2024 RSSC Amazon Cruise – November 17 – December 11
Day 0 – Nov. 16 – Travel to Miami for pre-night hotel stay
We embark on an adventure that has been on our bucket list for years – visiting the Amazon River. To avoid the long flight to Brazil, we decide on a cruise that departs and returns to Miami. The cruiseline is Regent Seven Seas (RSSC), and the ship is the Mariner. This is the same ship that we will be on when we take our 2025 World Cruise, departing January 7. We’re looking forward to this “pre-cruise” where we will have the opportunity to meet our bartenders, cabin steward, and- most importantly- our sommalier!
But first, we check into our AC Bicnell Hotel only to find that our room is not yet available. We head to the rooftop bar to have our traditional vacation “welcome” drink – beer for Melanie and Brut Cava for me. Vacation has begun!
After checking in, we take a walk along the boardwalk to the “wheel” by the waterfront. The Palm Trees already are decorated for Christmas! Later, we have a fabulous Thai meal in a local restaurant before calling it a night.
Day 1 – Nov. 17 – Miami Departure
We begin the morning with a brisk walk by the ocean (again). We walk in a different direction, and see a few new sights. We see a monument dedicated to Cubans who died in the ocean attempting to escape repression.
The Liberty Column
Since 1959 thousands of Cubans have perished anonymously while fleeing tyranny in small boats or makeshift rafts, although their names, like martyred refugees of other nations, are written solely on the pages of the sea: this column is the permanent testimony of the human need to be free.
Taking an Uber to our ship, we arrive just in time for our scheduled 1PM boarding. Check in was seamless and efficient, and we’re onboard before we know it!
As our cabin isn’t ready yet, we head to find our new “Sunset Bar”. On the Azamara ships, this is a an outdoor bar/lunch area at the back of the ship. We’re expecting to find a similar location on Regent – and we’re off to find it, where we’ll enjoy our welcome aboard drink!
We meet up with our friends Lori and Vicki, who we met on the 2024 Azamara World cruise. They introduce us to two of their friends, Todd and Steven, with whom they are travelling. As we sail away from Miami, the six of us make plans to have dinner together. This is going to be a fabulous cruise!
Day 2/3 – Nov. 18/19 – Two Sea Days
We begin the cruise with two sea days. The overiding theme of the first two day is unpacking, baby! We’re getting familiar with the cabin (style) that we’ll be residing in for five months in 2025, and already making adjustments to what we’ll need to bring.
After exploring the ship, We head to La Veranda (the buffet) for lunch. We’re pleased to find that the buffet here is larger than the buffet on the RSSC Navigator (the first Regent ship we sailed on). However, the buffet isn’t nearly as large as the Azamara buffet, which we love! However, the lunch at the pool grill is much larger (and nicer) than Azamara’s. It’s all a balance!
After lunch, we walk around the track, shower, and change for dinner. We meet our friends in the Mariner Bar for pre-dinner cocktails.
We begin the second sea day with a wine tasting after breakfast. Yes – this is really just a tasting – not a wine drinking session disguised as a tasting. There was a table set up where you could taste all of the complimentary wines to decide your favorites.
After lunch, we peruse the shops before walking and getting ready for the late afternoon / evening activities. We are invited to a reception hosted by Signature Collection , which is a travel agency consortium that our travel agent, Richard, participates in. The Captain’s Reception, cocktails, dinner, and the show follow. Tomorrow the port fun begins!
Day 4 – Nov. 20 – St. Barts
Today we have not one, but two catamaran tours. As we’re tendering, we meet in the theatre to collect our tour tickets. One of the things that we like about Regent is that we are not required to wear the sticky tour numbers on our clothes.
The morning tour took us around to a beach, where we had the opportunity to swim in a protected cove. The water was lovely! As Melanie had her swimming goggles on, she saw several sea turtles, and one stingray. As I hadn’t brought my goggles, I practiced all of my swim strokes – the water was perfect!
After getting back onto the boat, we were offered beer and rum punch as we sailed back to the ship.
After running back to the ship for a quick lunch, we came back out to explore St. Barts before our sunset cruise. We walked around the few streets of the town, seeing mostly famous designer stores. Not really our scene, but the sunset sail was a different story – beautiful! Click on the sunset to see the full photo album.
Day 5 – Nov. 21 – Guadaloupe
Today we arrive in Point a Pitre, Guadaloupe. As we’ve never been in Guadaloupe before, we decide to maximize our time here by taking an all-day land tour. This works out well for us, as we had spent most of yesterday in the water!
Highlights of the tour included a local cemetery (Cemetierre Morne-a-l’eau), Damoiseau rum distillery, the charming town of St. Ann’s and some great views! Click on any of the pictures below to find out why the graves in the cemetery are decorated with black and white tiles, and who St. Anne was (in the Christian religion)!
Day 6 – Nov. 22 – St. George, Grenada
Today we head back into the water! This is an interesting day for us, because there is an underwater sculpture garden here, which we missed on our last visit. Today we are checking off that bucket list item! We’re taking a catamaran to the snorkel site, snorkeling above the sculptures, and then sailing to a beach were we can explore local markets, have some rum punch and enjoy the surf. We mostly avoided the markets and bar, but did love the surf!
As we didn’t take any pictures of the underwater sculptures, I don’t have a full photo album for today. However, the following pictures captures the essence of the day.
Day 7 – Nov. 23 – Trinidad and Tobago
We visited Trinidad today, which was a lovely treat! Our excursion was a “city tour” with a visit to the Angostera Rum distillery. We didn’t realize that this was the same factory that produced the famous Angostera Bitters! It was amazing – a very different experience from the distillery we visited in Guadalupe.
Click on the pictures to get the full story!
Day 8 – 10 – Nov. 24 – 26 – Sea Days
Three sea days! I’ve posted a few ship pictures below. The most significant activity during these three days, was the “Equator Crossing Ceremony”. I’ve posted a few pictures below of this ceremony, as well as a beautiful sunset we enjoyed from our balcony.
Day 11 – Nov. 27 – Santarem, Brazil
We head to Santarem today, a historic city bordered by the Amazon and Tapajos rivers. Both run along many kilometers in the front of the city, side by side, without mixing. Amazon’s milky colored water carries sediment from the Andes in the East, while the Tapajo’s water is somewhat warmer and has a deep-blue tone. This phenomenon is called ‘The meeting of the water’ by the locals. We take a boat tour to see the “meeting of the waters”, and also do a little piranha fishing. (Not me, of course!) The link in the picture will tell the story!
Day 12 – November 28 – Boca Da Valeria
Today, we visit a very small village, Boca Da Valeria. We’ve been told that less than 90 people live there, but it felt like there were more than 90 children greeting us as we left the ship! We were warned that the children would “offer” us the chance to hold whatever animal that they had with them, be it a baby crocodile, a sloth, a parrot, or even a giant grasshopper! We took plenty of $1.00 bills to tip for pictures, nature guides, or house tours. This was a unique opportunity to see and experience the local life of an authetic Amazonian Village. The story continues by clicking on any of the pictures below.
Day 13 – November 29 – Manaus
Today we visit Manaus, city and river port, capital of Amazonas estado (state), northwestern Brazil. It lies along the north bank of the Negro River, 11 miles (18 km) above that river’s influx into the Amazon River. Manaus is situated in the heart of the Amazon Rainforest, and is the 7th largest city in Brazil. However, we go outside of the city to visit an indiginous village in the heart of the Amazon, and to se and experience the pink dolphins, which are not found anywhere else in the world. (Yes, pink dolphins exist!)
Click on the picture belowfor the story!
Day 15 – December 1 – Alter Do Chao
Today we visit Alter do Chão, a languid riverside town, appealing due to it’s white sand beaches that’s popular with visitors from Santarém on weekends and during holiday periods. As this is a Sunday in December, the beaches are not very crowded. After tendering to town, we walk around seeing the town sites, and walk on the beach. Clicking on the pictures tells the story!
Days 16-18 – December 2-4 – Sea Days
We have three full sea days as we sail back to the Carribbean. In our earlier cruising days, we avoided cruises that had a lot of cruise days, as we wanted to see as much as possible. However, on longer cruises, we have found that we really look forward to sea days. After four or five days in a row of touring or having adventures, we are ready for some down time!
