Oceania's Excursion to Machu Picchu

[skiladyldp]

Hello, has anyone done Oceania's post cruise excursion to Machu Picchu?  We are booked on a South America cruise in January 2021 and are considering booking this.  Any opinions good or bad is welcomed.  Yes  I do know I can do this cheaper ourselves but for ease of travel we like this option.  Thank you

[Hawaiidan]

25 minutes ago, skiladyldp said:

Hello, has anyone done Oceania's post cruise excursion to Machu Picchu?  We are booked on a South America cruise in January 2021 and are considering booking this.  Any opinions good or bad is welcomed.  Yes  I do know I can do this cheaper ourselves but for ease of travel we like this option.  Thank you

 

For the record  my cousin took it.... said  it was an out an back thank you very much package.   they had 4 hours tops  at Picchu....      Way too zip-zip zip was what he said.     Its not so much that you can do it cheaper  it  is that you can  see much more quality, and quantity for far less...  

[Mura]

We did a pre-cruise to MP in 2015 -- a group of six booked privately.  I understand your feeling that it's "easier" to let the ship do it, but we had a wonderful visit to MP.  In our case we had a 6 day pre-cruise visit which allowed us to see a lot of the area.  We were picked up by the agency at the airport and taken to our hotel.  It was JUST as easy as letting the ship do it!

 

Obviously, you don't have to spend as much time as we did ... or more.

 

Mura

[TrulyBlonde]

Yes, we did it with Oceania. We took the luxury version they offered and all was quite good. However, we did not have as much time as we would have liked at MP. 

Therefore, if doing it over again, we would most likely just do it with Belmond either pre or post cruise and not take the O version.

[clo]

We were there over 25 years ago, totally on our own.  Spent a few days in Cusco, took the train to MP which was magical.  And ate guinea pig 🙂  Loved it all.  But I understand that it's gotten ridiculously crowded.  I don't think this was the article I read about an alternative but here it is.

 

https://www.travelandleisure.com/trip-ideas/adventure-travel/machu-picchu-treks-inca-trail-alternatives

 

I'm glad we did it when we did and would likely do the alternative if we returned to the area.

[pinotlover]

We are on the same cruise as the OP and signed up for O’s excursion which can be easily canceled. From a different source I was told that current policy because of over crowding is: 1. Groups are now limited to certain time periods, maybe the 4 hours 2. Independent personal guides are no longer allowed inside the main area. All guides now have to be registered and permitted to enter, and then follow all regulations.

 

Therefore , at least during their peak tourist season, if one wants to spend a full day wandering around, it has to now be unaccompanied with a guide book in hand. I was also told that additional areas have been made off limits because of damage done by too many tourists. 

 

We we appreciate all recommendations for good guide companies.

Edited July 13, 2019 by pinotlover

[skiladyldp]

Thanks for all this information!  My husband can not walk long distances for a long time so 4 hours may be enough anyway.  We plan to spend 4 nights pre-cruise in Buenos Aires and after 20 night a quick in and out may be all we want.  I appreciate all that took the time to give me information.

[Mura]

Once you are at the site there really isn't a lot of walking.  I was having knee problems when we were there and I had no trouble covering the ground I wanted to.  Climbing up to the top was not in my plans!  So 4 hours might well be all you want to do.

 

OTOH, it's a fascinating part of the world that contains MORE than MP ... So we were very happy to have done our 6 day tour with fabulous guides.

 

I still advocate a post-cruise visit as well but I can't chose for you what to do! And we did do this part at the beginning, NOT the end.

 

Mura

[DeeniEncinitas]

3 hours ago, clo said:

We were there over 25 years ago, totally on our own.  Spent a few days in Cusco, took the train to MP which was magical.  And ate guinea pig 🙂  Loved it all.  But I understand that it's gotten ridiculously crowded.  I don't think this was the article I read about an alternative but here it is.

 

https://www.travelandleisure.com/trip-ideas/adventure-travel/machu-picchu-treks-inca-trail-alternatives

 

I'm glad we did it when we did and would likely do the alternative if we returned to the area.

We did this last year on The Maasdam HAL and we spent 5 days off the cruise and it was wonderful! BUT HAL charged an additional 4,000.00 pp extra! It included air fare lodging the train. What a site!!

Just wanted to give my 2 cents .

Denise😊

[Carol From California]

3 hours ago, pinotlover said:

We are on the same cruise as the OP and signed up for O’s excursion which can be easily canceled. From a different source I was told that current policy because of over crowding is: 1. Groups are now limited to certain time periods, maybe the 4 hours 2. Independent personal guides are no longer allowed inside the main area. All guides now have to be registered and permitted to enter, and then follow all regulations.

 

Therefore , at least during their peak tourist season, if one wants to spend a full day wandering around, it has to now be unaccompanied with a guide book in hand. I was also told that additional areas have been made off limits because of damage done by too many tourists. 

 

We we appreciate all recommendations for good guide companies.

We were originally going to go to Machu Pichu at the end or before a cruise but then after we looked into it we decided to do it separately.  We booked it through www.KuodaTravel.com.  They are located in Cusco.  Our vacation included a few days in Cusco, a few days in the Sacred Valley, an overnight at Machu Pichu at the Sanctuary Lodge, the Hiram Bingham Train, which in my opinion was a highlight of the trip.  We had a private driver and guide.  The trip included hotels, the guide, the driver, the admission tickets, some meals and lots more.  We also spent a few days in Lima.  We did it last year.  Whether you do what we did, or just add it on to a cruise, they can plan it all for you.  Cost was very reasonable too.  It was an incredible trip.  Just check out the close to 600 EXCELLENT reviews on Trip Advisor.  Here is my review: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g294314-d4752683-r587289159-Kuoda_Travel-Cusco_Cusco_Region.html

[clo]

9 minutes ago, DeeniEncinitas said:

charged an additional 4,000.00 pp extra!

Holey moley!  But it is a magical place.

[DeeniEncinitas]

31 minutes ago, clo said:

Holey moley!  But it is a magical place.

I needed to let people know. So loved MP but through HAL it was very expensive. AND THAT WAS ADDITIONAL TO WHAT WE PAID FOR OUR 30 day cruise last year .

Guinea Pig? I almost got there but I just couldn’t do it!

Denise😊

[clo]

Just now, DeeniEncinitas said:

Guinea Pig?

I speak enough Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese to never go hungry 🙂  So I ordered "cuy" - guinea pig.  The server who spoke no English was visibly concerned.  I guess he found someone to talk to and returned and asked "guinea pig"?  And I said "si, cuy."  No joke, it tasted like chicken.  But the teeth were a little off-putting.  LOL

[DeeniEncinitas]

1 minute ago, clo said:

I speak enough Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese to never go hungry 🙂  So I ordered "cuy" - guinea pig.  The server who spoke no English was visibly concerned.  I guess he found someone to talk to and returned and asked "guinea pig"?  And I said "si, cuy."  No joke, it tasted like chicken.  But the teeth were a little off-putting.  LOL

LOL😂🤣😅

CLO this is priceless!

I chewed on those leaves to help with altitude sickness!😊👍

Denise😊

[clo]

29 minutes ago, DeeniEncinitas said:

I chewed on those leaves

We did the same.  We'd walk around Cusco for an hour or so and then lie down.  Repeat.  But the following day we felt fine.

 

That's a food story I'll always remember 🙂  Even more than the rat we ate in Thailand!

[DeeniEncinitas]

36 minutes ago, clo said:

We did the same.  We'd walk around Cusco for an hour or so and then lie down.  Repeat.  But the following day we felt fine.

 

That's a food story I'll always remember 🙂  Even more than the rat we ate in Thailand!

Rattlesnake is the closest I came to a rat in Thailand. You go girl!!

Denise😊

 

 

[clo]

Just now, DeeniEncinitas said:

rat

It was interesting.  THOSE rats were in the rice fields and of course the farmers didn't want them there.  So they'd catch and grill them on the side of the highway.  Unfortunately our guide then had our hotel cook the crap out of them.  No jerky could be as tough and flavorless.  I've never had any snake, much less rattlesnake.  Eek 🙂

[DeeniEncinitas]

1 minute ago, clo said:

It was interesting.  THOSE rats were in the rice fields and of course the farmers didn't want them there.  So they'd catch and grill them on the side of the highway.  Unfortunately our guide then had our hotel cook the crap out of them.  No jerky could be as tough and flavorless.  I've never had any snake, much less rattlesnake.  Eek 🙂

Clo, your my kind of person!

Thankyou for the memories.

Denise😂

Our first on O also next March and April.

 

[clo]

1 minute ago, DeeniEncinitas said:

Our first on O also next March and April.

 

Where are y'all going?

[DeeniEncinitas]

1 minute ago, clo said:

Where are y'all going?

We are doing a Panama Canal from our home in San Diego to FLL on HAL. We hook up with O out of Miami to do a TA to Rome. We then will go to our friends home in Rome and then off to Milan and take a train to Monte Carlo and hook up with O there to Barcelona. We go every year over, We have a condo on Promenade de Angelis in Nice where we stay and do a lot of travel. The condo has been our family a long time.

Were tired of HAL with all there nickel and dimming. O was recommended to us through friends!

Denise😊

 

 

 

[clo]

48 minutes ago, DeeniEncinitas said:

Barcelona

I could live in Barcelona!  How long is this trip?  Sounds wonderful.

[DeeniEncinitas]

From start to finish 3/1-5/14!

Denise😊

[clo]

16 minutes ago, DeeniEncinitas said:

From start to finish 3/1-5/14!

Denise😊

Sounds glorious.  How long are you home between trips?

[DeeniEncinitas]

12 minutes ago, clo said:

Sounds glorious.  How long are you home between trips?

Gone the whole time. Not at home

Denise😊

[clo]

34 minutes ago, DeeniEncinitas said:

Gone the whole time. Not at home

Denise😊

Oh I meant EVER?  LOL.