Have you cruised to South America for Carnival in Rio? Looking for Reviews

[SanFranBayCruiser]

I realize that this is a very expensive trip and, I'm having trouble finding reviews on South America cruises that are in Rio for Carnival. My husband and I are tossing the idea around of trying South America on Infinity for the Feburary 11, 2007 sailing.

 

If you've done this specific cruise - meaning that you've been in Rio for Carnival on a Celebrity Cruise... I'd love to read what you thought about the trip. Was it worth the $$ ? Did you go to the Samba parade? If so, are the grandstand seats worth the money?

 

Any reviews or information is more than welcome.

[kitty9]

The number one thing you must be concerned about in Rio is safety. While some here will say that you have to be careful in any city, Rio was the worst in terms of feeling safe. I felt safer in places like Hanoi and Bangkok than I did in Rio. I've not done the cruise you're asking about with Celebrity, but I have done it with Crystal. To be completely honest, in all my cruises, all over the world, I felt the most unsafe in Rio. A number of our passengers on the cruise were robbed/pickpocketed and the ship's photographer was robbed by two armed men who took her cameras. We were continuously warned not to take any jewelry (not even your wedding bands or watches), purses, money and credit cards in pockets or anything else of value off the ship because of robberies.

 

With that said, if you want to do Carnival, keep totally with the ship's tour. Don't go off by yourself. You most certainly want to be in the bleacher seats for the Samba parade---it's much safer than just standing anywhere along the route. Pickpocketing and robbery are a huge problem in Rio, and it gets worse come Carnival time. I'm not trying to discourage you from taking this trip, but it's a disservice to just paint things pure sunshine and fun and not warn you about safety issues.

 

Rio can be a fun city, and an interesting city and Samba is amazing. But you must be very careful.

[kitty9]

double post, sorry