I agree with the advice in this post absolutely. About 18 months ago I disembarked from a cruise ship and was being picked up by a private tour guide. All passengers not using cruise transfers had to take the cruise ship provided bus from the cruise dock to a staging area outside of the port gates. This area is so dangerous that the lima tourist police had a three person presence there, although this was during the day. I’m not sure if it’s a 24 hour police presence or not.
In the past, cruise ship tourists would debark and be left in this staging area. Thieves would drive by on a motorbike or in a car and rip their suitcases/bags out of their hands and drive off. I was accompanied by experienced male residents, so I felt safe (along w the police presence).