FlyerTalk Forums - Cruising the Amazon and more

This cruise was too special not to do a trip report on, even this late.

Multiple days cruising the Amazon on a ship large enough to provide comforts, yet small enough to get around.
The ship, the 5 star 7 Seas Mariner, an all-inclusive, relatively expensive cruise line. We were in cabin 971 with open seating meals, robes, slippers, HD, safe, refrig, flat screen, phone fruit and a stocked inclusive bar of our choice. Our 301 sq.ft. room included a balcony, King bed and a/c.

We started with flights from San Diego, Ca to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The date was Feb. 24, 2013.
First the nightmare. We did it all with AA, internet check-in, gave phone # for “issues”, and check the flight before leaving. Upon arrival at the SAN we were told the flight had been cancelled the NIGHT BEFORE! But this is not about flights, but about a great cruise, so the short story is we flew all over, cramped in center rows, and got there late. Fortunately, we had a hotel for the night (junior suite, room 1426 Marriott, it does pay to write a letter!!), and our cruise did not leave until the following day.

The cruise departed out of Rio on a 22 day journey that would end in Miami. Almost every tour is included in the cruise fare, as are the beverages. Our first stop, after a day and ½ of sailing was Salvador de Bahia, Brazil. Leslie (wife) took one of the tours, but I decided to walk into town. I was coughing a bit and did not want to pass it to anyone. The walk to the Mercado in the lower town is about 3 miles RT. The 2 story Mercado is stuffed with goods to buy. It is crowded, narrow aisles, but no pressure from the vendors. I’m in shorts and a T-shirt, and most of the walk is in the shade. Some items are priced, so not, but I find nothing I cannot do without, so I pass on purchasing. Leslie’s bus and walking tour covers the City, museums and churches. Part of the walk was steep, another reason for me to pass on the tour. It is 88, and humid. The rain showerhead in our room felt good with some cool water. The pressure was average and the water soft. I took a nap and watched some TV, before Leslie returned. The TV has about 20 channels, about ½ of which are ship sponsored.

While we intend to have all our breakfasts in our room, dinner is another thing. Besides the main dining room, there are specialty eateries, and they are included at no extra charge. Reservations make for some allocation of these alternative eateries. The food is top of the line, and almost always well above meals we have had on the many other cruises we have taken on “mid line” companies. Because my cough gets a bit more persistent, we start having dinner in our room too! This proves to be quite acceptable, and no dress code. Toward the end of the cruise, we eat in the Italian diner almost every night. A table for 2.

The next day is filled with activities on board, but we finish settling in and do some planning. Most of our tours are prebooked, and we have our schedule on the wall of our cabin (always bring magnets on a cruise!). the schedule helps us keep tabs on our activities and it helps the room steward to know when we will be away so he can do our cabin. Oh, we did dress up a bit for dinner and had some lobster…a formal night.
Our next stop is Fortaleza, Brazil. Leslie and I take the “Fortaleza Highlights” tour. This tour attracts about 300 of the passengers. None of the buses are loaded to the max, part of the high class nature of the cruise. The seats are comfortable and the bus has a toi. Cladio is our guide. His English is a bit challenging, and he talks fast, covering lots of history, legend, and current affairs. Traffic is light. The first part of our tour is the beach area which includes shanty housing right down to the water! The water is not of a quality for safe swimming, but we are told the poor swim there anyway. People from the hotels go to the beaches further down where the water quality is better. At night the beaches are too dangerous for tourists!. Such is the divide between the wealthy and poor in Brazil, and here in Fortaleza. The rich and poor live very close to each other, causing even more tension. Our first stop is the church. While the style is old world, the facility was done in the 1900’s. We are allowed in, and to look around, even thought mass was being held. The church is modestly adorned with lots of stained glass, huge interior heights and a few alter areas. Our second stop is the Praca Joge de Alencar Theatre from 1910. There is nothing particularly impressive about the facility, except perhaps its existence at all. Our final stop is the Mercado. Handicrafts abound. Cashews are sold at 30R/kilo. Fortaleza is the 5 largest city in Brazil at 2 million plus. Portuguese is spoken and not much English. The US dollar is much more accepted than we are led to believe on ship.

We are now headed for the Amazon. While in the Amazon we will not be able to make fresh water The water is too murky and our speeds to slow. We are asked to conserve water will in the Amazon! The Amazon is the longest, second longest, river in the world (Nile is longer). The volume handled is near or more that all the rivers in the world added together! The river is so wide, that many times we cannot see land from our balcony! The Amazon basin is larger than the continental USA.

As we approach the mouth of the river we see more birds and some fishing boats. We come to Macapa, where we take on our two Amazon River Navigator Guides (required). We barely slowdown. We are now 2575 miles from Rio. We are doing 14 knots
We next stop at at Alter do Chao. This is a tender port. Each tender holds up to 90 passengers, but they do not fill them before heading to shore. Three tenders handle the transportation for those going ashore. Many of the products sold here, and elsewhere in Brazil are not legal to bring into the USA. Special treatment or fumigation is required and such equipment is not available here. The tender trip is 15 minutes and is smooth. Many passengers are offloading here to swim in the Amazon. Here it is relatively “safe”. The area is actually an island. Canoe rides are given for 2-10R’s. We walk a couple of blocks to the “walk to” beach, then go to “town” and visit their modest church. There are permanent shops and cafes , as wlell as, many stalls along the street. US$ are accept. We head back after a hour or so. It is very hot and still humid aplenty!

Lamb chops and pinot noir for dinner in the room….oom. OH, and the often gotten shrimp coattail.

Our next stop is Boca Da Valeria. This is a very “iffy” port. It was contrived by the cruise lines to be a stop. The locals have made a temporary “camp” where they come from miles around (up to 100 miles) to meet the few ships that stop here. There are a couple huts and “residents”. These are not wild indigenous Indians, but the more common mixed blood residents that make up most all those we will encounter on our trip. Here we run into the young children “swarming” and begging. Sales are a bit more pushed. They only have a few hours to make some hard currency. Oh, this port is also tendered into. The area we see is about 2-3 blocks long and one wide. The walking is muddy and uneven. $5 or 5R boat rides are offered. Everyone is “for sale” to be pictured with. There are arts and crafts for sale, but not many. You also can “tour” a home on the flood plain. Leslie and I both see the pink dolphin, famous in these waters. They are quite small for dolphin. Experiences of those who got off here varied. Many passengers passed. This is “Hollywood” with a cast of “locals”. Some of those that visited late in our stay were rained on fairly hard. This is the rain forest! The ship does provide umbrellas. Oh, bottled water is free on board and is supplied to those going ashore as well.

We eat in our room and watch a Clint Eastwood movie. Movies are free on board too. Gratituties are also included in the fare, but a white elephant sale is held each cruise to build funds to buy tours for the crew and equipment, etc for their use. Very few “hold in your hand items” are offered. Most are “rights”. Enterview your choice of employee on the ship and it will be shown on TV. Work as a bartender for an hour. Have dinner with the chef in the kitchen. A record $45,000 was collected! Did I mention this is an expensive cruise and many of those sailing do it monthly!
Our next stop is Manaus. We are here two nights. We sign up for 3 tours, but chicken out on one. This city of 2 million people did not exist on land, until the Opera House was built in the 1800’s. Until them everyone live on ships and locals on boats. The rubber barons came in the late mid 1800’s and went out of business in the 1920’s . the rubber was worth little to the natives (caulking their boats) but they we happy to sell it. There was no organized plantations, just natures area of a few trees here and some more there. Manaus had a monopoly on rubber. Henry Ford came and invested. Eventually seeds and plants found their way out of Manaus onto more furtile and organized plantings closer to markets. The rapid decline in the economics in Manaus led the Country to designate it as a free port and donated land to prop up the labor market. This is a major thriving city today, but surrounded by the past.

Our first tour in Manaus is a 3 ½ hour bus ride. We ride all over the city, but no road exists to any other city from here. The massive profits from rubber are demonstrated in the many large estates, the port facilities and some public buildings. Much of this building is blocks from the port, as the river floods that much each year with its rise and fall. Our first stop is the Military Zoo. Yes the military runs the zoo here! The two coexist, as it is a training ground for the military to survive in the jungle. We had a bit over 45 minutes at the zoo. Leslie and I could have spent another hour. Fortunately, we know how to do zoos, so we made the most of our time. Pictures were allowed (Leslie’s pictures will be lined to this report), but not of the military or the installations.

Our second stop was the opera house. Much of the building was built from ship ballast. People dressed in their finest would make their way from ships they lived on up the 3-4 blocks in carrages in the humid and hot weather. Ice blocks in tunnels circulated into the theater to provide a modest amount of cool. OH, allo entry fees are included in our cruise fare. Our last stop was the Indian Museum. This is a small museum run by the Nuns. Pottery, plates, baskets, weapons and household items are shown. The tour took about 30 minutes.
Tonight we were scheduled to go caiman hunting in a small canoe with a guide (included free) to catch, bring in the boat, photo and release caiman. We chickened out and passed on this activity.

Today we take a second tour in Manaus called “Parting of the Waters” (4 ½ hours). We get off the ship and load onto a “ferry” boat that looks like a 3 story paddle wheeler. Lots of room, as only 50 people sign up for this tour. Many other tours are offered. The guide is fairly easy to understand and the material he presents matches much of the written material we had. We see some egrets and a few tiny dolphin while we head for our first stop. We pass several “homes” and “restaurants along the way. WE come to a “docking” area and offload from the ferry and a put on smaller canoe type boats holding 8-10 people. We spend the next hour putting thru the jungle on these canoes. A highlight was the giant lily pads and flowers. The pads are about 6’ across and the flowers the size of a bowling ball. Soon the rainy season will come and all of these plants will be ripped out. Our second and last stop on the ferry is the meeting of the Rio Negro and the Rio Solimoes, a bit less than a mile downstream from Manaus. The rivers meet, but do not mix because of the differences in temperature, density, flow rates and PH. We spend a lot of time here taking pictures before heading back to the ship.
We have our second evacuation drill here. Very civilized. It is held in the lounges (no drinks or food allowed). Tomorrow we arrive at Parintins.
In Parintins, only one tour is offered, and the capacity is only about ½ of the passengers. Hear we see a presentation of the Boi Bumba Folk presentation (http://boibumba.com/albums/festa/festa_en.htm). While this is only a practive/demonstration production, it is the winner from last year’s contest. The festival is second only to Marti Gras in Rio in size for a folkloric program in Brazil. In June, they over fill a 35,000 seat outdoor arena. It last 6 hours a day for 3 days. It features teams of over 1000 members each. Our presentation is in the convention center, seating about 350 people. Viewing is restricted, as the seating in on a flat floor. Several people hold their I pads/laptops up and block much of the show, while they take picturesand see it all. Suggest you ignore the normal procedure and get off the ship early and get in line for a front row seat. The showroom is very near the dock. There are vendor stalls in the area. For $5 a pedi cab will take you the mile into town.

Our last stop in the Amazon is Santarem. We do the Highlights tour (3 hours). Santarem is located about 21 miles from Alter do Chao. It is a town of about 300,000. Our tour is one of many choices include in our fare. The buses are those used for the city’s general bus system. They are uncomfortable and no A/c or toi. Our guide is Gyro (sp?). He is a high school English teacher. He is not a native of Santarem, but is from a small native village not too far away. He does a great job and earns plenty of tips (not included in our cruise fare). Our tour takes us out of the city about 20 miles to a farm. Here we will see some incredible processes. The farm has rubber trees, Brazil nuts, fruits and roots. We start with a 15 minute stroll thru the farm crops. The owner is a “tapper” and shows us how rubber (latex is collected).this is a sustainable process, as the trees last about 50 years. The tapper has lasted about 80 years so far! Next we are shown how the root of a tree/shrub is used to make tapioca and a powder used as a staple in the diet of the locals. The tapioca I refer to is what you buy in a box, not the finished product that you eat. The root is peeled. The center in ground and placed in the peelings to squeeze out the liquid. The liquid is dried to leave the floury residual which is the tapioca. The “mash” is dried and added to food locally. It takes 3 people to do this job by hand and hand tools. Our next presentation is the Brazil nut…are you ready? The demonstrator held up a round object the size of a small bowling ball (from the tree). He then wacked the ball with a machete many times. When the top was cut off, he dumped the ball and out came about 30 Brazil nuts in there shells, just like we see them in the market! Each shell contains 20-50 nuts, we are told. We try some raw nuts. Next we are offered tastings of several types of bananas, cucumber and some other items undefined. Some shell trinkets are offered for sale. On the way back to the city Gyro filled our heads with history of the area, the free housing, the schooling, etc.

The tour continues on to the Cathedral Nossa Senhora da Conceicao ( http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catedra...i%C3%A7%C3%A3o). This second generation church dates back to 1761. Its earlier rendition was constructed of palm fronds in 16161. The church is nicely done but not overly ornate. Across from the church are many souvenir and handicraft stalls. A bit away is our next stop on Avenida Tapajos. The new tourist pier on the river where one can view the “parting of the waters”. This is not the best view, but the breeze is a relief from the weather. Our final stop is another Indian museum. This multipurpose building holds history, Indian artifacts, period furniture, souvenirs, and some painting. We ride back to the ship with Gyro encouraging any questions. Another great tour guide!

The computer use on the ship is expensive, mostly because it is so slow. Fortunately, they give status based on past sailings AND the current cruise duration. While new to Regent 7 Seas, our cruise is long enough to qualifly us for free internet use. It took about 40 minutes to get to and empty my Hotmail account. We also were given $700 of On Board Credit. Toward the end of the cruise we used this up. Leslie got a mid priced watch, a couple of blouses and I got a few shirts. Shirt prices were $65-100, hats $20, watches started at $125, and sunglasses could be had from about $75 and up.
Today we cruise out of the Amazon and start our journey North on the way to Miami. Truck stop food is being served on deck in a special party mode. Our first stop is Devil’s Island of the coast of French Guiana. We had watch the movie Papillion to remind us of the story and conditions of this island. We are visiting Isle Royale, one of the three Salvation Islands known as Devil’s Island. The self-guided tour is a walk about of about 2 hours or so. Most of the original buildings are closed, a couple rebuilt and a small hotel has been built out of the administrative buildings. This is a tender stop. The island was selected because of its remoteness and horrible water conditions. The sea is giving our ship a bit of a rocking. The crew tender makes it into shore, but the first passenger tender, with Leslie aboard, fails to make it and must turn back. The captain decides to scrap this port.

Tonight we eat at Prime 7 for the second time. This is the steak and seafood upscale choice. Leslie had escargot, filet of beef and lobster. I had onion soup and lamb chops.

Our next stop is Bridgetown, Barbados (we have been before). We signed up for the of Barbados tour (3 ½ hours scheduled, but it took 4). We do a material drive before going to our first stop Sunbury Plantation House. The place is 300 years old. We tour the ground floor with a guide, and then do a self-guided tour of the 4 upstairs bedrooms. Next is the carriage house, workroom and equipment display. Everyone then assembles in the garden for a ruckuses rum presentation and tasting. Along with the rum and sexual innuendos, we are served jerk chicken and fish balls. Our next tour stop is Orchid Gardens for an hour. Trees, shrubs and a few orchid houses. Our final stop is the Signal Station. This is one of 6 such facilities used to overlook the island for early signs of any slave uprisings. Later they were used to spot any foreign invaders.
Our next port is Gustavia, St. Barts. The island “Overview” tour is overbooked, but we get on the” Best of” which seem little different except in name. The tour is only scheduled for 1 ¼ hours, but takes much longer because of horrible traffic, narrow roads and the few picture stops, not scheduled. Our guide/driver spoke English, with a heavy French accent. This port is a tender ride of about 15 minutes each way. The view of the hoses and marina suggest lots of money to live on this island.

Our last port before Miami is San Juan, Puerto Rico, another repeat for us. Here we must clear customs before going ashore. With only 2 agents, the process goes slowly. 11 passengers are ending their cruise here and flying home.
Our tour in San Juan, is “City and Bacardi Rum Distillery” (4 ½ hours). It is expected that the tour will be an extended time, as we must work around the triathlon being held. Our English speaking driver/guide takes us on an adventurous drive crossing the line of bikers without interrupting the race or hitting anyone. This was necessary to get to Bacardi. The brewery itself is off-limits! We had been there decades ago and were allowed to tour the brewery. The commercial tour fortunately did not include a time share type sale of rum futures. We had a few drinks, suffered under various photo taking rules depending on where on the property we were, and were passed thru the gift shop and drink sales. Our bus takes to El Moro Castle next. Because of the triathlon, we cannot get very close, so were are given a choice. Get off and walk several blocks to the castle, then walk back to the ship OR stay on the bus and go back to the ship. Leslie and I, plus only one other couple opt to get off and do the “walking/self guided tour”. The driver gives us entry tickets. This is a farily strenuous walk, in the heat, but I was surprised that so few opted to do the rest of the tour (the tour is included in the cruise fare, is that the difference?). The walk back to the ship provided lots of shopping opportunities. Once back to the ship and showered, we had some wine on our balcony and watched the ships in this most busy cruise harbor.

It is a couple more days cruising before we reach Miami. Our flight home, unlike our precruise flight, was tolerable.
Misc. notes: Generally the temperatures were hot and humid. While liquoir was included, we never saw anyone that seemed “drunk”, but then we are in bed by 10 PM. We booked our trip on Pavlus Travel, as usual. Our agent is Pam. They usually are a bit cheaper that Costco, and no membership is required. We have done a major cruise since this one, and returned to Holland American. You need to pay for a lot more ala carte, but it is much cheaper in total for us.

We took Go shuttle to the airport. A big sedan, driver and placard pick up on the way home. The fare is a bit under $200 RT, including tip. The drivers seem to make an effort to “do it right”.

The massive crew to passenger ratio really shows on Regent 7 Seas. The food was always upscale, however on a couple time the cooking was a bid off leaving a less than perfect experience. The alternative eateries are all nice and included. The limits to attend each are somewhat flexible. Room service food was always good.

Laundry on the Mariner included self service, which we used. There are filicities on several floors. Our laundry, on 9, has 3 washers, 3 dryers, 2 irons, 4 chairs, a TV and folding table. Soap is included in the wash. The washer takes 35-45 minutes. The dryer is a bit less dependable, based on what your are drying. Dryer sheet are your responsibility, as is bleach. Everyone seems to do a good job of getting their loads thru the system without those annoying people that “forget to come back”. The machines keep busy and conversation is good in the waiting area. Cleaning and dry-cleaning is available from the ship, but the prices are astounding. There is complimentary pressing (2 items/week). I believe you can get more, if you have more sailings with them.

If money was “no issue”, I would likely always include this line in my analyses for the next cruise.

Leslie took lots of PICTURES. For the same reasons this is so late, the work to do the pictures is even greater than the write-up. A link will be added when they are done (July?).

I do recommend this cruise.

Sorry for typos and general misspellings.