Disembarking the Marina in Lima Peru

[annandme]

Hello All,

 

We used Oceania Air for our upcoming "Islands & Incas" cruise which resulted in a 9:10 AM flight out of Lima on May 6. Maybe I'm overthinking this, but, to me it seems like a tight connection if we dock at the scheduled time of 6:00 AM that day - particularly if we have to wait for the ship to get docked and cleared and we have to disembark, go through Peruvian customs, get to the airport, check-in, and get to our gate. Here are my concerns,

 

1) I've made a reservation with a private taxi to take us from the port to the airport immediately after the ship docks, but, now I'm wondering if taking an O airport transfer might be smarter. I mean, can O blame us for taking a taxi and not their transfer and wash its hands of us if we're denied airline boarding?

 

2) In case we arrive at the airport late and are denied boarding, does anyone know who we call or what we do at that point? I mean, is O responsible for helping us or are we on our own with the airline and any extra costs?

 

If anyone has any thoughts or has been through this, I would appreciate your response.

 

Thank you.

[rallydave]

Hello All,

 

We used Oceania Air for our upcoming "Islands & Incas" cruise which resulted in a 9:10 AM flight out of Lima on May 6. Maybe I'm overthinking this, but, to me it seems like a tight connection if we dock at the scheduled time of 6:00 AM that day - particularly if we have to wait for the ship to get docked and cleared and we have to disembark, go through Peruvian customs, get to the airport, check-in, and get to our gate. Here are my concerns,

 

1) I've made a reservation with a private taxi to take us from the port to the airport immediately after the ship docks, but, now I'm wondering if taking an O airport transfer might be smarter. I mean, can O blame us for taking a taxi and not their transfer and wash its hands of us if we're denied airline boarding?

 

2) In case we arrive at the airport late and are denied boarding, does anyone know who we call or what we do at that point? I mean, is O responsible for helping us or are we on our own with the airline and any extra costs?

 

If anyone has any thoughts or has been through this, I would appreciate your response.

 

Thank you.

 

A lot will depend on your airline out of Lima. Flew thru Lima last year on the way to Cuzco and it took about an hour and a half to check in and get our boarding pass with Lan. Lots of people and 2 lines ending up at a bunch of counters and check in personnel. International may or may not be easier. Security isn't too bad but, think you are probably better off using the transfer that you already paid for since you should go as a group to check in for your flight. Taking a taxi is risky since you will be on your own at the airport as well as we overnighted in Lima and taxis were able to drop people at the ship but, there were none there to pick people up. May be different now or the rules may have changed but, DW had to take a ships shuttle to the port gate or to a hotel for further traveling.

 

Better to be with a group of people on your bus and they may, due to the short amount of time give special luggage and debarkation instructions to people on their transfer.

 

As to who to call at O? Nobody, at the airport, you will need to deal with the airline people. O's T's and C's clearly state that they are not responsible for flight issues. And, if you did call O and they were available in Miami, all they could do is contact the airline to possibly get you on another flight and then try to call you back. You are already at the airport and have the people who can help your right there at the check-in counter.

 

Good luck and have a great cruise.

[RachelG]

Taxis and private transfer vehicles are not allowed to go beyond the main entrance gates into the port at Calleo. So if you book a transfer privately, you have to take the ship's shuttle to the main gate where your transfer will meet you. We were on a very early flight out and did not know this ahead of time. It was very stressful because the transfer company had not told me either, and I thought they would be picking us up at the dockside. The port is in a pretty sketchy area, and it was pitch dark as well. My husband was sure we were going to be robbed or killed.

 

It all worked out, but if the ship offers a transfer, i would provably take it here (and I practically never take ship transfers).

[roaming_kiwi58]

I can't comment on Oceania airport transfers, but had some recent experience with Lima airport. We flew out of Lima airport twice in December.

The first time was for a domestic flight which left about 8am - the terminal was chaos with people everywhere and queues a mile long.

The second time was for an international flight on LAN, which left at 1.35AM. We were told by our tour guide that all passengers for international flights out of Lima have to checkin 3 hours ahead, not 2. I don't know how true this really is. Anyway, our hotel pickup was scheduled for 10PM by our tour company. That didn't seem to give us much leeway, but at that time of night the traffic was light and we got to the airport in about 35 minutes from our hotel. We were expecting the airport to be busy, as they have a lot of early morning international flights, but we walked straight up to a bag drop desk. We had checked-in online before going to the airport, as after our Lima domestic experience we were a bit worried about timing. There was a little queue at security, but it was moving fast enough. So it all went very smoothly and we had heaps of time to browse the shops!

It will all depend how busy the terminal is when you get there - and that is totally unpredictable! We had some horrendous airport experiences in South America in December, during a trip which included many domestic and international flights. We generally found their airports to be very disorganised!

Enjoy your cruise!

[annandme]

Taxis and private transfer vehicles are not allowed to go beyond the main entrance gates into the port at Calleo. So if you book a transfer privately, you have to take the ship's shuttle to the main gate where your transfer will meet you. We were on a very early flight out and did not know this ahead of time. It was very stressful because the transfer company had not told me either, and I thought they would be picking us up at the dockside. The port is in a pretty sketchy area, and it was pitch dark as well. My husband was sure we were going to be robbed or killed.

 

It all worked out, but if the ship offers a transfer, i would provably take it here (and I practically never take ship transfers).

 

Thanks for your response. Can you give me some idea on how much time it took you to 1) board and ride the shuttle to the main gate, 2) drive to the airport, and 3) get to the gate after airport arrival? Also, 4) what time did you dock, and 5) what time did you disembark?

 

Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

[christinerd]

We took Marina cruise April 2013 to Lima. We told ship we when we needed to get off ship and carried out bags off the ship ourselves. Jumped into a taxi and we were at the airport in about 20 min. We too had an early flt in the morning and had to get off early and had no problem. The ship had our passports ready for pickup at lobby desk. Just be sure to let them know you need to be off the ship at a certain time and they will have your passports ready for you. We have done this twice now and both times our passports were waiting for us at the desk.

 

Hello All,

 

We used Oceania Air for our upcoming "Islands & Incas" cruise which resulted in a 9:10 AM flight out of Lima on May 6. Maybe I'm overthinking this, but, to me it seems like a tight connection if we dock at the scheduled time of 6:00 AM that day - particularly if we have to wait for the ship to get docked and cleared and we have to disembark, go through Peruvian customs, get to the airport, check-in, and get to our gate. Here are my concerns,

 

1) I've made a reservation with a private taxi to take us from the port to the airport immediately after the ship docks, but, now I'm wondering if taking an O airport transfer might be smarter. I mean, can O blame us for taking a taxi and not their transfer and wash its hands of us if we're denied airline boarding?

 

2) In case we arrive at the airport late and are denied boarding, does anyone know who we call or what we do at that point? I mean, is O responsible for helping us or are we on our own with the airline and any extra costs?

 

If anyone has any thoughts or has been through this, I would appreciate your response.

 

Thank you.

[RachelG]

Thanks for your response. Can you give me some idea on how much time it took you to 1) board and ride the shuttle to the main gate, 2) drive to the airport, and 3) get to the gate after airport arrival? Also, 4) what time did you dock, and 5) what time did you disembark?

 

Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

 

We docked the day before and had an overnight in port. We disembarked at about 5:00 am as our flight was for about 8:00 am. I did tell the front desk the night before what time we needed to disembark. They assured me that would not be a problem. And there were indeed several other people disembarking at the same time who were on our flight.

 

We wasted a lot of time after we got off the ship looking for our car and driver. It was pitch dark. There were a few people from the ship, and one lady outside from the destinations desk. She noticed us looking for the driver and was the one who told us that they were not allowed to actually come inside the port. She radioed the shuttle for us, and it only took maybe 2-3 minutes once we were actually in the shuttle to get to the port entrance. Once there it was a little freaky, because as I said, it was totally dark and a bad part of town. But out driver was waiting for us. Fortunately I speak enough Spanish to communicate and was able to let the guards at the entrance who we were looking for, and they let him come in through the gates to get us and our luggage.

 

There was absolutely no traffic that early in the morning so the trip to the airport took about 20 minutes. Later in the day would be longer.

 

The airport was a little busy, but we were in AA business class, so check was very quick. If in coach, there was a huge line. You do then have to go through customs which was a bit of a line, but it moved fast, maybe took 10 minutes. South American airports can be very chaotic with lines that appear very long, but in all our travels in South America, we have never missed a flight.

[no fuss travel]

Lima airport can be horrendous at times with lineups. If you are with the Oceania group, you will an Oceania rep who will get you all checked in and therefore should avoid the long lineups. Remember that you can't take liquids through security and before you board the plane, they check your hand luggage and remove all liquids that are not less than 100 ml. They would not let anyone board the plane until their hand luggage was checked. People had to throw away water purchased after going through security.

[annandme]

Thanks to everyone for their responses.

 

My transfer company emailed me a picture of the front gate, noting the meeting spot on the picture, and I learned that I have frequent flier reciprocal program status with my outbound airline which allows me to check in at either the business class or first class check in counter.

 

Because of all of your tips and responses, I'm feeling better about my arrival now.

 

Thank you.

[TimTim]

Thanks to everyone for their responses.

 

My transfer company emailed me a picture of the front gate, noting the meeting spot on the picture, and I learned that I have frequent flier reciprocal program status with my outbound airline which allows me to check in at either the business class or first class check in counter.

 

Because of all of your tips and responses, I'm feeling better about my arrival now.

 

Thank you.

 

Hi, I'm in the same Oceania cruise as you. Instead of going to the airport, I'll be going to a hotel in Miraflore, Lima. Can u tell me the name of the transfer co. you'll be using from Port Callao to the Airport and how much they charge? It seems that the area outside the port is not that safe, so it's better for us to prebook the transfer. Thanks.

[sitraveler]

We boarded Marina in Lima last year.

 

We used

reservas@translabj.com

for airport to Lima hotel, and hotel to port.

 

They were quite prompt and reasonable.

 

Lou

[TimTim]

Thanks for the info. Will try to email them to check on the transfer.

[brian_uk]

Please leave the Ship nice and tidy as we get on there

 

Brian