Rio Cruise

My husband and I took the cruise from Buenos Aires to San Juan, Puerto Rico, on the Crystal Harmony (“Shipboard Samba Down to Rio,” Oct. 2). Everything Shirley Slater and Harry Basch reported in their article was accurate and we also enjoyed the trip. However, our experience at the Carnival in Rio de Janeiro was not the delight we expected (especially at $180 each), and I really laughed when I read, “Security at the stadium is well enforced, and you’re sitting among your fellow cruise ship passengers in a reserved area.”

After the buses dropped us off at the Sambodromo, the tour leader asked us to follow him into the stadium so he could show us to our seats. What a sight! Thousands of people were jostling and pushing trying to find any seat, let alone their “reserved” one. The tour leader pointed to a certain section, told us to look for our seats and then he left us. It was absolutely impossible to find our assigned seats since they were all taken. Some of the people from the ship left, but we decided to stay, so we jostled, shoved and pushed, too, until we found two spaces. To add to the discomfort of the evening, it was raining, hot and humid.

Would I recommend this excursion to the Carnival? Yes, but people should be warned of what can happen. We enjoyed the experience--it was breathtakingly beautiful.

NAOMI BRILL

Pacific Palisades