Have you done the Amazon?

[SophieM]

We are thinking of booking an Amazon cruise in January of ‘25. If you have done one, I’d love to hear your thoughts. 
 

Thanks much!

[jonthomas]

We were talked out of it. 

Someone who did this cruise said the bugs of all kinds were everywhere, could not get away from them. If you have a bug phobia,  maybe not a good thing. 

[Norseh2o]

Amazon on Insignia November-December, 2019.  In the 25 days, we enjoyed the Caribbean ports, loved the lazy travel on the Amazon, visited pretty Manaus (nice town, but not sure about calling it the "Paris of South America" as we had been told),  we were surprised by the size & beauty of the river.  We saw & smelled smoke from fire(s) in Brazil on some days & the back patio of Terrace was closed in the evenings. We were advised to not use balconies, leave curtains drawn & lights out evenings and night time.

 

On the positive side, no rainy days, enjoyed the spa inside and outside most days, the food was exceptional, the port stops and onboard activities better than expected, the staff, crew and guests were the best in all of our travel.

 

We saw 1 bug on the ship while on the Amazon.  We hope to book the same trip again in 2025 or 2026.

 

 

[ssawjo]

1 hour ago, Norseh2o said:

Amazon on Insignia November-December, 2019.  In the 25 days, we enjoyed the Caribbean ports, loved the lazy travel on the Amazon, visited pretty Manaus (nice town, but not sure about calling it the "Paris of South America" as we had been told),  we were surprised by the size & beauty of the river.  We saw & smelled smoke from fire(s) in Brazil on some days & the back patio of Terrace was closed in the evenings. We were advised to not use balconies, leave curtains drawn & lights out evenings and night time.

 

On the positive side, no rainy days, enjoyed the spa inside and outside most days, the food was exceptional, the port stops and onboard activities better than expected, the staff, crew and guests were the best in all of our travel.

 

We saw 1 bug on the ship while on the Amazon.  We hope to book the same trip again in 2025 or 2026.

 

 

Why were you advised to not use your balcony, leave curtains drawn and the lights out?  Pirates or due to the insects?  Just curious.  I doubt pirates though.

[mauibabes]

Amazon was my DW’s favorite cruise. April 2013 I think it was. Loved the stops along the way. Manaus was fun, did private tours set up by an Aussie guest for about 30 of us.  Up and down the tributaries, into side channels and saw the gigantic lily pads, A HIGHLIGHT. walked the bridges in the tree tops above the expanded river. Awesome. 
Yes there are bugs so keep lights off at night and as said, keep drapes drawn at night. No big deal really. Had no issues with getting shots, malaria and all that.  In fact I forgot my meds at home and a Dr. Friend on board said not to worry, we did not head into the rain Forrest on long hikes. Friends who were there in January on Marina said there were some docking issues in Manaus. 
Our recent trip to South America and Antarctica on Marina took over her #1 but is a solid #2. 
Go and Enjoy and make your own decisions 
Mauibabes

[davencl]

5 minutes ago, mauibabes said:

Amazon was my DW’s favorite cruise. April 2013 I think it was.

Thank you for the direct experience info.  We're scheduled for the Marina Jan. 2024 and really looking forward to it.

[Jancruz]

We took it several years ago and it was our best trip..loved everywhere as it was an adventure..

Jancruz1

[ChadnKate]

Did the Amazon on a 31 day Marina cruise this last December. Was on my bucket list. There is truly nothing like it anywhere. But other than a sort of lazy journey on a nice ship with great food there's not that much to do - other than to win lots of Big O points. Remember it is on the equator so it is always hot. It is the jugular of the world's largest rainforest so it is always humid. Other than Manaus there's not much truly built up to see. If you are hardy you can take some hikes into the forest or small boat on a tributary but you can do that in other places. Also the view is unrelenting of a wide flowing river with unbroken green trees in the distance. But it was on my bucket list, and that's now checked off. The coastal towns of the SE Brazilian coast were interesting. And it was a great Oceania cruise and you can work really hard afterward to lose some of the happy pounds they leave you with!

[Cruisedreamer1]

We did the cruise years ago and enjoyed the 23 day experience however it is "Amazon light". We didn't have any trouble with insects but it depends on the time of the year. Do try to take a tour that takes you further down the river. Be very careful while off the ship, we were warned numerous times about not wearing or taking anything of value off the ship. Some did not take heed and had their camera and jewelry ripped from them.

 

The opera house in Manaus is beautiful but beyond that there is nothing special about the city.

[Norseh2o]

1 hour ago, ssawjo said:

Why were you advised to not use your balcony, leave curtains drawn and the lights out?  Pirates or due to the insects?  Just curious.  I doubt pirates though.

No lights, drawn curtains and no balcony use in the evenings due to insects. No pirates! 🏴‍☠️

[Woodrowst]

An alternative to a traditional cruise ship in the Amazon is to take a small boat expedition cruise.  I did one through Road Scholar from Manaus. The boat only had 16 cabins and the focus was on experiencing Amazonia. The guides were locals who knew the nooks and crannies of the Amazon and Rio Negro.   Rather than the (potentially boring) drive by done by cruise ships, we would take two to three trips a day in motorized canoes to see, hear, smell, and taste what the Amazon has to offer.  We went piranha fishing and the crew used our catch to make soup for lunch.  We played with the local pink dolphins.  We took hikes in the forest. We visited indigenous villages. We trawled the shoreline for birds, snakes, cayman and other wildlife.  We watched the cook buy fish that had just been caught by locals fishing within sight of us.  Much more of an in-depth and authentic experience than can be provided by Oceania and other traditional cruise lines.  

[pinotlover]

Consider Uniworld on the upper Amazon then do Manchu Picchuwith them.

[goletans]

1 hour ago, pinotlover said:

Consider Uniworld on the upper Amazon then do Manchu Picchuwith them.

Did you do take advantage of this option or are you planning to?

[SophieM]

Many thanks for all the replies so far! They are very helpful. 

[vaitape]

Nov 2022: No bugs, sat on our veranda, ate most meals at Terrace outside, looked at lovely large moths attached to outside walls at Terrace no mozzies no lights off.

We did fine.

 

[piper28]

I did the Amazon back a number of years on Princess, so obviously somewhat different experience.  One way Manaus to FLL.  We did it during christmas break time period, where the river is really at it's lowest point - so low in fact that a number of tours that involved taking boats into the jungle areas were canceled because of lack of water.  I found it to be an interesting cruise, although the ports on the river itself weren't necessarily the most exciting stops.

For me, one of the more interesting things was just the massive size of the river.  You've always heard that the Amazon is huge, but seeing it in person just really emphasizes just how big it is.  And as I said, we were there during the low period - the area we docked in Manaus was about 30 feet lower than it can reach, and that's on section of river that's something like 2-3 miles wide.  The amount of water it takes to raise a river like that 30 feet is just hard to comprehend.  Once reaching the ocean, it took about a days worth of sailing before the ocean water turned back to it's normal color, the amount of silt and sediment that was being washed down the river discolored the ocean that far out.

I didn't find bugs to really be a problem, although we had the usual precautions about lights at night and drawing the curtains.  But during the day, not really.  Heck, we have more problems with mosquitos at home than we ran into down there.  Did have to take a lot of shots to prepare for the cruise.

I will say, probably one of the top excursions we've ever done was out of Manaus.  It was arranged by one of the other passengers through a local company, and ended up with about 10 of us, where we took a speedboat up the river some, we swam with the pink dolphins, spent a little bit of time on a beach, had lunch with a local at their house with a representative spread of food that they would normally eat.  And at the end visited a reservation for one of the local native tribes where they did this welcoming ceremony thing.  Absolute highlight of the cruise, and to this day remains one of the most favorite excursions I've ever done.

[aussietwo]

On 4/19/2023 at 2:04 AM, mauibabes said:

Amazon was my DW’s favorite cruise. April 2013 I think it was. Loved the stops along the way. Manaus was fun, did private tours set up by an Aussie guest for about 30 of us.  Up and down the tributaries, into side channels and saw the gigantic lily pads, A HIGHLIGHT. walked the bridges in the tree tops above the expanded river. Awesome. 
Yes there are bugs so keep lights off at night and as said, keep drapes drawn at night. No big deal really. Had no issues with getting shots, malaria and all that.  In fact I forgot my meds at home and a Dr. Friend on board said not to worry, we did not head into the rain Forrest on long hikes. Friends who were there in January on Marina said there were some docking issues in Manaus. 
Our recent trip to South America and Antarctica on Marina took over her #1 but is a solid #2. 
Go and Enjoy and make your own decisions 
Mauibabes

WOW!!  I am that Aussie guest who organised those tours.  I often read your posts Mauibabes and hadn’t connected the name. Made many friends on that cruise and enjoyed several cruises with them and continue to do so.  Cheers Ros🙂

[mauibabes]

Ros, 

Then all I can say is THANK YOU it was wonderful. 
Mauibabes

[JamieNancy]

On 4/19/2023 at 8:30 AM, SophieM said:

Many thanks for all the replies so far! They are very helpful. 

Jane-Jamie/Nancy, again! We on a November 28, 2023 Amazon cruise on the Sirena!  😉