Zafiro

The argument for square footage

Most Amazon cruises ask their cabins to be a place to sleep between excursions. Zafiro asks them to be a place to spend the day in. The eighteen suites are among the most generous on the river, and the four masters extend onto private outdoor Jacuzzis aimed at the bow. The interior register is warm rather than minimalist — woven textiles, marble bathrooms, soft lighting — closer to a riverside lodge floated, intact, onto the water.

An unhurried daily pattern

The daily programme makes room for it. Skiff excursions leave early and return late, but quiet hours are kept around midday for reading, swimming in the upper-deck pool, or watching the river change colour as the sun moves overhead. We recommend Zafiro to travellers who already understand that the best cruises are not measured by how much was scheduled but by how much was permitted.

• Eighteen oversized suites including four masters with private Jacuzzis
• Upper-deck swimming pool, library and panoramic observation deck
• Regional Peruvian cuisine drawn from the markets of Iquitos and Nauta
• Twin-skiff excursions in the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve