Safest Ports of the World Voyages

[ew101]

I was studying the recent "Special Value Selection" flyer that came in the mail.  Pages 12 and 13 had the "Full World Voyages."  I was struck at how few places the ships actually stop.  So for Africa, you get South Africa and Namibia.  That's it.  I understand you could encounter crime, poverty, malaria and even Ebola, but Morocco is on my bucket list.  Taking a shore excursion to Marrakech involves meeting rich people mostly I think.   The Financial Times had a recent section talking about resort and golf course development there.  I have students in my class this semester from seven different African countries and they do not seem menacing.    I see the ship does not stop in India.  Remember POSH?  Nor Turkey.  I get the whole passenger safety thing.  And the problem of people being disappointed and demanding refunds on Twitter if you have to cancel a port.   In contrast, the South America voyages, like V003B, seem to stop absolutely everywhere.  

 

I see some smaller, upstart lines in this same market segment being more edgy on ports.  Even a tiny bit.  This all reminds me of those bus tours where you drive by all the major sights- but in this case at high speed and with the shades pulled down.  

Edited February 24, 2019 by ew101
typos

[shipgeeks]

I take a voyage to be at sea, so having the fewest possible ports is a plus!

[AspirationalFlyer]

Hello, 

 

I am booked on a segment (Dubai to HK) of the QM2 World Cruise in 2020. I must confess I was surprised there wasn’t a single stop in India. Thankfully there is a stop in Sri Lanka, with som great excursion options. 

 

AF

[luckymal]

21 hours ago, ew101 said:

I was studying the recent "Special Value Selection" flyer that came in the mail.  Pages 12 and 13 had the "Full World Voyages."  I was struck at how few places the ships actually stop.  So for Africa, you get South Africa and Namibia.  That's it.  I understand you could encounter crime, poverty, malaria and even Ebola, but Morocco is on my bucket list.  Taking a shore excursion to Marrakech involves meeting rich people mostly I think.   The Financial Times had a recent section talking about resort and golf course development there.  I have students in my class this semester from seven different African countries and they do not seem menacing.    I see the ship does not stop in India.  Remember POSH?  Nor Turkey.  I get the whole passenger safety thing.  And the problem of people being disappointed and demanding refunds on Twitter if you have to cancel a port.   In contrast, the South America voyages, like V003B, seem to stop absolutely everywhere.  

 

I see some smaller, upstart lines in this same market segment being more edgy on ports.  Even a tiny bit.  This all reminds me of those bus tours where you drive by all the major sights- but in this case at high speed and with the shades pulled down.  

 

Times have changed,  a World Cruise now with Cunard. Is so different than a few years ago, our last world trip we called at ports on the East and West coast of India. Now the three Cunard ships seem to cover a certain area.🍷🥃

 

[roscoe39]

11 hours ago, luckymal said:

 

Times have changed,  a World Cruise now with Cunard. Is so different than a few years ago, our last world trip we called at ports on the East and West coast of India. Now the three Cunard ships seem to cover a certain area.🍷🥃

 

part of the reason for India now being left off the Itins are because of the difficulties of obtaining Visas.

[Host Hattie]

QM2 has calls in India on her current World Cruise

[ew101]

On ‎2‎/‎25‎/‎2019 at 2:52 PM, roscoe39 said:

part of the reason for India now being left off the Itins are because of the difficulties of obtaining Visas.

I think you are right.  The paperwork looks daunting and the fees are high.  I get the whole "protect the homeland" idea but a cruise ship is a poor conveyance for potential terrorists.  

[exlondoner]

I believe the costs of Indian visas are reciprocal. It is very expensive and complicated for Indians who want U.K. Visas, so the reverse applies. And why not? 

[luckymal]

20 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

I believe the costs of Indian visas are reciprocal. It is very expensive and complicated for Indians who want U.K. Visas, so the reverse applies. And why not? 

, 

I can understand why people want to come to Britain from Asia, but I can not understand why the cost of a visa to India is so expensive, people are going to India are mainly going for a holiday and spend money which would help there economy, not wanting to settle down there.🍷🥃

[Solent Richard]

Having recently returned from 3 weeks in India which included a one week cruise...

 

https://solentrichardscruiseblog.com/2019/01/23/rv-rajmahal-river-ganges-cruise/

 

...I'm happy  to confirm that I had little difficulty in obtaining one of their e-Visas online and, having arrived,  certainly appreciated the fast track ease of entry that it afforded.

 

However, as our journey across the country continued to unfolded it became apparent that we British have a lot to answer for.

 

Having initially taught the Indians a few bureaucratic skills they have, since independence,  perfected it into a nightmare art form at all levels of society: and I guess someone has to pay for it in some way down the line.