Aria Amazon Cabins

Editor Rating
5.0
Excellent
Cabins
Sarah Schlichter
Contributor

Aria Amazon's spacious, attractive cabins set it apart from many other expedition ships. With natural wood floors, crisp white duvets, glassed-in shower stalls and a modern black and white color scheme, Aria Amazon's accommodations feel more like rooms at a boutique hotel than typical cruise ship cabins.

All 16 cabins aboard Aria Amazon are largely identical, with the exception of four that have interconnecting doors for families. Cabins measure a generous 250 square feet; half are on Deck 1, the other half on Deck 2. Their most striking feature: floor-to-ceiling windows that span nearly the full length of the cabin, offering a larger-than-life view of the ever-changing Amazon landscape. The cabins don't have TV, but you won't miss it given the live-action show going on outside your window.

Beds can be split into two twins or combined into a king. The bedding is all white with a few black and white pillows for accents. Black night tables flank the bed; on one is a clock radio and a phone (which you'll likely only use for answering wakeup calls each morning), while the other has two glasses and a carafe of purified water (topped off each day by the housekeeping staff).

On the wall above the night tables are lamps and adjustable reading lights. While the latter are a nice touch, we found that they didn't seem to hold their position very well and don't reach quite high or far enough over the bed for comfortable reading.

Storage space is relatively ample, though the bed is a little too low to fit large suitcases underneath it. (We kept ours on the sofa.) There are two tall wooden wardrobes, one with four wide shelves, a rail for hanging clothes and a safe large enough for most laptops. The other wardrobe has a full-length mirror on the inside of one door as well as a couple of bathrobes and two pairs of slippers. There are about half a dozen more shelves in this wardrobe, another hanging bar for clothes and a top shelf where emergency lifejackets are stored. (Note that you'll also be given lighter excursion lifejackets that you bring each day on the skiffs; these can also be stowed in the wardrobe.) About half a dozen hangers are provided.

Beside the wardrobes is a comfy black sofa where you can relax and look out at the water. (Note: In the family cabins there are two chairs in place of the sofa.)

There's a thermostat on the wall where you can adjust the cabin temperature. You'll give thanks for the air conditioning every time you come in sweating after an excursion, but keep in mind that your camera and binocular lenses may fog up when you bring them outside in the morning after a night in cooler temperatures. To prevent this, the staff recommends leaving camera equipment in the hallway outside your door or at the muster station in the center of Deck 1.

A wide sink and mirror are in the main part of the cabin, with two drawers and four lower compartments for storage. There's also plenty of space on either side of the basin for shaving cream, hairbrushes or other toiletry items.

On the sink are two reusable water bottles with carabiners -- yours to take home -- which are refilled daily by the housekeeping staff for use during excursions. You'll also find a pump bottle of Aqua-branded body lotion, a soap dish with soap, a tall cup for toothbrushes and toothpaste, and a smaller jar with cotton swabs, round pads for removing makeup and two sets of earplugs. A makeup mirror is on the right-hand side, and there's a hair dryer in a bag under the sink. Also under the sink are two shower caps, a spare bar of soap, a box of tissues and extra rolls of toilet paper.

Through a sliding-glass door is a separate room for the toilet and the shower. Unlike many cruise ships that leave you fighting with a clingy shower curtain or trying not to spray water all over the toilet seat, Aria offers a generously sized, glassed-in shower stall with a rainfall showerhead. Three large pump bottles dispense Aqua-branded shampoo, conditioner and shower gel. A clothesline runs across the top of the shower stall for drying damp clothes, and there are multiple hooks and rails for hanging towels.

There are several places in the cabin to charge your devices, including a USB port and a 220-volt outlet that fits American plugs on either side of the bed. Next to the sink are an American outlet and a Peruvian one (both 220 volts); you'll find another set on the wall beside the sofa.

Our housekeeper visited the cabin three times a day, not only tidying our things and refilling our water containers but also leaving us little gifts (such as locally made bracelets and tea) as well as fanciful towel animals. Our favorite? A towel monkey dangling from a hanger in front of our picture window.

While you can lock your cabin from the inside, you won't receive a key to your cabin unless you request one. Given the large safe for valuables and the friendly atmosphere onboard, we didn't feel concerned about leaving our cabin unlocked while we were out, but since some boats in the Amazon have had issues with robberies, we recommend locking all your valuables in the safe. The ship has five armed plainclothes police officers onboard who rotate shifts to provide 24/7 protection; there's also a video surveillance system.

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