Taj Mahal Tours

[lutzcruiser]

I'm interested in information on visiting the Taj Mahal. Does anyone have experience with private tours? This is one port that I feel I may want to take the O trip so as not to get in trouble with time lines as I hear transportation in India is iffy at best. Any info on tours private and/or provided by O would be appreciated. Also, any info on the other ports in India would be great.

[cbb]

don't know which cruise you're on but the one from Bangkok to Dubai offers a Taj Mahal trip. Below is the URL and then scroll down for the 3 day/2 night O excursion.

 

http://www.oceaniacruises.com/findcruise/asia/nau130404/landprograms.aspx

[Jancruz]

I'm interested in information on visiting the Taj Mahal. Does anyone have experience with private tours? This is one port that I feel I may want to take the O trip so as not to get in trouble with time lines as I hear transportation in India is iffy at best. Any info on tours private and/or provided by O would be appreciated. Also, any info on the other ports in India would be great.

 

The hightlight of our travels on Oceania (over 300 days on board) was our trip to the Taj Mahal with Oceania..DONT miss it..The shore excursion is one of the best I ever took with O..Kudos to shoreside staff for outstanding planning!!!

Jancruz1

[White Cat]

We also had an excellent Oceania tour to the Taj Mahal. Planes were running very late from Mumbai, including our charter flight. We left nearly 4 hours late landing at Agra at night, which was normally not permitted, but an exception was made for our charter. Many wanted to give up and forget the trip but for those of us who had waited so long to see this marvel that was not an option. I am glad we did.

[lesyk]

we took the Nautica from Hong Kong to Athens and opted for both the Angkor Wat and Agra (Taj Mahal) tours with Oceania.... great experience... and worry free... worth the high price. At time of visit to Angkor Wat we left Saigon by plane and were to meet ship in Bangkok... but then riots started to occur in Bangkok... wasn't our worry as We were on Oceania charter and knew that things would be taken care of...luckily we didnt have to miss Bangkok but the worry about getting

back to the appropriate port was not our concern.

Specifically re Agra we flew from Goa and met the ship back at Mumbai... everything was first class and there are 3 world Heritage sites in Agra: Taj, Red Fort and the old Mogul palace outside of Agra... there is also another Mogul Tomb in Agra that is slated to become another World Heritage site... well worth it and travel is "worry-free" ...

[JimandStan]

we took the Nautica from Hong Kong to Athens and opted for both the Angkor Wat and Agra (Taj Mahal) tours with Oceania.... great experience... and worry free... worth the high price. At time of visit to Angkor Wat we left Saigon by plane and were to meet ship in Bangkok... but then riots started to occur in Bangkok... wasn't our worry as We were on Oceania charter and knew that things would be taken care of...luckily we didnt have to miss Bangkok but the worry about getting

back to the appropriate port was not our concern.

Specifically re Agra we flew from Goa and met the ship back at Mumbai... everything was first class and there are 3 world Heritage sites in Agra: Taj, Red Fort and the old Mogul palace outside of Agra... there is also another Mogul Tomb in Agra that is slated to become another World Heritage site... well worth it and travel is "worry-free" ...

 

Excellent point, Lesyk. Booking through the cruise line is just as essential as Insurance if any type of uncertainty or unrest is looming over one's travel plans.

 

Sadly, we missed the opportunity of sailing with a number of frequent posters to this board (Hi Judy & Pearl!) when the Riviera Maiden Voyage was rescheduled after they had made independent, nonrefundable travel plans.

 

The penalties for changing their Airline Reservations were so severe, that they were forced to cancel the cruise instead (and missed the excitement of a brilliant first voyage).

 

Those of us using "Oceania Air" were not a penny "out of pocket", and the Air Department moved heaven and earth to get us booked onto new flights that suited us perfectly (at a fairly late date).

[doubledobles]

I'm interested in information on visiting the Taj Mahal. Does anyone have experience with private tours? This is one port that I feel I may want to take the O trip so as not to get in trouble with time lines as I hear transportation in India is iffy at best. Any info on tours private and/or provided by O would be appreciated. Also, any info on the other ports in India would be great.

Oceania does a fabulous side trip to the Taj. We thought it was worth every penny. Hotel accommodations were good and the opportunity to visit the Taj at dawn, daytime and at sunset were perfect. We also visited all the World Heritage sites on other days. The tour guide was excellent. All in all, you can't go wrong doing the entire side trip with them.

[Jancruz]

Oceania does a fabulous side trip to the Taj. We thought it was worth every penny. Hotel accommodations were good and the opportunity to visit the Taj at dawn, daytime and at sunset were perfect. We also visited all the World Heritage sites on other days. The tour guide was excellent. All in all, you can't go wrong doing the entire side trip with them.

 

I thought the food in the hotel was excellent also and a great chance to taste things I had never heard of!!

Jancruz1

[capecodder2]

Don't even think about doing it on your own, just go with O's trip. Ours was fabulous as those above and no concerns about India's iffy transportation issues. It was my dream come true and we loved it.

[Palmetto Lady]

I agree about taking O's tour because of iffy transportation issues. Also some people who went out on their own became ill because of bad food.

[lutzcruiser]

Thanks to all for the info on O's Taj Mahal tour. I'm convinced! We'll use O.

[cathi]

Another voice for using O for the Taj Mahal trip! We did it on the Nautica Hong Kong to Athens a few years ago and it was worth every penny!! The hotel was great and we didn't worry about missing the ship in Mumbai. A once in a lifetime experience done superbly by O!!

[wiks]

I would second these comments. We did the "O" Taj tour in 2009 and it was great from beginning to end. :)