Mercruiser

You have significantly misinterpreted the travel advisory. You state, "The US State Dept lists Cusco as DO NOT TRAVEL." You are implying that the city of Cusco is in the do not travel category. That is not correct. Actually, what they say is "Do not travel to: ... The Valley of the Apurímac, Ene, and Mantaro Rivers (VRAEM), including areas within the Departments of Ayacucho, Cusco, Huancavelica, and Junin, due to crime and terrorism." Firstly, the Department of Cusco is not the same as the city Cusco. The Department of Cusco is large area analogous to a US state or Canadian province. The city Cusco is the capital city of the Department of Cusco, analogous to Oklahoma City being the capital of the state of Oklahoma. Secondly, the State Department do not travel warning applies to the VRAEM area, which is no where near the city of Cusco. VRAEM is an area approximately midway between Lima and Cusco city. See map.

trk_koa, I'm glad you made it to see Machu Picchu. Additionally, you'll have a great story to tell about your trip. Thanks for updating us and posting the pictures.

Peru Rail has now updated their web site with the same information: https://www.perurail.com/news/

Make take on this is they are preemptively closing the rail lines to prevent having people stranded in Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu Pueblo). That's what happened in December and it generated lots of international publicity - the kind that results in tourists avoiding Peru.

Unfortunately, it looks like travel to Machu Picchu is interrupted again. This notice is from FTSA, the rail operator in Peru. (Perurail and IncaRail use their tracks.) Here is the google translate of the notice in Spanish (red emphasis mine): FTSA Cusco, January 3, 2023. COMMUNICATE Ferrocarril Transandino S.A., concessionaire of the railway in the South and South East of the country, informs public opinion and railway operators that: Given the indefinite restart of the protest demonstrations in Cusco, Puno and Arequipa, we are obliged to suspend railway operations as of this January 4 and until further notice, at: The section: Cusco - Urubamba - Ollantaytambo - Machupicchu - Hydroelectric and the Urubamba - Pachar branch, of the southeast railway. In the sections: Cusco - Juliaca - Puno and Juliaca - Imata - Pillones - Arequipa, of the southern railway. We regret any inconvenience these measures may cause; however, we adopted this decision as a preventive measure that prioritizes the safety of people in the face of possible blockades of the railway. We ask all railway operators to take the forecasts of the case. Any change in this measure will be communicated in a timely manner. Carefully, Ferrocarril Transandino S.A. O Here is the original post: https://www.facebook.com/FerrocarrilTransandino/posts/pfbid032HEERTBQnnboMGFFkVC59fnYeX5LZzT6U88BVVzfJ1j9f4vjwLzqxzuefRSfZf9Tl

I am following the Peru situation closely. I have a Azamara cruise booked Feb 12, Lima to Miami. I have an independent, one-week, pre-cruise trip planned to Machu Picchu and Cusco. All of my reservations can be cancelled up to the last minute. If that does not work out, we'll stay in Lima. The prices in Peru are very low, it's off season, so it is easy to make last minute changes. So far, I am encouraged by the trip reports on Tripadvisor (parent company of CC). It sounds great to be at Machu Picchu right now - no crowds and no disruptions. Here are a couple of examples from the Tripadvisor Peru forum: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g294311-i818-k14209802-Peru_Trip_update-Peru.html https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g294311-i818-k14209603-Peru_the_actual_facts_21_December_2022-Peru.html Of course, that could change in the future. There are rumors that protests will resume on Jan 4. Time will tell.

The trains between Ollantaytambo and Machu Picchu have been running since Dec 19. See Peru Rail press release here: https://www.perurail.com/news/resumption-of-operations-as-of-this-monday-december-19-2022/ On Dec 22, they resumed regular service https://www.perurail.com/news/operative-information-since-december-22/ It sounds like the reports you were reading have greatly exaggerated the damage.

Good point. I booked Sapphire Princess, in 2024, specifically to avoid Royal Class. This route map, from Princess' web site, shows that Royal Class ships skip the Inside Passage and cruise the open ocean west of Vancouver Island. This is bad because you are missing some of the great scenery between the B.C. mainland and Vancouver Island. You are also more exposed to waves than on the sheltered waters of the Inside Passage. For me, the B.C. Inside Passage is a highlight of a Vancouver-Alaska cruise.

Alyaska is on the way between the cruise ports (Whittier and Seward) and all points north such as Anchorage and Fairbanks. Personally, I'd get a one way car rental from the cruise port to Fairbanks, and then fly home from Fairbanks. That would make a nice 7-10 day trip. I'd skip the cruise line tour of Alaska, unless you're really fond of bus tours. Alaska is easy to drive yourself.

It has too be dark at night to see the Northern Lights. August is marginal. Go as late as you can if this is important to you. See https://www.explorefairbanks.com/explore-the-area/aurora-season/#:~:text=Fairbanks' Aurora Season is from,we have dark enough skies.

I never buy ship WiFi. I find it way more economical to use the Internet data and hotspot capability of my cell phone. I use Google Fi, because it has the best international coverage of any USA plan. Other folks like T-Mobile. This works almost anytime the ship is within sight of land, which is most of the time on my itineraries. Cost is $10/GB anywhere in the world. I like paying by the GB instead of by the minute. Don't have to rush. No billing surprises ever. International Roaming, Calling & Data Rates - Google Fi

Thanks for the tip. I booked a new excursion at a 20% discount. I also noticed that one of my previously booked excursions (not on the Black Friday sale) went up quite a bit from what I booked.

Notice that the uplink is shown as "SpaceX Starlink". Can we infer that Azamara has installed the Starlink Maritime service? If you read up on Starlink, the speeds can vary dramatically with location. More specifically, if you are in a highly populated area (with lots of Starlink subscribers), the speeds slow because everyone is sharing a few satellites. In contrast, if you are in a remote location the speeds are very fast. That makes Starlink an excellent counterpart to mobile cellular data, which tends to be fastest in populated areas and slowest (or unavailable) in remote areas. An important limitation of Starlink, to cruisers, is the lack of coverage at polar latitudes (above 60 degrees). You can see it on this live map: https://satellitemap.space/?constellation=starlink This is a rapidly changing situation, as Starlink is starting to put some new satellites in polar orbits. Have a look at the Alaska region on the satellite map. Then read this article from yesterday in the Anchorage (Alaska) Daily News. https://www.adn.com/business-economy/2022/11/24/starlink-begins-providing-high-speed-satellite-internet-in-alaska/ Sorry to nerd-out here. I'm a newly retired electrical engineer that loves technology. I'm no Elon fan-boy, but I have to give credit where credit is due. Starlink is an amazing technology that is bringing fast Intenet to the globe.

We are planning a very similar pre-cruise trip, also in February. But I'm on a different cruise. I have not been to Machu Picchu before. But from what I read, February is completely off season. In fact it looks like some of the area hotels close for the month. I don't think it will be any problem getting MP tickets. But I will be interested to read any responses here from experienced MP travelers. If I don't hear otherwise, I plan to get my MP tickets at the official government site https://www.machupicchu.gob.pe/?lang=en or possibly at one of the ticket resellers. Here is a link to my planned itinerary from our roll-call: Note that the Cuzco to MP trains don't run in February. That's one reason I'm staying in Ollantaytambo, so I can board the MP train there.

I'd much rather go on several cruises in a year, than one very long cruise. After about two weeks on a cruise, I'm ready to do something else. But then after a month at home, I'm wishing I was on a cruise again!

I lived in the Netherlands for two years, and explored the country pretty well. (It's not very big). The only part of the country that could be described as hilly is the Limburg province, in the extreme southeast part of the country, where Maastricht is located. The rest of the country is as flat as flat gets. I'm trying to understand the idea that there are rolling hills in/near Keukenhof. I'm looking at my photos from a trip there. The only two possibilities I can think of are the the sand dunes west of Keukenhof or the manmade landscaping within the Keukenhof grounds. I guess if the Azamara marketing department wants to characterize Amsterdam as "rolling hills", it's within their prerogative. But I think it completely mischaracterizes a country that is famous for it's flatness. There are a lot of wonderful things to be said for Amsterdam - why in the world would they want to characterize it as something it is not? Want to read about the famous flatness of The Netherlands? See Is The Netherlands The Flattest Country In The World? If you want to see actual rolling hills, come visit my part of the world. The Palouse has some of the prettiest rolling hills you'll ever see.

That might "Change the Way You See"

Here is the email I received from Azamara today: I must have missed the rolling hills of Amsterdam during the two years I lived in Eindhoven. My recollection of Amsterdam is as flat as a Dutch pannenkoek. 🥞 I get the impression that the writers tasked with producing this email have not actually seen Amsterdam. Maybe Azamara will hire me to write some of these emails. Here are some of my ideas: Play in the sand dunes of Seattle Walk amongst the elephant herds of Barcelona Ski the slopes of Miami Enjoy the tropical rainforests of Egypt Now I understand what they mean by "Change the Way You See"

Starlink T-Mobile users will need a big balcony for the antenna 😏 Here is a starlink antenna on a Tesla. Present day Starlink antennas seem a tad oversize for a mobile phone.

I'm a cheapskate when it comes to cellular plans (more money for cruising that way :). Right now I'm on Visible (Verizon owned discount carrier), paying $25/month for unlimited everything in the USA only - no international roaming. I'm planning to switch carriers in January for my upcoming Azamara cruise from Peru to Miami, followed by a couple more Europe cruises next summer. This thread reminded me to read up on international roaming plans again. Back in 2018, I did not pick T-Mobile because their Europe data speeds were very slow. Maybe that has improved now that it's 2022? Here are the two relevant T-Mobile web pages: https://www.t-mobile.com/plan-details https://www.t-mobile.com/support/coverage/international-roaming-services Summarizing these web pages, you have to be on the Magenta MAX plan to get 5GB of high-speed data in Europe. Above 5 GB, the speed drops to a glacial 256 Kbps. If you are on the regular Magenta plan, it's always 256 Kbps, except in these 11 countries where you get 5 GB of high-speed data: Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, and Greece. The cost of Magenta MAX, for one line, age 55+, is $65/month. Since T-Mobile limits customers to 5GB of international high-speed data, lets compare to Google Fi, which charges $20 (fixed monthly) + $50 (data) for 5 GB = $70/month. Here is the relevant Google fi web page: https://support.google.com/fi/answer/6201699?hl=en For 4.5 GB data or less, Google Fi is cheaper because they only charge for the data used. For more than 5 GB of data, Fi is a better way to go because T-Mobile throttles the speed to 256 Kbps above 5 GB. Google Fi charges $10/GB up to 6 GB. From 6 GB to 15 GB, they charge $60 under the "Bill Protection" feature. In summary, T-Mobile Magenta MAX has the best plan, if and only if, you use between 4.5 and 5.0 GB of data in a month. For less than 4.5 GB or more than 5 GB of data in a month, Google Fi is best. Unless something changes, I'll be using Google Fi. Sorry for the long post. I just retired (again) and have lots of time on my hands. I guess I need to go on a cruise.

I lived in the Netherlands for two years, 2018-2020, managing my USA company offices in Europe. During that time, I had a Dutch mobile phone for business and a USA "Google Fi" phone for personal use, with a USA phone number. I travelled extensively all over Europe, Turkey, Israel, and Republic of Georgia. Google Fi worked great in Europe, including a Baltic cruise (and the Caribbean and Tahiti). What I like best about Fi is the utter simplicity of their international roaming. Using the "Flexible Plan" its $20 per month plus $10/GB data with a max of $60 in any month ("Bill Protection" feature), anywhere in the world (their world is 200+ countries.) Voice calls while roaming in Europe are 20 cents per minute. I didn't make many voice calls. I mostly used Skype and WhatsApp for voice. Of relevance to cruising, Google Fi will never bill you more than $80 in one month ($20 monthly fee plus $60 "Bill Protection" cap). Google Fi will not connect to the onboard cellular connection on a cruise ship (Cellular at Sea). You will never get a surprise bill while using Google Fi. Google Fi has no contracts (except new phones have to be used 90 days to get the purchase price discount). You can cancel whenever you want. Or you can put your service on hold between cruises. I recommend the Flexible Plan for most people, not the unlimited. Links: International Roaming, Calling & Data Rates - Google Fi

I thought Gary Bembridge's video on this topic was interesting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmJG1imtPpg At 14:30 he states the conclusion, "What you're paying for is exclusivity." That kind of exclusivity is not worth paying £2500 per day for me. But I think those people live in a world with one or more zeros in their net worth than I. Fortunately, I'm quite happy with the exclusivity of Azamara at $400 pp per day, balcony.

Thanks all for your replies. Looks like I just need to be patient. That's not easy for a compulsive planner like myself! I have managed to book some private tours on the South and Central America ports. The incremental price for private tours is pretty low in that region.

I am booked on the Azamara Onward "16-night Central & South America Voyage" 12 Feb 2023 - 28 Feb 2023, Lima Peru to Miami. This cruise has nine port stops. Looking at the Voyage Planner - Shore Excursions, they have no excursions listed for four of the port stops: Guayaquil, Roatan, Belize, and Costa Maya. I have $900+ in OBC and need to spend most of it on excursions. I was hoping to book a Lamanai Mayan Ruins River Boat Safari in Belize City through Azamara. It's a long distance from the port and I don't want to be worrying about a tardy private excursion. I guess I'll have to book a private trip and hope for the best. I am quite surprised that Azamara has no excursions to three very popular Caribbean ports, just 230 days from the cruise. I can kind of understand why Guayaquil Ecuador is missing. It's not a common stop. Anyone else having a similar problem with Azamara, or have any insights on why so many port stops are missing? "

Add to the list: Air Tahiti Nui will be adding twice weekly direct flights from Seattle. Scroll down on this page for the schedule https://www.airtahitinui.com/us-en/flight-schedule Also, ATN is now an Alaska partner, so you can get mileage credit on ATN via an Alaska Airlines ff account.