Last Updated on June 24, 2019 by PowersToTravel
Although we traveled in August 2015, I’ve just recently become aware how really interested people are in ship reviews, so today I packaged up all the pertinent information from my day-by-day articles into one single summary of our impressions of the Cattleya.
We spent a little more than half our time in the Amazon on the Cattleya luxury boat, and we were extremely happy with our decision.
I’ve written articles describing each day we spent in the Amazon. Click here for my Peru postings
The Good, well actually, the Great!
Since I always plan very far in advance, we were the first people booked onto the boat for that trip, and with that privilege came the first pickings of the rooms. We chose the front lower King. King, because we always choose a king if available. In fact all the cabins have kings. Front because we would be able to see in two directions. We never saw the upper rooms, but guests in the those rooms remarked to us upon seeing our room, that theirs was much smaller.
Our king-sized bed was an actual “King”, not just two twins pushed together which can separate at unfortunate times. The room had an en-suite bathroom, and air-conditioner and a huge floor-to-ceiling plate glass window along the entire wall, directly opposite the bed. Our afternoon siestas were such a pleasure in that we could sleep, or we could look out our window to the amazing world beyond, without lifting a finger! (By the way, there was a curtain which could be drawn for privacy.) (Lesson learned: don’t store things below the air-conditioner. It is invariable that a/c drip water in such humidity.)
The room had a mini-frig, perfect for storing my insulin.
The food was out of this world. The chef was Peruvian, and many Peruvian sauces spiced-up the Peruvian specialty ingredients. Did you know that Peru boasts 3,000 types of potatoes? I’ll be you will be surprised at the flavors and sauces which these potatoes can bask in! The chef served catfish several times. The first time the waiter presented my plate of catfish I looked down in dismay. I’m from New England, and love white sea-fish: cod, haddock, flounder. I don’t like fresh-water fish: trout, bass, what else is there? And bottom of all on my list would be “bottom-dwellers”, the catfish. I steeled myself to eat all of my husband’s potatoes and vegetable, and let him eat all my fish.
I took one bite of the fish and was launched into heaven! What a wonderful, tender, flavorful treat it was. Thereafter, with each meal I would hope for catfish, but naturally the chef mixed the menu up a bit, and I had to make do with all sorts of other delicacies.
The dining environment was very pleasant: with four cabins in the boat there were four round dining tables. Each couple sat at a table – it was possible to talk from table to table during the pre-meal drinks and appetizer, but then once the main course arrived, the cross-talk ceased. This mixture of togetherness and separateness was very relaxing – you could be friendly with others, or you could be intimate, based on your mood.
The staff was very attentive – too attentive for me. I never request special diabetic meals when traveling, because I tend to eat my own some-what limited version of a well-rounded meal. I only request NO CILANTRO, NO SPICE, and I prefer no seafood – fish yes! but no little creepy crawlies. However, I always tell the guide that I am diabetic, so that he will be aware of potential limitations to my exercise. I always explain that my husband and I carry plenty of sugar on our hikes and that I wear a pump and carry a blood sugar tester.
On this occasion, the guide clearly told the chef that I am diabetic, and the chef proceeded to make me “special” desserts. “Special” meaning no cake, no goodies, just fruit. The problem is that non-diabetics aren’t aware that raw fruits have a ton of sugar which can hit like a mack truck. Processed sweets, like chocolate cake, are much easier for me to pump to…. 3 units at a dual/combo rate (term dependent on your brand of pump) of 2.5 hours and I’m good.
My “diabetic-friendly” fruit dessert
So the chef presented everyone with a lovely treat, and I got a platter of fruit and honey. So sad. I told the waiter, “No, thank you. I don’t want fruit, I want the dessert” and he said that the chef had only made one for each person, so I was out of luck. I explained to the guide that I wanted no special treatment, and no fruit as dessert. The next meal the same thing happened to my dismay. I think the chef was offended that he had made such an effort for me and I wasn’t appreciative. Finally the staff caught on, and I ate cheesecake with the rest of the group, the next time!
Our guide Ricardo was fantastic. We went out for twice daily zips around in the little motorized skiff. You can read about all of our outings in my day-by-day stories of life on the river.
While I wasn’t appreciative of the altered desserts, I was very appreciative of our guide and medic. On every outing Demo, the medic, would carry the snake-bite/medical kit, an armful of fans, water and gator-aid – for me! He would hand out and collect the fans as we needed them, and provide us water as we needed more. And for me, because I am diabetic, he carried gator-aid. So thoughtful of them.
The large dining room was air-conditioned, along with the cabins. What a luxury in the Amazon! It wasn’t until we moved on to the Treehouse Lodge that we realized how desperately we needed the air-conditioning. Although our twice daily outings were obviously not air-conditioned, our returns were, and we were able to recover from the heat and intense humidity during meals and siestas. If you are considering a cruise in the Amazon, do verify that there is 24-hour a day air-conditioning in the common areas and cabins!
The Not-so-Great
In truth, there was only one item which could be classified as “Not-so-Great.” For me, it was a serious item – the drinking water.
The boat staff provided each cabin with a pitcher of filtered drinking water, replenished as we needed it. Plastic bottles are frowned upon in such environments, and I was happy to be eco-friendly. That is, until I started throwing up the next day. I immediately suspected the water because I have far too much experience with water-caused illnesses. This was not the first time that “filtered” water caused issues with my plumbing. Greg would happily drink, and all the other guests on the boat as well, but me? There I was, losing out on half a day’s adventure as I recovered.
What is recovery? First of all, stopping the drinking of whatever I had been drinking. Next, antibiotics – usually I took Cipro, but now my doctor is telling me Azithromycin is the better choice. I’m not sure what to say about that – Cipro has never caused me digestive distress, but Azith, if I use it a couple of days, actually causes diarrhea. On this trip I was still using the Cipro. I only take the Cipro twice. First when I get sick, and then once more twelve hours later. My doctor said that’s all that’s needed.
Then Reglan prescription medication to stop the vomiting first, then Immodium after I’d flushed my system once. That is to say, after my system had flushed itself once. Then I drink lots of bottled water. I carefully check my blood sugar levels, treating highs very aggressively. This get-well treatment usually gets me back on my feet, ready to move, in less than twelve hours.
In this case, I skipped the morning’s outing, to rest and recover. I found that the top deck, which we had previously avoided because it was not air-conditioned, was actually quite pleasant, with a little breeze blowing.
I’ve digressed a bit. I can’t figure out what “filtered” water actually is. How do they ensure the microbes have been killed unless it is boiled water? I just know that in every circumstance so far when staff have served what they called filtered water – in Costa Rica at an eco-lodge, in Morocco at a fancy lodge, in the Amazon, Mexico, Texas even – I have gotten sick. As soon as I have stopped drinking the eco-friendly water, and treated myself, I would get well. I am so extremely careful in all of my other possible water intake experiences (eg lettuce on sandwiches, etc) and in eating cooked food, that I know it is the filtered drinking water. So now, after so many lessons learned, I only drink Bottled water.
Recommendations
When booking this Amazon experience we were faced with the quandary of what to do in addition to the cruise. We could take the four night cruise, or the seven night cruise, but then what? It is such a long flight down to Peru.
We chose to combine the four-day Cattleya cruise with a three-day visit to the Treehouse Lodge. It was not a good decision. We experienced what we felt was the best of the best on the Cattleya. The move to the Treehouse Lodge was a distinct disappointment. The experience was more of the same nature, just intensely uncomfortable.
My recommendation is to take either the four or seven night Cattleya cruise, and then add in a day or two at the end to sight-see in Iquitos. I’ve since seen documentaries about travel to Iquitos and am so sorry I didn’t know it could be so interesting.
Then we followed up our Amazon trip with a trip to Cusco and the Andes Mountains. Talk about contrasts! That was an excellent decision.
Summary
We made a fantastic decision to take this trip on the Cattleya. If you have the opportunity, don’t hesitate, just go for it!
Related Links
My other stories of our trip to the Amazon
Rainforest Cruises – with whom we booked this trip
The Cattleya website – owned by Ucamara Expeditions
Check out this article of mine too:
Peru Travel Blog – Itinerary, Reviews and Diabetic Travel Tips
