Amazon River on O, packing/clothing question

[NoWhiners]

Hi all

 

We are going partially down the Amazon in November on Insignia. We go in and out of Miami, so there is a week in the Caribbean, then a week on the Amazon (enter from the Atlantic, only in Brazil), then another week back thru the Caribbean back to Miami. This not a jungle expedition cruise, but we will make a couple of stops at smaller places along the river and I am trying to decide what we really need to pack.

 

For anyone who has done this, or a similar itinerary on another line, did you find that you needed long pants or long-sleeved shirts when on the Amazon or for tours? I think it is possible we might need to dress like this for Boca de Valeria or Alter do Chao, but not certain. I will probably end up packing these; better to have them and not use than to need them and not have 🙂

 

Thanks for any insights

[Rob the Cruiser]

Our December - January itinerary aboard Sirena included the Amazon. Let me start by saying we loved, loved, loved the cruise. 

 

We took long-sleeved shirts to wear during the day while on the Amazon but didn't wear them. We did wear insect repellant containing DEET and didn't go outside at night.

 

My suggestion is that you wear what you usually would in hot, humid weather but, as you mentioned, bring long-sleeved shirts just in case.

[basor]

We sailed on the Sirena last November for this exact same cruise.....we found it was very hot and humid during the week in the Amazon and so wore  lightweight clothing both on and off the ship.   We took very lightweight long sleeved shirts and pants and never wore them.  Agree with Rob the Cruiser about using insect repellent containing DEET when going ashore but never saw a mosquito.   

It is an amazing cruise and we had a wonderful time !

[NoWhiners]

25 minutes ago, Rob the Cruiser said:

Our December - January itinerary aboard Sirena included the Amazon. Let me start by saying we loved, loved, loved the cruise. 

 

We took long-sleeved shirts to wear during the day while on the Amazon but didn't wear them. We did wear insect repellant containing DEET and didn't go outside at night.

 

My suggestion is that you wear what you usually would in hot, humid weather but, as you mentioned, bring long-sleeved shirts just in case.

 

19 minutes ago, basor said:

We sailed on the Sirena last November for this exact same cruise.....we found it was very hot and humid during the week in the Amazon and so wore  lightweight clothing both on and off the ship.   We took very lightweight long sleeved shirts and pants and never wore them.  Agree with Rob the Cruiser about using insect repellent containing DEET when going ashore but never saw a mosquito.   

It is an amazing cruise and we had a wonderful time !

 

Thank you both for the info, great to know. I am bringing a bunch of DEET-based spray with us and will also spray our clothes with it (I've read that works). I am also going to treat the long-sleeved shirts and long pant with permethrin, just in case.

 

Mosquitoes love me, so I want to be prepared!

 

Also, in case either of you come back to this thread, did you take any anti-malarials while you were on the cruise? We have some pills but I am debating whether or not we need them. The passport clinic said we should but our friends, who went to the same clinic, had their nurse say they didn't need it. Any advice?

 

Thanks again for your help.

 

ML

 

[basor]

We did not bring or use any anti-malaria pills nor did we get the yellow fever shot (DR. would not give prescription due to fact side effects to shot are worse than the illness for those of us "mature in age").   

14 minutes ago, NoWhiners said:

 

 

 

Also, in case either of you come back to this thread, did you take any anti-malarials while you were on the cruise? We have some pills but I am debating whether or not we need them. The passport clinic said we should but our friends, who went to the same clinic, had their nurse say they didn't need it. Any advice?

 

Thanks again for your help.

 

ML

 

 

[Rob the Cruiser]

Hi, @NoWhiners - Yes, we took anti-malarial tablets for the Devil's Island and some of the Amazon portion of the cruise. Our insurance travel advisory service through Kaiser Permanente  insisted that we take them. Yellow fever shot also, even though we're over 60. (63 and 64 at the time).

 

 

[NoWhiners]

1 minute ago, basor said:

We did not bring or use any anti-malaria pills nor did we get the yellow fever shot (DR. would not give prescription due to fact side effects to shot are worse than the illness for those of us "mature in age").   

 

 

 

You are my new hero LOL!! We did get the YF shot (even though we are "mature in age". Nice turn of phrase BTW) because we were advised we should. I am still leaning against the anti-malaria pills.

 

We did not have any bad reaction to the YF shot,  so we were lucky. Also got typhoid shots, just to further run up the bill at the clinic 😉

 

Thanks again,  now I can go worry about something else!

[NoWhiners]

Just now, Rob the Cruiser said:

Hi, @NoWhiners - Yes, we took anti-malarial tablets for the Devil's Island and some of the Amazon portion of the cruise. Our insurance travel advisory service through Kaiser Permanente  insisted that we take them. Yellow fever shot also, even though we're over 60. (63 and 64 at the time).

 

 

 

You were posting while I responded to basor. Thanks for your reply. As i noted above, we got YF and have the pills. DH thinks we should take them, I'm not sure. And we are both over 65 (just a little).

 

Thanks again for your help.

[Floridiana]

We went there on the Regatta in November a few years ago.  November is still the end of the dry season, not a mosquito anywhere on our cruise and low water. We wore lightweight clothing like in Florida summer. Devil's Island had no mosquitos either. The potential mosquito areas of French Guyana are inland. 

 

We have yellow fever vaccinations  and we also took malaria pills, wouldn't' have needed them. Luckily we had no side effects for either one. DEET sprays, definitely yes!  

 

We own long sleeved 'expedition' type clothing and long pants that we wore on other Amazon and Asian trips. I like the pants but I hate the shirts, much prefer cotton and linen tops.

 

The photo shows the high water mark on the wall in Manaus.

[NoWhiners]

4 minutes ago, Floridiana said:

We went there on the Regatta in November a few years ago.  November is still the end of the dry season, not a mosquito anywhere on our cruise and low water. We wore lightweight clothing like in Florida summer. Devil's Island had no mosquitos either. The potential mosquito areas of French Guyana are inland. 

 

We have yellow fever vaccinations  and we also took malaria pills, wouldn't' have needed them. Luckily we had no side effects for either one. DEET sprays, definitely yes!  

 

We own long sleeved 'expedition' type clothing and long pants that we wore on other Amazon and Asian trips. I like the pants but I hate the shirts, much prefer cotton and linen tops.

 

The photo shows the high water mark on the wall in Manaus.

 

Interesting. We will be on the Amazon 12/1 thru 12/10. I don't know precise the dates are for rainy vs dry season, but I think it will be early enough that it won't be horrible. And, I have read that it rains during the dry season, just not as much/as long!

 

Cool pic of the high water mark. Quite a difference.

 

Thanks for posting.

 

[Flatbush Flyer]

16 hours ago, NoWhiners said:

 

 

Thank you both for the info, great to know. I am bringing a bunch of DEET-based spray with us and will also spray our clothes with it (I've read that works). I am also going to treat the long-sleeved shirts and long pant with permethrin, just in case.

 

Mosquitoes love me, so I want to be prepared!

 

Also, in case either of you come back to this thread, did you take any anti-malarials while you were on the cruise? We have some pills but I am debating whether or not we need them. The passport clinic said we should but our friends, who went to the same clinic, had their nurse say they didn't need it. Any advice?

 

Thanks again for your help.

 

ML

 

We've done Oceania's November Amazon cruise and other South American travels.

 

Fortunately, San Francisco's Department of Public Health has an excellent Travel Clinic and we followed their advice (which, in my case of 70+, was seconded by my own UCSF physician):

 

Malarone - best for anti-Malaria prophylaxis

 

YF vaccine- No for me due to age and Yes for spouse due to lower age.

 

Permethrin treated clothing (pretreated items purchased at REI or stuff we treated/washed as directed). 

 

Ultrathon Insect Repellent (34% DEET) - this one does it all! Available at REI, on Amazon, or possibly at your own travel clinic (along with Permethrin for the clothes). 

Edited October 13, 2019 by Flatbush Flyer

[PaulMCO]

We did this cruise on Crystal last November.  We followed the Oceania trip on the same itinerary.

Very little mosquito activity. 

Normal Florida clothing, shorts with t-shirts.

We did have some rain (yes it is a rainforest).

 

Did use mosquito repellent.  Did not take any anti malarial pills (allergic to Malarone bad side affects)

Yellow fever documentation was required by Crystal as ports after Devils Island may require this.

 

[NoWhiners]

2 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

We've done Oceania's November Amazon cruise and other South American travels.

Permethrin treated clothing (pretreated items purchased at REI or stuff we treated/washed as directed). 

Ultrathon Insect Repellent (34% DEET) - this one does it all! Available at REI, on Amazon, or possibly at your own travel clinic (along with Permethrin for the clothes). 

 

 

Thanks for all this, nice to know our clinic wasn't just running up the bill! I haven't looked for Permethrin yet but that next on my list. I'm pretty sure REI has it, so that will be my Plan B.

And that tube of Ultrathon is exactly the stuff I bought, so great to know it actually works.

 

Did you ever need to wear long pants/long-sleeve shirts?

 

Thanks for your post.

[Rob the Cruiser]

We used REPEL 100. It's 98% DEET.

 

 

[NoWhiners]

4 minutes ago, Rob the Cruiser said:

We used REPEL 100. It's 98% DEET.

 

LOL--I bought that too! I wasn't sure what would work, but both these products (Ultrathon and Repel) got good reviews, so I bought both. Even the travel clinic said only the DEET-based stuff would work, even though I know many people don't like to use it.

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, NoWhiners said:

 

Thanks for all this, nice to know our clinic wasn't just running up the bill! I haven't looked for Permethrin yet but that next on my list. I'm pretty sure REI has it, so that will be my Plan B.

And that tube of Ultrathon is exactly the stuff I bought, so great to know it actually works.

 

Did you ever need to wear long pants/long-sleeve shirts?

 

Thanks for your post.

For all sorts of cruises/excursions/casual wear, I use lightweight convertible "climbing" (like "cargo") pants that can have the lower legs zipped off. They are fine either way in hot climates though long underwear may be needed in really cold environments.

For insect areas, I have a couple of long sleeve tee-shirts.

 

[NoWhiners]

12 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

For all sorts of cruises/excursions/casual wear, I use lightweight convertible "climbing" (like "cargo") pants that can have the lower legs zipped off. They are fine either way in hot climates though long underwear may be needed in really cold environments.

For insect areas, I have a couple of long sleeve tee-shirts.

 

 

I think we will pack light-weight pants and long-sleeved Ts, just in case. But I am hopeful we won't need them. I spoke to one of our tour operators and he said shorts would be best, since it is so hot, but this was for Manaus and I don't expect see a lot of mosquitoes there.

 

Thanks for posting.

[NoWhiners]

1 hour ago, PaulMCO said:

We did this cruise on Crystal last November.  We followed the Oceania trip on the same itinerary.

Very little mosquito activity. 

Normal Florida clothing, shorts with t-shirts.

We did have some rain (yes it is a rainforest).

 

Did use mosquito repellent.  Did not take any anti malarial pills (allergic to Malarone bad side affects)

Yellow fever documentation was required by Crystal as ports after Devils Island may require this.

 

 

I would love to have very little mosquito activity, but I don't think we can plan on that. I am now thinking we should bring more shorts. I am a bit worried about humidity and want to be able to change if we get too hot 😊

 

We got YF for the same reason, don't want to be denied boarding due to a preventable thing. It seems like some ports change their requirements sort of quickly.

[RJ2002]

We did a similar cruise on the Regent Mariner in December 2017.

 

As for clothing, I'd definitely bring along lighter weight safari/expedition type pants.  There will be certain excursions where you might be walking through jungle/forest areas and I really was glad I had them on vs. shorts.

 

We like using these insect repellent wipes, and find them a little more practical than a spray or lotion when traveling.  The concentration of DEET is not as high as some other products, but they work for us.  We've used them in Africa, South America, etc.   Fortunately, we did not have a lot of issues with bugs on our voyage - despite the fact that we'd read the "horror stories" of waking up in the morning and finding the decks covered with dead bugs.

 

As others have mentioned, this cruise is truly one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences.  I don't know that we'd repeat the Amazon, but we were certainly glad we did it once.

[basor]

would love to have very little mosquito activity, but I don't think we can plan on that. I am now thinking we should bring more shorts. I am a bit worried about humidity and want to be able to change if we get too hot 😊

 

You definitely need to plan on having more summer clothes due to the fact you will be changing your clothes often due to the humidity,  We "had" to change clothes every time we came back from an excursion or long time ashore walking around.  This was basically for the week in the Amazon.  I wore sundresses or long swim suit coverups a lot on board because they were the coolest to wear 😉

[LHT28]

how about  zip off slacks

DH  usually takes a couple of prs  so if it is cool in the morning  then zip off the bottom of the legs later in the day

probably not cool in the Amazon  but  Europe we found some areas it was

If we wanted to go into a church he would zip the legs back on

 

[NoWhiners]

1 hour ago, RJ2002 said:

We did a similar cruise on the Regent Mariner in December 2017.

 

As for clothing, I'd definitely bring along lighter weight safari/expedition type pants.  There will be certain excursions where you might be walking through jungle/forest areas and I really was glad I had them on vs. shorts.

 

We like using these insect repellent wipes, and find them a little more practical than a spray or lotion when traveling.  The concentration of DEET is not as high as some other products, but they work for us.  We've used them in Africa, South America, etc.   Fortunately, we did not have a lot of issues with bugs on our voyage - despite the fact that we'd read the "horror stories" of waking up in the morning and finding the decks covered with dead bugs.

 

As others have mentioned, this cruise is truly one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences.  I don't know that we'd repeat the Amazon, but we were certainly glad we did it once.

 

 

I think we only have 2 excursions when we will be in or near the jungle--Alter do Chao and Santarem. I know in Santarem we will visit a local village and I am thinking long pats and long-sleeved shirt for that day, plus sneakers and socks. I'm sure we will be hot and sticky! I have one of those light-weight adventure shirts and a pair of loose-fitting cotton long pants to wear.

 

OK, I know this is going to sound really bad, but I also bought some of these wipes (there was a sale at Walmart and loaded up on anything that I thought we could use on this cruise!). I was thinking I would carry these to do any re-applications that might be needed.

 

Thanks for your help.

[NoWhiners]

1 hour ago, basor said:

You definitely need to plan on having more summer clothes due to the fact you will be changing your clothes often due to the humidity,  We "had" to change clothes every time we came back from an excursion or long time ashore walking around.  This was basically for the week in the Amazon.  I wore sundresses or long swim suit coverups a lot on board because they were the coolest to wear 😉

 

yep, this is what I was worried about! I am trying to not overpack, but I think we may need to bring more shorts/shirts to allow for being sweaty a lot 😊 I am not a sundress person, but have lots of shorts.

 

Thanks.

[Rob the Cruiser]

Speaking of outdoor clothing,  REI is having a huge sale with discounts of up to 50%. It ends on the 14th.

Edited October 13, 2019 by Rob the Cruiser

[NoWhiners]

56 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

how about  zip off slacks

DH  usually takes a couple of prs  so if it is cool in the morning  then zip off the bottom of the legs later in the day

probably not cool in the Amazon  but  Europe we found some areas it was

If we wanted to go into a church he would zip the legs back on

 

 

I have never had any luck with any zip off clothing. I must be all thumbs because I can never get them back together, and certainly not while wearing them. I am hoping my cotton pants and vented adventure shirt will do the trick.

 

But I will keep an eye out for some that seem idiot-proof, that could work for me!