Vantage Amazon Discovery/ Machu Picchu

Can not find a place to post this on Member Reviews under Vantage so will put it here until our great moderator can move it!

Vantage’s

6 night Amazon River Cruise, Machu Picchu, the Sacred Valley, Cusco and the extension to Lake Titicaca.

We enjoyed this trip very much. We chose to go into Lima 2 days early and booked our own air to avoid an overnight flight from Miami. Peru is on central time so there is no good reason to loose a night of sleep and arrive to a hotel tired and unable to access your room immediately.

The JW Marriott is beautiful. We were celebrating an anniversary and they had swans, rose petals, wine and a cheese tray waiting in our room with a beautiful view!!! The hotel is centrally located right on the water (look for afternoon para gliders passing your window!) offers easy access to local restaurants and a large mall across the street with a small grocery store. We hired a local guide for two days and a highlight was the Paso Horse Show and lunch. The included Vantage city tour was good and the optional tour and explanation of San Salvador (shanty town) was outstanding. Our wonderful

tour director, Washington, even arranged for an evening tour of the “magic fountains”!!! If you get a chance it is a nice outing.

We flew Lan airline to Iquitos for a quick city tour and boarding our home for 6 nights, the R/V Amazon Discovery, a lovely new ship chartered from Haimark by Vantage. Most importantly the crew worked very hard as a team (the captain was even helping with luggage transfers)! Our naturalist, Erikson, was outstanding and I did not hear a complaint about the others. We were divided into 3 groups of about 12 and we traveled off the ship in great skiffs. Easy on/ off from the ship if you are sure footed. NOTE: this trip is somewhat difficult with walking and uneven paths, HEAT, and high altitudes. Some in our group did not belong on this trip....they were painfully slow and I felt a hindrance. I was disappointed in the amount of wildlife we saw but this was probably my fault by choosing to go this time of the year...high water would probably offer more monkeys, sloths, caimans and closer birds. I would have like to spend MORE days on the boat and river!!! The pink dolphins were abundant although they were not curious enough to swim with us.

Bring long sleeves and socks that can be pulled over pants to protect from bugs. Bug spray and hats are a must. We had boots one day, if you have size 16 feet they did not have any but had suggested the gentleman purchase some at home and they would re-pay him. My husband’s size 12 were not a problem! Be prepared to be sweaty HOT...2 or 3 showers a day.

The ship’s hot water system was not working well and I usually did not mind.

Our time in Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley were wonderful, primarily because our tour director was so passionate about Peru’s beauty and history. Machu Picchu exceeded all pictures. The day started overcast with mystical clouds floating and ended with a strenuous hike to the caretakers outpost for the classic pictures. A day that will always be high on my list of WOW moments in travel! Casa Andina was a nice property with beautiful grounds BUT they should provide free water. Our tour director stopped so we could buy inexpensive water.

The JW Marriott in Cusco was very well located. It is an extraordinary hotel with immense history, make sure to take the free hotel tour. The optional tour Cusco behind the Scenes was Great. We were there for the Day of Dead so the tour of the cemetery afforded a remarkable cultural lesson. We also were able to experience a very special Shaman Ceremony. How much fun was it to give out Halloween candy ( our tour guide stopped and bought some) on our quick orientation walk.....If you have free time make sure to walk up to San Blas, a very interesting area filled with art studios and small shops! Others enjoyed the chocolate factory. Cusco was a very pleasant surprise and expanded our understanding of the amazing Inca people.

The post extension to Lake Titicaca involved a 10 hour bus ride broken up by a short stop at a bakery, a tour of another Inca site, great lunch and clean restrooms. This Casa Andina hotel (no free water or free wifi in the room ) was smaller but cozy with great fireplaces, right on the water and we were glad not to be in the city of Puno. The highlight was the visit to the UROS people on

the floating islands. It was also the anniversary of the founding of Puno 347 years ago and there were parades and much celebratiing that we were immediately immersed into!!! Wonderful costumes and dancing! I am wondering what this extension would be like without it.

A few things we learned:

Better exchange rate with a street money changer ( arranged by tour director) than using the ATM but who wants to carry that USD. All the ATMs we used only allowed 400 soles per withdrawal and charged about $4 USD per transaction. ATMs were easy to find.

Credit cards are widely accepted but a couple of times they wanted to add a sur charge or the machine was “out of order.”

Did not have audio boxes and we missed them on our city tours.

Bring binoculars. Good reading lights in all hotel rooms and ship cabin.

Need to layer clothing once you leave the Amazon. Be prepared for quick showers. Ladies carry TP and hand sanitizer. We drank only bottled water and were careful off the ship or large hotel and did not eat unpeeled vegetables/fruit. Bring medication for tummy troubles....some had problems...we were fine!

We took Malarone for anti malaria and were glad we did as we got conflicting info from LOCAL people.

Altitude did affect some. Mostly headache, shortness of breath....tylenol took care of my headache. Rest, plenty of water and no alcohol the first day seemed to help. Our tour guides had some folk remedies too. Some used the Rx and the hotels had oxygen if needed.

Great Adventure....Questions? ask away!

Thanks for the review! I have no control with the "Reviews" section of Cruise Critic, so it will stay here -- and I'm sure lots of members will enjoy it.

Thanks for posting! We've done MP and agree with the wow factor. One amazing site... I know where the Marriott is in Lima and agree that its site is fantastic.

We have been looking at an Amazon cruise from Iquitos for several years but haven't booked yet. Hopefully in the next few years before we become two of the slow walkers you talk about in your review! :D

Some fellow travelers really recommended also seeing the Amazon from Brazil on a small ship not large cruise ship!!! So I am going to start researching that too!

Anyone have any experience?

Welcome home, Deec. Thank you for your review; glad that you enjoyed your trip.

Here are a few questions:

Did you need adapters in the hotels or on the ship?

How were the meals? Did you have a hard time deciding where to eat when meals were on your own?

Was wine included? If not, how were the drink prices?

Approximately how much money did you spend? (I know this is subjective). I just got $100 US worth of PEN from a neighbor who was in Peru. Were there a lot of street vendors selling their handmade gifts?

Did you go to a travel clinic before your trip or did you get the Malarone from your family physician? Did you have any side effects from the drug? Were there people on board who were not taking antimalarial drugs?

I contacted Vantage about changing our flights after reading your comments about the sleep deprived people arriving early and possibly not being able to get into their rooms. I found a flight from our local airport on Delta that stopped in Atlanta and then ended in Lima, but Vantage wanted $200 deviation fee plus an additional $350 pp for us to get that flight. The flight was listed on Delta's website for $350 less than what we paid Vantage. Vantage said that Delta was not one of the carriers for this trip :eek:. So, we will stick with the original flights and we will be two of the bleary-eyed travelers seen in the lobby

ships receptacles accepted my plugs, used our multi-plug strip because of Ipads, Ipods and camera batteries needing charging often simultaneously! The hotels had adapters available but I had taken ours.

Meals on the ship were fine...not gourmet ....and no always available steak, or salmon that we have been used to. The desserts were fair and I wished for a small dish of ice cream! Meals planned by Vantage in the cities were for the most part very good. The farewell dinner was a dreadful buffet but the entertainment almost made up for it. Meals on our own were easy...Lima had great choices and the Marriott concierge was very helpful. In the Sacred Valley and Puno really the only choice was the hotel and both were very good and not too expensive. Cusco also had very easy choices and good advice from Trip Director. We mostly ate fish, there was lots of chicken some pork, and very chewy beef.

On the ship beer, soft drinks, Pisco Sours were always available. At lunch and dinner we were allowed 2 glasses of house wine( drinkable not awesome) Seemed silly to put a limit on the wine....but they were flexible I joked at lunch that I would not have my wine and save it for dinner....the great head bartender, Victor, would laughingly telll me I still had 2 or 3 bottles still to drink that day. So I do not know if they truly did limit the amount. With free pisco sours and a couple of bottles that we had bought at duty free in Atlanta we never bought drinks...but no one was complaining about the prices.

We spent about $900 in Soles which included tips. Loads of street vendors and in the small villages on the Amazon felt we should buy something to support them. We were warned that "labels" in Peru meant nothing and if you want real Alpaca best buy it in a reputable store not on the street!

Vantage does NOT recommend Malarone but the CDC red book suggests that the Amazon may have some malaria. Our Family Physician felt that since we had tolerated the Malarone in the past with no side effect it was not worth the chance of getting Malaria. Many on the boat did not take it.

There were mosquitoes on the Amazon. At Machu Picchu there were small gnat like bugs that were terrible...I had read about it and came prepared with long pants, shirt with hood (llbean treated with repellant), and sprayed Deet. i still had a few bites on my ankles and my husband had 12 on his hands. Mine itch ( cortisone cream fixed them) his do not? Those who were not covered had many bites. the insects seemed to prefer dark clothing. More people on the trip were taking the Rx for altitude sickness....it seemed to help. We chose not to take it and were fine.

We booked our own Delta flight but it was not a code share with Lan who Vantage used internally. We also had a potential problem with returning from the extension but it was resolved without problem. Perhaps before you leave Vantage will reconsider the overnight flight or manage to have the rooms available. Overnight flight in the same time zone makes no sense when alternatives are available. Coming home we did have to fly overnight from Lima to Atlanta to Detroit but did not care. Are you going to Lake Titicaca?

I think I remember that you are going in the Spring....it will be interesting to compare the amount of wildlife on the Amazon.

Thanks you for all the answers to my questions.

Yes, we are going to Lake Titicaca.

Our hotel in Lima is Casa Andina. Not sure why they switched hotels. The chain certainly looks nice.

the two Casa Andina that we stayed at were lovely. Not sure where the one in Lima is located...but the Marriott was great.

don't hesitate to ask if more questions come to mind....this board and Trip Advisor have been so helpful in planning trips!

deec, what were the smaller boats like that were used on the river? Were they hard to get in and out of?

the "skiffs" were great...aluminum with one seat per side and 8 or so rows...OPEN so need HAT..easy on and off with the assistance of a always available hand from crew. driver/motor in back. Very stable can easily stand to take pics ets. Naturalists always have water, ponchos and but repellent on the skiffs. Make sure to take binoculars.

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?shva=1#label/amazon+pics/150ea3de6e16cc16?projector=1

this is a picture sent by our Trip Director once we got home!

the "skiffs" were great...aluminum with one seat per side and 8 or so rows...OPEN so need HAT..easy on and off with the assistance of a always available hand from crew. driver/motor in back. Very stable can easily stand to take pics ets. Naturalists always have water, ponchos and but repellent on the skiffs. Make sure to take binoculars.

 

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?shva=1#label/amazon+pics/150ea3de6e16cc16?projector=1

 

this is a picture sent by our Trip Director once we got home!

the link didn't work for me :(

sorry no idea why it doesn't work....it does if I click on it...don't know what else to try....maybe because it is from my email.

sorry no idea why it doesn't work....it does if I click on it...don't know what else to try....maybe because it is from my email.

It asks me to log on. When I do, I'm in my account which doesn't contain this item. So I guess you would need to find a way to post it on an open website like Shutterfly or Wordpress.

Thanks for your review. The trip sounded very interesting. One more thing to add to my list.

I meant to post this link when we got home but forgot. These videos were shared by a poster on the main board and are a great overview of the land part of the trip.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=47892086&postcount=365

I meant to post this link when we got home but forgot. These videos were shared by a poster on the main board and are a great overview of the land part of the trip.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=47892086&postcount=365

I went to this site and it was fantastic!!!! I almost feel like I can cross Machu Pichu off my list, which is a good thing because there's no way on earth I could do it now.

we are taking this trip in April and we are excited. I do have a few questions: Can you tell me which train you took to Machu Picchu? Was it comfortable? How was the bus ride to Puno? they only make one stop? Is the bus comfortable? Thanks for your great review, it is appreciated!

I think there was only one train to Machu Picchu...it was quite comfortable Vantage had us on an upgraded car....on each side of the isle there were sets of 4seats two on each side with a table between us....served drinks and food and on the way back they had a fun fashion show with high quality Alpaca clothing! Cant remember how long the train ride was ...maybe 1.5 hours.

trip to Puno a little boring but the stops were fine with good bathrooms (3 stops) maybe one more offered that none of us needed. there were only 4 or 5 couples we had a large van with plenty of comfortable room for us.

It was a fantastic trip I will interested to hear about the Amazon portion when the water is higher!

Very interested in this cruise and tour. Concerned about Haimark ship. Understand they are in bankruptcy and Travel guard will only "moderately" insure.

Anyone else concerned?

Stan

Very interested in this cruise and tour. Concerned about Haimark ship. Understand they are in bankruptcy and Travel guard will only "moderately" insure.

Anyone else concerned?

 

Stan

I was concerned, too, but Vantage is leasing the ship from Haimark and continues to sell the cruise/tour. Not sure how that relationship works, but hope that we get to complete our trip in March.

When we insured the trip we did it under Vantage, not Haimark. I used InsureMyTrip for our insurance.

I imagine that the "owners" of the fleet (from my understanding that is not Haimark which only operates the ships) will find a replacement quickly.

I think that Haimark is involved with Vantage on the Amazon, Irrawaddy and Mekong rivers. Those that we have been on are very nicely appointed with the doors to the cabins on an inside corridor that helps reduced the bug factor and provides loads of light from the outside windows unlike Viking that I think you enter from the outside.

Interesting the University of Michigan also chartered the Amzon Discovery through Haimark for one of the Alumni travel Tours.

I am hoping your cruises go without a problem can't wait to hear.

Dee, one more question: Did you have a massage on the ship? If so, what was the cost?

Were there refrigerators in the rooms?

no refrigerators in the room....ice delivered when requested. Water in carafes. Suites had refrigerators. No telescopes that were in the pictures of the rooms not sure that we would have used one anyway! Bring binoculars.

Did not do a massage ....heard mixed reports...prices were OK as I remember not a bargain vs. massages on our Irrawaddy trip were about $35/pp and were amazing!!!

no refrigerators in the room....ice delivered when requested. Water in carafes. Suites had refrigerators. No telescopes that were in the pictures of the rooms not sure that we would have used one anyway! Bring binoculars.

 

I got a new pair for Christmas just for this trip :D

.

Did not do a massage ....heard mixed reports...prices were OK as I remember not a bargain vs. massages on our Irrawaddy trip were about $35/pp and were amazing!!!

Thanks.

I think there was only one train to Machu Picchu...it was quite comfortable Vantage had us on an upgraded car....on each side of the isle there were sets of 4seats two on each side with a table between us....served drinks and food and on the way back they had a fun fashion show with high quality Alpaca clothing! Cant remember how long the train ride was ...maybe 1.5 hours.

 

trip to Puno a little boring but the stops were fine with good bathrooms (3 stops) maybe one more offered that none of us needed. there were only 4 or 5 couples we had a large van with plenty of comfortable room for us.

 

It was a fantastic trip I will interested to hear about the Amazon portion when the water is higher!

Thanks for the information!