Princess Cruisetour Machu Picchu

[lorri111]

13 minutes ago, brian1 said:

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.

 

Is that an unavoidable part of the route taken on this tour?

[brian1]

2 hours ago, lorri111 said:

 

Is that an unavoidable part of the route taken on this tour?

No,it was on the 2nd day morning tour.They ask you what you would like.Just remember Inca Bridge,if it is mentioned,lol.Don't worry you can go where you want.It is such a big place,there are loads of places that you might have missed on the 1st day.

[lorri111]

13 minutes ago, brian1 said:

No,it was on the 2nd day morning tour.They ask you what you would like.Just remember Inca Bridge,if it is mentioned,lol.Don't worry you can go where you want.It is such a big place,there are loads of places that you might have missed on the 1st day.

 

Do you all stay with a guide on these 2 visits or do they allow you to wander off by yourselves and meet up at certain time?

[brian1]

5 minutes ago, lorri111 said:

 

Do you all stay with a guide on these 2 visits or do they allow you to wander off by yourselves and meet up at certain time?

The 1st day you stay with your guide.The 2nd day is optional and more informal.You can stay in bed if you want.You can go with the guide or meet up at a prearranged place and time.As I said,don't worry it is all a great experience.Except for the grissly Guinea Pig baked in a hole in the ground and it didn't taste like chicken to me.

[MN Syrup Cruiser]

If you do not arrive a day or two early to Lima, you will not have any sightseeing activities.  We arrived one day early and took a taxi to the beach.  It was a nice respite from the warm weather.  We had lunch at the beach. 

 

The first day of the cruise tour is basically checking into the Swissotel and getting acquainted with the tour managers.  Note:  there are two tour managers with you the entire time of the cruise tour.  Our operators, Rocio and Jenny, served as concierges.  They facilitated hotels, transportation and the overall operation of the tour.  Their role is completely separate from your tour guide at Machu Picchu.  We tipped both the tour operators and the tour guide.  Obviously, more to the tour operators.

 

The second day is your flight to Cusco.  Wake up call is at 4:20 AM; breakfast is available starting at 4:30.  At 5:15 AM you will leave for the airport.

 

Day 6 of the tour is a travel day.  You fly from Cuzco to Lima to Santiago.  Again, an early day with wake up at 4:30 AM.  That night you will stay at the Renaissance Hotel Santiago.

 

Day 7 is transit from Santiago to San Antonio.  Departure was at 9:30 AM.  It's a nice ride traversing through picturesque agricultural areas.  On the way you will have a rest stop at a winery.  There you could have something to eat (on your own).  Also, many people bought wine to take on the ship, as per guidelines set forth by Princess.  We're not big wine drinkers.  However, we did purchase bottles of pre-made Pisco Sour.  Because Pisco is a wine product, there was not difficulty taking it on the ship.  As a previous poster noted, it is very good.  We would go to the International Cafe and secure some cheese and crackers (usually available after 4:00).  We would have Pisco Sours on the rocks and cheese and crackers.  VIOLA!!!  Instant cocktail hour before dinner.

 

 

[GJCruiser]

12 hours ago, apeller said:

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).

Odd -- when I pull up the Calendar & Planning in my Personalizer it says nothing about that.

[cruisequeen4ever]

Great info; thank you!

[Aus Traveller]

By the way, if you are going to have difficulties with the altitude, it is more likely at Cuzco than at Machu Picchu. It is lower. When our plane landed at Cuzco and they opened the door, I could immediately detect the lower level of oxygen. I felt a very slight pressure headache (like a slight hang-over!) and we all felt we had to walk slower and take even the few stairs a bit slower than normal. Our tour guide had pre-warned us of this.

 

The main thing I found is that I had to take it easier. For instance, in our hotel in Cuzco we had to walk up a flight of stairs to our rooms. I stopped after every four steps to catch my breath. We didn't take the medication to altitude sickness, but we did drink a lot of cocoa tea that was offered freely at every hotel.

 

We were on an extensive land tour. In our group, only one person had problems with the altitude and that was at Lake Titicaca that is even higher than Cuzco. This lady was in her late 60s and had only one lung. She had not taken the 'altitude medication'.

[lorri111]

12 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

By the way, if you are going to have difficulties with the altitude, it is more likely at Cuzco than at Machu Picchu. It is lower. When our plane landed at Cuzco and they opened the door, I could immediately detect the lower level of oxygen. I felt a very slight pressure headache (like a slight hang-over!) and we all felt we had to walk slower and take even the few stairs a bit slower than normal. Our tour guide had pre-warned us of this.

 

The main thing I found is that I had to take it easier. For instance, in our hotel in Cuzco we had to walk up a flight of stairs to our rooms. I stopped after every four steps to catch my breath. We didn't take the medication to altitude sickness, but we did drink a lot of cocoa tea that was offered freely at every hotel.

 

We were on an extensive land tour. In our group, only one person had problems with the altitude and that was at Lake Titicaca that is even higher than Cuzco. This lady was in her late 60s and had only one lung. She had not taken the 'altitude medication'.

 

Thanks for that. We will get the medication just in case. My husband gets wobbly when a plane flies higher than normal and has passed out a couple of times so I have no doubt he will be prone to it.

[Aus Traveller]

29 minutes ago, lorri111 said:

 

Thanks for that. We will get the medication just in case. My husband gets wobbly when a plane flies higher than normal and has passed out a couple of times so I have no doubt he will be prone to it.

My other suggestion is to have Ventolin (asthma medication that opens the airways to allow more air to reach the lungs). Discuss this with your doctor.

[apeller]

5 hours ago, GJCruiser said:

Odd -- when I pull up the Calendar & Planning in my Personalizer it says nothing about that.

You are correct, its not there.  Very strange.  I guess I will add a tour of Lima to the list. Perhaps you want to join us.  I am looking at one of these tours:

PACHACAMAC:
Transfer from your hotel 30 Km south of Lima to the pre-inca complex of Pachacamac. Thought to be an oracle and also royal dwellings, the site is clearly divided into three parts; the first and oldest temple of rustic design, the second, known as the temple of the sun, and the third or temple of the moon, known as Aclla Wasi, which is clearly of Inca design. 
CARAL:
Transfer from your hotel for a full day´s guided visit to Caral, the oldest civilisation in the Americas. Dating back to over 3000BC, this earliest of settlements developed almost simultaneously with the civilisations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, India and China. Full day tour before returning to Lima and your hotel. 
 

Thank you everyone who is sharing all this helpful information.  I really appreciate it.  If anyone has any other tour info or advise, please continue sharing .😊

 

[lorri111]

Yes please, all info is helpful! Will post individual questions when I think of them.

[lorri111]

Just thought of one - anyone know the rules for taking medication, esp codeine, into Argentina, Chile and Peru? Will have usual prescriptions but curious if they are as strict as USA in this regard.

 

[GJCruiser]

3 hours ago, apeller said:

You are correct, its not there.  Very strange.  I guess I will add a tour of Lima to the list. Perhaps you want to join us.  I am looking at one of these tours:

Good luck on a tour. We were in Lima last year on a cruise. Spent two days and did go on one tour. The traffic is horrific. Several million people living in a city with a transportation network for 1/10th that. So we plan to relax at the hotel on the 28th.

[caribill]

17 hours ago, lorri111 said:

 

Do you all stay with a guide on these 2 visits or do they allow you to wander off by yourselves and meet up at certain time?

 

Wandering is not allowed as much as in the past. Now you must stick to one of two paths ("circuits") when you tour MP.

[brian1]

We booked an extra day in Lima,booking a private city tour.Low and behold there was a Princess tour the next day,even though it wasn't mentioned in the itinerary.Our tour was more extensive so we opted to stay and chill out in the hotel.Off topic,but this also happened in Bangkok,with a full city tour including lunch offered before continuing to the ship.That was an unexpected bonus for us.

[apeller]

38 minutes ago, brian1 said:

We booked an extra day in Lima,booking a private city tour.Low and behold there was a Princess tour the next day,even though it wasn't mentioned in the itinerary.Our tour was more extensive so we opted to stay and chill out in the hotel.Off topic,but this also happened in Bangkok,with a full city tour including lunch offered before continuing to the ship.That was an unexpected bonus for us.

Gee, everything sounds so organized (not).  Maybe I will contact the tour organizer in Lima and see if they can answer the question. I don't know how we could possibly go directly to Santiago from Lima without leaving the airport first because the itinerary mentions something about leaving luggage at the hotel in Lima when flying to Cusco and picking it up when we return.  Unless the tour managers take care of the luggage?  Too many questions.

[Aus Traveller]

43 minutes ago, apeller said:

Gee, everything sounds so organized (not).  Maybe I will contact the tour organizer in Lima and see if they can answer the question. I don't know how we could possibly go directly to Santiago from Lima without leaving the airport first because the itinerary mentions something about leaving luggage at the hotel in Lima when flying to Cusco and picking it up when we return.  Unless the tour managers take care of the luggage?  Too many questions.

Are you sure you are not leaving your luggage in a hotel in Cusco?

[apeller]

41 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

Are you sure you are not leaving your luggage in a hotel in Cusco?

Not according to the itinerary in my cruise personalizer.

[Aus Traveller]

53 minutes ago, apeller said:

Not according to the itinerary in my cruise personalizer.

OK. 🙂

[brian1]

Another thing not advertised,we had lounge access in Lima airport.Free booze and food,pretty good.It might be these "extras" revolve around flight schedules.

[MN Syrup Cruiser]

Your luggage that you did not take to Cusco / Machu Picchu will be at the Lima airport.  Although you do leave that luggage at your hotel in Lima, the tour operators take it to the airport where you will pick it up and check it through to Santiago.

[apeller]

3 hours ago, MN Syrup Cruiser said:

Your luggage that you did not take to Cusco / Machu Picchu will be at the Lima airport.  Although you do leave that luggage at your hotel in Lima, the tour operators take it to the airport where you will pick it up and check it through to Santiago.

Ok, thanks, that clarifies it.

[apeller]

Time to revisit  this topic.  My final payment is due in a few days,  Does anyone have any papers that list the itinerary for the day(s) in Machu Picchu, or could someone give me a clue how the day was organized? How was the pace?  Did they go at the slowest pace necessary or were some people having difficulty keeping up?

Thanks.

[MN Syrup Cruiser]

Days 4 and 5 take you to Machu Picchu.

 

Day 4:  Urubamba - Machu Picchu

             5:30 AM  -  breakfast at hotel in Urubamba

             7:00 AM  -  leave your luggage (to Cusco) outside your room

             8:10 AM  -  transfer to Ollantaytambo train station; bring overnight bag with you

             8:44 AM  -  arrive at train station

             9:15 - 10:50  AM   -  take the Vistadome train to Aquas Calientes

            11:45 AM  -  buffet lunch at Sanctuary Lodge

               1:00  PM  -  guided tour of the site

                4:00 PM  -  arrive at Sumaq hotel

 

Day 5:  Machu Picchu - Urubamba - Cusco

             5:00  AM  -  breakfast at hotel

             7:00  -  10:00 AM  -  return to Machu Picchu

             11:00 AM - 12:30 PM  -  train to Urubamba

             1:00 PM  -  lunch

             2:15 PM  -  transfer to Cusco

             

The tour managers keep things at a decent pace.  While visiting the site itself, accommodations were made for those less able to climb the steep wallways.

 

Enjoy!!!!