Amazon River on Crystal in 2006

[Judith02]

We have booked a cruise that goes Manaus to Buenos Aires with a river cruise down the Amazon. Two questions:

 

Can anyone tell me if in general cruise lines charter flights to Manaus or do they use commercial airline service?

 

Has anyone every done this itinerary and can tell me about the ports and the river cruise?

Manaus, Brazil; Boca de Valeria, Brazil; Santarém, Brazil; Cruising the Amazon River; Crossing the Equator; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Montevideo, Uruguay; and

Buenos Aires, Argentina

[franu]

Hi, I was on a similar cruise in reverse in 2005 on the Marco Polo. We flew on a charter flight from Manaus to Miami and overnighted in Miami. Unfortunately I was not feeling well and missed my tour in Manaus. I would have liked to see the Opera House and the meeting of the waters but it was not to be.

 

Boca de Valeria is a small native town on the banks of the Amazon. On days that cruise ships arrive, the town swells with neigbors from down the road. It is an opportunity to see some of the rural life there. Natives dress their children in their native garb and the children will pose for photos, either with or without you but they expect either a gift or a dollar. There are some handicrafts for sale too. I won't get into my thoughts and feelings on the subject but bring something for the kids. I brought colored pencils, markers and writing pads from the dollar store back home. In the meantime, the ship was off-loading large amounts of things that I guess had been left aboard.

 

Santarem is a good place to take a tour as I did not see anything of interest here in town. Out tour took us to a place where you coold see how various things are done and foods to eat including samples of Pirranha. Unfortunately you could also see the results of the "clearing" of the jungle.

 

Crossing of the Equator. As you know, the equator is an imaginary linedrwn at 0 degrees lattitude. It is customary for cruise ships to have a ceremony when crossing the equator. We crosed it twice in a few hours but once was during our bedtime. It is a fun time.

 

In Rio I would have much preferred to take a private tour. I felt that we saw the same stuff twice while not having enough time on Sugar loaf. It is indeed an amazing city but one in which I felt safer with a tour group, besides, I had a lot of shipboard credit to use.

 

Montevideo is a quieter city but never let your guard down anywhere. There is a market area acros from the pier. They have lovely handicrafts. As I was in Montevideo twice on our cruise because we went to Antarctica & the Falklands before BA. I took two different tours there and saw different things. The city is still reeling from the economic crisis and attempting to get itself out again. Monevideo is on the Rio Plato. Although it looks like it must be a sea (salt water) it is in fact an extremely wide river (fresh water).

 

Buenos Aires is a fantastic city made up of different areas like a quilt that has been sewn for a very special person. Each area has a different personality. I loved BA. Our cruise included 2 nights in a hotel with 1/2 day sightseeing tour pre-cruise. We had elected to take an extension to Iguassu Falls for 2 days and 1 night. It was indeed one of the highlights of our vacation. Don't miss having a steak in BA. There is no such thing as a small steak there. Don't fill up on side dishes.

 

If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I wil do my best.

Fran

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

cruise

[Judith02]

From Miami, approximately how long are the flights to/from Manaus and BA?

 

Thank you for all the information. I can't wait to go March 1st.

[franu]

I just had another senior moment and could not remember more than my lost luggage somewhere between Manaus and Miami, but fortunately they found it about a week later. I came across my itinerary which stated that it was scheduled as 4 hours and 15 minutes from Manaus to Miami.

 

I live in Toronto and was routed through Atlanta. I would estimate that the time from Miami to BA is similar to our flight from Atlanta to BA which was 12 hours.

 

Hope that this is of some help.

Fran