Machu Picchu Excursion Option - 2017

[JonnyCT81]

Hello fellow CC'ers!

 

My partner and I are currently booked on a 14-day cruise for March, 2017 heading out of Chile, going through the Panama Canal and ending up in Miami. That being said, I figured since we were down there and don't know when we will be back, we might take advantage of the Machu Picchu outing. This is a three-day event that takes you there and you meet back up with the ship. As you can see, it is VERY expensive, and I wanted to put the feelers out there to see if anyone has done it, and if they felt that it was worth it or not. I appreciate any advice the community has to offer!

 

[az_tchr]

Have done it with another tour company. It is wonderful. Lots of people do it with private tours for less cost and a bit more relaxed touring especially if you are a bit younger than the Celebrity cruising demographic of 60ish.

[avidrunner]

Is it worth it to see Machu Picchu? Absolutely!! However, I would find a much cheaper way to do it.

[Oakton Girl]

An incredible ancient city......we did it on our own in conjunction with Celebrity's Galapagos cruise at a fraction of the cost Celebrity was charging. Got private tours and transport from the airport in Cusco. Also did Lake Tittiaca and reed islands while we were there-wonderful experience. Definitely do it, but much better privately and less expensive too. Good luck!

[cruisestitch]

Keep in mind that to do this excursion on your own, you'll be leaving the ship in Lima, Peru and re-joining it in Manta, Ecuador on the 26th. And if anything should go wrong with that transfer to Manta, the ship's next port is Colon on the 28th.

[Jade13]

Go on your own. We were on another ship but left in Peru and rejoined the ship in Ecuador. We were able to spend 3 days and two at Machu Picchu.

Edited March 8, 2016 by Jade13

[amyr]

I did this exact excursion with my mother, but from a Princess cruise. If you think you might never get to Machu Picchu again, absolutely worth it. We went because at 70, Mom felt it was her only chance. I always thought I'd get back some day with my husband, but it hasn't happened yet.

 

I think it would be too risky to do it on your own, and I say this as someone who always books my own excursions and pre/post extensions. Mostly the flights back from Cusco to Manta would be tricky. Ours was delayed, and the ship had to wait for us. We flew in the morning from Cusco to Quito, had a day long tour, and flew in the late afternoon/evening to Manta from Quito. Not sure how the Celebrity tour works, but at the time, that was the only way to get from Cusco to Manta.

 

I'll be happy to answer any other questions about how the tour ran to the best of my recollection.

 

ETA: That is a lot of money, though, ours was $1,400 (12 years ago). Not sure if I could pull the trigger for that amount, YMMV. You could do an entire Machu Picchu/Sacred Valley/Lake Titicaca for less than that as a separate vacation I would think?

Edited March 8, 2016 by amyr

[ECCruise]

Did this on our own in combination with a Galapagos cruise.

 

Would never do it with Celebrity. First of all, the price is literally 2-3 times what you can do it for on your own. Secondly, you may have much less time at Machu Picchu. When we did our tour, we had made a morning tour of the ruins and were having lunch when the Celebrity group first arrived. We also stayed after they left in the afternoon (since we were spending the night in Aguas Calientes) and had time to go back to the ruins in the morning before we took the train back to Cuzco.

 

Yes, the Celebrity tour uses the Hiram Bingham (the "upscale" train) but you are going to be stomping around ruins for an afternoon, how important is the "class" of the train?

 

And, you lose 3 days off the ship. Honestly, I am quite confident you could return to the USA, fly to Lima at a later date, spend 4 or 5 days in Lima and Cuzco and Aguas Calientes, including 2 days at Machu Picchu and do it for LESS than the Celebrity tour. For example, our tour for 4 days which included all accommodation, the train trip, guide in both Cuzco and MP, was less than $1500 total for 2. Airfare from Lima to Cuzco is less than $200 per person RT.

 

"Convenience" is simply not worth that kind of $$$ to us.

[GottaKnowWhen]

Hello fellow CC'ers!

 

My partner and I are currently booked on a 14-day cruise for March, 2017 heading out of Chile, going through the Panama Canal and ending up in Miami. That being said, I figured since we were down there and don't know when we will be back, we might take advantage of the Machu Picchu outing. This is a three-day event that takes you there and you meet back up with the ship. As you can see, it is VERY expensive, ...

 

We did the southbound version of your itinerary on the Infinity this last December. Great trip!

 

While in the planning stage I briefly explored the Machu Picchu excursion option. We chose not to do it because 1) it took away time aboard, 2) it provided too little time in Cuzco and Machu Picchu, and 3) it was too expensive. All concerns which have already been mentioned by others on this thread.

 

Instead of Machu Picchu as an excursion from the Infinity, we did the following:

1 - We stayed over several days after our cruise ended in Valparaiso. Had a couple of days in Valparaiso, then up to Santiago, a flight over to Easter Islands, 3 nights/4 days there, back to Santiago, then back home. You could do much the same by going a few days early. Valparaiso is worth at least 2-3 days, ditto Easter Islands. You'll never be closer to Easter Islands; the only flight to the islands is from Santiago.

 

2 - We booked a Galapagos trip for 2018. We will go to Machu Picchu as an extension on that trip and intend to make our own arrangements that are less expensive and less constraining than we could do with the typical ship's excursion.

[loeb]

We initially were going to take this excursion on a Holland America cruise, but decided against it. After talking to people that had been to Machu Picchu, they said there was a lot more to see than just Machu Picchu in the Sacred Valley. If you have the time, it's much cheaper to go on a separate tour for 8 - 10 days and you will also get acclimated to the altitude. As one of the previous post indicated, on a separate tour you get to spend more time at Machu Picchu and have time if you want to climb to the Sun Gate.

 

In any case, going to Machu Picchu is really worth it.

[3418ahl]

You might check Enrichment Journeys. They attach land tours to a lot of cruises, but you do have to book the cruise through them. We just got back from a Santiago to Rio cruise on the Infinity and had an eight day land tour with Enrichment Journeys prior to the cruise, including Machu Picchu, the sacred valley, etc. They then dropped us off at the ship pier to board. The accommodations and guides were first rate.

[biker1972]

Because of altitude, the short cruise line excursion can really be very uncomfortable and not very satisfying, especially with the money involved. A suggestion might be to go prior to the cruise and make the arrangements on you own. There are a number of threads about this. One of the best experts in this area of the world was greatam, now deceased, but she answered many questions and these can be found here.

[1982CruzStart]

We did a trip to MP off a cruise in 2012. We knew it was probably the only time we would get there. We did it privately, spent much less than the cruise line excursion and even stayed at the hotel right outside the gate of MP and had a private guide for 6 of us. Well worth it. We lucked out and joined Jade13 for our trip, she had done all the research and for the most part had the trip all planned out before we decided to join them. It was unforgettable.

 

I would be reluctant to do it privately for just 2 of us but there were others off the cruise ship that did that as well as 1 couple that went with Abercrombie and Kent and it still cost less than the cruise line excursion.

 

As for altitude sickness when going for such a short time, we took medication prescribed by a travel doctor and had no issues at all.

 

Look into your options but whatever you do don't miss the opportunity to go if you think this may be your only chance.

Edited March 9, 2016 by 1982CruzStart

[north29]

The cost of a cruise ship trip, is WAY TOO high, I did most all of Peru, for 14 days for $2500 all inclusive +air. Peru is one of my favorite trips I have ever taken. Like, I said, there is more to see and do in Peru than Just Machu Picchu

If for health related issue with some cruisers/travelers, it might be a good deal.

If you do not speak Spanish, I would not recommend doing it on your own.

 

Click on the you tube link in my sig. there are two videos of our trip.

Edited March 9, 2016 by north29

[Host Jazzbeau]

Celebrity offers a Machu Picchu extension from the Galapagos cruises on Xpedition. When we took the cruise in 2015 we passed on MP because the trip seemed too short and altitude sickness seemed too likely. But I noticed that for this year Celebrity has extended that excursion to address both problems. The trip you are considering seems much too short.

[happyholidaycampers]

Did this on our own in combination with a Galapagos cruise.

 

Would never do it with Celebrity. First of all, the price is literally 2-3 times what you can do it for on your own. Secondly, you may have much less time at Machu Picchu. When we did our tour, we had made a morning tour of the ruins and were having lunch when the Celebrity group first arrived. We also stayed after they left in the afternoon (since we were spending the night in Aguas Calientes) and had time to go back to the ruins in the morning before we took the train back to Cuzco.

 

Yes, the Celebrity tour uses the Hiram Bingham (the "upscale" train) but you are going to be stomping around ruins for an afternoon, how important is the "class" of the train?

 

And, you lose 3 days off the ship. Honestly, I am quite confident you could return to the USA, fly to Lima at a later date, spend 4 or 5 days in Lima and Cuzco and Aguas Calientes, including 2 days at Machu Picchu and do it for LESS than the Celebrity tour. For example, our tour for 4 days which included all accommodation, the train trip, guide in both Cuzco and MP, was less than $1500 total for 2. Airfare from Lima to Cuzco is less than $200 per person RT.

 

"Convenience" is simply not worth that kind of $$$ to us.

 

Hi we also plan to take a private tour to Machu Picchu and would love to know about your 4 day tour ie who arranged the guide, driver, did you book the train and entry into MP yourself etc. Thanks in anticipation

Raema

[ECCruise]

Hi we also plan to take a private tour to Machu Picchu and would love to know about your 4 day tour ie who arranged the guide, driver, did you book the train and entry into MP yourself etc. Thanks in anticipation

Raema

 

There are a number of tours available, we can't mention specifics here but they are easy to find. They handled everything from transport to the airport in Lima, arrival in Cuzco, hotel in Cuzco, pickup (EARLY) for the train to Aguas Calientes (paid for), entry and a tour guide at MP, hotel overnight in Aguas Calientes and a return the next day on the afternoon train. Another night in Cuzco, flight to Lima the next AM. Seamless. They may have restructured some of their tours so you may want to customize a bit.

[emmas gran]

Hi

We must have been on Solstice when original post was made. We have done this trip from our Infinity S America B2B with celebrity guides etc. Personally I would not have taken any other option, the flight to rejoin the ship had engine problems so we were all put on the next flight and other passengers were given compensation for us taking their seats. Instead of boarding in the port we had to tender out to the ship which had to move due to tides.it was the 1st time we had seen the Staff Captain driving a tender with crew using flashlights to guide him through the yachts in the marina. Ido not like heights but it was a wonderful experience which we would not have done on our own. Please don't forget the possibilities of altitude sickness

Liz

[Baatman]

Is it worth it to see Machu Picchu? Absolutely!! However, I would find a much cheaper way to do it.

 

I agree. It is a bucket list item to see, but there are much less expensive alternatives.