A 30-day voyage trades island-hopping for a slow push upriver, with a night in Manaus built into the schedule
Seabourn has opened bookings for its first purpose-built Amazon itinerary, sending Seabourn Quest on a 30-day round trip from Miami that swaps the line’s usual island-to-island rhythm for long, scenic days on one of the world’s great waterways. “Amazon Explorer: Rivers & Rainforests” sails November 18 to December 18, 2028, calling at 15 destinations across seven countries. The voyage falls within Seabourn’s Ruby Jubilee year, marking the line’s 40th anniversary.
“Seabourn Quest will take guests into the heart of the Amazon to discover its extraordinary landscapes, cultures and traditions, while delivering the personalised service, thoughtfully curated experiences and intimate atmosphere that define Seabourn.”
Mark Tamis, President of Seabourn.
The itinerary’s structure is deliberate: island calls through the Caribbean first, then a turn south into the Amazon River itself, where the ship spends days on scenic cruising between destinations rather than racing from one port to the next.
An overnight in Manaus, and the river towns most itineraries skip
The centerpiece is an overnight stay in Manaus, the city long treated as the Amazon’s front door. A full night ashore, rather than the usual few hours, leaves room to wander its markets, take in its architecture and landmarks, and watch the waterfront come alive after dark—pacing a single afternoon call never allows.
Further upriver, Santarém sits near the point where the Amazon meets the Tapajós River: the Amazon’s muddy, sediment-heavy current runs beside the clearer, blue-green Tapajós for a stretch before the two finally merge. From there the ship continues to Boca da Valeria, a riverside settlement wrapped in rainforest, and on to Parintins, one of the livelier stops along the river.
Devil’s Island and a harbor built for a smaller ship
Elsewhere on the route, the ship calls at Devil’s Island in French Guiana—known as much for its remote setting as for the history attached to it—along with stops in Trinidad and Grenada. In Saint Barthelemy, Seabourn Quest ties up at Gustavia, a harbor built to yacht scale rather than cruise-ship scale, where Swedish colonial and French Creole buildings sit alongside boutiques, cafés and restaurants.
Seabourn Quest’s relatively modest size is what makes much of this itinerary possible in the first place: the ship can reach harbors, and sit close enough to river communities, that larger vessels simply can’t.
Onboard, and what comes next for Seabourn Quest
Staterooms face the ocean throughout, with a private veranda on most. Sea days are shaped around Seabourn’s Conversations series—a mix of formal lectures and looser, informal discussion—alongside the line’s usual all-inclusive dining and personalized service. The ship herself arrives fresh from the largest refit of her career, leaving suites, public rooms, dining venues and the spa freshly updated.
The Amazon voyage opens a busy season for Seabourn Quest. From Miami, she moves into two 10-day Caribbean holiday voyages before departing on January 7, 2029, for a 138-day World Cruise—Iconic Islands & Remote Horizons, extending her reach across five continents into the following year.
Bookings for “Amazon Explorer: Rivers & Rainforests” are open now through a travel advisor, at seabourn.com, or by calling Seabourn direct on 13 24 02.
About the Author: Jason Kerr
