HAL precruise excursion to Macchu Picchu

[GAJE]

We are going on HAL's Rotterdam next Jan. for the SA/Ant. cruise and will be taking the precruise trip to Macchu Picchu. There will be one night in Lima, 2 nights in Cusco, and another night in Lima. If any of you out there was done this, could you tell me whether it was possible to leave your BIG 20-day cruise suitcase in storage at the hotel HAL had you in and take only a smaller suitcase up to MP.

 

Thanks, Betty

[greatam]

We are going on HAL's Rotterdam next Jan. for the SA/Ant. cruise and will be taking the precruise trip to Macchu Picchu. There will be one night in Lima, 2 nights in Cusco, and another night in Lima. If any of you out there was done this, could you tell me whether it was possible to leave your BIG 20-day cruise suitcase in storage at the hotel HAL had you in and take only a smaller suitcase up to MP.

 

Thanks, Betty

 

Yes, its very possible. Call the hotel in Lima and ask. Or call HAL.

 

Be prepared for the altitude change. You are going from sea level to 11,000 feet. Unless you live in Colorado or are a mountaineering person, you really are not prepared for the altitude change. DO NOT go running around the first day you are in Cusco. Relax, take an easy walk. Don't do a lot of activity. You could get AMS and it can be lethal. I travel to Cusco 3-4 times per year for business and I have seen plenty of people with AMS. Have had it myself. It is NOT pleasant and could ruin your entire trip.

 

Why don't you book this yourself? The cruiseline trips are generally twice as expensive as booking it yourself. And you could avoid running around like crazy. If you only have two days in Cusco, HAL's guides are going to try to show you all kinds of stuff in Cusco, as the next day, you have to get on the train to MP. Two days in Lima is about 1 day too much. There really isn't much to see (the gold museum, the flea market) which can easily be accomplished in one day.

 

You can fly from Cusco to Lima to Santiago all in one day. Or take the late afternoon flight from Cusco to Lima, overnight in Lima, then the early morning flight to Santiago. Airplane lands about 11:00AM, just the perfect time to get to the ship. This suggestion gives you that ONE extra day to acclimate in Cusco. You can do all your sightseeing in Cusco on the day you leave instead of the first day. Much better for your health, IMHO.

[GAJE]

Thanks, Greatam. Certainly food for thought. We are concerned about the altitude sickness, but plan to take it easy in Cusco. We are probably going to stay with the HAL booking because then everything in arrangements is their problem. We are in our early 60's and not as adventuresome as we used to be. Besides, DH used to travel in SA on business and is a little cynical about the SA mentality.

[Aussie Gal]

We have just returned from a 7 week trip to South America. We went to Machu Picchu after our 21 day cruise and did it independently. We used a wonderful Peruvian agency who were terrific.

 

We left our suitcases at our hotels a few times and they all held them in storage for us without any trouble.

 

I agree with Greatam. The altitude sickness can affect anyone. I wasn't too bad, just felt climbing the stairs at our hotel in Cusco to be a bit taxing and yet we had never used the elevators on the ship at all and climbed many floors a day from the dining room to our cabin etc. My DH was affected more, eg. walking up the main street of Cusco, we had to stop quite a few times whilst he got his breath back.

 

We had two nights in Cusco, one night in Machu Picchu, then another night in Cusco. Your trip is very quick and you will be tired as the train leaves early in the morning at 6am and doesn't arrive back into Cusco until 7.30pm.

 

MP is easier to breathe in as it is not has high as Cusco - 11000ft compared to about 9000ft. It is a wonderful experience, though be prepared for a bit of climbing in M.P.

 

Jennie

[crazy4cruisn]

Hello GAJE,

Are you on the Jan 11 sailing of Rotterdam? We are going then and can't wait! I wish we were going to Machu Pichu too!

Just wanted to say hello.

Nancy in Texas

[GAJE]

Nancy in Texas: yes, we are on the Jan. 11th Rotterdam cruise. I have been reading your posts about being on board then too. We have some time to continue dreaming and planning, don't we? Hope to meet up with you at some point.

Betty

[crazy4cruisn]

Hope to meet you too, Betty, and hear about Macchu Picchu.

Are you booking any private tours?

Nancy

[GAJE]

We have not booked any tours yet. Will probably do through HAL.

Betty

[xpcdoojk]

Jennie

 

Please let me know about your wonderful trip!!! I didn't realize you were back. I hope it was as wonderful as we thought it would be.

 

I got your new email so email me your review or trip description when you get around to it.

 

your buddy

 

jc

 

:)

We have just returned from a 7 week trip to South America. We went to Machu Picchu after our 21 day cruise and did it independently. We used a wonderful Peruvian agency who were terrific.

 

We left our suitcases at our hotels a few times and they all held them in storage for us without any trouble.

 

I agree with Greatam. The altitude sickness can affect anyone. I wasn't too bad, just felt climbing the stairs at our hotel in Cusco to be a bit taxing and yet we had never used the elevators on the ship at all and climbed many floors a day from the dining room to our cabin etc. My DH was affected more, eg. walking up the main street of Cusco, we had to stop quite a few times whilst he got his breath back.

 

We had two nights in Cusco, one night in Machu Picchu, then another night in Cusco. Your trip is very quick and you will be tired as the train leaves early in the morning at 6am and doesn't arrive back into Cusco until 7.30pm.

 

MP is easier to breathe in as it is not has high as Cusco - 11000ft compared to about 9000ft. It is a wonderful experience, though be prepared for a bit of climbing in M.P.

 

Jennie

[Aussie Gal]

jc,

 

Have just sent you an email with a copy of a description of our adventure.

 

Jennie

[coo359a2]

AussieGal

Could you please email the info you sent to JC. We are on the Golden next March and want to do Machu Picchu either on our own pre cruise or through Princess. What was the name of the Peru travel agency you used? Any info will be greatly appreciated. Any suggestions on using Princess Air or booking your own. First time for South America.

[Aussie Gal]

Tina and Ken,

 

First of all as we are from Australia, we did everything independently as Princess does not organize flights for passengers from overseas.

 

We used a brilliant agency in Peru for Cusco and Machu Picchu - InkaNatura Travel and I dealt with Carmen Guevara.

 

We flew into Cusco, had two nights at the Monasterio Hotel, then went by train to Machu Picchu, spent the night there at the Sanctuary Lodge, returned to Cusco next day and had one more night at the Monasterio before flying out next day.

 

We also went to the Iguazu Falls and out to the Galapagos Islands. Again, I did all the bookings independently and everything worked out extremely well.

 

I cannot send the copy of our adventure as it is about 6 pages long and I do not have your email address. It is actually what I sent home to our family whilst we were away.

 

Jennie

 

There website is: http://www.inkanatura.com

 

Her email address: omguevara@inkatravel.com.br

 

I cannot praise them enough. They looked after us from the moment we landed in Cusco until we left 5 days later.