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Peruvian Unrest. Machu Picchu tour looking unlikely

trk_koa

By trk_koa,
in South America

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trk_koa

trk_koa

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Well, phooey. We are supposed to travel to Peru in two weeks on a pre-cruise tour to Machu Picchu, then be flown to Buenos Aires to begin our cruise. Now that’s looking unlikely due to the political unrest in Peru.

 

I’ve been in touch with the cruise line and they are waiting to see how things develop. But with the 30 day lock down announced yesterday, I don’t think we even want to go to Peru right now. We have trip insurance so we are looking into whether we can cancel just the tour part and get that money covered if the cruise line doesn’t cancel.

 

So now we need to figure out what to do with a whole week before our cruise. We have already been to Buenos Aires twice and have already done Iguazu (both sides) and Rio. 
 

Does anyone have any great ideas besides stay home that week and just fly to BA for the cruise?

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koolforkatz

koolforkatz

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We are on the following Machu Picchu cruise tour starting January 14. I contacted the cruise line but they didn't know anything. We are not sure what to do either and it is hard to plan anything. Will Princess cancel just the tour portion or the entire trip since it was bundled together? We have considered flying to Lima as originally planned and from there flying straight to Santiago and spending 6 days in Valparaiso/Vina del Mar. 

 

Have you considered other areas of Argentina to visit? Hope you hear something soon!

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prudence passenger

prudence passenger

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Our pre cruise tour to Machu Picchu has been cancelled by silversea

on silversea facebook, passengers tell of being confined to hotel there and cannot go home

many are frightened

We are supposed to fly now on Monday, instead of today to Lima for cruise portion, 

our insurance, purchased through silversea, with Allianz, says civil unrest is not covered to cancel a cruise, only terrorism is covered

How can Silversea guarantee passengers safety at Lima airport? travel from airport to hotel? from hotel to cruise port?  Roads are blocked in many places. We are very concerned

Last night the city of Lima was covered in tear gas

 

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trk_koa

trk_koa

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Ours is actually through Azamara. We are supposed to fly to Lima on December 31. Tour starting January 2.
 

I got an email from the US State Department today ( I had signed up for their STEP travel advisory system). It says that Cusco is now alert level 4 = Do not travel. I just sent that notice to the Azamara land programs people via email. 

 

I checked our travel insurance documents with iTravelInsured and it states that alert level 4 is a covered situation, if I’m reading it correctly. 
 

 

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trk_koa

trk_koa

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1 hour ago, lynncarol said:

Have you considered spending a week in the Lake Country of Argentina first?  Supposedly similar to Switzerland. I saw videos from relatives visiting the area and it is gorgeous.  Now on my bucket list.

Thank you. We will look into that. It sounds lovely. 

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KarlGermany

KarlGermany

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We booked a Galapagos cruise with Celebrity xpedition including a post cruise package to Machu Picchu. Cruise will start mid February Machu Picchu then End of February.

we are following closely the situation and look forward to hear something from Celebrity, so far nothing.

appreciate any information others get from their cruise lines / tour operators 

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prudence passenger

prudence passenger

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The Machu Picchu land tour portion of our trip is going to be reimbursed, yes it is a 4 on state dept

but, Lima is still a 3.  There will be police escort for Passengers leaving the ship to get to the airport in Lima. 

That makes me believe the cruise line does not believe it is safe for travel 

the state dept website also says road blocks can happen at any time

Another passenger also told me their flight from Paris to Lima was cancelled

Safety first!

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trk_koa

trk_koa

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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.”

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jocan

jocan

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Thanks for the update and look forward to what you may hear from Princess or the tour operator. I was under the impression that with the 30 day "state of emergency " that the January MP tour would be a no go ?

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koolforkatz

koolforkatz

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I have also been in touch with Princess regarding our January 14 MP tour. They just keep telling me they are monitoring the situation. The state of emergency finishes on January 15 but who knows if they will extend it or not. I have heard that they expect the protests to be on a type of truce throughout Christmas and start up again in early January.

 

Canada is still advising non-essential travel to the Cusco/Machu Picchu area which would certainly affect our travel insurance.

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trk_koa

trk_koa

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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. 

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KarlGermany

KarlGermany

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I am glad our cruise to Galapagos only start mid February and the post cruise tour to Lima and Machu Picchu only after that. So there is some time to find out how it will develop. However, I doubt we can make the Peru part. Will see what Celebrity says mid January 

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SunDog19

SunDog19

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Hi Karl,

I just read that protesters were tearing up the train tracks in Cusco, so you are probably right about the potential for cancellation. Also, our State Department has Cusco listed as level 4.

We are scheduled for a June tour after a Flora outer loop cruise and I am becoming concerned about that.

 

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firsttimer1971

firsttimer1971

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I am no expert at this, but I do know that most governments advise against travelling to Peru at this moment unless absolutely necessary. You should really check with your travel agent what their plans are now for your trip to Machu Picchu. Personally, I wouldn't go with a state of emergency declared and having read about the thousands of tourists stranded last week in, and on their way to Machu Picchu.

 

Also, if you do decide to go, check if your travel insurance is still valid since a lot of them will no longer cover a trip if negative travel advice has been issued. And if you take medicines, take lots of them with you so you won't be without them if you get stranded.

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jocan

jocan

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On 12/22/2022 at 10:26 AM, koolforkatz said:

I have also been in touch with Princess regarding our January 14 MP tour. They just keep telling me they are monitoring the situation. The state of emergency finishes on January 15 but who knows if they will extend it or not. I have heard that they expect the protests to be on a type of truce throughout Christmas and start up again in early January.

 

Canada is still advising non-essential travel to the Cusco/Machu Picchu area which would certainly affect our travel insurance.

Is your January 14 MP tour still a go ?

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