We wanted to see India but were concerned about the pollution so thought this cruise would be the best way. We were in Mumbai for 3 days before embarkation to explore the city. Boarding the ship went well. We spent one night on board ship then took the ship sponsored trip to Agra to see the Tai Mahal. That trip was very rushed. and we almost got left in the Delhi train station on the way to Agra but the guides found us. We saw the Taj Mahal and then the Fort at Agra, then some shopping. It would have been a better trip just to have seen the Taj Mahal, all else was really an anti-climax. The drive back to Delhi from Agra was very tiring and long (5 hours) due to the traffic. The flights, both to and from Delhi were with GoIndi and they were good. We stayed at The Raddison in Delhi and it was nice.

The cabin on board the ship was dated but comfortable. We had a really nice cabin boy named Stanley who took excellent care of our cabin, and spoke good English also. The food in the main dining room was very poor. Did not have anything that we really liked. The food in the breakfast area, the La Trattoria, was good. It also had a buffet for lunch and dinner that was fairly good so we tended to eat there for most of our meals. The Al Fresco Cafe was a nice place to eat also. You could get your food from the buffet and sit in the Al Fresco Cafe enjoying the outside. Did not participate in activities on board. We were told that everything was in English but it was not and when English was spoken sometimes it was very hard to understand. We did buy the drinks package and that was well worth the money. In addition to alcoholic drinks it allowed you to have wonderful non-alcoholic drinks at any time. These drinks were really good.

Took other trips from the boat. Some were better than others , again because of the language. The trip to Cochin was a tour of the area and churches. We found out later that V. DeGamma was buried in one of the oldest churches there but our guide was on his phone for most of the time we were in the church so didn't point the burial place out. That would have been interesting to see. The guide in the Goa area was very knowledgable and spoke well. Kept us on schedule. Read more