HAL post cruise Lima Peru

[sswitenki]

Can anyone share any experiences with a cruise ending in Lima and no flight until midnight or 1AM. Does HAL have post cruise shore excursions that will handle luggage until flight time? I'm not sure how to handle this length of time before a flight. Does HAL have post cruise hotel and transfers that do this middle of the night situation? I see the Rotterdam has several cruises ending and beginning in Lima.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[Taxguy77]

They probably do, call and and ask. It is NOT recommended to just take any taxi to the airport, especially at that time of night. Safe taxis can be found at major hotels, ask at the desk.
We ended a cruise in Chile once, and the cruise transfer included a large room for everyone, with a TV showing the world series while the game lasted, some food etc. until time to board buses to the airport. Some of the people got a 'day rate' a room for a few hours to relax in.
They may include a tour of Lima or have a tour in addition to the transfer. Take it if you have never been there.

[lorekauf]

I'm sorry...I can't help with your question but I just wanted to say that Lima is an amazing place. I did a round trip from Fort Lauderdale and we stayed in Lima for 3 days. I loved it. One tour I did while I was there was a dinner to a mansion that was done through HAL. It was a tour that I'll always remember and was well worth the money. Have a great cruise!

[RuthC]

Take it from someone who has twice ended a cruise in Valparaiso, and flown back to New England at 11:00 that night---stay over at least an extra night.

I learned my lesson the hard way. After being up before the crack of dawn, and having a looooong day waiting for the flight, I had at best a fitfull sleep on the plane.
Then it was a matter of landing, clearing Immigration/Customs, and changing planes for another long day to get home. The first time I did it, I was up 33 hours; the second time was 39.

If you stay overnight you can sleep later, perhaps have a day-rate at the hotel, and leave for your flight much more refreshed.

[sswitenki]

Thanks for the advice. I am always trying to conserve my vacation time but this may be worth using an extra day.

[bcummin]

We had the same questions last winter. Last Feb 28 we debarked the ms Prinsendam in Lima. Our first day in Lima we had enjoyed a HAL tour. We had asked the front desk and the shore excursion people early in the cruise about a tour on the way to the airport, but they had none. We took the free H. Sterns shuttle bus to Miraflores on the second day after leaving our cabin for good. Our luggage had been set out in the hallway the night before. We left our carry on things at the front desk when we left the ship temporarily. About 4 PM we claimed our luggage on the dock and caught our HAL shuttle bus (we had bought flights & transfers from HAL) to the airport, hoping for a mini-tour. It turned out to be nothing special, but Melina helped us to get free luggage carts for all of our baggage, and she led us into the food court area of the airport to wait.

Three couples from the ship huddled together like a wagon train or a gypsy camp, waiting until after 9 PM when our bags could be checked in. Our tickets had prepaid the $30 airport tax, but we did not know that until going with others to pay their $30 for two. Since we had printed boarding passes online on the ship, we were allowed to use a quick short line to check bags, instead of the long parade. Delta allowed two 50 lb bags apiece, so we did not have to pay extra. Other airlines allowed only one bag. One lady's bag was so terribly overweight, that she had to buy another suitcase at the airport. The other couple had delays going through Peruvian immigration, but we moved right along to our 1:35 AM flight. Our good luck ended in Atlanta, where they had received their first snowfall in about 20 years. Our next flight was delayed over and over. We ended up sleeping the second night in an airport, before we finally arrived home.

Lima is a port where security and caution are important, so be careful, whatever you do. Good luck and enjoy.

Barbara

[sswitenki]

Thanks so much for sharing your experience.