AmaMelodia’s hotel manager didn’t look like an athlete, but he managed to lob a pineapple three decks high into my waiting hands.
Turns out pineapples are prickly, and my palms took some damage. I only had to catch one, while the ship’s crew tossed dozens as their fruit brigade passed pineapples and coconuts from the Colombian farmer’s canoe up the ship’s stairs to the main lounge.
Not all of my shipmates were as lucky as I was. Several fruits slipped through waiting fingers to fall into the river below. Our groans likely frightened the resident iguanas scampering under the mango trees on the riverbanks of Mompox.
The next morning, after a riverside walk that left me coated in sweat despite the early hour, I once again climbed to the top deck of the ship to find it transformed into a breakfast feast of epic proportions. Crew members, proudly wearing their bright yellow Colombian futbol jerseys, served pina coladas in carved-out pineapples and coconut water straight from the shell. I unapologetically piled my plate high with calentado (rice and beans), plantains, and arepas.
It might be the best deck party I’ve attended before 10 in the morning.
The spirit of that breakfast feast was the same enthusiasm I felt throughout my seven-day cruise on Colombia’s Magdalena River with AmaWaterways. The rhythmic energy of the folkloric groups who danced and drummed for us and the proud smiles of the almost entirely Colombian crew on board invited me into their culture like an insider, not just an observer.
Like many of my shipmates, I departed for this cruise not knowing what to expect. I was hoping to see alligators and buy some coffee, but I never could have anticipated the immersive cultural experiences that made me want to buy my own Colombian soccer shirt and learn to make palitos de queso for my family.
AmaWaterways has not yet offered fam trips to travel advisors on this new itinerary, but they’re coming. Here’s what you and your clients can expect.
An Expedition-Style Itinerary
AmaWaterway’s seven-night cruise itineraries between Cartagena and Barranquilla highlight the culture, nature and wildlife, and history of the Magdalena River. Most of the stops are small towns you’ve never heard of. Other than the major coastal cities that bookend the trip, only Mompox, where the ship overnights midcruise, is a destination on its own.
I recommend easing into a Colombian journey with AmaWaterway’s two-night pre-cruise extension in Cartagena. In the hotel’s El Coro bar, Gabriel Garcia Marquez was inspired to write “Love and Other Demons” when he reported on the excavation of the crypt still visible below. I was more inspired by the strong air-conditioning and decadent buffet breakfasts that mixed all the French pastries with the typical fruits and fried treats of Colombia.
Cartagena’s UNESCO-listed Old Town is meant to be strolled, and while I dutifully sweat through the organized city tour, I preferred exploring the city in the evening hours when Colombian tourists gathered on the walls to watch the sunset and crowds gathered around street food vendors in the many plazas. The colorful buildings, with their balconies covered in bougainvillia, gave New Orleans vibes – as did the waterfront’s evening party scene.
Once on board, I discovered the pace of a Magdalena River cruise is unlike its European counterparts. Early-morning tours are followed by lazy afternoons spent avoiding the heat with onboard programming. A second stop or event before dinner rounds out the day.
The riverside towns we visited are not typical tourist destinations, but AmaWaterways visits them to introduce guests to Colombian culture and to support the local economy. In Calamar, we paraded through the streets in bicycle tuk-tuks on our way to the cultural center, where a group of young men performed an astonishingly athletic folkloric dance. In Santa Barbara de Pinto, residents demonstrated how they roll dried tobacco leaves into cigars and throw woven nets to catch fish. Teens from the nearby school put down their iPhones to pepper visitors with questions in a mix of Spanish and English.
Other outings were conducted via excursion boat, which AmaWaterways strategically docks along the river banks. I did not want to wake up for the 6 a.m. birdwatching excursion, but my group of early risers was treated to views of kingfishers, parakeets, egrets, wattled jacanas, and black vultures, as well as one alligator hiding in the riverside vegetation. On another expedition, we watched local fishermen in action and snapped photos of the incongruous water buffalo and white brahma cows that were transplanted to this region.
My favorite stops were the ones with hands-on activities. In Palenque, I sipped medicinal tea and moonshine under a thatched roof and improvised some drum beats in the home of the local Afrocolombian music group. At a filigree workshop in Mompox, a kind artisan helped me create a heart-shape pendant that was not lopsided, and in Usiacuri, I got kudos for my weaving skills as I knotted dried palm leaves around a wire to create a ring.
A Custom-Built River Ship
AmaMelodia, the line’s second ship on the Magdalena, was (mostly) built in country and designed to complement the riverside scenery. The ship’s Colombian designer offset dark woods, earth tones and rattan trim with brightly colored paintings from Cartagena’s Getsemeni neighborhood. I preferred the simple eco-resort look and lack of carpets to the pattern-heavy decor of European river ships.
The ship is a miniaturized version of its sister ships, with guest cabins in the front, and a restaurant and lounge (with a teeny massage room and fitness center) in the back. The outer deck has a small pool surrounded by a walking track and plenty of shade. The twice-a-cruise chef’s table, Bolivar, takes place here, as does a lunch barbecue and the breakfast party.
All but four cabins have the same layout; two suites on each deck offer slightly more space and extra perks. All rooms have AmaWaterways’ signature twin balconies (French balcony alongside a sit-out veranda), and bathrooms with double vanities and glass-walled rain showers.
Meals mix typical continental fare with Colombian specialties, and the selection of local fruits and fried goodies at breakfast should not be missed. Even the turndown chocolates are local.
Two aspects of ship life are the true standouts. The onboard events, including that epic breakfast feast, were occasionally more memorable than the tours. A chocolate, fruit, and rum tasting immersed us in local flavors and let us taste test all the mysterious fruits that would appear each morning at the breakfast buffet. A jazz performance in Mompox ended with chants of “otra, otra” as we begged for an encore. The cumbia folkloric group that traveled three hours to meet our ship turned cultural education into a massive dance party, with everyone in costume and Colombians partnering with guests as we shimmied to percussive rhythms.
But it was the crew who made this itinerary special. Not all of them have the English skills I’m accustomed to on European ships, but what they lack in fluency, they make up for in heart.
Miguel praised my stumbling requests in Spanish, and Sebastian stopped his mid-afternoon smoothie-making to cut up the mangos we brought back from Mompox. Mateo’s drily cheerful “Good morning, Ama fam-i-ly!” made each early-morning departure more bearable. I might have needed an interpreter to leave messages for my cabin attendant, but we smiled and waved each time we passed each other in the hall.
The Cruise to Book ASAP
Travel clients looking for the next hot destination before everyone else discovers it need to book a Magdalena River cruise in Colombia and do it soon.
AmaWaterways, always the innovator, is the only river cruise line sailing in Colombia – for now. (Rumor has it that Viking has already bought rights to build its own dock there.) The last river ship to carry tourists along the Magdalena shut down in 1961. AmaWaterways’ team spent years visiting towns along the river, meeting with local officials and communities, and building the infrastructure before it launched its first ship, AmaMagdalena, in 2025.
“Nobody had navigated this river with tourists in more than 60 years,” Juan David Cardenas, our cruise manager from Medellin, Colombia, told me on board AmaMelodia. “What you are seeing is literally how the people that live around the river basin have lived for the last 60 or 70 years.”
Even after a year of operations, the cruise ships remain a novelty along the Magdalena. Locals come down to the banks to wave at the ship passing by. The towns we visited felt lived in and the performances sincere. It also means you’ll see trash on the side of the river and encounter run-down buildings and uneven streets. That’ll soon change as tourism dollars and government investment increase. The difference can already be seen in the construction projects in Calamar and the new tuk tuks joining older models in Mompox.
“Tourism promotes economic development in the communities, but sometimes it can be a corrosive agent,” said Cardenas. “Who knows what this will be like in 10 years? If you want to come, this is the best time. It’s not going to get more authentic than it is right now.”
For clients who want to be at the forefront of the next travel trend, a Magdalena River cruise is their ticket to Colombia before the rest of the world discovers it.
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