Marco Polo to the Amazon?

My wife and I have always wanted to go to see the Amazon and all that wildlife, amongst other things, and on looking at how to get there it appears a cruise would be the most cost efficient option. I have looked at the C&M Marco Polo, which goes there for 42 days each January and it also visits some places we have never been to, but as its a small ship we have no idea what it would be like on the high seas. I am not a bad sailor but usually go on much bigger ships. Any help on this would be really appreciated.

Patrick

You may remember it's return from The Amazon last January when it was very stormy in the Channel when a man was killed and a number of other people injured when a wave crashed through the restaurant window! The occasion a couple of years ago when a lady was dropped into the sea, when being evacuated for medical purposes, was also a Cruise and Maritime ship which may, (or may not), have been Marco Polo.

Having said that, I remember one of those 'Cruises from Hell' programmes when one of the P&O ships had water come through a cabin window (I think it was Oriana or Aurora - but not sure).

Anyway we are booked on Marco Polo for a mini cruise in Sept - can't spend your life always thinking about what may happen can you? I am sure we are much more likely to be killed or injured on the British roads.

We have travelled on a short Cruise and Maritime cruise previously, (on a different ship), and it is a much lower standard of cruise, but the itineraries are very good. I suggest you look into the company on this site.

We went to The Amazon in 2006 and I have written quite a bit about it on another thread - you should be able to search for it, (I think), by clicking on my name and looking for past posts.

By the way you will not see much in the way of wildlife, but it was a wonderful experience.

Think of the Amazon and it conjures up images of steamy jungle with parrots and other exotic birds, monkeys, sloths,snakes ,the list goes on. You won't see all that but you will see quite a lot of different birds, river dolphins and probably a sloth or two.

We were on the trip this year and enjoyed it as most places we hadn't been to before. The price was incredibly good and I think represented outstanding value for money.

My trip review is here

http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=251086

and to give an idea of the wildlife you might see look here

I would certainly recommend the trip although whether I would go a second time remains to be seen. I would certainly not take any of the trips offered and organise my own, even in the Amazon.