Princess Cruisetour Machu Picchu

[apeller]

Someone posted this on the South America site and TripAdvisor several months ago and there hasn't been any response.   Now I am looking for the answers too, so I thought I would try here.  

 

Does anyone know the hotels Princess usually uses during their land tour To Machu Picchu? . Someone on this forum must have gone Dec 2018- March 2019.  I am especially interested in Lima, but would  like to know the others as well. .  All I could find was a post from cruise critic UK listing hotels from DEC. 2017. Princess tells me they don't know what they will be yet.  Thank you.

[lorri111]

As original poster  I would sure like this info!

[cherylandtk]

Are you talking about the 72 hour excursion? If so,  it is two nights hotel, but it is not in Lima. The hotel in that tour is the Tambo del Inka in Urubamba in the sacred valley.

 

If you are talking about the 5 day land portion of the cruisetour, I have heard sometimes they use the above hotel, as well as the Sumaq in Aguas Calientes.  Don’t know about the Lima hotel(s), sorry.

 

 

Edited June 29, 2019 by cherylandtk

[lorri111]

26 minutes ago, cherylandtk said:

Are you talking about the 72 hour excursion? If so,  it is two nights hotel, but it is not in Lima. The hotel in that tour is the Tambo del Inka in Urubamba in the sacred valley.

 

If you are talking about the 5 day land portion of the cruisetour, I have heard sometimes they use the above hotel, as well as the Sumaq in Aguas Calientes.  Don’t know about the Lima hotel(s), sorry.

 

 

After info on the 5 day land portion. Thanks for that info.

[apeller]

45 minutes ago, cherylandtk said:

Are you talking about the 72 hour excursion? If so,  it is two nights hotel, but it is not in Lima. The hotel in that tour is the Tambo del Inka in Urubamba in the sacred valley.

 

If you are talking about the 5 day land portion of the cruisetour, I have heard sometimes they use the above hotel, as well as the Sumaq in Aguas Calientes.  Don’t know about the Lima hotel(s), sorry.

 

 

Thanks for responding.  I am talking about the 5 -6 day pre-cruise Cruisetour which starts in Lima , same tour in the opposite direction of lorri111. If possible, I want to book the same hotel pre tour that Princess uses (but they can't or won't tell me what it is).  I want to fly in the day before the tour starts.

Edited June 29, 2019 by apeller
typo

[MN Syrup Cruiser]

We were on this tour in January, 2019.  

Hotels used at this time:

   Lima (2 nights) - Swissotel   (We flew in one day early; booked additional night through Princess)

   Sacred Valley (2 nights) - Tambo Del Inka Resort and Spa

   Machu Picchu (1 night) - Sumaq Machu Picchu Hotel

   Cusco (1 night) - Palacio Del Inka Luxury Hotel

   Santiago (1 night) - Renaissance Santiago

All the hotels were 5 star.  

 

[trvlwrld]

you might want to have princess book your additional night as they sometimes change the hotel last minute....this was a wonderful tour with great hotels!

[lorri111]

8 hours ago, MN Syrup Cruiser said:

We were on this tour in January, 2019.  

Hotels used at this time:

   Lima (2 nights) - Swissotel   (We flew in one day early; booked additional night through Princess)

   Sacred Valley (2 nights) - Tambo Del Inka Resort and Spa

   Machu Picchu (1 night) - Sumaq Machu Picchu Hotel

   Cusco (1 night) - Palacio Del Inka Luxury Hotel

   Santiago (1 night) - Renaissance Santiago

All the hotels were 5 star.  

 

Many thanks!

[apeller]

9 hours ago, MN Syrup Cruiser said:

We were on this tour in January, 2019.  

Hotels used at this time:

   Lima (2 nights) - Swissotel   (We flew in one day early; booked additional night through Princess)

   Sacred Valley (2 nights) - Tambo Del Inka Resort and Spa

   Machu Picchu (1 night) - Sumaq Machu Picchu Hotel

   Cusco (1 night) - Palacio Del Inka Luxury Hotel

   Santiago (1 night) - Renaissance Santiago

All the hotels were 5 star.  

 

Thank you very much  for the information.  I will try to get a reservation (that I can cancel if necessary) at the Swissotel in Lima That's the same place they used the year before..  

6 hours ago, trvlwrld said:

you might want to have princess book your additional night as they sometimes change the hotel last minute....this was a wonderful tour with great hotels!

Thanks for responding.  I have been trying.  The first time I called they told me they had no idea what hotels were being used, but the pre-tour reservations were full .  They couldn't explain how they were full if they didn't even know what the hotels were. They put me on a wait list.  When I called back a month later, they still had no information (it should be available maybe 30 days before departure), and confirmed that there was a note about me being waitlisted, but there isn't an actual list, so I have no idea what number on this supposed (not) list I am.  Very frustrating.  In the meantime, I booked a hotel using Hilton points in the Miraflores area assuming that's the neighborhood Princess would use.

[apeller]

MN SYRUP CRUISER and trvlwrld,,

If possible, I would love to hear your experiences about this tour including: 

About how many people do they usually have on the tour?  

What was the average age?  

How strenuous was the trip, especially the Machu Picchu portion?

Any suggestions for people taking the trip?

 

Thanks

[lorri111]

50 minutes ago, apeller said:

MN SYRUP CRUISER and trvlwrld,,

If possible, I would love to hear your experiences about this tour including: 

About how many people do they usually have on the tour?  

What was the average age?  

How strenuous was the trip, especially the Machu Picchu portion?

Any suggestions for people taking the trip?

 

Thanks

 

And particularly, did you have problems with altitude sickness and what medication did you use for it. All information gratefully received!

[MN Syrup Cruiser]

It was a wonderful, once in a lifetime experience!  I am hard pressed to find any negatives. 

On our precruise tour there were approximately 70 people.  However, that number was broken down into four groups - very manageable and very nice.

Ages were across the board.  Three couples in their 20's, couples and singles anywhere from 30 to 70.  For some the treks were strenuous.  We are a healthy active pair and didn't have difficulty.  We did, however, purchase collapsible walking sticks.  Some of the stairs you encounter are very steep and narrow.  And the Incas did not have handrails.  The walking sticks just facilitated better balance. 

 

Tips:  Stay hydrated.  This will help to ward off any altitude queasiness you may have.  (But avoid alcohol).

 

           Pace yourself.  The tour guides are very in touch with the pace of the group, so try not to forge ahead

           of the group.

         

           Avoid overly large suitcases.  We had to pay excess baggage fees on the 'international' flight from Peru to

           Chile.  We went on to Rio de Janiero and Iguazu Falls on our own, so we did have a large bag.  Just follow

           the luggage procedures as outlined by the tour operators and you will be fine.    

           

           Although the guinea pig lunch was interesting, some people didn't find it to their liking.  I thought it tasted 

           like chicken.

 

Any other questions?  Hit me up and I'll try to answer.

 

You'll have an incredible time.  Princess does a very nice job with this tour.

[MN Syrup Cruiser]

Ugh - sorry for the spacing.

 

Altitude sickness:  We had no problems.  One lady in our group did miss an entire day because of it though.  The coca leaf tea provided at the hotels is an excellent preventative to the altitude sickness.

[lorri111]

Am I right in thinking you get to go up to MP twice - the second time early the next morning? What time?

[MN Syrup Cruiser]

On the second visit to the site we had breakfast starting at 5:00 AM.  We were to the site by 7:00 AM and left to take the bus to Aqua Calientes at 10:00 AM.  The morning at Machu Picchu was stunning.

[lorri111]

8 minutes ago, MN Syrup Cruiser said:

On the second visit to the site we had breakfast starting at 5:00 AM.  We were to the site by 7:00 AM and left to take the bus to Aqua Calientes at 10:00 AM.  The morning at Machu Picchu was stunning.

 

Sounds great! Really excited just thinking about it!

 

[apeller]

I

13 minutes ago, lorri111 said:

 

Sounds great! Really excited just thinking about it!

 

Me too.  (except maybe not the 5am part and maybe not the guinea pig lunch)

 

3 hours ago, MN Syrup Cruiser said:

 

 Avoid overly large suitcases.  We had to pay excess baggage fees on the 'international' flight from Peru to Chile. 

Are 27 inch suitcases ok?  Thats what we usually travel with. Do they allow them to be the usual 50 lbs each? Any thing different from the norm with carryon?

 

Any other questions?  Hit me up and I'll try to answer.

 

You'll have an incredible time.  Princess does a very nice job with this tour.

Thanks for all the information.  I'm sure I will have many more questions over the next few months as I plan this trip.

 

In fact I just thought of one for you or trvlwrld.  Did you book any independent tours while on the cruise where you can recommend the companies? So far, all I have booked is the Falkland Islands.

[GJCruiser]

Amy -- we are on the cruisetour next spring too. Have you checked out the Roll Call for the cruise(s) after? Lots of tour planning going on there.

 

Thank you for finding out about the hotel used in Lima. I reserved a room for the previous night as we too have to arrive the night of the 27th. Will be able to cancel if they change hotels.

 

Take care.

[apeller]

1 hour ago, GJCruiser said:

Amy -- we are on the cruisetour next spring too. Have you checked out the Roll Call for the cruise(s) after? Lots of tour planning going on there.

 

Thank you for finding out about the hotel used in Lima. I reserved a room for the previous night as we too have to arrive the night of the 27th. Will be able to cancel if they change hotels.

 

Take care.

I was just about to post a link to this discussion on the roll call.

[lorri111]

How was the weather in January? My cruisetour also goes to Antarctica so I am having a hard time getting my head around what to pack

[apeller]

 

The tour description says fly back to Lima and enjoy a panoramic tour of the city.  Continue journey to Santiago....Was that just a quicky tour on the way to Santiago, or did you really have time to see the city?  I am trying to plan my day in Lima pre-tour and was thinking about going to the Caral Archeological site or Pachacamac, but I don't want to miss seeing Lima either. Does anyone remember how comprehensive the tour was?

[GJCruiser]

3 hours ago, apeller said:

 

The tour description says fly back to Lima and enjoy a panoramic tour of the city.  Continue journey to Santiago....Was that just a quicky tour on the way to Santiago, or did you really have time to see the city?

I do not see any reference to a tour of Lima? I think we will fly from Cusco to Lima to Santiago without leaving the airport in Lima. But I may be wrong.

[apeller]

39 minutes ago, GJCruiser said:

I do not see any reference to a tour of Lima? I think we will fly from Cusco to Lima to Santiago without leaving the airport in Lima. But I may be wrong.

https://www.princess.com/find/cruiseDetails.do?voyageCode=6006&tourCode=T0S02A

Here is the link to the cruisetour itinerary.  Scroll down to March 4th.  It mentions a panoramic tour (whatever that means).

[trvlwrld]

we took diamox for altitude sickness (do NOT chew or drink coca leaves or tea if you are taking AS pills).    you can leave your big suitcases at the hotel and just take a carry-on for the machu pichu section...much more managable.  weather in january was light jacket/ pants...it rains alot.  the hotels have free oxygen which will help with the altitude headaches if you are prone to migraines.  our group was small...about 30 people and ages 30-75.   the guides are great and dont push those who are unable to do steep inclines, but at the same time challenge those who want to do more....ironically the whiners in our group were the young couples and the older ones were up for anything.  it was an amazing trip....try the pisco sour- it goes down so easy, but you’ll regret the second one the next morning!

[brian1]

Just be aware of the Inca Bridge route at MP.It is a mountain ledge with no barriers getting more narrow as it progresses,culminating with a 2ft ledge with a chain to cling to.Not for the fainthearted,lol.