vantec

Here are my notes from when we were there in 2018:  We ate lunch at the Mercado, lots of restaurants to pick from, it was very warm inside but we found a restaurant with air conditioning.  Tim had sausage, I had chicken, we split a huge beer – the bill came to $35, we put it on our Visa card.  The Mercado was close to the ship, I'm pretty sure we could have ordered steak, we just were not interested. You can do a search on Mercado del Puerto.  We will be in Montevideo in March and will definitely return to the Mercado.

Thank you for such a detailed response, my husband and I appreciate it so much!  I am saving all this information, and the tips, for when we are on our cruise in March.  You have made us feel very comfortable for when we get to Lima.  Thank you again!

56 minutes ago, HappyKatya said:

Hello @vantec, @edinburgher, @GeorgeCharlie ,

Thank you for your invaluable help which greatly improved our Dec 1 sailing from LA to Santiago!

Reporting back to you:

 

The "Princess Shuttle in Lima" Lives!  So does the Princess Bus from the San Antonio dock to the Cruise Terminal (details below).

 

We rode the Princess Shuttle in Lima from the ship dock to Larcomar Mall in Miraflores, Lima.  About 55 min depending on traffic.  It ran from 7 am all day every 20 minutes and literally all night on the hour, the overnight we were there, and until 7 pm the second day when we sailed away at 10 pm.  No fee, no reservation, just get off the ship and ask ground officers for the Lima shuttle to Larcomar Mall.

 

Just as Edinburger said, Princess does not talk about this shuttle ever until 48 hours before docking-- they want guests to buy Princess excursions instead. We did buy one just in case and it was cancelled. 

 

Tip: Once on board the cruise ship, GO to the Meet & Greet because the ship's officers are there in person and you can ask them on Day 2, exactly what shuttle services they will have in each port.  The ship does not volunteer this info, but officers will tell you if you ask in person on board.

 

On Day 2, I was able to chat with the Guest Services Director who told me exactly what would happen in Lima -- and it did. "Callao port and the Callao area outside the port gate, are much too dangerous, so cruise passengers are not allowed to transit those areas on their own," he said (Thank you, Edinburger!...). "Ship lines run their own private coaches from the dock, through the port, and past the entire Callao area, straight to Miraflores which is a safe haven in Lima."  

 

On exiting the Princess coach at Larcomar on the ocean-view cliffs, a Princess rep is there to introduce you to their friends with private taxis to go to areas too far to walk -- such as out of town ruins, Government center at Plaza de Armas/Lima Cathedral, etc.  Please note it's another 1 hour taxi ride inland each way from Larcomar Mall to Plaza de Armas, which was entirely roped off due to huge demonstrations the day we arrived.   The Princess-introduced taxi charged us US$30 worth of Peruvian Soles to go to Government center.  The yellow cab we found on the street at Plaza San Martin near Government center only charged $10 in Soles to return us to Manolo in Miraflores. Maybe my Spanish was helpful. Or maybe most taxi drivers in these areas are pretty honest unless they think Princess passengers are easy to up-charge.

 

Here's my map of the several Miraflores ocean-view Malecons (boardwalks). One can start walking with lovely ocean views on top of the cliffs from Larcomar and walk for an hour or more. We had an online dinner reservation at Rosa Nautica but when we saw onsite how high the cliffs are and how tricky the highways up and down, we canceled, deciding it might take too long to taxi down and back:  https://*****.com/r839jxw2

 

Here's a map of the restaurants we saw on YouTube with with the best reviews on Google.  These are all a bit inland (no ocean views). We took a taxi back from Government center right to Manolo, the only inland eatery we had time to try. Looks like a coffee shop but everyone knows it for it's real Peruvian food. Serious  Lomo Saltado (beef and vegetables) and thick Spanish chocolate with churros, yum!  https://*****.com/3tmu5d2x 

 

The best restaurant we found with an ocean view on the Malecons for sunset Pisco Sours and tapas is Trattoria Mambrino. Get there by 5 or 5:30 for an outside patio table to view the ocean sunset. 

https://maps.app.goo.gl/gAa3f25nyNE2ChjB7

 

On Day 2 at the M&G, the Guest Services Director also answered all my questions about San Antonio-Santiago. 

 

Ships dock very close to the Terminal but it's not permitted to walk even the 7 minutes through the working port, so all ships as George Charlie thought, including Princess, run a bus from the ship dock to the San Antonio Cruise Terminal ("Terminal de Pasajeos San Antonio"), which takes about 5 minutes. This also worked very smoothly.  The bus started running right at the ship's dock from 7 am day of disembarkation until everyone was at the Terminal. Easy peasy. 

If you are not on a Princess Coach from San Antonio to Santiago, as we were not, this Terminal has a nice coffee & breakfast shop inside where we enjoyed authentic Chilean empanadas and excellent local fruit juices while waiting for our Booking dot com taxi to fetch us to drive to Santiago (1 hour drive).  Nice rest rooms in the Terminal as well. 

Tip: Once outside the Terminal on the street side, Princess kind of monopolizes the area. 

If you're not on a Princess Coach, then you'll have to walk about 5-7 minutes with luggage to the gate of the Terminal since non-Princess taxies or drivers can not go inside the gate.  It's a very safe area, just keep asking anyone who looks official "Where can the private taxies meet us?" and you'll find your driver. 

Highly recommend booking dot com, their drivers always show up on time and on budget as they did for us this time in San Antonio.  Have used them all over Europe, the US, and now South America. 

 

Happy Holidays!  Here we are below at the Larcomar Christmas Tree:

 

1 hour ago, insidecabin said:

Viva, as soon as the message started pretty sure the delete button worked.

Not true!  Part of the message said you had to listen to the entire message before deleting - and, they changed the numbered button you had to push each time in order to delete the message. They are very aggressive, I didn't appreciate it.  I wish I had thought to unplug my phone, I will do that next time.

18 minutes ago, dexddd said:

I wish they had a do not call list.

I agree with you!  We just returned home after 16 days on the Breakaway - we could not delete the messages until we listened to them.  If I decided to leave them on the phone without listening, then I'd have two red lights flashing all night in our very dark cabin.  Those people are so obnoxious.

7 hours ago, HappyKatya said:

Hello @vantec and @kremerlorraine,

We sail Sapphire Princess leaving LA December 1 for Santiago, Chile.

We're in Lima Dec 13-14, ship departs Lima Dec 14 at 10:30 pm

We'd love to use a Princess shuttle from Callao Port in Lima to Larcomer Mall Miraflores!

 

Please: When you actually sailed:

--What time morning did first Princess shuttle leave port for Miraflores?

--What time did the last shuttle leave Miraflores to return to the ship?

--Did it take 50-60 minutes or about how long each way?

 

Thank you so much!!!  - Kathy

 

 

 

 

 

I'm sorry I can't help you with this question, we won't be in Lima until March 2024.  Maybe you can answer the question for me after your trip?  My husband and I are definitely interested in more information on the ship's shuttle.  I'm also curious if it is free, or if there is a charge.  Have a great cruise!

Just now, kremerlorraine said:

Yes, the destination expert announced it yesterday as part of his talk on Lima.

You are so helpful - Thank you so much!  Do you remember if the shuttle comes and go all day, or is there one drop off and one pick up?

On 8/25/2023 at 12:34 PM, kremerlorraine said:

We're going to be there in two days' time with Coral Princess. They are providing a free shuttle to the Larcomar mall in Miraflores, which seems like a nice area with lovely walks by the sea. We plan to get a taxi from there to the Plaza Mayor and walk round the old town by ourselves (or possibly do one of the free walking tours).

Thank you for that information - did Princess make this announcement on the ship? I'm surprised there is not a charge.

Does anyone have recent information of Princess providing a shuttle into Lima - I'm assuming there would be a charge?

MSCVoyagersClub@msccruisesusa.com  I sent them an email with PLEASE HELP in the subject line.  They fixed it almost immediately.

1 hour ago, luv2kroooz said:

You can book your tours and offset OBC if you call NCL. You need to get to a supervisor in shore excursions in order to get it done.

We usually sail on Princess, and you can use your onboard credit when pre-purchasing excursions, I expected I could do the same with NCL.  I will try calling a supervisor next week and see how that goes.  Thank you for that suggestion.

We have onboard credit we hope to use to pre-purchase excursions before our November Cruise.  Our Cruise Consultant says we cannot use the credit until we are on the ship.  Is this true?

8 hours ago, donaldsc said:

In today's world I don't understand why so many people have brand loyalty when almost  every company doesn't have any customer loyalty.  In my opinion brand loyalty w/o any company is for suckers. My attitude is that when you make a mistake and don't treat me right you have one chance to fix or or I am gone.  In other words - twice is enough.

 

DON

I totally agree with this!  We use to be so loyal to Princess and to Hilton, but that ended when almost all loyalty benefits from them have been removed.  We now shop around for the best buy for us.

I totally understand where you are coming from.  My husband and I have done over 50 cruises, the majority on Princess.  We have decided to take three cruises in the next year: MSC, NCL and Princess - then we will decide if we should take a break from cruising all together and just do land vacations, or if we should refocus our loyalty. We definitely do not feel our loyalty is appreciated, and that goes with hotels, also. 

19 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

Your cruise consultant is incorrect. Fire them (seriously). 

 

The system does not know or care about how your pay for any particular meal. That is done when you arrive at the restaurant (cash/room charge, Free at Sea Dinners, Platinum voucher, Additional Specialty Dining Package, other vouchers). 

 

125 days prior to departure (130 if you are in the Haven or Suite) at 12 midnight eastern time, reservations will open. Take advantage of your head start over steerage to get the dining dates and times you want. 

 

Make sure to book fixed priced restaurants (Teppanyaki or Moderna) first, then any a la cart restaurants. @KeithJenner above has a link to a complete guide to booking restaurants in his signature box. 

Thank you so much for your help!  We are having a difficult time figuring how navigate our benefits.  I'm sure once we do it the first time it will be much easier.

Our cruise in November will be the first time we've sailed as Platinum.  Our cruise consultant told us we could not make this reservation until we were on board the ship - are you saying this is not true? I asked him if he could make the reservation for us, he said the proper way to do it would be the first day on the ship.

Thank you - I will send it to both email addresses!

Thanks so much for that contact information!  We are going on our first MSC cruise the end of March.  I have a Voyager number but cannot get it added to my booking.  I called MSC twice, both times I was disconnected while talking to a representative.  I then sent a FAX - but absolutely no response from MSC.  They have terrible customer service - just like everyone says!

Does this mean to pre pay for the entire cruise, or just the drink package?

9 minutes ago, cellfree said:

I would suggest bottles of wine purchased on ship start at $30+.

$200 can also go towards your daily service charge which btw is one the lowest in the industry and you still get your cabin served twice a day.

Just looked up as I had forgotten, daily service charge is $14 per person per night

Thank you for the information on the daily service charge - another thing we hadn't quite figured out.  I guess our $200 will not go very far.

4 minutes ago, cellfree said:

Agree, was checking wine prices for upcoming MSC cruise and was pleasantly surprised at the prices. For our January B2B I did not book the “all-in” as I have in the past so will purchase some bottles prior to boarding.

 

And something that MSC makes convenient is using the beverage plan such as Easy Plus on the ship. With your cruise card, and of course if you have a package, you can get a beverage and water or two beverages or even three choices. We cruise between MSC and Carnival and have only had “drinks” with Carnival on the rare occasion when it was an Offer but with Carnival I found you could only get one beverage at a time, couldn’t get two beverages even when presenting both of our cards, had to prove spouse was within sight, couldn’t get a beverage and a soda, etc., not sure about other cruise lines and their restrictions when ordering. But bottom line, what I am trying to express, is that MSC allows considerable freedom when using a beverage package on the ship. 

This is our first experience with MSC, we are trying to figure things out.  We have $200 on board credit but do not know how far that will go if we buy bottles of wine.  We decided against the beverage package because we are trying to figure out how things work.  Usually we sail Princess, but also Carnival, Royal Caribbean and NCL.

We are sailing for the first time on MSC next April and appreciate what you are saying about the price of the wine as an in-cabin gift. If we were to buy a bottle of wine from a bar on the ship, how much would we pay for that - anything close to the $30 price? I realize it would depend on the wine, we are not wine snobs, could you give me a range of prices starting on the lower scale?  Thank you!

We were on a cruise several years ago where our cabin steward accidentally left our cabin door open after he was finished cleaning.  We returned from an excursion to find our cabin door propped open and nobody around.  While I trust that our cabin steward would not steal from us, there are other ways for theft to happen.  Our cabin steward sincerely apologized and was mortified that had happened, we accepted his apology and moved on.  We always put our property away in drawers or suitcases and use the safe, this just makes sense to us.

What frustrates me with this cancellation is that we originally booked this cruise on the Crown, then they switched us to the Emerald - I don't get why they even bothered with the switch. We booked this as a back to back, the first part left on September 30, the second part, which they just cancelled was the transatlantic back to Ft. Lauderdale.  I'm guessing we will cancel the first cruise just because it doesn't look as interesting to us.

I also should have added to my comment that because of the delay in Sydney last Saturday, there were 250 people on our flight who missed their connecting flights in Dallas.  By the time we got to Dallas (15 hours later), the airline had arranged new flights for all those people.  So maybe you can take comfort in knowing that even if you do miss your connecting flight, American Airlines will have to be responsible for making sure you eventually get to your destination.