Which port gets you to Machu Piccu

[elapel01]

I am thinking of doing a South America cruise (though would prefer not to go around Cape Horn). Is Lima the port that would offer Machu Piccu excursions? I see Celebrity has some Ft Lauderdale/Miami through Panama Canal cruises that cruise the west side of South America. Were the Machu Piccu excursions long enough? Thanks.

[florisdekort]

The Machu Picchu excursions are 3 days (double overnight) and include a return flight. You leave the ship in Arica, fly to Cusco, spend the night, take the train up to Machu Picchu, visit the site, take the train back to Cusco, spend the night and fly to Lima the next day to rejoin the ship (or vice versa). It's intense and probably better done as part of a land vacation than a cruise. You also have to think through your sensitivity to altitude sickness as quite a few folks in our group struggled big time.

Edited December 28, 2016 by florisdekort

[Going Coastal]

There is an alternative to this that we enjoyed, not from Lima but before or after many cruises to Valparaiso. The two lines that I am familiar with, Celebrity and Oceania, do it regularly and you can find more information if you use Macchu Pichu in the search feature here on cruise critic. I believe Celebrity also had a tour there in conjunction with their Galapagos itineraries.

The more days acclimating to the altitude at Cuzco the fewer side effects for most people.

 

 

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[caribill]

The Machu Picchu excursions are 3 days (double overnight) and include a return flight. You leave the ship in Arica, fly to Cusco, spend the night, take the train up to Machu Picchu, visit the site, take the train back to Cusco, spend the night and fly to Lima the next day to rejoin the ship (or vice versa). It's intense and probably better done as part of a land vacation than a cruise. You also have to think through your sensitivity to altitude sickness as quite a few folks in our group struggled big time.

 

Agree.

 

When we did it we had a pre-cruise five day (not through cruise line) tour of the area including an afternoon and the next morning again at Machu Pichu.

 

And what we paid for our 5 day tour was about half of what the 3-day cruise excursion cost in the middle of the cruise. And we did not miss any days on the ship to do it. And with only five people on our tour, it was much more satisfying than a larger group of participants would have been.

[HokiePoq]

Agree.

 

When we did it we had a pre-cruise five day (not through cruise line) tour of the area including an afternoon and the next morning again at Machu Pichu.

 

And what we paid for our 5 day tour was about half of what the 3-day cruise excursion cost in the middle of the cruise. And we did not miss any days on the ship to do it. And with only five people on our tour, it was much more satisfying than a larger group of participants would have been.

 

Agree with both of you on this. We did a private precruise tour in Peru and recommend that. When looking at options, I found that just a tour to Peru including air was less expensive and gave you more days than an excursion or even the precruise with the cruise line.

Similarly we did not do the Taj Mahal three day tour off our India cruise as it cost more than the whole cruise did and you can take a separate trip for less money and more days. One could say we've not done that and missed seeing it....true...but we would have missed four delightful other ports to do so.

[4774Papa]

When we did the FLL, Panama Canal down to Chile cruise in 2011, the cost of the Machu Pichu excursion was more than the cost of our entire cruise.

 

While in Lima, our tour company gave us some brochures on week long tours of Lima and Machu Pichu. The cost for the entire week was 1/3 of the Celebrity cost for the MP excursion. Also, we could purchase air flights from the USA and pay for the private week tour for less than the X excursion.

[elapel01]

Thanks to everyone for your replies. I didn't realize there was so much involved in gettting there, etc. Especially good to know about the altitude sickness issue. I think the best would be before a cruise but I really don't want to do a 14-15 day cruise after spending 3-4 days for Machu Pichu. Might have to look at some other cruise lines. thanks again!

[Tomato53]

This can also be done as an add-on to Celebrity's Galapagos cruises.

[thinfool]

Yeah...I would add this....Cuzco, Machu Picchu, even Lima, are a destination in themselves. The quickie, grossly overpriced excursion offered by the cruise line seriously shortchanges the adventure traveler who is interested in the history and scenic beauty of the area.

 

I was there last week. On the day before xmas. They issue 2500 tickets per day to limit visitors to the ruins. All 2500 showed up! LOL

 

Cuzco has a ton of Inca and Spanish sites to visit, too. All are totally engrossing.

 

Spend some time with google and search 'Cuzco, Lima, Machu Picchu'.

 

Oh..and the altitude thing is very real, but not at Machu Picchu....Cuzco is the high altitude location that affects most visitors.

[elapel01]

Yeah...I would add this....Cuzco, Machu Picchu, even Lima, are a destination in themselves. The quickie, grossly overpriced excursion offered by the cruise line seriously shortchanges the adventure traveler who is interested in the history and scenic beauty of the area.

 

I was there last week. On the day before xmas. They issue 2500 tickets per day to limit visitors to the ruins. All 2500 showed up! LOL

 

Cuzco has a ton of Inca and Spanish sites to visit, too. All are totally engrossing.

 

Spend some time with google and search 'Cuzco, Lima, Machu Picchu'.

 

Oh..and the altitude thing is very real, but not at Machu Picchu....Cuzco is the high altitude location that affects most visitors.

 

Thanks, I will google those places. I had heard they were going to start limiting visitors. It definitely sounds like doing a tour excursion to Machu Picchu with cruise lines isn't worth it. It helps to know that the altitude sickness isn't at Machu Picchu....maybe I just wouldn't spend much time at Cuzco. I definitely need to use good old google!

[jmlh]

After our Galapagos cruise in September, we did the Ecuadorian rain forest (4 days) followed by a flight to Lima to do Machu Picchu on our own. We felt that this gave us much more time than the Celebrity tour and thus was much more enjoyable. And... we saved a lot of money!

If you have time it is nice to overnight at Machu Picchu as you have a chance of wonderful weather on one of the days (we did!). My other suggestion would be to visit a travel Doctor to discuss & get meds for altitude sickness. We took the prescribed pills and had absolutely no problems.

We also really enjoyed Cusco (had 2 nights there). If I was to do this again I would book 3 nights - a lovely walking city.

Enjoy!

[floridatravelersforlife]

Thanks, I will google those places. I had heard they were going to start limiting visitors. It definitely sounds like doing a tour excursion to Machu Picchu with cruise lines isn't worth it. It helps to know that the altitude sickness isn't at Machu Picchu....maybe I just wouldn't spend much time at Cuzco. I definitely need to use good old google!

 

I second avoiding overnite time in Cuzco. Been there and the altitude sickness effected us. Next time we will deplane in Cuzco and take a taxi directly to the Sacred Valley and stay there. Then visit the sites around Cuzco on the way back from MP

[TxnAquarian]

I guess I'm the only one on here who recommends the 3-day Celebrity excursion lol We did it on the Ft Lauderdale - Valparaiso cruise in 2013 and we thought X handled it amazingly. Yes, it was expensive, but it was a really easy way for us to see MP. I had a really hard time with the altitude (and I'm a 35 year old runner!), but it was worth it. They put us up at gorgeous hotels and we loved it. Everyone has their preferences, so whichever way you decide to see MP, just do it! Absolutely breathtaking!

 

Michael