Wednesday Dec 5
So cruise departure day - first we had to get back to Dubai from Qasr al Sarab - we set out at 8:15am for the 350k trip and made good time so we did a bit of a drive around the Palm - it was much more developed than we had imagined. We then dropped our car back at the JET, had a light lunch and took a taxi to the cruise ship port arriving around 1:30pm more or less as planned. There were at least 4 ships in port including a Silversea and the QEII.
We boarded very quickly - no messing around and went to the lounge for the traditional welcome champagne and light lunch for those who had not yet eaten. We met a couple of Aussies from the Gold Coast while waiting, Barry and Katrina. We got into our suite but still had to wait a bit for the luggage - we were all unpacked and settled in well before the 4:15pm safety drill which morphed into the sail-away party at 4:45pm. So we sipped more champagne and met a few more people, including Ken and Rosie also from the Gold Coast as well as Joyce and Al (California and Switzerland) and Henry and Pam (Vancouver). We had pre-booked private tours of Mumbai and Mangalore with Joyce, Al, Henry and Pam.
We returned to our suite for showers then had dinner at R2 (which you need to book in advance) - they had a surf and turf special on so we had double surf (Lobster tail) and no turf. It was then off to bed early.
Thursday Dec 6 - sea day
Official breakfast only starts at 8am - so I got up early for early risers coffee in the Observation Lounge - put on a load of laundry and got the internet setup which was a bit of a convoluted process but not too expensive - $40 for 240 minutes of logon time.
After breakfast we joined the beginners bridge lessons which was a lot of fun - we'll definitely continue with the lessons which are held on all sea days - the instructors (Cathy and Gordon) said we should be able to "play" by the end of the cruise. After bridge we attended a lecture on India which was very informative.
We joined a trivial pursuit team at mid-day (Joyce & Al, John & Lyn, Annette, Ken and Josie) - we're currently in second place - the competition runs on all sea days with, as yet undisclosed, prizes at the end.
We had lunch on the Veranda Cafe, attended another lecture on India then hit the gym for a late afternoon workout - along with many others so the gym was quite busy.
As it was a formal night we had dinner at R2 (aka the Veranda Cafe) where we had the same menu as the main restaurant only in a much less formal setting - we sat outside and enjoyed a mild evening. The dinner was excellent and featured lobster tails - yummy !! Then off to bed early again.
Friday Dec 7 - sea day
Up in time for an 8 am breakkie, this time in the main dining room just to try it out. Breakfast here was only a la carte and was almost empty so we decided to stick to the Veranda Cafe in future.
The run sheet for the day was pretty much the same as the previous with bridge, lecture, trivial pursuit, lunch, lecture, gym and dinner - how the time flies by !! We had arranged to meet Barry and Katrina for dinner in the main restaurant - we had a very nice evening.
Saturday Dec 8 - sea day
Clocks went forward one hour last night so it was a shorter night nevertheless we got up for breakfast at 8am before heading off to our 9:30am bridge lesson followed by a lecture on Mumbai, trivial pursuit then lunch. The afternoon was spent at another lecture then a workout in the gym, Virtuoso cocktail party and finally dinner and off to bed.
Sunday Dec 9 - Mumbai
We docked in Mumbai around 7am. It was hot but not too hot, humid and hazy - pretty normal for this time of year. We had an early breakfast, did the final immigration clearance then met up with Joyce, Al, Henry and Pam for our private tour of Mumbai departing at 9am. Our luxury mini-bus turned out to be a bit of an old clap-trap bomb with leaky air-conditioning - probably left by the British in 1947. Our driver was on hand and a tour organiser but no guide. We waited until about 9:15am, then the organiser advised that we would drive to the first site (the dhoby ghat) and meet her there. On talking to her (Sangeeta) we determined that she had only been contacted that morning to do our tour - we booked and paid for this 2-day tour many months ago - $550 per couple. I was quick to figure out we had been ripped off but said nothing to Joyce, the organiser so as to not offend her.
We spent the day seeing many of the tourist "must do's" including the Gate, the train station (aka Victoria Station or just VT - it's old British name) where the trains looked like they were the original ones from the British era, a museum, art gallery, the blue synagogue, the beach area known as the queen's necklace and so on. We had an excellent lunch at very nice restaurant - one of the best in Mumbai - for the modest price of about $50 per couple even after paying for the guide's lunch. We stopped at a few toruist shops on the way back to the ship at the insistance of Sangeeta much to everyone's annoyance. We stayed on the ship for a light dinner and an early night - while Joyce and Al went back into town for dinner at the most famous Taj Hotel.
Monday Dec 10 - Mumbai
The Pride overnighted in Mumbai and we had another full day of our private tour to go. Dieter and I decided in advance that we would bail out after lunch and do our own thing as it seemed to be pretty easy so get taxis etc and other guests had done just that. So the in the morning we visited the hanging gardens and Dhavali - the world's largest slum. The guide wanted us to do a full 3 hour comprehensive tour of the slum but we out-voted her and went this a maximum of 1 hour. In fact everyone in our group was getting the shits with the guide. The slum was really quite amazing - it is a thriving commercial hub in spite of being a slum.
We had another excellent lunch at another one of Mumbai's top restaurants - a seafood one - it was the same sort of cost as the previous day. After lunch the bus dropped everyone off at the Taj for a look around - we bade our farewells and walked around a bit then took a taxi back to boat ending our Mumbai touring at about 4pm - I would say we never need to return.
We had dinner at the sky bar which was open and serving surf and turf - it was OK but not great. There was an Indian gala night from 9:45pm, also outdoors but we opted to hit the sack.
Tuesday Dec 11 - sea day
Back to our regular sea day routine - bridge lesson, lecture, trivial pursuit, lunch, lecture, gym, and dinner.
Wednesday Dec 12 - Mangalore
We had another private tour arranged with Joyce and Al (only) this time - it was the "worst ever" in terms of tours; exacerbated by the fact there is absolutely nothing in Mangalore of note for tourists. (All other guests we spoke to afterwards about their day agreed totally with this assessment). As a result we cut the tour short and returned to the boat at mid-day so we could have lunch on board before the scheduled 2pm sailing. We finisihed the afternon off with another lecture (also boring), a gym session and dinner with 2 other Aussies on board.
Thursday Dec 13 - Cochin
Fortunatley Cochin turned out to have a lot more to offer tourists - quite a picturesque city surrounded by waterways and a river. We had our free Virtuoso tour today along with 14 other guests. It started out with a boat trip, followed by a walk through the old "fort" (only the fort is gone nowadays), a visit to a church, a theater perfromance then a very nice late lunch at the Taj Hotel.
Friday Dec 14 - Sea day
Next stop: Phuket, 4 sea days away. We started off with an extended 2-hour bridge session, then trivial persuit where our team made a tremendous comeback - from second last to joint first. Lunch in the Verandah Cafe, afternoon lecture, gym workout, fives'es in the Sky Bar watching the sunset then dinner in R2 - off to bed early, yet again - still have not made it to one of the night time entertainment sessions.
Saturday Dec 15 - Sea Day
Same again - brekkie, bridge, trivia, lunch, rest, gym then Joyce and Al's cocktail party followed by dinner in the main dining room. Big news for today was that it was raining on and off most of the day making outdoor activities problematic. We had dinner in the main dining room with Al and Joyce then off to bed,
Sunday Dec 16 - Sea Day
We had a bit of a rough (seas) night; this combined with the fact the clocks went forward by an hour, we both opted to sleep in and miss breakkie, making it to bridge at 9:30am. Following bridge and trivial pursuit we had lunch then a rest before attending the afternoon lecture. The seas continued a bit on the rough side all day with cloud but no rain and high 20s. After a difficult afternoon trying to do a load of laundry (the Miele washer broke down in the middle of my load) - we had dinner at the Sky Bar - which was good becasue as we later found out service in the main dining room was extremely slow due to (sea-)sick staff - wonder if this was really a virus.
Monday Dec 17 - Sea Day
So last sea day before 4 port days - brekkie, bridge, trivial pursuit, lunch …. lecture, gym, dinner..