trk_koa

It was in Montevideo at Teatro Solis.

StarLink is really good compared to any other cruise I’ve ever been on

I just read on the trip advisor Peru forum that a large tour company (not sure if I can mention the name here) has cancelled their trips to Peru through January 31. https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g294311-i818-k14221405-Train_Service_to_Machu_Picchu_suspended_January_4th-Peru.html

On January 7 Pursuit, we were not required to show a Covid test result.

Check in was in the terminal at Buenos Aires. We arrived around 2:40. We had been on a week long pre-cruise tour through Azamara that included lunch and escorted transportation to the ship. Our checked luggage was taken as we entered the building, we were directed through a waiting area. I’m not sure if we bypassed waiting because of the escorted tour or suite guest or because we were past our boarding time of 2:00. Then we went through security, and onward to a check-in desk where they checked our boarding pass, vaccination card and passport. We received our keycards there. Then another station before boarding where they took our passports and gave us a claim check for getting them back at some later time. Next onto the ship where our keycards were scanned. We were escorted to our muster station B which happens to be the Discoveries bar. A glass of bubbly and a muster presentation and then off to our cabin. Easy peasy.

@koolforkatz I think it’s for the best. Although we enjoyed ourselves, there was more stress than a vacation should have.

We have landed in Buenos Aires and are on our tour van transport to our hotel. We did enjoy what we saw and the food (OMG, so good) in Peru. I have to admit I am much more relaxed now already.

We are the right number of days but switched a night in Lima/Callao for an extra night in Cusco. Last minute change so we could go to MP on the 3rd instead of the 4th. Our flight to Buenos Aires was and still is scheduled for the 6th. We got to see what we were supposed to see, but there’s that extra stress of it all that I still think Azamara should have let us cancel and get a refund.

Thanks all. We are flying out in the morning early and our guide will be with us the whole way from Cusco to Lima to Buenos Aires. Fingers crossed it goes like clockwork.

I spoke too soon. After I posted, we came to an area with more and more rocks or logs across the road. It was enough that there were quite a few trucks stuck that couldn’t fit around so essentially the roadway was blocked. We have had to back track and go a different way. We just made it into the outskirts of Cusco on our way to our hotel about an hour or so late.

January 5, the day after strikes were called and we have seen very little unrest. There were police in riot gear standing in a line in front of a government building in Cusco. We saw one abandoned boulder near Huaypo Lake in the Sacred Valley and a few rocks and burned tree stumps with no people or protests in two other places. These were easy to go around. Probably left over from yesterday. Our guides and driver have stayed in contact with other guides and tour companies all day to make sure we stayed away from trouble spots. There was word of continued road blocks in Urubamba. Machu Picchu remains closed and those trains are not running. We are currently driving back to Cusco at 3 pm local time after a visit to the ruins at Moray. I don’t think it would be a good idea to try to come here on your own but our reputable tour company has been on top of everything and have changed the order of seeing things a bit. Their contacts have been so valuable.

Today, due to the blocked roads near the Sacred Valley, our tour group just did some walking to some sites near the hotel this morning. We decided to give our old bodies and knees a rest and didn’t join them. We gathered for lunch and we were told that there was no sign of any protests during their walk. The understanding is that the airport is functioning as normal. We are to fly on Friday morning. If the Sacred Valley area is still having roads blocked tomorrow, our guides have assured us that there will be a plan B.

Thank for this link. It’s very useful. -Nancy

Trains are all leaving Aguas Calientes tonight. Due to the called strike for tomorrow, MP will be closed. No guests are allowed to stay at the Belmond so they were all scrambling to rebook trains and hotels in Cusco. Cusco roads will be closed tomorrow also. We are meeting our guides at 8:45 am in our hotel lobby and we should know more about what we can do or see then. I am so glad our tour company flew us to Cusco a day early and we got to see Machu Picchu today. The skies were over cast but bright with the occasional sprinkle. So not too hot, not too cold, not too wet. We got some great photos and the Hiram Bingham folks fed us too well.

Here’s the email we just got from the Azamara land programs coordinator: “My operator in Peru has just contacted me to inform me that they are making changes to the itinerary, as there was a strike declared for Jan 4, and they want to take the necessary pre-cautions to ensure the safety of the group and that you are able to visit Machu Picchu, the highlight of your trip. I have authorized for them to take the necessary steps and they will keep me updated of the situation.”

Change of plan. The tour company has changed our tickets for Cusco to this evening and the plan will be to see Machu Picchu tomorrow (Tuesday) morning. I think it in an abundance of caution since the truce with protesters ends Wednesday, January 4. I will try to keep posting if I have service. BTW, I highly recommend Museo Larco in Lima for history that predates the Inca and Spanish. Very interesting.

This is what I posted just now on the South America ports of call. I’ll continue to post on that thread. “ We arrived in Lima about 2.30 am due to a mechanical flight delay. The flight was barely 20% full. Few of us tourists. Immigration and customs was a breeze and we checked into the Hotel Costa del Sol by about 3:15am. The hotel is right across the drive in front of the airport . Our Azamara tour guide met us and we talked a bit in the lobby. He offered to take us touring today. We were a little wired so it took until after 4am to get to sleep. Jose picked us up at 4 pm and we have been driving around past the beach and around Miraflores. Walked around near the JW Marriott and the mall. There is no sign at all of any unrest. Sunday and New Years Day, every one is out and about. Beaches are full, shopping, etc. We’ve seen security and police cars but not in as escalated state as we might have expected. We are currently at a restaurant in Miraflores, sitting outside, drinking a Pisco Sour and awaiting our seafood dinner. “

We arrived in Lima about 2.30 am due to a mechanical flight delay. The flight was barely 20% full. Few of us tourists. Immigration and customs was a breeze and we checked into the Hotel Costa del Sol by about 3:15am. The hotel is right across the drive in front of the airport . Our Azamara tour guide met us and we talked a bit in the lobby. He offered to take us touring today. We were a little wired so it took until after 4am to get to sleep. Jose picked us up at 4 pm and we have been driving around past the beach and around Miraflores. Walked around near the JW Marriott and the mall. There is no sign at all of any unrest. Sunday and New Years Day, every one is out and about. Beaches are full, shopping, etc. We’ve seen security and police cars but not in as escalated state as we might have expected. We are currently at a restaurant in Miraflores, sitting outside, drinking a Pisco Sour and awaiting our seafood dinner.

Well I guess we are going. Azamara won’t cancel or let us cancel without forfeiting the cost. Wish us luck.

Azamara is refusing to let us out of this without a penalty. They “might” let us move it to later in the year but with over a $1400 in penalties and cancellation fees. If we cancel and not move it, we get nothing back.The tour operator is telling them all is well and the tour will proceed. So I guess we are going. We fly to Lima on December 31 and Machu Picchu is scheduled for January 4. Wish us luck.

Still waiting for FCC for my Covid isolation on our October 1 Alaska cruise. I’ve called about it twice now. Both times I was told that they need documentation from Eurodam and they have requested the information from the ship without a response. I’m not sure what more I can do, but keep calling to bug them about it.

I’ve been in touch with our travel insurance broker. We’re waiting for information on the policy about whether this would be a valid reason for cancellation since AZ doesn’t appear to be willing to let us get our money back. I’m sure we won’t hear anytime now until after the holiday at this point.

I’m wondering if anyone here has some advice on how to escalate above the Land Program folks at Azamara. I’ve been emailing back and forth with land program and land concierge email addresses about our pre-cruise land tour to Machu Picchu scheduled for January 2, 2023 (a little over a week from now). I just got an email with a letter from their tour operator stating that everything is just hunky dory and the tour will proceed. Azamara won’t let me cancel without full penalty, even though the US State Department and the US Embassy in Peru are saying not to go. It’s not safe. I’m frustrated to say the least. (link to more detail on the ports of call)

Unreal. I just got an email from Azamara containing a letter they got from the tour operator saying essentially that everything is just fine. This is in spite of the US state department and the the US embassy in Peru saying not to go. I plan to contact our travel insurance to see if we can cancel and not lose our money. Very disappointed in Azamara right now.

Still struggling to convince the cruise line that it isn’t reasonable to proceed for a January 2 tour. They keep saying no changes but they are monitoring the situation. If I were to cancel they’d keep all our money. I finally got them to send a message to the local tour operator and now I’m waiting to hear back. The US Embassy website dated Dec 20 says the following: ”Demonstrations took place overnight December 19-20 in the Cusco area. The train tracks to and from Aguas Calientes/Machu Picchu sustained additional damage, with rails and ties ripped out of the railway bed by protestors. While the Peruvian government assisted all tourists with departure from the Aguas Calientes/Machu Picchu area on December 17-18, the U.S. Embassy strongly recommends that tourists reschedule any planned trips to Aguas Calientes/Machu Picchu at this time.”