After much research, I come now to the experts on Regent cruising for help.

We are booked on two legs of the South America cruise - from Manaus to Callao. Selection of shore excursions are now available, and I wondered if anyone had advice on memorable excursions. I have already pre-booked the one day trip to Iguazu Falls and the post tour of Machu Picchu through Regent.

What is the best excursion for penguin sighting?
Also, any thoughts on private guides vs. Regent tours?

Any thoughts and advice is most appreciated.

Susan

Susan, we are booked on the Manaus to BA segment this January. I don't think we have started planning the shore excursions as we have 2 trips between now & January. I confess it is my husband who is the master trip planner. I am just arm candy.

However, three years ago we did Iguazu Falls with a private guide pre Antarctica cruise & last year we did 10 days in Peru with 3 days hiking Machu Picchu. You will love these trips.

See you onboard.

Susan,
We did the full SA circumnavigation in January. You're in for a fantastic time, one of the very best cruises/itineraries we've ever done.

I'm not sure if it's too late but rather than do the one full day to Iguzu Falls through RSSC, I'd recommend doing it on your own the way we did...much better and 1/2 the price. We flew up on Argentina Airlines from Buenos Aires on a morning flight (taxis are so easy to catch to airport and I booked the RT flights on the internet) to Iguazu Airport on the Argentina side. We had a private guide set up who met us at the airport and away we went. He was terrific and with us all day and took us back to the airport the following day. We stayed overnight at the Sheraton Hotel (the only hotel within the park) with a nice balcony room with a head-on view of the falls. We flew back to Buenos Aires the next day. Those that went on the RSSC excursion had such a long day (and it was very hot!) and paid twice as much as we paid booking everything independently (including our hotel, lunch and a nice dinner). Many commented that they wish they had done it our way with the hotel stay. You can also go on the Brazil side of the falls, just make sure you bring your passport. Just some food for thought.

As for seeing penguins, you'll have lots of opportunities. We went on the Sparrow Cove adventure in Port Stanley, Falkland Islands and saw thousands of penguins. It was a great excursion but others who went on different ones all said they too saw lots of penguins as well. Lots of excursions to choose from along the way and they all sounded good.

Machu Pichu is an amazing trip too. Be prepared to feel light headed with the altitude but well worth it! It is magnificent.

We did BA-Callao with an overnight pre-cruise to Iguazu Falls and the post-cruise to Machu-Picchu. The only other tour we did was the one out of Puerto Montt to Petrohue Falls and Emerald Lake and it was a great tour. The one day trip from BA-Iguazu is a tough one, as folks who have done it will tell you. The falls are well worth the trip, but it's tough to see everything in a day, because there's a lot of walking and it can be very hot/humid. Marcie is correct about the Machu Picchu trip as far as the altitude affects are concerned. The worst part is Cuzco, which is higher than Machu Picchu. The Monasterio Hotel there is unique and the town/surrounding areas are well worth seeing. The Swiss Hotel in Lima was very nice with very spacious/comfortable rooms. I would highly recommend going to La Rosa Nautica for lunch while in Lima. You can get a hotel limo from the Swiss Hotel for $10 round trip. Great seafood and a wonderful location. Also, as part of the post-cruise tour of Lima you'll have a great lunch at Huaca Puellana, the pyramid archeological site in Lima and associated restaurant.

Susan, I agree wtih Marcie. We stayed overnight at the Sheraton & spent 2 full days at Iguaso.

It is Cuzco that is the highest altitude. Like Doug, we stayed at the Monesterio. Some of the rooms have piped in oxygen that you have to request. In the other rooms you can order an oxygen canister. One member of our group drank so much coca tea (over 10 days) that he got sick. My high altitude sickness was mostly insomina & I deny being irritable. One couple took medicine but they said it made them "tingly."

Thanks to all for the great advice!

Marcie: I am sure that I can cancel the one day trip to Iguazu Falls since I haven't paid for it yet. The final payment is due October 12, but we will be in Italy at that time, so I am trying to wrap up some loose ends and pay the final amount before we leave.

I have one question though - did spending the overnight at Iguazu Falls leave you enough time in B.A.? From all I have read it is an amazing city. Also, do you recall the name of your tour guide?

We will definitely do the Sparrow Cove excursion.

Doug: The Petrohue & Esmerelda Lake excursion sounds perfect. Also thank you for the La Rosa Nautica restaurant tip. We both love seafood and are always on the lookout for another great restaurant.

Jackie: Thanks for the advice on the oxygen in the rooms. I called my travel agent and she put in the request.

Looking forward to meeting you on board.

Susan

You are so lucky. I so want to do the full South America cruise, but have to wait until my husband decides to retire. Or at least semi-retire.

Susan

Susan,
I'm sorry I can not remember the name of the young man about 24 years old who was our guide. He spoke perfect English too. The guide and transportation was arranged through:
Vanessa Lima
International Travel Consultant
DiscoverBrazil.com
Phone: (55) (71) 3113-4205
Fax in Brazil: (55) (71) 3341-0728
Fax in USA: 1-732-909-2966

Fax & Voice Mail in London: (44) 20-7900-6555

Toll Free: 1-800-495-8211 or (732) 704-1898
E-mail: vanessa@discoverbrazil.com.br

ICQ: 249661595

MSN: vanessa@discoverbrazil.com.br
Web: www.discoverbrazil.com

Maybe they can look it up and find out who was our guide, we flew to Igauzu Falls on Feb. 8, 2006 (Thomas & Marcie Matassa). Our order # printed on our confirmation is 0856.

I would recommend you reserve your room at the Sheraton ASAP. (we booked our own room). When I originally tried to get a room, Starwood (both on the phone and online) said they were sold out. I ultimately found our room at The Sheraton on an internet site called hotelclub.com which had a block of rooms reserved. They email you a voucher that you MUST present upon check-in. Because of having the Starwood AmEx card (or was because we have the AmEx Platinum card?) we were able to get the upgrade to our room facing the falls upon check-in subject to availability.

Good luck!

Thanks for the information Marcie.

I will start working on this Monday morning.

Susan

We did a trip to MAPI and the Galapagos last year.

If you are looking for a hotel in Lima we stayed at the Country Club which was very art deco and absolutely delightful.

We had the oxygen pumped when we were at the Monasterio and this made for a much more peaceful sleep. Apparently this makes breathing comfortable for the next 24 hours or so. Anyway we felt great after this and the light headedness didnt surface until our drive to Cotopaxi and only after 15,000 feet.

Miriam

Miriam

That must have been an amazing trip. The Galapagos has been on my wish list for many years.

Unfortunately, we will be gone for over a month, and we just can't take any more time away from work.

The Country Club sounds great, but we are doing the Macchu Picchu as a post tour through Regent, so I am not sure what hotels they use.

Thanks for the information.

Susan

Susan

I want to reassure you everyone was not affected by the altitude but why chance it when the oxygen is so nice. I would imagine Regent will have you stay at the only hotel in Machu Picchu, Sanctuary Lodge, rather than in the village below. The park opens at sunrise, a magical time of day there.

We combined our 10 day trip in Peru with the Galapoges & it was awesome but I was fearful the whole time of becoming seasick due to the tiny ship.

The Amazon is going to be amazing too. Let's plan on meeting. How are you at Trivia?

Jackie

Last year the standard package by Regent was the Swiss Hotel in Lima, which is excellent, and the Monasterio Hotel in Cuzco. The Sanctuary Lodge and the other hotel in Lima were on the premium package, which is way too expensive. The standard package that we had after leaving the ship in Callao was a nice tour of Lima with a wonderful lunch at Huaca Puellana, overnight at the Swiss Hotel, fly to Cuzco the next morning(luggage stored at the Swiss Hotel), tour of the Cuzco area, overnight at the Monasterio, Hiram Bingham train to Machu Picchu the next morning with lunch on the train, tour Machu Picchu, train back to Cuzco that evening with dinner on the train, overnight at the Monasterio, fly to Lima the next morning (didn't get out until @ 1500 due to weather), overnight at the Swiss Hotel, fly home the next night( were allowed to keep our room until late afternoon which gave us the full day in Lima with a wonderful lunch at La Rosa Nautica).

Doug: The Macchu Picchu excursion you describe is the same one that we are taking in January. Thank you for the excellent description and we will certainly make time for La Rosa Nautica.

Jackie: I hope we are the lucky ones unaffected by the altitude. Thanks for the reassurance.

To be honest, I have a terrible memory, so I am dismal at trivia. But have no fear - I will increase my gingko starting tomorrow, and I will be ready to go in January!

I look forward to meeting you on board.

Susan