Amazon river cruising?

[gottagocit]

Princess used to have a small ship cruise on the Amazon but no longer does. I’ve read Viking does now. Any other ocean style ships with itineraries out there that include the Amazon? We’ve done a Nile cruise with the smaller river boats but would prefer one with a bit more space and size. 
 

[Host Jazzbeau]

You have posted in the River Cruising Forum, which makes a certain sense, but I don't know of any 'river cruises' on the Amazon River – only Ocean Cruises.  If you go to the main Boards page and search on 'Amazon' you will see a number of threads for different Ocean Cruise sailings, which will help you see which cruise lines feature this itinerary regularly. 

 

But starting in November 2024, AmaWaterways will be doing true River Cruises on the Magdalena River in Colombia:

https://www.amawaterways.com/colombia

 

[terry&mike]

We disembarked the Azamara Quest in mid-December on a sailing that included the Amazon, it was an Amazon and Brazil intensive itinerary. The sailing started in Barbados, sailed the Amazon with stops, then down the coast of Brazil with stops, then a day in Montevideo, Uruguay, and ended in Buenos Aires. 22 nights. 

[jpalbny]

I have not done either, but have looked at this a few times for future planning. There are two very different types of Amazon "river" cruise.

 

You can cruise from the mouth of the river, up as far as Manaus, on a standard ocean-going vessel. From the reviews I've read the river is wide and the experience is more like that of an ocean cruise. As an example, this Silversea cruise goes upriver for a few days to Manaus and then continues onward. It looks like you spend a full week on the river.

 

https://www.silversea.com/destinations/south-america-cruise/rio-de-janeiro-to-fort-lauderdale-florida-sn240214c30.html

 

Vastly different cruises are available on the upper tributaries of the Amazon, on smaller river boats, which focus on wildlife and are more akin to adventure/expedition cruises. These are the ones that I am more interested in. You can spend a week on one of the tributaries of the Amazon River (so technically it's the Maranon and Ucayali Rivers), in the Peruvian rain forest. Some day we will do this but so far the dates have not worked out. Example itinerary:

 

https://www.uniworld.com/us/river-cruise/south-america/peru/peruvian-rivers-and-rainforest-discovery/2024-lima-to-lima

 

From your question I assume you're most interested in the first option? Silversea does this a fair amount, and I'm sure there are others. Enjoy whichever you choose!

[steamboats]

Actually there are small cruise lines offering river cruises on the Amazon river. Here´s an example

 

Amazon River Cruises | Luxury Cruise Travel & Wildlife Tour (aquaexpeditions.com)

 

steamboats

[sharkster77]

I recall a few years ago, there was an incident on an Amazon cruise in Peru where the passengers were robbed in the middle of the night......maybe it was on the now-bankrupt Vantage cruise lines??

 

I believe this was a cruise that went further up the Amazon than other cruise lines.

 

Anyone else have the same memory???

[jpalbny]

4 hours ago, sharkster77 said:

I recall a few years ago, there was an incident on an Amazon cruise in Peru where the passengers were robbed in the middle of the night......maybe it was on the now-bankrupt Vantage cruise lines??

 

I believe this was a cruise that went further up the Amazon than other cruise lines.

 

Anyone else have the same memory???

 

Yes. It was one of the Delfin ships in 2016. I think that's not the first incident though. It was in the Peruvian tributaries by Iquitos.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Here is another option, which looks more like a river ship.  4- and 5-day itineraries from Manaus sailing different tributaries of the Amazon.

 

 

[Bill Y]

14 hours ago, gottagocit said:

Princess used to have a small ship cruise on the Amazon but no longer does. I’ve read Viking does now. Any other ocean style ships with itineraries out there that include the Amazon? We’ve done a Nile cruise with the smaller river boats but would prefer one with a bit more space and size. 
 

It depends on what part of the Amazon that you wish to see, above or below Manaus? As already said Ocean cruise ships can sail there, including Cunard’s Queen Victoria. Smaller shallow draft expedition type ships can sail up to Iquitos in Peru. The local long distance ships are somewhat basic, your room is your hammock that you sling from hooks on the deck above, and shared facilities on the back of the ship. You certainly see interesting ships on the Amazon.

[gottagocit]

Thanks for the great feedback here. We’d prefer the larger ocean style ship I think but would consider a comfortable smaller one I suppose if required to. Will look at all of the options mentioned so far and keep looking for others that might be out there. 

[caradara]

We did the Iberostar cruise about 10 years ago.  We were the only Americans onboard but the expedition leader spoke English.  We combined the 4 and 5 night itineraries and enjoyed it very much.  It was not fancy at all but it was clean and an expedition.  I don't know how it is now.

[franski]

We did a tour of Peru with Avalon, that included 4 days on the Amazon.  The river portion was with Delfin cruises - and it was amazing.  Lots of time off the boat on smaller boats, lots of wild life to see...  We went in March - so at the end of the wet season - and had great weather.  I actually swam in the Amazon... and a pink dolphin breached right in front of me!! A moment that I will remember forever.  We found the rooms nicely appointed... 

 

Lots of flying on that trip - as we flew from Lima to Cusco (then took the train to Agua Calientes to see Machu Picchu) then back to Lima and up to Iquitos (for the Amazon).  We went in a few days early and flew from Lima to Arequipa - and then back to start our tour.  We ended up at the airport in Lima 6 different times!!

 

Fran

[steamboats]

On 1/2/2024 at 2:54 AM, gottagocit said:

Thanks for the great feedback here. We’d prefer the larger ocean style ship I think but would consider a comfortable smaller one I suppose if required to. Will look at all of the options mentioned so far and keep looking for others that might be out there. 

 

Keep in mind that at least this year the Amazon river was on a record low and larger cruise ships were not able to go.

 

steamboats