We are doing sector 8 grandstand seats and our private guide is handling our tours, tickets and transfers. Most guides were less than the group tour with Marcelo at Do Brazil Right (he's a middle man so there is another layer of commission added - though he is very responsive and helpful and I imagine will provide a good service.) and way less than Princess charges for their tours.
Do Brazil Right is a great option as it takes the least amount of planning and he sounds like a sincere guy that runs a good company. I don’t mind the extra work it took to contact the guides directly and save a few bucks. (many were already booked, so I just kept shooting off emails until I found a few that weren’t.) I also didn't want even a small group for touring, so booked it just for the 2 of us. It will be extra chaotic and busy due to Carnival and tons of ships in port besides all of the land-based visitors all trying to see the same sights and I wanted to be able to move about more easily with just the 2 of us. Now for the parades at the Sambadrome, I opted to get at least one couple to sit with us there, so we could go for food or the bathroom without losing our seats. We are doing that with Trish & Gary.
Just my opinion, but if you plan on attending the Sambadrome Parades during Carnival, put some thought into the experience you want to have. The tickets aren’t cheap and I imagine most of us will only have the opportunity to go once, so it’s worth not being disappointed if possible. (not sure that any section would be that disappointing......) Most reviews of the “tourist section” (sector 9) felt that it wasn’t as good as sector 8 just across from it. 9 has assigned seats which is a plus since you don’t have to arrive early to get a good seat. However, you don’t know where your assigned seat is until you get there. It could be way at the top..... It is almost twice the price of sector 8 with no assigned seating. People reported that sector 9 was quiet whereas the other sections were up and into the spirit.
Any of the grandstand seating gives you a good overview of the whole parade and not just what you can see right in front of you. The open boxes (quite pricey) will get you up close and personal to see the great detail of the costumes and the seats are assigned. Bear in mind some of the floats are 3 stories high so you will not see what’s on top of the floats. (they perform up there too) Unlike the grandstands where it’s important to be more center, the open boxes are less expensive in sectors 3 or 4 and not important to be in the center. They are really less expensive in sector 12 with assigned seating, but it is the last sector at the end of the parade and there is a long wait between the schools that perform. The schools are also judged by not going over their allotted time and they do stop to perform in the middle and if they are running late, they rush by sector 12 and often are stripping off their costumes which they discard. (many people like that they can go grab discarded costumes)
Again, none are bad seats, after-all, you are in the Sambadrome! OK, probably way more info than you wanted on Carnival......
Honestly, when the people on Cruise Critic at first were talking about Sector 12, I almost joined the group, then something just kept telling me to do more research first. What is “right” for some of us isn’t “right” for others, so I jumped in with both feet reading all I could to determine what I felt would be a good “once in a lifetime” experience without breaking the bank for us. I don’t think any spot could be horrible, but when they said you can’t pick your seats in Sector 9 and you could end up way at the top, I thought to myself, the assigned seat may not be the way to go. (though most said that the sector clears out after one or 2 groups and you could move up as people left) The box seats you can choose, but the thought of looking up to try and see what’s going on on the top of the floats and not really being able to see the parade as a whole (mostly just what is in front of you) I settled on grandstands and 8 seemed good with positioning of watching the drummers in the boxes and seeing the parade coming. Who knows???
Here is a bit of info on what the Sambadrome is all about (from Wiki):
Samba Schools in the First League (the Special Group)
Sunday, February 11th and Monday, February 12th
This is "THE" Parade, the highlight of Rio Carnival. The must-see show which has made Rio de Janeiro the Carnival capital of the world. The whole big world of Carnival revolves around those two nights.
The schools in this group are especially magnificent and sumptuous.
The two nights are similar in terms of set-up. 6 of the best 12 samba schools parade on both Sunday and Monday.
Each of the samba schools of Rio represents a specific region of the city, often a favela. (their word for slum) However, particular schools usually have fans all over Rio and even some nationally.
Up to 4,000 members can take part in the parade of each of the 12 top-flight samba schools in Rio. The heart of the samba school is the drums section, with at least 200 people. As a form of reverence, the oldest members bring up the rear of an ensemble.
Up to 80,000 people watch the parades at Rio's sambadrome on Sunday night, all Monday and into Tuesday morning. Millions more watch on television. Tourists are allowed to participate in samba schools, but their costumes usually cost more than those for locals.
Rio's samba school league picks 54 judges who spread out across the sambadrome. There are six judges for each of nine criteria, including drums section, costumes and samba dancing.
Hours before the first parade, a lottery chooses four judges for each category. They will have their scores counted. The other two judges will only be counted if one of the other four is absent during the parade. The group that gets the best scores wins.
Sometimes winners and runner-ups are separated by 0.1 points. There were also several occasions in which two or three have tied as winners.
The green- and rose-colored Mangueira group often draws the biggest crowds at the sambadrome and fans across Brazil. They have won the parade 19 times, including last year's.
Blue and white Portela is historically the biggest winner, with 21 titles. Both Portela and Mangueira are home to some of Brazil's most popular samba artists.
The red- and white-colored Salgueiro is seen as the most popular among celebrities. It has won the parade nine times and it often has the most popular samba songs that fans in the sambadrome sing along to.
Rio's city hall is investing 24 million Brazilian reals this year (about $A10.4 million). The rest comes from sponsors, sambadrome ticket sales, samba school parties throughout the year that raise funds and a group of shady gambling businessmen called "bicheiros."
"Bicheiros" run a widely popular but illegal gambling game called "jogo do bicho," or "animal game" in Portuguese. They are sometimes linked to criminal organizations, and many sponsor local samba schools to improve their image.
After our visit I'll report back my thoughts on if we felt my choice was a good one.
Tomorrow is our first day in Rio.
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