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Can anyone help. We are thinking of doing a cruise up the Amazon with P&O.

 

If you are sailing up river, given that the river in Feb/March is very wide during that season which side of the ship should you elect for your cabin to be nearest the shore.

 

Has anyone flown from UK to Manaus. How long does it take?

 

Many thanks.

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We did the Amazon cruise last year in October on the Veendam and it was a wonderful experience.

 

With regard to whether you should be on port or starboard and going up the river. I am a bit perplexed as you are talking about boarding in Manaus and that would mean you are going down the river to the Atlantic Ocean.

 

If you are going that way, I would book a starboard cabin as most of the towns are on the right hand side of the river.

 

We had a port cabin as we had sailed from Vancouver and we went up to Manaus, spent a night there and then returned back to Tampa in Florida so we saw both sides of the river.

 

Hope I have helped a little. Both sides of the river are interesting so it really doesn't matter too much which side of the ship you are on.

 

Jennie

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Hi thanks for that. I am sorry I confused the issue. We are sailing up the river to Manaus and then fly back to UK from there. I should have said length of flight from Manaus to UK.

 

I am sure both sides are interesting and to be honest was not too bothered, until reading that during the rain season the rive gets several miles wide. We are going in February. It just struck me that the cruiseships would be using the main river course and with the flooded land it might indeed matter. We are stopping at Santarem and Parintensis (probably both spelt wrongly as I do not have the brochure up here). This might also make a difference but was interested in any thoughts people who had done this trip might have.

 

This trip is early booking for 2009 - it seems to get earlier each year. We are going on Rotterdam's South America trip in 2008.

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You will see a completely different perspective of the river to what we saw, as we were coming into the rainy season and the river had gone right down. A pilot will come on board the ship just after you go over the sandbar into the Amazon from the Atlantic and he and the Captain work together the whole way up to Manaus as the river apparently is different every day.

 

I would still opt for a port side cabin as it is so interesting watching the towns as you come closer to them. We also went to Santarem, Parintins and Boca de Valeria and Manaus but not in that order.

 

If you are given a chance to see the Boi Bumba Show in Parintins, (the ship usually organizes it to be put on,) then go as it is amazing. It is not cheap, I think we paid $99 p.p. for a 2 hour show but it was so colourful and well worth the money. We were also very fortunate in being able to go to a Symphony Concert at the Opera House in Manaus. It just happened to be the last night of a Festival of music when the ship was there.

 

I decided today to actually start on my photos and put them in an album. Only 6 months late, but doing them has brought back so many lovely memories of that wonderful cruise.

 

Jennie

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If you are given a chance to see the Boi Bumba Show in Parintins, (the ship usually organizes it to be put on,) then go as it is amazing. It is not cheap, I think we paid $99 p.p. for a 2 hour show but it was so colourful and well worth the money. We were also very fortunate in being able to go to a Symphony Concert at the Opera House in Manaus. It just happened to be the last night of a Festival of music when the ship was there.

 

I decided today to actually start on my photos and put them in an album. Only 6 months late, but doing them has brought back so many lovely memories of that wonderful cruise.

 

Jennie

 

 

Thanks for the information. We were originally booked on the Rotterdam Dec 18 to see Antarctica. We decided instead to do the Grand Circle, and will be leaving Fort Lauderdale January 3. This is a 68-day cruise, and we will be able to see Antarctica, Cape Horn, Chilean Fjords, Peru (and we hope Machu Picchu), Brazil, and a full run up and down the Amazon. We'll be quite interested in your experiences with the Amazon, as this is quite new and different for us. Well, actually everything will be different for us, as we have not been in South America at all.

 

Have a great cruise!

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Thanks for the information. We were originally booked on the Rotterdam Dec 18 to see Antarctica. We decided instead to do the Grand Circle, and will be leaving Fort Lauderdale January 3. This is a 68-day cruise, and we will be able to see Antarctica, Cape Horn, Chilean Fjords, Peru (and we hope Machu Picchu), Brazil, and a full run up and down the Amazon. We'll be quite interested in your experiences with the Amazon, as this is quite new and different for us. Well, actually everything will be different for us, as we have not been in South America at all.

 

Have a great cruise!

 

bobnsandi,

 

Last year in January/Feb we did the cruise from Rio to Valpariso via Antarctica in January. We also visited the Iguazu Falls, Cusco and Machu Pichu and did a 5 day cruise to the Galapagos Islands.

 

In September/October we did a 34 day cruise on the Veendam which left from Vancouver, went through the Panama Canal and up the Amazon as far as Manaus and then returned back down and finished in Tampa.

 

As we have been there quite recently, if you have any questions I will try and answer them for you. South America is a wonderful place to visit.

 

Jennie

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  • 3 weeks later...
You will see a completely different perspective of the river to what we saw, as we were coming into the rainy season and the river had gone right down. A pilot will come on board the ship just after you go over the sandbar into the Amazon from the Atlantic and he and the Captain work together the whole way up to Manaus as the river apparently is different every day.

 

I would still opt for a port side cabin as it is so interesting watching the towns as you come closer to them. We also went to Santarem, Parintins and Boca de Valeria and Manaus but not in that order.

 

If you are given a chance to see the Boi Bumba Show in Parintins, (the ship usually organizes it to be put on,) then go as it is amazing. It is not cheap, I think we paid $99 p.p. for a 2 hour show but it was so colourful and well worth the money. We were also very fortunate in being able to go to a Symphony Concert at the Opera House in Manaus. It just happened to be the last night of a Festival of music when the ship was there.

 

I decided today to actually start on my photos and put them in an album. Only 6 months late, but doing them has brought back so many lovely memories of that wonderful cruise.

 

Jennie

 

When is the rainy season?? We are booked on the Prinsendam and will be in the Amazon in early Dec 2008. What are the other "don't miss tours" on the Amazon? My wife wants to know about bugs and critters - was this a problem??:confused:

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We were there in October and and I think the rainy season commences around Nov/December and goes to April. Once you get the wet, you do get the mosquitoes etc. We did not see any and stopped taking our anti malarial medication after we had been to Boca da Valeria. We weren't worried at all by any other insects.

 

Besides going to see the Boi Boi Bumba show at Parintins I would also do a Meeting of the Water trip in Manaus as well as a tour over the Opera House.

 

We loved our trip in Santarem where we went Pirahna fishing. It was extremely hot but it was a lot fun and we both enjoyed it immensely.

 

Jennie

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Some unsolicited advice for the original poster (hope you don't mind)...

 

Coming up or down the main part of the Amazon, you will see very little wildlife because of the width of the river. If you're interested in Amazonian birds, mammals and reptiles, I'd HIGHLY recommend staying a couple of days (we did four) at one of the jungle lodges just upriver from Manaus before flying home. We stayed at the Ariau Jungle Towers, the only lodge built at treetop level (much better for animal spotting), and saw several kinds of monkeys, sloths, constrictors (not anacondas), caimans, freshwater dolphins and birds galore. We even fished for piranha--cheesy but fun. We went caiman spotting at night, hiked during the day and even visited a local village. Despite being somewhat touristy, it was a great experience.

 

Have not flown from the UK to Manaus--we did it from Chicago in the US--but your plane will likely go through either Sao Paulo or Rio, then Brasilia, before landing in Manaus (and the same in reverse). Not sure how long the flight is from London (or wherever you begin in the UK) to Sao Paulo, but it's between 1-2 hours from there to Brasilia, and then another 1-2 hours to Manaus.

 

The Amazon is like no place on earth. I hope you have a wonderful trip.

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Hi Jennie,

 

Another board of common interest. We were on the Prinsendam 23 days from Cape Town, SA, across the Atlantic, up Brazil, and into the Amazon. We were there in December. We had no problem with mosquitos, but if you have a balcony cabin -- DO NOT LEAVE YOUR DOORS OPEN. There are the biggest bugs I have ever seen and they come directly to the lights.

 

You are required to have proof of a yellow fever shot. Carry some Bounce fabric softner sheets with you to ward off the mosquitos. We really were not bothered that much.

 

I don't know when the rainy season is, but we had perfectly hot, sweaty weather. I purchased a battery-driven fan spray water bottle in WalMart. It was about $5. You spray water from the bottle and the fan cools your face and neck. It was carried with us on all the tours. We shared the spray and fan breeze with the other folks on the tour. It was a God-sent.

 

The natives in the Amazon and Amazon cities are very nice compared with the natives living along the Atlantic coast. The cities along the coast (Forteleza and Belem we were escorted by armed guards on our tours). The beaches were beautiful, but safety was a huge issue. In the Amazon area....no problem. The Amazon is very rural, many places lack electricity, and the people live off the land, but are very poor.

 

Bring candy with you to give to the children. It will be very appreciated.

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