Here's a South America cruise travel log of our voyage from Fort Lauderdale to Manaus, Brazil on the luxury ship the Seven Seas Mariner. 
We crossed the Caribbean, porting at St. Barts, Dominica, and Barbados before making our first call in South America at infamous Devil's Island. The Seven Seas Mariner then turned west, and we cruised up the exotic Amazon River for 900 miles to Manaus.
It was an exciting voyage, and the mighty Amazon River is as impressive as I dreamed it would be.
Seven Seas Mariner on the Amazon at Parintins, Brazil (c) Linda Garrison
Cruising is a nice experience. if you are planning to go out for a vacation than you might consider going to Galapagos Islands.