leave ship for 4 days and catch up later?

[sprinkles]

Has anyone ever left the ship in one port then caught up with it later (pre-planned). Dad and I are doing the 49 day South America in January. Shore excursions not available, but there is no way there is time for Machu Picchu, with the ship docking in Pisco one day and Lima the next. So we are trying to figure out if we can do it on our own from La Serna, then catch up to the ship at Pisco or Lima.

 

Yes, I'm going to call Princess next week, but you know how the answers are there. Just wondering if anyone has ever done it (and yes, we know the risks) on their own.

 

Thanks,

Tammy

[Working 2 Cruise]

Princess does offer an excursion to Machu Picchu... It is expensive but from what I've heard so much easier than doing it on your own. That's the option I'd pick...

[denmarks]

The rules are not just what Princess says. Countries have different immigration laws for someone getting off and on a cruise ship and for people staying in the country. You may need a special visa for each country.

[stki]

Yes we did this in 2013. Got off in Santiago & back on 5 days later in Lima. We were in Lima overnight, & got back first day, so had the 2nd day as a backup in case flight was delayed from Cusco

 

Had a private tour to Machu Pichu (there were 14 of us) & it was amazing

 

We had to get permission from Princess to leave the ship (our TA did this)

 

Cheers

 

Tanya

[Crzn-Life]

There's no problem doing Machine Piccu on your own. There are several companies you can contact to arrange s private tour. Check the roll calls for the Grand's 2013 & the Crown's 2014 49 day SA cruises to see some of the tour info. The private tours are pretty expensive as is the one offered by Princess.

[Colo Cruiser]

Machu Picchu, not to miss! :D

 

Call Princess.

[sprinkles]

Working to cruise - I would LOVE it if Princess offered one, but as far as I know (unless someone on here can tell me otherwise), Princess tour is a 48 hour tour (usually when the ship docks overnight). Our itinerary has us docked in Pisco from 7am to 5pm then in Lima the next day from 7am to 6pm. Dad has done it before and says there is no way that Princess will offer an excursion as there is not enough time. Maybe that's a better question, does anyone know if Princess will offer an overnight tour to get there?

 

Denmarks, I know what you are saying, that's why I'm asking if anyone has ever done it before. I've disembarked from a ship early (pre-planned), but this is a whole other ball game.

 

Any comments greatly appreciated (even those saying we are nuts - lol)

Thanks,

Tammy

[Colo Cruiser]

Didn't Princess offer this 3 day tour in the past?

[fishywood]

Princess has in the past offered the one-night excursion to Machu Picchu from Pisco. You would be off the ship at the crack of dawn for the transfer to Lima airport and your flight to Machu Picchu. You would have two three-quarter days to see Cuzco, Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu before a late evening flight back to Lima--the ship will wait for the tour group no matter what time official sailaway from Lima is.

 

I think most people would find the above "enough time" but if you still want to go on your own your best bet is to leave the ship at Valparaiso and fly to Machu Picchu from Santiago. Chilean immigration is quite strict--there is inspection at every port to make sure you are carrying your customs form with you at all times in port (it is mandatory and you must show it on the gangway and exiting the terminal)--and it could be difficult and expensive to get permission to disembark other than at a scheduled turnaround port. It would probably be a case of having to buy your air tickets first in order to request permission to deviate--which could then be arbitrarily denied.

Edited July 6, 2014 by fishywood

[sprinkles]

Thanks Fishywood, I would be totally fine with the "express" overnight tour and just might keep Dad on hold until Princess Excursions become available. Also thanks for the input on Santiago, if we do decide to go on our own, I was already thinking based on Tanya's post, that Santiago might be a better choice.

 

Tanya, thanks for the info - can you tell me what tour company you used? Did you find the experience to be much of a hassle? Did you leave most of your stuff in your cabin while you were "gone"?

 

Thanks,

Tammy

[sprinkles]

Tanya,

 

Dad wants to know how much your tour cost last year?

 

Thanks,

Tammy

[stki]

 

Tanya, thanks for the info - can you tell me what tour company you used? Did you find the experience to be much of a hassle? Did you leave most of your stuff in your cabin while you were "gone"?

 

Thanks,

Tammy

 

 

Tammy, Here is the website for pationia shore excusions.

http://www.patagoniashorex.co

 

Jamie was our guide & he was excellent. Have just checked his website & if you clink on Machu Pichu excursion link, you will see a photo of Jamie & our group :)

 

From memory cost was $2100pp for the 5 days. Well worth it, as those on the Princess tour paid $3000pp for 3 days.

 

We only took a carryon bag with us & as we were able to leave our stuff in our cabin.

 

It has been the highlight of all our travels & would definately do it, if you get the chance- whether it be via Princess or Private.

 

Tanya

[Aus Traveller]

I was on the cruise that Tanya was on (Grand Princess 2013). We didn't go to Macchu Picchu because we had been there on a land tour a year or so before. The tour group had permission from Princess. They left their belongings in their cabin and went on an independent tour. If you check on the Roll Call for the Grand Princess South American cruise Jan-March 2013 you might find the name of the company. People who went on the trip said it was fantastic. I think it was a bit less hurried than the Princess one.

 

If you do this, try to arrange a tour where you stay one night at Aguacaliente (sp?) (at the base of Macchu Picchu). A one-day tour from Cuzco requires a very early start (maybe 2.30am) and a late return to the hotel in Cuzco. When we went we left Cuzco at a reasonable time (maybe 8.30am) and got to Aguacaliente around lunch-time. We had the whole afternoon on the mountain. After a night in Aguacaliente we returned to Cuzco the next morning with a tour through the Sacred Valley (superb).

[Pam in CA]

As always, make sure your plans include not being able to re-board the ship in the port you want. On the Star a couple of years ago, we almost didn't dock due to fog. As it was, we didn't dock until about 1:30pm. I've been on other cruises when the ship was unable to make a port and passengers on Princess extended tours were unable to re-board the ship.

 

Remember, when you plan an independent excursion, you assume all responsibility and expenses if there are any delays or changes in your itinerary.

[PescadoAmarillo]

I've seen it done successfully a few times (with prior permission from Princess). I've also seen it backfire on a transpacific cruise on the Sapphire in 2004. Several people disembarked in Auckland NZ intending to reboard the ship in Wellington four days (I think) later. The ship never made it into Wellington and the next stop was the final one, Sydney, a few days after that.

 

However, they were able to spend extra days in NZ or Australia and missed the Tasman Sea, which would not have been the end of my world.

[ggprincess2004]

If you want to "see" the tour on the Princess website, do not go to your cruise personalizer. Instead pull up the cruise as if you were going to book it. You will see the tabs for itinerary, and ports and activities, etc. The shore excursions are there for each port. You should be able to find the description etc and keep Dad happy, as well as reassure yourself.

[sprinkles]

GG, that's the problem, I've seen the basic Princess tours and the shortest one to Machu Picchu says 48hrs and we do not have that much time.

 

Thanks everyone for your help, I've found threads where people have done it successfully and we may be able to just do it from Lima then catch up to the ship in Costa Rica. Either way, we can definitely do it.

 

Happy Sailing Everybody!

Tammy

[COMBOY]

Has anyone ever left the ship in one port then caught up with it later (pre-planned). Dad and I are doing the 49 day South America in January. Shore excursions not available, but there is no way there is time for Machu Picchu, with the ship docking in Pisco one day and Lima the next. So we are trying to figure out if we can do it on our own from La Serna, then catch up to the ship at Pisco or Lima.

 

Yes, I'm going to call Princess next week, but you know how the answers are there. Just wondering if anyone has ever done it (and yes, we know the risks) on their own.

 

Thanks,

Tammy

 

Actually this is not uncommon on world cruises or longer exotic cruise where passengers do extended land packages/shore tours. If you do it through the cruise line then they will make all the necessary arrangements. If you plan to do it independently you will need to contact Princess and coordinate your departure and arrival and it will be your responsible getting all necessary visas and clearance. Just to note if the ship is unable to land and skip a port or has advanced or delay arrival/departure it will be your responsible to get back to the ship at your own expense which could be very expensive if available so well planning is a must.

[shepp]

If you can see your way clear to visit Machu Picchu independently (or arrange a private tour), I'd highly advise it. Spend the night in Machupicchu Pueblo, take a really early bus up to the site, good guidebook in hand, and spend the whole day there. By mid-morning, the day-trip trains will have arrived and the major parts of the site will be thoroughly jammed with groups led by guides (often spouting nonsense). Explore the less populated parts of the site or, if you're the hardy type, climb Huaynu Picchu. By late afternoon, you'll have the site to yourself again, and it will be magical. Take a very late bus down. Spend the night, leave the next morning.

 

Machu Picchu is so firmly on the mass tourist route that arranging things yourself will be easy. (No one ever had trouble finding a pizzeria in Machupicchu Pueblo.) And it will be a lot more rewarding than jockeying for views amidst a cluster of people.

 

Just my 2 cents.

[caribill]

As always, make sure your plans include not being able to re-board the ship in the port you want. On the Star a couple of years ago, we almost didn't dock due to fog. As it was, we didn't dock until about 1:30pm.

 

If you do it through the cruise line then they will make all the necessary arrangements.

 

This is important for the example Pam gives.

 

The late docking was on the day the Princess tour participants were to leave the ship and fly to Cuzco, sight see, and then overnight in Urubamba on the way to Machu Picchu. Because of the fog and the late docking, the flight to Cuzco was missed and they had to overnight in Lima flying to Cuzco the next morning.

 

If one was doing this independently, one would have to:

a) Make the alternate flight arrangements

b) Make the hotel arrangements in Lima

c) Change the transportation in Cuzco to the next day

d) And do all this while still on the ship and not knowing when the ship would be able to dock.

 

By the way. Normally with fog like this the port would have been missed and the tour cancelled (unless some other arrangement could be made). The only reason the ship waited for the fog to lift was it needed to take on fuel in order to continue the journey.

 

(Current cost for this 3 day Princess tour is $2399/person.)