Princess Shuttle in Lima

[HappyKatya]

Thank you so much!

The night your ship stayed overnight in Lima, about what time did the last Princess bus leave the mall to return to the ship?  Just looking for a guess-timate:  5pm?  9pm?   Thanks this is great!

[HappyKatya]

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:

 

[vantec]

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:

 

 

[vantec]

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!

[edinburgher]

12 hours ago, HappyKatya said:

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

Thanks for taking the time to give this very recent information which I think others travelling to the area will appreciate. The true spirit of sharing on CC,  in that the OPs questions are answered followed by feedback on the accuracy with additional helpful info.😀

Edited December 31, 2023 by edinburgher

[HappyKatya]

A blessed and safe New Year to everyone! Thank you for your kind. Thank yous 😍