luxury amazon river cruise Luxury cruises on the Amazon River: focus on local companies

Luxury cruises on the Amazon River: focus on local companies


The Amazon region covers about 60 percent of the territory of Peru with its dense rain forest, a real natural sanctuary characterized by an amazing variety of fauna and the presence of indigenous villages along the banks of the river. Much of the area is inaccessible except by river transport: hence the remarkable development of the cruise market on the Amazon.

Amazon Air - Observation Deck

Those who want to visit Peru and have a decent budget can choose between two main local operators: Delfin Amazon Cruises and Aqua Expeditions. Both companies offer cruises on the great South American river lasting 3 to 7 nights. Important foreign companies, such as the American Avalon Waterways, frequently charter cabins on the ships of the latter.

Delfin Amazon Cruises, the first luxury brand to offer cruises in the Amazon, was founded in 2006 by Peruvian Aldo Macchiavello and his wife, Lissy Urteaga. Macchiavello, years ago, worked in high international finance, but returned home to contribute to the development of this new rich market. The Delfin fleet consists of three units: Delfin I, with only 4 cabins with prices starting at $ 1,200 per night per person; Delfin II, whose 14 cabins are offered at $ 1,000 per night per person upwards; Delfin III, which offers 22 cabins from $ 800 a night to climb per person.

Delfin III

Delfin III - Canopy Lounge
Delfin III - Canopy Lounge
Delfin III - Owner
Delfin III - Owner's Suite
Delfin III - Pool
Delfin III - Pool
According to Ines Rodriguez, marketing and sales director of the company, "the boats are designed to be an extension of the rainforest and built with local know-how and materials, with a strong focus on design and sustainability. On board, moreover, there are works of art of the main Peruvian artists, as well as local folk artists. The works are available for purchase, and this is only one of the ways in which Delfin carries out its mission of developing local communities along the river ". Among others, for example, is the creation of markets where locals can sell their goods to tourists, an attempt to provide them with alternative sources of income to poaching in the rainforest.

Aqua Expeditions, second and not less important operator of the area, has instead started to propose cruises on the Peruvian part of the Rio in the Amazons in 2008. Its founder, the Italian-American globetrotter Francesco Galli Zugaro, has worked in the crocieristica industry in Ecuador for several years before establishing his company in neighboring Peru ten years ago.

Amazon Air

Amazon Air - Dining Room
Amazon Air - Dining Room
Amazon Air - Outdoor Lounge
Amazon Air - Outdoor Lounge
Amazon Air - Double Suite
Amazon Air - Double SuiteThe concept of the Aqua cruises is focused on a soft shipping experience. "My dream was to bring the adventure of a great African safari in the Amazon," said Galli Zugaro. "Exploring nature is the key component of our proposal. We often go for rainforest hikes in search of medicinal plants and to observe the rich local fauna, which includes a great variety of birds, primates, sloths and the characteristic pink dolphins ". Galli Zugaro also added that the company will offer more and more themed departures in the future, which will "add new levels of interpretation" to the experience: among them, some will see the special presence of an illustrious explorer like Jean Michel Cousteau.
For several years, Aqua Expeditions has managed two ships in Peru: an explosion occurred in 2016, however, has sunk one of them, the Aqua Amazon. The remaining Peruvian unit (the company also owns another ship, Aqua Mekong, which operates in the homonymous delta), Aria Amazon, has 16 accommodations with an average daily price of $ 1,250.
Large international river companies usually book cabins from both fleets, but only as part of larger holiday packages in the Peruvian region. As stated by Galli Zugaro, "the advantage for us is the extension of our commercial reach. It is important to reiterate, however, that we are not in competition with ourselves ". Since the cabins are sold on the basis of wholesale quotas, he reiterated, "to maintain price integrity we do not sell to other companies unless the cruise represents only one component of the entire package."
One of these is Avalon Waterways, part of the Globus group, which has its own ships in Europe, but buys cabins aboard Delfin III for a total of 20 departures during the year. According to Pam Hoffee, the US company's chief product and operations officer, "the best option for us is the purchase of shares from local companies and the development of large ground programs around them, focused on exploring the most representative locations. of Peru ".