Floating on a cloud up the Amazon.

[drron29]

Friday we awake already berthed in Barbados.Two large ships-P&O Ventura(3192 pax),Aidaluna(2100 pax) and then they are joined by the Norwegian sun(2002 pax).

 

So 7500 passengers arrive and it is Independence day in Barbados.Most shops are closed.Probably quite a few disappointed cruisers.

We had our last breakfast in the restaurant and said goodbye to Cherry.Then to our butler Bo and his assistant Alain.All deserved a little more.

 

So we thoroughly enjoyed the cruise.Yes there were moments when things weren't quite to expectations but the good far outweighed the bag

This though is not a cruise to see the animals and bird life of the Amazon.Fortunately we have stayed at an amazonian lodge so were not disappointed.

I know that Sea dream have cruises between Manaus and Iquitos Peru and that may be better for wildlife.certainly you would see some more remote places.

 

One last thing for when you leave Barbados-next to the airport is the Concorde experience.if you are fond of planes this is a great way to kill an hour or two.I have written a report on a frequent flier site here-

http://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/community/destination-guide/concorde-experience-barbados-45553.html

 

I know i am long winded but hope you will enjoy this trip report.The next will be the Silver Explorer on the west coast of Africa.

Thanks for reading.

[jpalbny]

Thanks Ron - enjoyed your pictures and descriptions. Thanks for posting.

 

We've looked at the small luxury river boats that run out of Iquitos (Delfin, Aqua, etc) as well as the Explorama lodges in the Peruvian Amazon. I think we'd prefer that type of scenery, though it would be difficult to complain about an Amazon cruise on SS...

 

Having done the Amazon both ways - luxury cruise ship in the Lower Amazon, and explorer lodge in the Upper, which do you prefer?

[drron29]

Now I would definitely say the lodge-we went to the Napo lodge in Ecuador.I really appreciate nature so was great for me.

http://www.napowildlifecenter.com/inicio.html

On the other hand Rojaan would definitely say the SS cruise.

[WesW]

Drron29/Ron, Thank you very much for taking the time and sharing your Amazon Cloud voyage in beautiful pix & thoughtful posts. Ron, we especially enjoyed your Amazon people pix, beautiful sunset pix and delightful excursion and on board commentary.

 

Thanks also for sharing your Amazon Cloud cruise goals and we're happy to know you met all three cruise goals on this voyage.

[Cuizer2]

We got back to the Hilton just after 1500 and decided it was time for a swim.Down to the pool and they had run out of towels.I had noticed the maid on our floor so went back and asked for 2 extra room towels-sorry sir we have run out.Another bad mark for the Hilton.Fortunately our room had 3 towels so one doubled as a beach towel.Didn't make the same mistake twice as the next morning we went down and got our beach towels before going on our drive.

Monday and a drive up the west coast where many of the resorts are situated.Many seem to have gone since my last visit and many new ones being built-though it looked like work had stalled on many of them.Go past the resort I stayed at in 2007 and it looked like the maintenance budget had been slashed.

We stop at a large duty free shop but prices are exorbitant.So we continue on to the north of the island.Look at the St.Lucy church-some 350 years old.cemetery not maintained but saw a few prominent Barbadian names-

We then tried to find a cave advertised as a tourist attraction but ended up at a wild area of the coast with lava tubes anyway-

 

I really enjoyed your review. However, it would help if you used the space bar between pictures that are on the same row (as you can see, I added spaces between these pictures). Sometimes it was hard to figure out where one picture ended and the other picture began.

[Silver Spectre]

DrRon, thanks so much for sharing your pictures and comments. Having made this trip some 20 years ago on the 'Love Boat' it was fascinating to be able to revist all those ports.

 

Loved your shot of the pools at the Barbados Hilton, looks like it was taken from the room we had earlier this year before our Cloud t/a crossing.

[patnlcc]

Thank you so much, Ron, we thoroughly enjoyed your photos and comments - it was like being on the cruise all over again. A pleasure to meet you and Ann.

[ging466]

Brilliant blog and pics drron. Thankx for taking the time to post.

 

To see the wildlife, do u have to travel deeper into the Amazon i.e. past Manaus?

 

Cheers

Jennifer

[drron29]

Sorry cuizer2 but the cruise critic site has an automatic deny space function.Although I do put a space between each 2 or 3 pics when putting the post together it automatically seems to default to all together.If it does do this immediately I then go to edit post but sometimes it does it later after I have moved on.

 

Ging there are jungle lodges reasonably near Manaus including some good salt licks for the birds.Most however will require at least a few hours uncomfortable travel probably in a canoe.It is just we combined the Amazonian lodge with a Galapagos cruise hence why we did ours out of Ecuador.

[Champlain]

Drron,

Thanks for sharing so much of what was truly a wonderful cruise. I highly recommend it as one type of experience of the Amazon. To me, the highlights were:

1. Breves Narrows which is special because the big ships can't get through it

2. Meeting of the Waters which seems to be unique to the Amazon

3. Being at the Manaus Opera House during an orchestra rehearsal and experiencing the acoustics

4. Watching Silversea donate furniture, food, and clothing to Boca da Valeria villagers

5. The Boi Bumba show which was put on just for us

 

We got to meet some wonderful new friends and reacquaint with "old" ones (we're the Vermont friends ). Apparently the Shadow will be doing this itinerary in the future, so I hope they can get through the narrows.

[jpalbny]

Sorry cuizer2 but the cruise critic site has an automatic deny space function.Although I do put a space between each 2 or 3 pics when putting the post together it automatically seems to default to all together.If it does do this immediately I then go to edit post but sometimes it does it later after I have moved on.

 

 

That's peculiar! I was able to put spaces in when I did my last posting like this, in June. I wonder if it's biased against Aussies? ;)

 

You are right that there's an algorithm to modify spacing in your posts. I still follow the old typing rules that I learned in high school - I put two spaces after a period at the end of a sentence, and CC consistently reduces it to one space when I preview / post.

 

If you put an actual character in between the pictures, like a hyphen or an underscore, would that stay intact and provide spacing between pictures? Guess we'll wait for your next blog to find out!

[Cuizer2]

If you put an actual character in between the pictures, like a hyphen or an underscore, would that stay intact and provide spacing between pictures?

 

That should work.

Edited December 27, 2012 by Cuizer2

[drron29]

JP and cuizer2 my computers are always different to others-or maybe its just me.I have been told by the experts that the way I post pictures is impossible but using their advice nothing happens so i stick to the method that works for me.

JP the hyphen or full stop is an excellent suggestion and my feeling is it should work.will try it next time.

 

And to Natalie and Mike(our VT friends) and Pat and Bill(the nice Scottish couple) I hope christmas was great and all the very best for 2013.

[Cuizer2]

JP and cuizer2 my computers are always different to others-or maybe its just me.I have been told by the experts that the way I post pictures is impossible but using their advice nothing happens so i stick to the method that works for me.

JP the hyphen or full stop is an excellent suggestion and my feeling is it should work.will try it next time.

 

And to Natalie and Mike(our VT friends) and Pat and Bill(the nice Scottish couple) I hope christmas was great and all the very best for 2013.

 

Maybe it is because your computer is upside down. I always have to turn my monitor upside down or stand on my head when I read a post from down under. :)

[Skeezics]

Drron,

Thanks for sharing so much of what was truly a wonderful cruise. I highly recommend it as one type of experience of the Amazon. To me, the highlights were:

1. Breves Narrows which is special because the big ships can't get through it

2. Meeting of the Waters which seems to be unique to the Amazon

3. Being at the Manaus Opera House during an orchestra rehearsal and experiencing the acoustics

4. Watching Silversea donate furniture, food, and clothing to Boca da Valeria villagers

5. The Boi Bumba show which was put on just for us

 

We got to meet some wonderful new friends and reacquaint with "old" ones (we're the Vermont friends ). Apparently the Shadow will be doing this itinerary in the future, so I hope they can get through the narrows.

 

Champlain:

 

And one last one: The speed boat trip from Manaus up the Amazon to see the pink dolphins....it was amazing. Almost glad we didn't make it further up on the Cloud to see the same thing...as my husband put it, fulfilled his "need for speed".

 

Oops, one more: Night hunting for caimans out of Manaus.

 

Marvelous cruise!!!! Have become a Silversea fan. Looking to book in 2014...(have 2013 already set.)

[FAP16]

Thank you so much for the wonderful recap of your trip and photos. We were supposed to be on the cruise but the NY Brazilian Consulate lost my passport and Visa. Had to cancel out at the last minute and very disappointed. Now I feel as though I sailed along with you!!!

[CruisinPashmina]

Drron29,

 

Thanks so very much for the fabulous pictures and interesting captions. Your comments on your cruise experiences were fascinating. After years of looking at passengers' photographs I can enthusiastically say that yours are the very best. We have taken almost the same itinerary on the Cloud so your pictures meant a lot to us. You have captured both the images and the experiences we so well remember. No pretty postcards here just great photos of the real thing!

 

Congratulations, and thanks again. Very big job..SO well done!

[dusababy]

Drron29,

 

Thanks so very much for the fabulous pictures and interesting captions. Your comments on your cruise experiences were fascinating. After years of looking at passengers' photographs I can enthusiastically say that yours are the very best. We have taken almost the same itinerary on the Cloud so your pictures meant a lot to us. You have captured both the images and the experiences we so well remember. No pretty postcards here just great photos of the real thing!

 

Congratulations, and thanks again. Very big job..SO well done!

 

Add my thanks also -- so enjoyed your posts -- no extraneous comments or opinions -- just factual descriptions of what appears an extremely interesting voyage. Well done sir !!

[V8Babe]

Thanks so much drron for taking the time to share your wonderful journey, enjoyed it very much.

 

Karin

[daddyo]

drron,

 

Looks like you had a great time. Also, Duct Tape and Well Seasoned have indicated that it was a trip worth taking. We liked the pics so much, we booked the Whisper 2014 Voyage.

 

Thanks again!!

[duct tape]

I would do it again, esp. with that crowd!

[Champlain]

The entire experience was wonderful. I hope that the larger ship can get through the Breves Narrows since it showed us so much of how people live on the river.

[duct tape]

Unfortunately the Whisper cannot go thru Breves Narrows :(

[brimary]

Drron,

Thanks for sharing so much of what was truly a wonderful cruise. I highly recommend it as one type of experience of the Amazon. To me, the highlights were:

1. Breves Narrows which is special because the big ships can't get through it

2. Meeting of the Waters which seems to be unique to the Amazon

3. Being at the Manaus Opera House during an orchestra rehearsal and experiencing the acoustics

4. Watching Silversea donate furniture, food, and clothing to Boca da Valeria villagers

5. The Boi Bumba show which was put on just for us

 

We got to meet some wonderful new friends and reacquaint with "old" ones (we're the Vermont friends ). Apparently the Shadow will be doing this itinerary in the future, so I hope they can get through the narrows.

Thanks for all the helpful reports pics and info which has been most helpful in our planning for the final Amazon cruise on our favourite Cloud from Oct/Dec 2013 and then the Whisper takes over in 2014.Cant wait for this one!

[Narita]

Yesterday I read pages and pages of report about the Cloud 2012 Barbados up the Amazon and back. Pages ---all informative. Today I can only scroll down through Grenada. What has happened to the rest or what am I doing wrong???? Help--I need to decide this week to go or not :)