise...... but I have 3 couples I know who did...on Oceaina.    Here is what they told me.    1. the river is huge and you sail far away from the shore and can really see nothing..no wild life except at waves bar.    2. The  cruise stops and a bunch of seedy/sketchy third world villages that required armed guards to protect excursions .    3.  The cruise stops long before you get to see any rain-forest.    4  The landscape is blahs flat delta country fir days on end    5.   You have to pay$$$ for a expensive Brazil visa.

Bottom line  they said it was the worst experience when they were expecting much more in scenery and wild life plus it was very hot and humid with bugs galore. ....... The would never go on it again that the cruise lines offer it  just to have another destination...     All in all....it sounded like a good idea at the time.. but failed terribly

That what I was told by 3 couples....    

we did the Amazon from Ecuador and went on Anaconda Cruises, small boat no more than 36 people, but there was only 2 of us on this cruise in March, 7 days down the Amazon , amazing experience, fabulous guide, saw loads and met amazing tribes and way off life, not to be missed, I think to get the most out of a remote place such as this you need small boats, few people to get the real jungle experience as much as you can, boat is advertised as 5 star but not up to Oceania standard but not expected on this sort of trip

 

[GICNJC]

My wife and I were booked for last fall but end up not going.  We are medically comprised and could not on travel doctor's recommendation get the yellow fever shots.

[basor]

21 hours ago, GICNJC said:

My wife and I were booked for last fall but end up not going.  We are medically comprised and could not on travel doctor's recommendation get the yellow fever shots.

We sailed on the SIrena roundtrip out of Miami - our Dr.'s also did not recommend getting the yellow fever shots and gave us a signed note in our vaccination record.  We took this with us but no one ever asked us if we had the shot or to see our DR's note.  It is a recommendation not a requirement of Oceania or any of the countries visited on this itinerary.

[GICNJC]

We too could get the note, but the Travel Doctor was very clear with the increase in cases, he would not travel without the shot unless we wanted to stay inside the ship avoiding insects.

[basor]

1 minute ago, GICNJC said:

We too could get the note, but the Travel Doctor was very clear with the increase in cases, he would not travel without the shot unless we wanted to stay inside the ship avoiding insects.

Understand - we sailed in NOV 2018.......on our particular cruise we saw very few insects of any kind and no mosquitoes.  We made sure we had DEET bug spray on any exposed skin when going ashore and wore long sleeve shirts and pants when we went ashore.  Everyone we spoke with on the cruise also mentioned their surprise at the lack of insects aboard and on shore.  We enjoyed the cruise and our time on the Amazon.

 

[GICNJC]

Our Doctor showed us the 600% increase in cases in the Amazon between 2018 and 2019.  For us that was the tipping point.

Would still love to due the Amazon.  It is number 1 on our wish list.

[daveispar]

We are signed up for the Feb 26 Cruise in 2022, but, now we are not sure.  We've read good and bad reviews above. The bad was kind of 2nd hand knowledge, but, we wanted to be in the rain forest.  Doesn't sound like that's going to happen.  We're going to do a lot of research.  We'll have to research TV shows, one we just noticed is Earth Odyssey with Dylan Dreyer.  Several of her episodes are about theAmazon River and areas around the River.

If anybody has info and pictures to share that would be great !  I hope we can be talked into it !

Thanks in Advance,

Dave & Lee

 

[cruising sister]

Thanks for all the helpful information. Lots to think about. 

[LHT28]

On 9/27/2020 at 3:24 PM, daveispar said:

We are signed up for the Feb 26 Cruise in 2022, but, now we are not sure.  We've read good and bad reviews above. The bad was kind of 2nd hand knowledge, but, we wanted to be in the rain forest.  Doesn't sound like that's going to happen. 

 

 

Sounds like you would be better on a land trip or one of the small companies that do the Amazon River

more of adventure/ecological type cruises

[Hawaiidan]

2 hours ago, LHT28 said:

Sounds like you would be better on a land trip or one of the small companies that do the Amazon River

more of adventure/ecological type cruises

The ships trip never get anywhere near a rain forest... your in "delta" country  open flood plains  for farming

  If it is true nature ..I would find a land trip that starts where the ship ends its journey ...  

[daveispar]

Yes, having researched the Cruise now, I think, the Cruise, is not what we were expecting.   We were looking for a rain forest experience.   This isn't it.  We will be canceling.   Thanks to all for the information and help.

[DrHemlock]

A wise decision, I think.  Our Amazon cruise several years ago was aboard Regent's Navigator which is about 1/3 the size of Marina.  Even that smaller ship couldn't go upriver past Manaus -- a rather large city -- and downriver was mostly agricultural delta country as described by Hawaiidan, plus a stop at a fabricated "native village" referenced earlier in this thread that was like visiting a movie set when the company is filming somewhere else.  Clearly, no one actually lived or worked there.  

 

We did take a "rainforest experience" ship's excursion from Manaus, but it was pretty much "Meh."  Nothing like what you see in rainforest documentaries on PBS.

 

Still, we were glad we went; now it's crossed off our bucket list and our desire to proceed farther upriver into snakes-and-bugs territory is extinguished.

[librarian]

We did the amazon this February on Marin from Miami to Rio. Very warm trip, sat on veranda daily.  All cabins full. We booked some private tours. They shut down buffets as we sailed. Wonderful cruise

[travelberlin]

We did a cruise with Oceania Sirena to the Amazon a couple of years ago. I did a live reporting of that experience. Here is the link to that thread if you are interested:

 

Ivi

[cruiseaholic78]

We also did an Amazon cruise in 2010, on a German ship Aida Vita, we had an amazing time after meeting up with a Germen couple on the roll call. The Amazon is an amazing river starting out so wide and getting narrower and narrower as you near Manaus. There were indeed very few insects and we were told this has to do with the salinity of the water. 

When we were in Belem at the beginning of the Amazon we had a very memorable excursion, after being collected by mini van we were taken through the town, then through a hotel where some boats were moored. It turned out the enormous boat was just for the four of us, a great day with a lunch at a restaurant where the rich from Belem come on their very expensive boats. Talk about the difference between poor and wealthy! The old man in the tree was over eighty.

My husband made some videos of this trip to be found under pietvermeer on youtube.

Here is the link for Belem.

Rosalyn

 

Edited October 16, 2020 by cruiseaholic78

[Rob the Cruiser]

We took the Miami to Buenos Aires 34 day "South America Symphony" cruise aboard Sirena in 2019. The itinerary included sailing on the Amazon for 7 days. We loved every minute of it.

 

 

Edited October 23, 2020 by Rob the Cruiser

[Rob the Cruiser]

On 9/9/2020 at 12:25 PM, Kate-AHF said:

I have not taken this cruise, but I have sailed the Eastern coast of Brazil, and never heard so much whining and complaining from fellow passengers in my life.  I had an idea of what I was in for during the next 11 days it took to sail from Rio to BA  - when the pax started complaining at our first stop: Buzios.  Buzios is one of the most gentrified resort towns in the whole country.  I was thinking to myself... "My God, if you think this is 'primitive and a useless stop.... why did we stop here?' then you are in for big, big disappointments until we get to Montevideo.  And I was right.  Constant, unending bitching about why Oceania chose the ports they did in Brazil.  By the 8th day I couldn't take it anymore, and told whoever was complaining to me that it was not Oceania's fault they didn't do any research on the destination they signed on for.

 

My husband and I really enjoyed the primitive, sleepy little coastal towns we tendered to, and our excursion in Santos.  But we had very managed expectations.

 

Brazil is a country with a lot of poverty, very inward-looking, and does not have a well-developed tourist industry for non-Brazilians.  I too have talked with two other couples that have done the Amazon trip on a cruise ship, and both were very disparaging of the whole experience.  I've also talked with birders that have done expedition-style trips into the interior, and they loved the whole thing.  But we are talking vastly different priorities.

 

I think the OP is wise to do some location checking on threads like this before final payment is due.  Since the ports Oceania will utilize in the Amazon will be similar no matter what the cruise line, it may help to post similar questions on CC member experiences on other cruise boards, and on the destination board for South America on CC.

 

Happy sailing!

 

 

Agreed. We were shocked at the nonstop complaining. So much so that we started avoiding people who walked around with a dark cloud over their head.

[eturetzky]

I am looking forward to the February 26, 2022, sailing on Marina from Rio up the Amazon and back to Miami. I remember for some past cruises that there was a part of this site that helped like minded folks get together for private tours. I am wondering if there is anyone on this cruise coming in earlier to Rio that is looking to do some private touring with my wife and I on Thursday and/or Friday the 24th/25th. We are looking to go to the first night of the Carnival on the 25th. Might also be interested in sharing private tour(s) along the stops of the Amazon. Message me here if you are interested in exploring this option.

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, eturetzky said:

I am looking forward to the February 26, 2022, sailing on Marina from Rio up the Amazon and back to Miami. I remember for some past cruises that there was a part of this site that helped like minded folks get together for private tours. I am wondering if there is anyone on this cruise coming in earlier to Rio that is looking to do some private touring with my wife and I on Thursday and/or Friday the 24th/25th. We are looking to go to the first night of the Carnival on the 25th. Might also be interested in sharing private tour(s) along the stops of the Amazon. Message me here if you are interested in exploring this option.

Head over to the ROLL CALL forums  that is where you will meet people on your sailing  (if it goes ahead)