India's Golden Triangle & the Sacred Ganges with Uniworld

[amyr]

Rob,

 

Thank you so, so much for reporting back. You said you were hot, what month did you go? Were you hot everywhere, or just on the cruise portion?

 

I'm glad the illness wasn't too bad. Maybe your wife caught a noro or some bug like that.

 

I'm sorry to hear the toilet paper thing hasn't yet been resolved. We're doing the Vantage version of the trip, but the two ships are sisters and mostly the same. I spoke via email with someone at the ship's parent company (Haimark) and he said it was because they couldn't get the type of marine toilet paper that the Indian sewage plants could handle. He said they were working on it, but I don't thing that will really happen. I'll take a roll of small plastic bags like nappy bags.

 

We're going to do the eVisa and hope for the best. It should work fine since we're not doing the pre-cruise trip to Nepal I think.

[sandyk923]

Thanks so much CruiseRob! Your information is very helpful. It helps with planning and packing for our trip. I feel better with the toilet paper issue seeing there wasn't a lot of illness aboard the boat.

[Mark_T]

... and he said it was because they couldn't get the type of marine toilet paper that the Indian sewage plants could handle. He said they were working on it, but I don't thing that will really happen.

 

This remains a very disappointing aspect though, more so if it really is just a logistics problem of sourcing the correct tissue...

 

This isn't a 'Europe vs India' thing either, they seem to manage just fine in Cambodia, Myanmar etc. so not sure why they can't seem to sort it out in India.

[jpalbny]

This remains a very disappointing aspect though, more so if it really is just a logistics problem of sourcing the correct tissue...

 

This isn't a 'Europe vs India' thing either, they seem to manage just fine in Cambodia, Myanmar etc. so not sure why they can't seem to sort it out in India.

 

Hm. Maybe we can bring our own? ;)

[CruiseRob]

We did the trip in March. It was unusually hot this year (90-100 F), including in the north as well as on the river. It was also very dry and they were short of water in Dehli although it did not affect us.

 

We did have toilet paper but they requested we not flush it in the toilets. There was a small trash can with a lid right next to the toilet. We had heard about this from reviews on the Vantage cruise so we brought cheap baggies to put the paper into before putting them in the can. The hardest part was to change the habit of just dropping the paper.

[CruiseRob]

Amyr. You mentioned that you talked with Haimark about the Ganges Voyager. Below is an article that talks about the shipbuilders taking control of the ships from Haimark. This includes the Ganges Voyager I and II. It should have no affect on the Vantage or Uniworld cruises.

 

http://www.travelweekly.com/River-Cruising/Shipbuilders-move-in-to-take-over-operations-from-Haimark

[amyr]

Thanks, Rob, that's a great article. When they first started having problems, it was being said that it was just their N. American operations, etc., but I'm not surprised it's the whole shooting match. I had noticed a week or so ago that their eBrochures weren't loading anymore when I went looking for a cabin diagram, and that was too bad because they were good brochures for all the ships.

 

I'm glad that the individual companies (Vantage, Avalon, Uniworld, etc.) are still able to keep these ships running. It would have been a mad scramble for me to rework our trip in February as air has already been arranged.

 

Needless to say, I doubt that Matthew and Hans from Haimark are concerning themselves with the toilet paper purchasing these days, nor will they be getting back to me ;)

[amyr]

Oh, Rob, I have one more question if you're around. What do you remember about the docking location and situation in Kolkata at disembarkation? We did our own air, and Vantage is telling me we need to make our own way to the airport (and Delhi) and that I can't purchase a transfer from them. The brochure says that there's a morning tour of the Mother Theresa stuff and then a return to the ship for disembarkation and transfer to the airport.

 

It seemed before that the last day was a long tour with an airport drop off, but they seem to have changed that. The folks at Vantage have no answers.

 

Do you remember how far it was from the ship to the airport? I suppose I should just hire a driver from home, but I can't quite figure out where the ship will be as there seem to be a few 'port' locations along the river.

[CruiseRob]

Amy,

 

I can’t help a lot about what dock the boat used. Uniworld had a bus waiting for us when we flew in from Jaipur. The only think I have in writing called it the “Kolkata Jetty”. It had stairs next to it so people could bath/wash clothes in the Ganges. It took at least 1 ½ hours to reach the Kolkata airport.

 

Vantage may not know where the boat will dock because it probably changes. Once you get on the boat, they should be able to arrange a taxi/transportation from the ship to the airport. My guess they will add you on one on the buses/taxis already there. I don’t think the boat will leave you stranded. You will need their help because where we docked was not in a main area. It was quite a distance down a single lane road with shops and housing on each side. I’m sure you will be ok.

 

Uniworld took us to Mother Teresa’s the afternoon after we first boarded the ship and the last day was all about getting people to the airport. They also scheduled the times for those who had their own transfers. We were the last passengers off and the cruise director rode with us in the taxi to the airport because he had to fly out as well.

 

Have you gone back to any of the people on the Ganges Voyager thread. One of them might have made their own transfer reservations and be able to help.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2212205

[sandyk923]

A quick question - did the 3 prong round adapters work for charging electronics on the boat and in the hotels? Thanks

[amyr]

Amy,

 

I can’t help a lot about what dock the boat used. Uniworld had a bus waiting for us when we flew in from Jaipur. The only think I have in writing called it the “Kolkata Jetty”. It had stairs next to it so people could bath/wash clothes in the Ganges. It took at least 1 ½ hours to reach the Kolkata airport.

 

Vantage may not know where the boat will dock because it probably changes. Once you get on the boat, they should be able to arrange a taxi/transportation from the ship to the airport. My guess they will add you on one on the buses/taxis already there. I don’t think the boat will leave you stranded. You will need their help because where we docked was not in a main area. It was quite a distance down a single lane road with shops and housing on each side. I’m sure you will be ok.

 

Uniworld took us to Mother Teresa’s the afternoon after we first boarded the ship and the last day was all about getting people to the airport. They also scheduled the times for those who had their own transfers. We were the last passengers off and the cruise director rode with us in the taxi to the airport because he had to fly out as well.

 

Have you gone back to any of the people on the Ganges Voyager thread. One of them might have made their own transfer reservations and be able to help.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2212205

 

Thanks, Rob, that's exactly what I needed to know. I had talked to the person who did the Vantage cruise in the thread you linked, but she couldn't really remember the docking. Vantage just toured them around all day and dropped them at the airport it sounded like.

 

If it was like our Mekong trip, we boarded on a remote river bank and kind of disembarked the same way. I was wondering if Kolkata was the same. I suspect that if I contract my own driver, I won't know where to tell him to fetch us. I think I'll go with your suggestion of having our tour guide help me arrange something. You're right in that they're not just going to let us sit there at the boat :) Vantage stateside has been adamant that I can't purchase a transfer from them, but my experience is that generally guides in country are much more customer focused and I'll be able to purchase something from somebody.

 

Again, thanks for all your knowledge.

[Mark_T]

...but my experience is that generally guides in country are much more customer focused and I'll be able to purchase something from somebody.

 

Agreed, the guides are heavily motivated to deliver customer satisfaction and I'll be very surprised, if given early notice of your need for a transfer to the airport, the guide doesn't come up with a perfectly satisfactory solution.

 

Head office is a long way away, and I've yet to meet a guide that didn't do everything possible to make sure his tip was assured :)

[CruiseRob]

A quick question - did the 3 prong round adapters work for charging electronics on the boat and in the hotels? Thanks

 

What we used was different between the hotels and the boat. The hotels where we stayed provided a power converter that we could plug into. We did bring two plug and converter packages and were able to use them for other outlets. The plugs in our conversion kits were all two prongs but they worked in the outlets. I was concerned because I didn't have three prong and because none of the plugs were labeled for India but one of the two round prongs worked fine. I can't remember which one it was so I can't tell you how it was labeled. I think it was the slightly larger size round prongs but not sure.

 

There was not a power converter provided on the boat so we used what we brought. Hope this helps.

 

Rob

[CruiseRob]

One thing I forgot to mention was the water from the sink on the boat should not be drunk or used for brushing your teeth. They give you plenty of bottled water to use. We also skipped using ice on the boat but did eat the salads and had no problems. We were assured the kitchen used different, safe water.

 

We did use the faucet water in the Oberoi hotels and had no problems. Uniworld said not to use the water in the hotel but since we had already used it for almost two days before being told, (and not by the hotel), we continued to use the water. Not sure where you are staying but they should also have reverse osmosis systems.

[amyr]

I have no doubt that at some point I will forget and use the sink water to brush my teeth. I always do. Hopefully it will be in one of the safer places :)

 

Rob, I see you were on Song of Norway in 1981, so was I. It was my first cruise, not counting a transatlantic my parents too me on, but we really did that one to get from one place to another. I thought the Song of Norway was gorgeous!

[CruiseRob]

I have no doubt that at some point I will forget and use the sink water to brush my teeth. I always do. Hopefully it will be in one of the safer places :)

 

Rob, I see you were on Song of Norway in 1981, so was I. It was my first cruise, not counting a transatlantic my parents too me on, but we really did that one to get from one place to another. I thought the Song of Norway was gorgeous!

 

That was also our first cruise and we have fond memories of it. Of course the ships and products have changed. I thought the food was better but maybe I have become more picky. I have been too lazy to add the other trips we took. I didn't keep track of the ships; only the destinations. :)

[sandyk923]

Thanks Rob it does help. We are going to purchase a round 3 prong and will make sure to take the rest of our adapters along with the converter.

[jpalbny]

There is a post on Unoworld's FB page from someone on the tour now. So far, they have written only about the first day in Delhi (arrival) but it is enough to pique my interest!

 

[ewizabeff]

I presume it's either a Uniworld staffer or a TA paid to do the trip. I will follow along happily, but know that it's a marketing piece. (I'm a marketer, and it's more of the kind of marketing I would advise them to do if I worked for them!)

[jpalbny]

I presume it's either a Uniworld staffer or a TA paid to do the trip. I will follow along happily, but know that it's a marketing piece. (I'm a marketer, and it's more of the kind of marketing I would advise them to do if I worked for them!)

 

Yeah, I suspect you are right WRT the source. Though I am definitely interested in following along for the details, I'll certainly take it with a grain of salt. But details are lacking on this itinerary so that's why I posted the link.

 

Excited to write my own blog about the trip - only four months to go! Since I blog about all of my Uniworld cruises, someone on our last cruise asked if I worked for them! I wish! Here's an idea...you contact Uniworld and offer your marketing services, then I'll go on the trip and blog about it. Then we can split the profits! ;)

Edited October 1, 2016 by jpalbny

[laverendrye]

It looks like a very luxurious ship, but I also think that it is a very expensive way to visit India. Two years ago I toured India for 3 weeks for about one third the cost of this 13 day trip. It covered the Golden Triangle (Delhi, Agra, Jaipur), Varanasi and Mumbai, and included a private car and driver, private guides, 3 internal flights and comfortable accommodation (though not at the 5-star level). This was booked through an Indian company and was tailored to our particular desires, including choice of accommodation in each city (5-star hotels were available if desired).

 

As much as I like Uniworld, i don't think I would take this cruise if I were returning to India.

[ewizabeff]

Excited to write my own blog about the trip - only four months to go! Since I blog about all of my Uniworld cruises, someone on our last cruise asked if I worked for them! I wish! Here's an idea...you contact Uniworld and offer your marketing services, then I'll go on the trip and blog about it. Then we can split the profits! ;)

 

As you know, they've used my blog posts essentially as free marketing for them (have they shared yours?). Honestly, I'm a little surprised that they're not more pro-active about reaching out to folks like you and me that are in the "up and coming" demographic for them and are willing to tirelessly offer up our experiences ... and offer some sort of perk or thank you in exchange for distributing our trip blogs to their potential customers.

[CruiseRob]

There is a post on Unoworld's FB page from someone on the tour now. So far, they have written only about the first day in Delhi (arrival) but it is enough to pique my interest!

 

 

Thanks for posting the link. I’m interested in seeing how my experience matches up with their review. I will make comments, as appropriate, with color from my trip. Hopefully this will be helpful and viewed as balanced.

 

We were also greeted by two people in the New Dehli airport. Our flight (booked through Uniworld) arrived after midnight so we do not have any sunny pictures of the airport or any view of the drive to the hotel. :) We did have a lengthy walk through the garage to get to our car but the traffic was light and we probably made it to the hotel faster.

 

We had booked to arrive a day early in order to adjust time zones and be ready for the first official day of trip. This worked out for us but it did seem to cause a problem with us receiving the welcome pack of information of the trip. I had to ask the front desk about this and they made a copy of another persons pack so we knew when Vishal would be there initially and when the general meeting would be.

 

Coming in a day early allowed us to be rested and ready. This was helpful during the meeting because as good as Vishal is, don’t make assumptions on what you are being told. I did have to ask clarifying questions multiple times to get complete information and understanding They were not hiding information but there are cultural differences in how we understand things and what is obvious to the locals.

[jpalbny]

As you know, they've used my blog posts essentially as free marketing for them (have they shared yours?). Honestly, I'm a little surprised that they're not more pro-active about reaching out to folks like you and me that are in the "up and coming" demographic for them and are willing to tirelessly offer up our experiences ... and offer some sort of perk or thank you in exchange for distributing our trip blogs to their potential customers.

 

That's right...I remember them posting a link to your blog. They have never formally inquired about mine, though we talked to someone on our last cruise who said that they worked for Uniworld, and that they had heard about my blogs. It would be cool if they showed some interest, but I do the blogs more for my own enjoyment than anything else.

 

Thanks for posting the link. I’m interested in seeing how my experience matches up with their review. I will make comments, as appropriate, with color from my trip. Hopefully this will be helpful and viewed as balanced.

 

We were also greeted by two people in the New Dehli airport. Our flight (booked through Uniworld) arrived after midnight so we do not have any sunny pictures of the airport or any view of the drive to the hotel. :) We did have a lengthy walk through the garage to get to our car but the traffic was light and we probably made it to the hotel faster.

 

We had booked to arrive a day early in order to adjust time zones and be ready for the first official day of trip. This worked out for us but it did seem to cause a problem with us receiving the welcome pack of information of the trip. I had to ask the front desk about this and they made a copy of another persons pack so we knew when Vishal would be there initially and when the general meeting would be.

 

Coming in a day early allowed us to be rested and ready. This was helpful during the meeting because as good as Vishal is, don’t make assumptions on what you are being told. I did have to ask clarifying questions multiple times to get complete information and understanding They were not hiding information but there are cultural differences in how we understand things and what is obvious to the locals.

 

Definintely looking forward to your perspective too.

 

We are also arriving a day early. The flight gets in after 11PM, so it would be really not enjoyable to start touring the next morning. And since our first day of touring is a Tuesday anyway, we can leave a day early (Saturday) for Sunday arrival without taking an extra day off from work.

 

In our mind it was an easy decision...we often do red-eyes to Europe and hit the ground running the next day, but this is so much longer, and so many more time zones. May as well try to give yourself a little extra time to adjust.

 

Interesting about the information packet begin messed up with your early arrival. That has happened to us once, with Silver Explorer to Svalbard. We went early and got no packet at check in...realized it the last night when we didn't have information about the airport transfer the next morning, and asked at the front desk. They had it for us.

[HDS]

Chris and JP, please report back here. I know you enjoy the silver Explorer, as we do, so I look forward to your review of this cruise. We are considering this cruise for 2017 or 2018.