LAL Cruiser

Is the ship fully booked on the Cartagena to Lima segment?

Sounds lovely, and I will be standing on a street corner in a so-so neighborhood of Lima looking for a run-down hot bus that will take me on a 25 minute ride into the port while loaded down with luggage. Can't wait!! Yes, see you onboard. Project packing complete, 3 mega cases, one rollerboard, one lap top carrier plus brief case. Done. Bon Voyage.....

I do have the Lima instructions, thank you!!! I also contacted the port authority in Lima requesting access to the port for our group of 5 and they actually responded today. (I honestly never expected to hear back from them.) Their email stated that as of tomorrow, the Port Authority will know the exact position of the Silver Nova in the Callao port and, depending on that position, they may be able to arrange port access. I will keep you updated.

We are NOT impressed with your luggage - LOL!! 😀 We will likely have more (3 very big suitcases, trying to avoid suit case number 4, Roller Board, Lap Top Bag and a brief case.) And my partner Ron is bringing formal wear and does not care about the relaxed dress code. No Christmas tree however, you get bonus points for that. Give me strength. I see friendship among us in the making. Best, Larry

Gents, it sounds like you are off to a good start. I am glad to hear it Enjoy Cartagena, you can advise us of the hot spots for the the return journey. We are still sorting out packing and baggage - we will just end up taking everything, so many cruises and vacations over the years and we still cannot pack effectively even with free laundry - whatever, luxurious problems. We depart for Lima (from Miami) on Thursday afternoon. Keep us updated, and we will see you onboard on 19 December; who knows what time with the messy check-in procedure discussed above (our Lima agent cannot find a way to gain entry to the port and the port authority has not returned any emails.) As mentioned, we are in Medallion 9026, leave a note and we will contact you once we are onboard and settled. ENJOY!! We are about the same as to the number of cruises, mostly Silversea since 2001, and we too have a very unique viewpoint as to the ship, cruiseline and product. We will compare notes.

While I am not on this voyage, I have been following the discussion as it is so interesting and relevant. Have their been itinerary changes or not? Was anything ever confirmed by Silversea? The website shows original schedules (at least as far as embark and disembark ports). Rumors of changes seem to be unconfirmed by any writings. What is the real story?

Key words; if you book in advance. baggage retrieval at Singapore is a special service, not standard operating procedure. One can also use a baggage service to have baggage forwarded from your home directly to the ship and return; that solves the luggage/airport/cruise port issue. Or, for an entirely effortless travel experience, flying private is a very good alternative. There are options for passengers who need extra assistance and that is a very very good thing.- but those services generally cost extra, require special advance arraignments, and are not part of the Silversea or air carrier base product. That Silversea does not provide porterage or baggage assistance within the port or airport (regardless of who arranged the airline ticket) is not a cutback which is where this discussion began. This is all about managing expectations: Silversea does not and/or cannot provide baggage assistance services at airports or cruise ports. Porters are generally available for said services or other special arrangements are necessary. Silversea staff (or contracted staff) will assist and direct passengers as appropriate and help ensure that the passenger with his/her luggage efficiently get from the airport to the port to the ship and back.

You are my new favorite person on this Board, so logical and practical. (I followed you comment on another post here.) Booking in advance is sometimes a gamble : fares can increase or (in rare circumstances) decrease for a variety of reasons. In general, early bookers do best (just like on airlines). The important thing is to enjoy the cruise and the experience, and not worry if it cost $400 more or $1000 less per person.

I agree with labrasett, the complaining and accusations on this board need to be moderated. First, airlines no longer pay commissions on air fares to travel agents - did the TA mention that this procedure is not Silversea specific? (The travel agent made a nice commission on your booking, don't worry, and it is unprofessional for him or her to make that accusation.) Next, re services in the port terminals, this is out of Silversea's domain as in most countries, port workers are highly unionized and organized and strictly control who can do what at the port: Silversea employees cannot interfere with port operations or procedures, instead, they follow the rules and are generally limited to a "meet and greet" function on both departure and arrival. Porters (who you must tip) are generally available, simply have a pocket full of $5 bills and all of the help you need will be available. At airports, do you expect airline employees to claim your bags and help you through immigration at the airport - it does not work that way (and hasn't for a very long time) and sometimes porters may be available. And, does anyone expect Silversea employees to be present within the immigration and customs areas at foreign airports? It is not even permissible yet Silversea is getting trashed. Last, as to itinerary changes, it happens: everything from weather, political situations and operations can impact itineraries developed years in advance; all cruisers are aware of this fact. Posters use the words like cutbacks very easily - many of the original posters points are out of Silversea's (or any cruise line's) control. The key point is the following: products evolve, change and adapt over the years, just like the passengers do. I enjoy my days on Silversea and feel privildeged to be travelling and exploring in such comfort. Is everything always perfect? Nothing is, but overall it is a lovely experience.

And this is from our e-ticket.... YOUR PRE-CRUISE INFORMATION The ship will be located at Terminal Maritimo Enapu pier. Guests will be permitted to embark the vessel from approximately 2:00-4:00PM. Please be sure to have your cruise ticket, valid passport and any necessary visas ready upon embarkation. Immigration Officers may begin processing all guests’ passports at this time. Passports will then be collected by ship’s staff and returned to you after completion of disembarkation procedures at cruise end. For any guests booked on a Land Program, please refer to the Land Program Arrangement section for contact details and tour operator information. Bon voyage! Local Contact Please Note: For technical reasons/traffic regulations etc., local Port Authorities has the final decision on berth allocation upon the ship arrival. Therefore the pier information above Is subject to last minute changes. LIMA TOURS Juan de Arona 755 PISO 3 Work Town SAN ISIDRO - LIMA, PERU Telephone: +511 619 6905 After Hours: +(51) 997 516 250 IMPORTANT INFORMATION ON EMBARKATION DAY Due to Port Regulations, access to the port is not granted at the main entrance unless you are in a "Silversea arranged transportation". All independent guests must arrive first at the corner of Jiron Medina Block 2 and Av Grau Block 0 (2 blocks from "La Plaza Principal") La Punta, where an in-port shuttle coach (25 min drive) will transfer you to "Terminal Maritimo Enapu" to board the ship. The shuttle service will be offered throughout the day. YOUR POST-CRUISE INFORMATION

Hi, Look at the second page of your e-ticket. It states: IMPORTANT INFORMATION ON EMBARKATION DAY Due to Port Regulations, access to the port is not granted at the main entrance unless you are in a "Silversea arranged transportation". All independent guests must arrive first at the corner of Jiron Medina Block 2 and Av Grau Block 0 (2 blocks from "La Plaza Principal") La Punta, where an in-port shuttle coach (25 min drive) will transfer you to "Terminal Maritimo Enapu" to board the ship. The shuttle service will be offered throughout the day. AJ, as you are taking a taxi, it is very strange if this notice does not appear on your e-ticket. I was advised that e-tickets were held up due to this odd boarding procedure. Let us know!!!

Looking forward to lunching, meeting, drinking or whatever. Very, very strange boarding procedure in Lima as set forth on the e-ticket. Being that we are NOT using a Silversea arranged ground transport in Lima (our Peru travel agent that handled our Machu Picchu pre-cruise trip took care of the transfer for us), we need to be dropped off at the central square in Callao in order to pick up a Shuttle Bus that will take us into the port terminal for check in. Sounds very strange and inconvenient - and who wants to do a shuttle bus loaded down with baggage? I dont get it. Being that we land in Lima (from Cusco) around Noon, then need to go back to the Marriott in Miraflores to pick up left luggage, and then need to go to Callao to meet a shuttle bus....who knows exactly what time we will embark Silver Nova. We have 16 days to meet up!

Thanks for caring! E- Tickets finally arrived this morning. We are good to go! Is was concerned only for Peruvian immigration. Now its time to start packing; I guess we are brining half the house (even with free laundry). We cannot help ourselves. See you very very soon. We are in 9026.

Funny, we are also doing a "Foodie" Tour in Lima, I guess it is the thing to do. And, still problems with the e-tickets. Hearing nonsense answers at this point but Silversea hopes to have the documents out soon.

Callao is a huge industrial port and cruise ships do NOT take priority, also consider that during the 3 day period that Silver Nova will be docked at Callao (18/19/20 December with disembarkation/embarkation on 19 December) both Celebrity and Regent will have ships docking at Callao as well. There will be no problem getting a taxi or uber or car service to take you from your hotel to the Port of Callao (your hotel concierge or front desk can help if necessary) and, once at the Port, the authorities will direct you to the departure area for Silver Nova. I am not sure if there is even a terminal building at Callao for passenger processing - a tent of make-shift facility could be used. In any case, we booked have a private transfer booked on 19 December from Lima Airport to the Port (making a detour to our Lima hotel to pick up left baggage) and our Travel Company in Peru confirmed this transfer simply stating that we will be dropped off at the Port to embark Silver Nova. See you onboard! And, still awaiting e-tickets!! Will check back again tomorrow, this is getting tiresome.