October 05 - 22, 2024
17 Days
Tour Status - Available
The Amazon is indisputably the largest river on earth by volume of discharge. At its mouth, its flow into the Atlantic Ocean is greater than the next seven largest rivers combined. Whether it is the world’s longest river is a matter of dispute among geographers, but most finally concede it may rank second to the Nile in length. It is between 110 and 180 miles wide at its mouth, again depending on which measurement you accept. Your voyage will navigate the river something like 1,000 miles from the sea. This unique voyage visits the “Heart of the Amazon” where many ships and cruises do not visit due to their size. The Amazon basin covers 40 percent of South America and contains one third of all known living species. The river itself supports over 5,600 species of fish alone. Although it flows through Brazil, it is in many ways a country unto itself, with a unique, or rather many unique lifestyles and cultures. The life along the shores, both human and otherwise, is profoundly affected by the river’s ever-changing cycles of drought and flood. There is a lot to learn about the Amazon. Enjoy your journey along its fascinating shores.
Tour Highlights
Welcomes you to all-inclusive, luxury cruising refined to its purest form. Where hand-selected
itineraries take you to places beyond the reach of larger ships.
• Economy airfare from major North American gateways to/from cruises • Two nights hotel accommodations in Barbados • All ocean-front suites, luxuriously appointed • All suites include a walk-in closet • Beautifully designed five-fixture marble bathrooms with double vanities • All suites have elegant living areas with sofa and dining table • Complimentary premium spirits and fine wines available on board at all times • Personalized bar set up creating a home away from home • Guests can entertain from a fully stocked bar • Tipping is neither required, nor expected • World-class dining, further enhanced through a culinary partnership • Intimate ships with a private club atmosphere PLUS MUCH MORE……..
Day 1 - Oct 05, 2024: Arrive Barbados
Flight from Canada to Barbados for a two night hotel stay.
Day 2 - Oct 06, 2024: Barbados
A free day to relax or an option tour to tour the island. Bridgetown, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is an elegant capital city proudly displaying its 400 years of British heritage. Although, originally settled by Amerindian peoples 1,500 years ago, in the 17th century Barbados became one of the largest and most successful sugarcane producing areas in the world. At one point in time the income from sugar outweighed that of all the other British colonies combined. A stroll through town will guide you through Bridgetown’s history, to the statue of Admiral Horatio Nelson, past the Parliament Buildings, St Michaels Cathedral, St Mary’s church, Jubilee Gardens and eventually over Chamberlain Bridge. A picturesque seaside boardwalk will lead you to one of the many exceptional shoreline cafes and restaurants. One thousand year old Baobab trees in Queen’s Park, the largest in the Caribbean, stand as silent witnesses to past life here. Lounge on a serene beach, explore a plantation, discover sea turtles and even sample one of the islands renowned rhum distilleries.
Day 3 - Oct 07, 2024: Board Cruise
This afternoon we board the Seabourn Venture, a ultra-luxury purpose-built expedition ship, paying tribute to the remote destinations visited.
Day 4 - Oct 08, 2024: Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago: 3pm till 11pm
The capital of Trinidad & Tobago is one of the most important cities in the Caribbean basin. Between the Gulf of Paria and the Northern Range hills, it harbors the mechanisms of business, including the powerful oil and gas industry, alongside the reminders of the colonial period and close beside the rain forest and beach ecosystems that one would expect in a Caribbean island. The sprawling Queen’s Park Savannah is a large green space holding a Royal Botanical Garden and a zoo. Woodford Square is the social center of the city, where opinionated Trinidadians are free to voice their objections and congratulations in public. The Red House is the nation’s parliamentary building, rebuilt in 1906 after it was burned in civil unrest in the Water Riots of 1903. Most visitors are impressed by the Magnificent Seven, a collection of Victorian and Edwardian mansions recalling a boom period. To get a better feel for all things Trinidad, a better option may be to take a circle-island tour revealing the diversity and richness of the land and culture.
Day 5 - Oct 09, 2024: Day at Sea
Day at sea.
Day 6 - Oct 10, 2024: Day at Sea
Day at sea.
Day 7 - Oct 11, 2024: Paramaribo, Suriname: 8am till 4pm
Paramaribo is the capital and largest city of Suriname, located on the banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 241,000 people, almost half of Suriname's population. The historic inner city of Paramaribo has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2002.
Day 8 - Oct 12, 2024: Devils Island, French Guiana: 8am till 5pm
Before they were a notorious penal colony, the Iles de Salut (Islands of Salvation) provided French colonists with a welcome escape from the fever-ridden jungles of the Guiana mainland. Lying ten miles off the coastline, and swept by treacherous ocean currents, the trio of small islands provided a perfect isolated location for incarcerating criminals without danger or expense, since the shark-infested sea and the trackless jungles ashore precluded any possibility of escape. All three islands, popularly known as Devil's Island, were used as a prison from 1852 to 1953. Your day is free to explore the prison ruins or search for signs of the surprisingly abundant wildlife.
Day 9 - Oct 13, 2024: Day at Sea
Day st sea.
Day 10 - Oct 14, 2024: Macapa, Brazil: 8am till 6pm / Crossing the Equator
Capital of the Amapá state in northern Brazil, Macapá is located in the Amazon delta along the river’s northern channel where it feeds into the Atlantic. It also sits directly on the Equator, a distinction marked by the 98-foot-high Marco Zero monument where you can stand astride the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Portuguese settlers established an outpost here in the early 18th century; the Fortaleza de São José, dating from 1782, stands as a symbol of the city’s colonial past and one of the best-preserved military structures in Brazil. Macapá — which is accessible only by boat or plane — serves as a pitstop for migrating birds, seen feeding alongside flamingos, ibises, and other local species that inhabit its rich wetlands. Surfers flock here for a chance to ride the Pororoca, one of the longest tidal bores in the world with waves that reach 12 feet in height. Less extreme activities include relaxing on a wide river beach like Fazendinha and Araxá, browsing Casa de Artesão for unusual handcrafts made by the area’s indigenous people, and visiting the nearby village of Apa do Curiaú, home to descendants of escaped slaves.
If you are a “pollywog,” who has never crossed the line at sea, you will be expected to undergo a mock trial by King Neptune and his court for the entertainment of the “shellbacks” who have already done so. Mild but hilarious indignities will be conjured, and in the end a good time will be had by most, if not all.
Day 11 - Oct 15, 2024: Amazon Experience: 7am till 2pm
Depending on the water levels and other changing conditions, your captain and veteran expedition leader will choose from among the innumerable fascinating sites along this particular stretch of the Amazon River to plot itineraries for Zodiac and kayak explorations, treks and visits to places and people of interest. Expedition team members will also be on deck and in observation lounges offering insights into the passing terrain and pointing out wildlife and other highlights while the ship is at anchor or cruising the river.
Day 12 - Oct 16, 2024: Santarem, Brazil: 7am till 6pm
Santarém sits along the Tapajós River midway between Belém and Manaus in the heart of the Brazilian Amazon. Founded as a Jesuit colony in 1661 and a major player during Brazil’s rubber boom, Santarém still hums as one of the region's busier export hubs. Most visitors use the city as a jumping-off point for nearby adventures — starting along the crystalline Tapajós, its banks lined with gorgeous white sands that stretch for more than 60 miles. Sunseekers usually head to the popular beach resort of Alter do Chão, dubbed the “Brazilian Caribbean.” Santarém also boasts its own “meeting of the waters” between the Tapajós and Amazon rivers; while the confluence is not as dramatic as that in Manaus, it is still a spectacular sight to witness the clear, aquamarine waters of the Tapajós run alongside the dark Amazon for miles before finally merging. Around an hour’s drive outside the city lies Tapajós National Forest, which preserves nearly 1.5 million acres of Amazon rainforest including sustainable, community-based hardwood production. Take a jungle trek amidst dense foliage including rubber plants, brazil nut trees and giant samaúmas, known locally as “grandmother trees.”
Day 13 - Oct 17, 2024: Amazon Experience: 6am till 6:30pm
Depending on the water levels and other changing conditions, your captain and veteran expedition leader will choose from among the innumerable fascinating sites along this particular stretch of the Amazon River to plot itineraries for Zodiac and kayak explorations, treks and visits to places and people of interest. Expedition team members will also be on deck and in observation lounges offering insights into the passing terrain and pointing out wildlife and other highlights while the ship is at anchor or cruising the river.
Day 14 - Oct 18, 2024: Parintins, Brazil: 6am till 12pm
Located in the Brazilian state of Amazonas about 230 miles east of Manaus, Parintins sits on one of four islands that formed when an earlier fluvial island was split apart by the convergence of the Madeira, Sucunduri and Abacaxis rivers into the Amazon. The small city — which is only accessible by water or air — is home to the annual Boi-Bumbá Festival, the second-largest celebration in Brazil behind Rio’s Carnival. During the last weekend of June, tens of thousands of revelers fill Parintins’ enormous Bumbódromo stadium as elaborately costumed singers, dancers and musicians — alongside parade floats and giant puppets — perform a choreographed retelling of the Boi-Bumbá folktale, in which a beloved ox (boi) is sacrificed before being revived by a local shaman. Even if your Seabourn ship doesn’t visit during June, you can still experience the magic with a mini-performance at the Galpão das Artes center, which also houses previous floats. Take in the city sights while riding in a triciclo — the local version of an Asian tuk-tuk — and browse the Mercado Municipal for herbal medicines and crafts made by the indigenous Mawé (Sateré-Mawé) people.
Day 15- Oct 19, 2024: Amazon Experience: 6am till 6:30pm
Depending on the water levels and other changing conditions, your captain and veteran expedition leader will choose from among the innumerable fascinating sites along this particular stretch of the Amazon River to plot itineraries for Zodiac and kayak explorations, treks and visits to places and people of interest. Expedition team members will also be on deck and in observation lounges offering insights into the passing terrain and pointing out wildlife and other highlights while the ship is at anchor or cruising the river.
Day 16 - Oct 20, 2024: Amazon Experience: 6am till 6:30pm
Depending on the water levels and other changing conditions, your captain and veteran expedition leader will choose from among the innumerable fascinating sites along this particular stretch of the Amazon River to plot itineraries for Zodiac and kayak explorations, treks and visits to places and people of interest. Expedition team members will also be on deck and in observation lounges offering insights into the passing terrain and pointing out wildlife and other highlights while the ship is at anchor or cruising the river.
Day 17 - Oct 21, 2024: Manaus, Brazil: 7am / Disembark Ship
Disembark ship and have a city and area tour of Manaus, the largest city on the Amazon and the main port for export and import on the river. It is actually located on the Rio Negro a few miles from where it meets the Rio Solimoes to form the Amazon at the famous Meeting of the Waters. The Teatro Amazonas is an Italian Renaissance Opera House constructed of imported materials, which hosted world-famous artists at the height of the rubber boom. Transfer to an airport hotel for day room until flight departs back to Canada, early the next day.
Day 18 - Oct 22, 2024: Flight to North America
Early morning flight from Manaus back to North America.
