Macchu Picchu Post Cruise Excursion

Has anyone done the post cruise excursion to Macchu Picchu? We booked on our Marina cruise that leaves Papeete on April 4. Any problems with altitude?

Has anyone done the post cruise excursion to Macchu Picchu? We booked on our Marina cruise that leaves Papeete on April 4. Any problems with altitude?

Haven't done the O post cruise to Machu Pichu but, did a during cruise private tour and they all go to basically the same places. You should not have altitude issues at Machu Pichu as it is only about 8000 feet but, all tours go thru Cuzco which is at a much higher altitude of about 11,200.

For extra cost, some hotels do provide oxygen and our guide gave us cocoa candy to suck on that helped. Had a couple of headaches upon arrival but, was fine the next day in Cuzco and Machu Pichu was just fine.

Only you can determine if you will have altitude problems as all of us are different. My DW knows that altitude bothers her so she stayed on board the ship. Have heard of people who had ot fly back to Lima due to the altitude but, none of the people in our group had any issues.

Good luck,

Has anyone done the post cruise excursion to Macchu Picchu? We booked on our Marina cruise that leaves Papeete on April 4. Any problems with altitude?

Emjayef- Go to the Roll Call for this cruise. There are many people doing a post cruise trip to MP and there are several discussions about altitude. You may want to talk to your doctor about Diamox. See you on board!

Emjayef,

We're on the Lima-NYC cruise just after yours, so we're doing Machu Picchu pre-cruise ... too bad there won't be time to give you advice from our perspective!

But I might add that when we did the Galapagos Islands way back in August '89, we stayed in Quito pre-cruise and took an overnight tour up into the Andes. We were around 12,000 feet then, I think, and were not bothered by the altitude.

Of course we were 25 years younger ... I don't know if that's a factor but suspect that it might be.

Mura

Has anyone done the post cruise excursion to Macchu Picchu? We booked on our Marina cruise that leaves Papeete on April 4. Any problems with altitude?

We did Cuzco, Machu Pichu, Lake Titicaca on our own. You cannot predict altitude sickness. It may hit young or old, non-smoking athletic types or couch potatoes. Most people take Diamox. Speak with your doctor beforehand.

I was told that the Monastery (?) Hotel has some oxygenated rooms. This will certainly help during the night when altitude sickness causes headaches and possibly vomiting. I am an experienced sufferer.

I was told that the Monastery (?) Hotel has some oxygenated rooms. This will certainly help during the night when altitude sickness causes headaches and possibly vomiting. I am an experienced sufferer.

Yes they do and it is a lovely hotel in a great location - I can highly recommend it. I believe the charge for the oxygen was $25/night - well worth it as insomnia is another symptom of high altitude.One should not have any type of chronic respiratory illness to visit Cuzco safely.

If only I had known beforehand about the oxygen in that hotel. I have no respiratory illness and am otherwise healthy. On the positive side, the doctors in Cuzco were very experienced, spoke excellent English and had a small specialized clinic. :)

We had a tour with group and individual guides who gave me time to recover and continue the trip without problems. If you are there the three or four allotted days with program from morning to night, you have no time for recovery. Go for the oxygen at night! Luckily Machu Picchu is at a lower altitude.

If only I had known beforehand about the oxygen in that hotel. I have no respiratory illness and am otherwise healthy. On the positive side, the doctors in Cuzco were very experienced, spoke excellent English and had a small specialized clinic. :)

 

We had a tour with group and individual guides who gave me time to recover and continue the trip without problems. If you are there the three or four allotted days with program from morning to night, you have no time for recovery. Go for the oxygen at night! Luckily Machu Picchu is at a lower altitude.

A member on our tour (from Celebrity Xpedition) turned white as a sheet 10 minutes after we landed in Cuzco and spend the entire 3 or 4 days in the hospital. In fact, the pilot refused to fly him back to Lima until the doctor from the hospital arrived and cleared him to fly at his responsibility. The person involved had some underlying lung disease (acute or chronic). This matter is not to be taken lightly.

You are right, it can be life threatening. Most people don't get it at all or just a slight headache. They are lucky!

In the Winter, our ski home is at 9500 ft. and we ski at close to 12,000 ft. We are used to our tourists getting altitude sickness no matter what the age and health. From 16 yo to 80 yo will be seen carrying their oxygen tanks and the hotels have oxygen rooms to help. Our medical center also specializes in the treatment for it as I would expect you would have with the tourists coming off cruise ships or land tours. Most important thing to remember and follow is hydration and stay away from the alcohol prior your tours. Machu Pichu is on our list too..

I am a very fit retiree of 60 with no lung/breathing problems. I was traveling to Machu Picchu with another fit retiree of 63 and we BOTH suffered from Cheyne-Stokes respiration in Cuzco! Google it to see what it is. Neither one of us could get any sleep as a result. We really wished we had brought the Diamox.

Interestingly, neither of our wives had any problem at all.

But, DO go to Machu Picchu. I have traveled extensively and it was one of the best places I have visited.

 

But, DO go to Machu Picchu. I have traveled extensively and it was one of the best places I have visited.

Definitely. I fully agree.

The Peruvian doctor gave me 4 Paracetamol and a one week supply of Gingko Biloba capsules for afterwards, in case the symptoms returned. They didn't, but the Gingko Biloba is a good thing to take starting a week before you go into high altitude. Who knows, maybe that and Diamox are the two things that will help you. He also recommended mint tea, widely available in hotels. He said not to drink the coca tea, also available in all hotels, because it raises blood pressure, contains too much caffeine. If you are sensitive to it, you may not sleep.

For those of you who go to Machu Picchu independently or with a custom made tour, I recommend going from the Cusco airport directly to the Sacred Valley and then to Machu Picchu even further down the valley. Return to see Cusco at the end. It is one of the highlights and should not be missed.

We are considering the MP trip in 2016 with a private company after disembarking the Marina. Altitude issues are on my mind and we are not sure what to do. I will be following this thread, thanks to all for posting experiences.

 

...For those of you who go to Machu Picchu independently or with a custom made tour, I recommend going from the Cusco airport directly to the Sacred Valley and then to Machu Picchu even further down the valley. Return to see Cusco at the end. It is one of the highlights and should not be missed.

Great advice Floridiana and Portofino!

We are planning to do for an extensive land tour of Peru next year (not enough time to do it in conjunction with this cruise). Much better to aclimatize at a lower altitude. I fear some folks will rush things trying to quickly cross MP off their "bucket list".

When we went to Lhasa (alt. 11,800 or so) we took Diamox and heeded the advice to do very little the first day, not even shower! 2nd day was easy touring and finally on the 3rd day, after a few hits from our oxygen canister, we were able to climb the 300' of steps of Potala Palace.

We did not take such precautions when we were in Quito a few years ago and had no ill effects but perhaps with age there is wisdom;)

Great advice Floridiana and Portofino!

 

When we went to Lhasa (alt. 11,800 or so) we took Diamox and heeded the advice to do very little the first day, not even shower! 2nd day was easy touring and finally on the 3rd day, after a few hits from our oxygen canister, we were able to climb the 300' of steps of Potala Palace.

 

We did not take such precautions when we were in Quito a few years ago and had no ill effects but perhaps with age there is wisdom;)

The 'no shower' is a Tibetan idea. :D They told us the same thing because they think that a shower will result in a cold. A cold makes breathing more difficult. Everybody was fine in Tibet except me! Diamox, Gingko Biloba did not help. The doctor came to the hotel room. Her one hour treatment helped, but it was not as good as the longer and more intensive Peruvian treatment.

Quito is lower, thank goodness! I was fine! My high altitude experience wiped the Chilean Alti Plano off my travel list.:(

We organised our own tours prior to our Marina Cruise in 2014. We spoke to doctors and others about taking tablets and made the decision not to do so. There were possible conflicts with other tabs etc. As we got off the plane in Cusco Jean started to feel ill with some blurred vision and dizziness. She is quite slim and fit. Although I felt light headed I was fine throughout.

The JW Marriott is fabulous and offered Oxygen on demand (at a cost) in the room but we have no real idea if it helped. Coca leaves etc. did nothing really other than psychologically.

We met others in Cusco and MP some who were taking tabs, others not and it seemed very hit and miss as to any benefits.

MP is a MUST SEE although I found the history rather startling in that it was built far later than expected.

We used the same Tour Company throughout and they dealt with everything efficiently in both Lima, Cusco and MP.

Brian

Oxygen certainly helps. I had four hours of oxygen in Cusco + a drip with medication. I was a new person afterwards. The same clinic is also located in the Sacred Valley.

If you opt to go to the Sacred Valley first, go visit the ruins of Ollantaytambo. They are the impressive site of a successful battle of the Incas against the Spanish. We saw many Peruvian visitors there. The ruins were not crowded at all in the morning. We took pictures of two school groups and also of a large adult group all dressed in their native costume. The teenagers took pictures with me. :D

Ollantaytambo is built on the original foot print of an Inca Village and some houses are preserved exactly as they were in those times. No windows, fire place in one corner, altar on one wall, guinea pigs in the other corner, bed at the other wall, drying herbs and corn husks in the rafters. Our guide took us there and paid a nominal fee for which she was profusely thanked by the women in the room. They had a little store in the courtyard. So it was not really an intrusion into their privacy.

Thanks to everyone for the fact-filled replies. I will definitely ask my doc for Diamox.

We did Celebrity Expedition in 2013 and I got hit right after landing at Quito. By time I was out of the terminal -- had light headiness/headaches. I had also followed the Diamox prealtitude instructions. One side effect is that Diamox does dehydrate you and you need to continue to drink large amounts of fluid with the frequent bathroom side effect.

The symptoms immediately disappeared in Baltra and then reappeared at Cusco. I found that Coco tea worked best for me and stopped the diamox.

The altitude at Machu Picchu was OK with me.

My DW had zero symptoms.

My DW was a true miracle (and a hero). She did OK in Cuzco - just a little short of breath.

After we returned from the trip she saw her MD and found out that her Hemoglobin was 7!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is about half the normal value.

She was found to have traces of blood in her stool - found to have an intestinal cancer which was promptly removed and is she thankfully cancer free for over 6 years now.

How she managed with that low hemoglobin was a miracle (probably because it was a chronic rather than an acute condition and her body adjusted to this - still quite remarkable)

Thank goodness your wife is fine.

Glad to hear that Marsha is fine, Paul.

Thank you both for your concern. Indeed, we are very lucky & grateful.

I did a 3-day excursion to MP in the middle of our 2.5 week Celebrity cruise. Keeping in mind that I am young-ish (30s), athletic and a flight attendant, I didn't expect to have issues with the altitude. Prior to the cruise, I checked with my Dr about taking Diamox just in case, but it turned out I am allergic to Sulfa, which is in Diamox, so I wasn't able to take advantage of it.

As soon as we landed in Cusco, the altitude started to hit me....shortness of breath, a lot of nausea, couldn't sleep, dizzy....it was extremely uncomfortable and prevented me from enjoying most of the touring we did the first day-and-a-half. Once we got to MP, which is at a lower altitude, I was fine. But then the illness returned as soon as we got back to Cusco.

As others have said, being young and healthy doesn't mean you won't get hit by the altitude. BUT, I wouldn't have missed MP for anything and would do it again tomorrow. Just be sure to take all the precautions that are suggested.

Michael

Michael,

It's true, the young and athletic can be affected as well. My neighbor's college age athletic son was hit on his way up Kilimanjaro. He had to descend to a lower altitude.

And all of you reading this thread, soroche affects only a few people in any given group. Some feel fine, some have only a slight headache, a few feel they can't breathe and throw up or worse. Some people get it only at a much higher altitude or never. Don't skip Machu Picchu unless you have an underlying health issue you need to discuss with your doctor.

One more thing, always take toilet paper and hand sanitizer with you. You may drink lots of tea to stay hydrated and use out of the way restrooms. As a matter of fact, bring those two items on all your trips in South and Central America (and China). It's better to be prepared.