Our Lakshadweep Trip - 03 February 2025.
Our friends Tatwawadis and us had not been on a trip for a considerable time.
So when they suggested that we do a Mumbai- Lakshadweep- Mumbai Cruise Trip offered by Cordelia Cruises, we readily agreed. Madhur, their daughter, did all the bookings including air tickets and overnight hotel stay in Mumbai. She did a great job and kept us updated at all times. Thanks a ton, Madhur & Sudip.
Our cruise was to start on February 3, but as the
check-in time on the ship started as early as 10 o'clock, as per the time slot allowed by the company, we had to be in Mumbai on February 2. Accordingly, we caught an Air India flight to Mumbai and spent the night of 2nd Feb at Nahar Nectarfield.
The time for us to check in as given in the boarding pass was 12:30 - 13:00.
Having heard so much about the traffic jams in Mumbai, we left Nahar Nectarfield at 9:30! Somehow we did not encounter any jams and reached Ballard Pier by 10:45, we were very much ahead of our allotted time slot and there was a considerable crowd still to check in from the batches given earlier time slot. It was sunny and quite hot.
I went to the head of the queue, explained our situation and requested that being a senior citizen ( 82 Yrs) could we be accommodated and checked in ahead of our time slot.
Priti was also with me, She is of small stature, looks frail, ( actually,
she is far from it
, and has a full head of bright shining silver-white hair. I think that did the trick and all four of us were allowed to go straight to the tents where further processes of checking in were done.
It can not be denied being a senior citizen does have its own advantages
Arrangements made for check-in were quite elaborate and well-planned. After showing our boarding passes and identity, we were handed our cabin key cards and allowed to proceed to the ship.
Our cabins 7690 and 7188 were adjacent and were on deck 7. Both had balconies. Our cabin was quite spacious when one considers that it was on board a ship. When we saw other cabins we felt that the extra money spent by us was well worth it.
We found a printed pamphlet giving a programme for the day's events, timings and places where they were to take place. Also if the event was a "paid" or a free event. All the payments were indicated US $ and payment was to be made in Rupees with a conversion rate of Re 87/- to USD.
Finding the day's programme was a routine thing and the next day's programme was always slipped into our room sometime during the night.
After settling in, we went on a tour of the ship.
The name of the ship is MV Empress. It is huge. Her length overall is 210.81 meters and her width is 31.07 meters, It has 11 Decks, 7 bars, and three dining halls. It also has a Casino, a Theatre, a Shopping Arcade, a Photo Studio a Spa and Salon, A swimming pool on deck 10 and various service counters on deck 5, including Reception, which are approached for any and every need/requirement/complaint.
It takes a minimum of a day and a half to find one's way around. Even then I for one, did not explore lots of areas on the ship particularly on decks 8 and 9 feel. Dont think anyone else also saw every nook and cornet of the ship.
Went to the bar to check if we could get a glass of beer. Unfortunately, as per the rules, they are not supposed to serve liquor when in Port.
Had lunch on Deck 10 and spent time on "Sun Deck" which is Deck 11, the highest place where passengers are allowed. The view of Ballard Pier, the Port with various jetties and the anchorage is really amazing.
Once we had our fill of sightseeing went to the cabin and rested.
Went again to deck 11 before the ship sailed.
The ship sailed around 5: 00 O'Clock and after clearing the port set sail on a southerly heading. It was a very absorbing hour or so to watch the intricate manoeuvres involving the crew, the tugs and the people on shore and most importantly by those on the bridge of our ship. All very fascinating. Standing on deck 11 watching the shoreline recede and approaching dusk and the silence of the sea and night settling was an outworldly experience. As there was, so far as we were concerned too early for bar opening time, went to the cabin, pulled up the chairs and enjoyed watching the wake of the ship and just relaxing.
Then saw a tanker sailing parallel to our course.
Looking at the cars and vehicles going parallel to you in the same direction is an everyday occurrence.
Many times during train travel we have also seen another train on an adjacent track going in the same direction where we had a good look at the passengers from the other train.
However, this was the first time in our life when we saw another ship sailing in the same direction quite close and parallel to our course. It was a red colour Tanker. Its name, Odjfell Tanker painted on its side. Totally foxed by such a strange and odd "ODJFELL" name. Guru Google solved the mystery. "Odfjell is a Norwegian company that owns and operates a fleet of chemical tankers and other ships."
The tanker speed was slightly less than our ship and we were infinitely slowly overtaking it. Watched it in fascination for some time.
So far as I am concerned it was once in a lifetime experience.
Around 8:00 O' Clock went to the bar to get our drink, Beer for me and Whisky for Tats my friend. The bar was 10 deep as unlimited free drinks were on the offer being included in the trip charges. Beer was Kingfisher primer, which was ok by me. Only Antiquity whisky was on offer which did not please Tats, he was politely told that better brands of whiskies were not included in our "package". After some shoving and pushing got our drinks and joined the ladies who were on Sprite.
Before we had disembarked we had found that of the 7 bars Antiquity was common to all the bars. One odd had a combination of Antiquity and Mc Dowel, while one odd had a combination of Antiquity and Blenders Pride. Only one had all three available, I forget which bar it was
.
The second drink is not served unless and until one has finished one's first drink.
After a couple of drinks had dinner and went to the cabin for a well-earned sleep.
Heard the next day that there were few worthies who had drunk to excess, not an uncommon occurrence when one does not have to pay for it across the counter as one has already paid for it, also "free" and "unlimited" are the two words which have a strange effect on the Indian psyche.
