LovetoCruise_09 Posted February 11, 2018 #1 Share Posted February 11, 2018 I would like to learn more about travelling to India on the cruise. What ports/land tours do you recommend to take? Did you have to get vaccinations to travel to India? Is it OK to travel there with children? Was it difficult to get visa? Please share your experiences. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4774Papa Posted February 12, 2018 #2 Share Posted February 12, 2018 Most of the Indian cruises include ports on the SW shore of the country. Ports like Mumbai, Goa and Cochin. We didn't get any special vaccinations. We did a cruise from Singapore to Dubai that stopped at four ports. Here is my review.: Singapore to Dubai http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=501167 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lushforest Posted August 6, 2018 #3 Share Posted August 6, 2018 Our group of 10 persons booked Constellation of Apr 02.2019 to Dubai&India. We will leave Cochin for a private tour, and come back to Mumbai to meet the cruise. The Celebrity asked us to e mail to request special disembarkation. And maybe charge CAD70 per cabin . Is there someone who had the same sutuation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drsel Posted August 6, 2018 #4 Share Posted August 6, 2018 See below Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drsel Posted August 6, 2018 #5 Share Posted August 6, 2018 Our group of 10 persons booked Constellation of Apr 02.2019 to Dubai&India. We will leave Cochin for a private tour, and come back to Mumbai to meet the cruise. The Celebrity asked us to e mail to request special disembarkation. And maybe charge CAD70 per cabin . Is there someone who had the same sutuation? Do an on the spot Cochin city tour by taxi (shared by 4). U can also do the backwater ride for 1--2 hours before returning to the ship before sailaway. Not advisable to do an overnight backwater houseboat & then fly to Mumbai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lushforest Posted August 6, 2018 #6 Share Posted August 6, 2018 Do an on the spot Cochin city tour by taxi (shared by 4). U can also do the backwater ride for 1--2 hours before returning to the ship before sailaway. Not advisable to do an overnight backwater houseboat & then fly to Mumbai hi Drsel, thank you fir the suggestion. Our plan is as below Apr08 leave Cichin. fly to Delhi stay Delhi for three nights Ape 11 fly to Mumbai from Delhi to catch the cruise The Celebrity said they will send request to the port office to approve. It may cost extra money. So weird? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mom says Posted August 6, 2018 #7 Share Posted August 6, 2018 OP, I see that you have posted the same question on multiple forums. I hope that you will also join your Roll Call to see what other members are planning. We are taking a similar cruise (Abu Dhabi to Singapore) this winter and most of our excursions are private ones organized by members. Our stops include Mumbai, Goa, and Cochin, as mentioned above. If you hold a Canadian passport and will only be going to the Ports on the cruise, then you can buy an e visa online thru the Indian High Commission. If you go to the bottom of their main page you will see a link for it, with information. There are no special vaccinations necessary. But make sure all of the usual immunizations are up to date. If you haven't been vaccinated against Hepatitis A and B, talk to your doctor about getting them. Travelling with children? How old? It will be very, very hot and humid, and in the cities, extremely crowded. Traffic fatalities are common. Personally, I wouldn't bring young children. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drsel Posted August 9, 2018 #8 Share Posted August 9, 2018 hi Drsel, thank you fir the suggestion. Our plan is as below Apr08 leave Cichin. fly to Delhi stay Delhi for three nights Ape 11 fly to Mumbai from Delhi to catch the cruise The Celebrity said they will send request to the port office to approve. It may cost extra money. So weird? You will waste half the day travelling (5--6 hours) on both April 8 & 11. Not to mention the time wasted in unpacking, repacking, checking in and out of the hotel, transfers to and from the airport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandma Cruising Posted August 9, 2018 #9 Share Posted August 9, 2018 I have come across others with this issue. Apparently Royal Carribbean ( who also own Celebrity) have a department that authorise and sorts out all the necessary permissions for people to leave a cruise in one port and come back to it at another port. They make a charge for this service. Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drsel Posted August 9, 2018 #10 Share Posted August 9, 2018 I have come across others with this issue. Apparently Royal Carribbean ( who also own Celebrity) have a department that authorise and sorts out all the necessary permissions for people to leave a cruise in one port and come back to it at another port. They make a charge for this service. Sent from my iPad using Forums Dear Host Grandma, this thread should be in the Asia forum, since India is part of Asia, not Africa and Middle East Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lushforest Posted August 10, 2018 #11 Share Posted August 10, 2018 You will waste half the day travelling (5--6 hours) on both April 8 & 11. Not to mention the time wasted in unpacking, repacking, checking in and out of the hotel, transfers to and from the airport. Yes. You are right. But we think we only travel to India once, Taji Mahal must to see🙂 And Celebrity send us approve letter today without charge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lushforest Posted August 10, 2018 #12 Share Posted August 10, 2018 I have come across others with this issue. Apparently Royal Carribbean ( who also own Celebrity) have a department that authorise and sorts out all the necessary permissions for people to leave a cruise in one port and come back to it at another port. They make a charge for this service. Sent from my iPad using Forums We got approve letter today from Celebrity today without charge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buchhalm Posted August 10, 2018 #13 Share Posted August 10, 2018 Why is this in the Middle East and Africa section? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tring Posted August 12, 2018 #14 Share Posted August 12, 2018 Why is this in the Middle East and Africa section? I agree, it should be on the Asia forum. I have reported it and suggest others do the same. They usually move threads if on wrong place on the boards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna_In_India Posted August 14, 2018 #15 Share Posted August 14, 2018 I would like to learn more about travelling to India on the cruise. What ports/land tours do you recommend to take? Did you have to get vaccinations to travel to India? Is it OK to travel there with children? Was it difficult to get visa? Please share your experiences. Thank you! Ports are usually Mumbai, Goa, and Cochin. I would book excursions on your own. There are some reputable companies - check Trip Advisor for reviews then check the specific company's website to see what you might enjoy. No special vaccinations needed but be careful with water - drink only bottled (sealed) water. Read up on staying healthy while there. Easy to get a visa. And perfectly fine to travel with children. Cities are noisy and crowded but you'll have wonderful experiences. Best time to travel is between Oct/Nov to March. It will start to get pretty warm in April. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4774Papa Posted August 14, 2018 #16 Share Posted August 14, 2018 Ports are usually Mumbai, Goa, and Cochin. I would book excursions on your own. There are some reputable companies - check Trip Advisor for reviews then check the specific company's website to see what you might enjoy. No special vaccinations needed but be careful with water - drink only bottled (sealed) water. Read up on staying healthy while there. Easy to get a visa. And perfectly fine to travel with children. Cities are noisy and crowded but you'll have wonderful experiences. Best time to travel is between Oct/Nov to March. It will start to get pretty warm in April. My review, already posted here provided some great tours. We used Cochin Day Tours-Muziris Heritage. Lijo Jose was my point of contact and may have been the owner of the company. We met Lijo while on this tour. Here is my review of our tour at Cochin. We also used Lijo's from for Goa and another port. We used Mumbai Magic for Mumbai and it was excellent as well. Our tour was the Cochin Backwater Tour that included a peaceful two hour ride on a houseboat. We had a nice Indian lunch on the houseboat. We cruised the waters of Alapuzha, and then drove back to Ft. Cochin. Back in Cochin, we had an opportunity to shop and visit the Paradesi Synagogue. It is the oldest active synagogue in the British Commonwealth of Nations. It was constructed in 1567. The tour was seven hours and cost $75 per person. http://www.daytoursincochin.com/cochin-backwater-tour/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeBeCruisers? Posted August 14, 2018 #17 Share Posted August 14, 2018 We sailed India in April and 2nd the motion for Lijo. He (they) did a great job. We used him for all 3 ports. Don't forget your visas. Sent from my LG-TP450 using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkgourmet Posted August 14, 2018 #18 Share Posted August 14, 2018 You will waste half the day travelling (5--6 hours) on both April 8 & 11. Not to mention the time wasted in unpacking, repacking, checking in and out of the hotel, transfers to and from the airport. I was thinking the same thing. Even though we live cruising, sometimes a land based tour makes much more sense. If there are places that we really want to explore that are inland, do land based or go there before or after the cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tring Posted August 14, 2018 #19 Share Posted August 14, 2018 I was thinking the same thing. Even though we live cruising, sometimes a land based tour makes much more sense. If there are places that we really want to explore that are inland, do land based or go there before or after the cruise. Staying before/after a cruise is more our style now, especially if travelling a long distance. You get the best of both worlds then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drsel Posted August 14, 2018 #20 Share Posted August 14, 2018 (edited) Staying before/after a cruise is more our style now, especially if travelling a long distance. You get the best of both worlds then.That makes sense, cos everything in India is very cheap (taxis, guides, shopping, food, doctors, dentists, medicines). Almost one tenth of the cost in the US or UK, believe it or not! Edited August 14, 2018 by drsel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna_In_India Posted August 14, 2018 #21 Share Posted August 14, 2018 My review, already posted here provided some great tours. We used Cochin Day Tours-Muziris Heritage. Lijo Jose was my point of contact and may have been the owner of the company. We met Lijo while on this tour. Here is my review of our tour at Cochin. We also used Lijo's from for Goa and another port. We used Mumbai Magic for Mumbai and it was excellent as well. Our tour was the Cochin Backwater Tour that included a peaceful two hour ride on a houseboat. We had a nice Indian lunch on the houseboat. We cruised the waters of Alapuzha, and then drove back to Ft. Cochin. Back in Cochin, we had an opportunity to shop and visit the Paradesi Synagogue. It is the oldest active synagogue in the British Commonwealth of Nations. It was constructed in 1567. The tour was seven hours and cost $75 per person. http://www.daytoursincochin.com/cochin-backwater-tour/ IMO Reality Tours & Travels is better than Mumbai Magic. And I definitely wouldn't use any of the "Magic" companies in other Indian cities. She (the owner) outsources the guides in the other cities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drsel Posted August 29, 2018 #22 Share Posted August 29, 2018 https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/tvoa.html Lots of private companies wanting to tack on their fee and on the Indian government site they warn of fake sites charging you and no visa is given. There are various different sites giving different prices but this may be correct - in US dollars. * Free: Citizens of Argentina, Cook Islands, Fiji, Jamaica, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue Island, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uruguay and Vanuatu. * $75 : Citizens of US, UK, Russia, Ukraine and Mozambique. * $50: Citizens of the majority of countries including Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Myanmar, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. * $25: Citizens of Japan, Singapore and Sri Lanka. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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