Manaus Overnight?

[gooch47]

We just booked the Amazon River cruise on the Pacific Princess for April of 2009. It looks like there is an overnight in Manaus before the cruise starts. Would you still recommend going in an extra day early to see the sights?

[MercedMike]

When we did that cruise, the overnight was in FLL and then we had a charter flight to Manaus.

 

Check out our review and pics at http://www.elite.net/~thehalls/royalprincess.html

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

[Druke I]

our experience, way back in Dec 91, on the original Pacific Princess, was the same as MercedMike's above - overnight in Florida, and charter flight to Manaus.

 

The Amazon is a fascinating trip, I think.

[shellbeachjim]

We were on the old Royal Princess in 2005 for its Manaus to Rome cruise. There was the operational overnight in Ft. Lauderdale, and after the flight arrived in Manaus the next day, the ship overnighted in Manaus.

 

I believe that if your cruise ends in Manaus you also get an overnight there too.

 

As for additional nights in Manaus, it depends. Are you using Princess Air? If so you probably out of luck, since Princess uses charter flights to Manaus. If you are flying to Manaus on your own, your flight choices are limited. Copa Airlines http://www.copaair.com flies through Panama. Their US gateways are LA, Miami, Orlando, New York and Washington, DC.

 

You probably will get all sorts of advise about excursions in Manaus (meeting of the waters, the Opera House, etc), but you should definitely go on the "Alligators at night" excursion. You go out on motorized canoes starting about 9pm. If you're lucky they'll find a small caiman (18 - 24 inches), bring it onto the canoe for examination and release it. Actually the best part of the excursion is to hear the sounds of the Amazon at night. They're incredible.

[Pam in CA]

We were on the same cruise as Jim. :) As has been said, Princess flies all of the passengers (except those with independent air) to Ft. Lauderdale for an overnight. You drop off your main luggage at the hotel where it's checked in and will be taken directly to the ship. You don't have to do anything else or carry it anywhere -- it'll be in your cabin waiting for you the next day. Then, you check in for the ship where the Princess rep checks your visa and issues you your cruise card so that when you get to Manaus the next day, all you have to do is board the ship and go to your cabin.

 

There are two charter flights and overhead storage is somewhat limited so make sure you don't have a large carry-on. The first flight leaves at approximately 7:30 - 8AM (time varies) and it's mostly East coast people on this flight. The West coast people are on the second flight which leaves at about Noon or early afternoon. I was on the early flight (since at the time I lived near Boston) and was onboard the ship by 4PM. My sister and BIL from CA arrived onboard at about 7PM. Dinner the first night was open seating.

 

You will be in Manaus all of the next day, leaving at night, giving you the opportunity to take tours and see the city. The city itself is huge (well over 1-Mil people) but IMHO, other than the Opera House and a few other sights, there isn't much to "see." The Amazon is a different story and after all, that's why you're on the cruise. :)

 

I don't think there are any direct flights from the U.S. to Manaus and if there are, there are very few and you won't find many bargains. Most tourists to Manaus are from Europe so there are far more flights from there. I'd say that probably 90% of the U.S. passengers opt to take Princess air and the operational overnight. The others plan to go to Sao Paulo or Rio for a couple of days and then fly to Manaus or, as Jim pointed out, book on Copa air.

 

This is an amazing cruise -- I've been to Manaus twice now and would do it again.