India's Golden Triangle & Ganges Voyager II Preamble

In 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic took control of the world, I'm fairly certain you will agree that it was a pretty depressing time for everyone, our everyday life was turned completely on its head, with just about every country in the world implementing some sort of social distancing measures. International travel became a distant memory, trips planned were cancelled and like so many others, we just knuckled down and got on with our life as it had become. For a good seven months, I actually stopped looking at cruise itineraries because I couldn't bear to think about actually going away somewhere nice with zero chance of it happening. But you can't go on like that forever, with vaccines on the horizon and with our savings growing by the week, I eventually weakened and started to see what was available around the end of 2021. I began by looking at all the cruises which had previously caught my eye, a lot of which I had kept bookmarked on my browser, checking to see what prices were like or even if they were still happening, it was then that I spotted this one which was marked down by almost 25%. We had previously been made aware of it after watching the TV programme Cruising with Jane McDonald and it was something that we had always fancied but if I'm completely honest, probably a bit out of our budget. But with our savings amassing and the reduced price, it was like a red rag to a bull and within 48 hours it was booked.

We made our booking with RiverCruising.co.uk, a company that claims to be the UK's top Uniworld agent. I was very happy with the reassurance and guarantees provided should this fall foul of the pandemic so, in the end, it was an easy enough decision.

Our itinerary consists of two overnight flights with 5 nights in hotels, 1 internal flight and 7 onboard Ganges Voyager II. The map below will give you some idea of what we will be doing.

To simplify the itinerary, here is our trip itemised in a day-by-day format.

Date	Location	Accommodation
Sunday, December 4, 2022	Depart UK	Overnight Flight
Monday, December 5, 2022	New Delhi, India	Hotel Stay, The Oberoi Delhi
Tuesday, December 6, 2022	New Delhi, India	Hotel Stay, The Oberoi Delhi
Wednesday, December 7, 2022	New Delhi to Agra, India	Hotel Stay, The Oberoi Amarvilas
Thursday, December 8, 2022	Agra to Jaipur, India	Hotel Stay, The Oberoi Rajvilas
Friday, December 9, 2022	Jaipur, India	Hotel Stay, The Oberoi Rajvilas
Saturday, December 10, 2022	Embark Ganges Voyager II, Cruising The Ganges	Ganges Voyager II
Sunday, December 11, 2022	Kalna, India	Ganges Voyager II
Monday, December 12, 2022	Matiari, India	Ganges Voyager II
Tuesday, December 13, 2022	Murshidabad, Baranagar, India	Ganges Voyager II
Wednesday, December 14, 2022	River Day Cruising The Ganges	Ganges Voyager II
Thursday, December 15, 2022	Mayapur, Chandannager,	Ganges Voyager II
Friday, December 16, 2022	Kolkata, India	Ganges Voyager II
Saturday, December 17, 2022	Disembark Ganges Voyager II, Kolkata, India	Overnight Flight
Sunday, December 18, 2022	Arrive back in the UK

We were able to select a cabin so picked a Colonial suite on the Upper Deck. As you will see from the illustration below we have selected 307 which is in a central location.

All of the above was written in 2021 prior to when we would originally have travelled but like many other post covid trips it fell foul to us not being able to enter India after a spat between governments. Fortunately, we were able to cancel and rebook for 2022 on the same dates and luckily just before the final payment was due.

The ongoing stand-off between governments continued into 2022 and while it meant the cheaper e-visa became available to the rest of the world, it still wasn't an option for UK or Canadian nationals, so at the beginning of September, we decided to go down the full tourist visa route at a cost of £150 each. If you decided to apply yourself online, a face-to-face appointment was then required but if you wanted to avoid this, the other option was to use an agent which is what we did. It cost us an extra £95 each but if you offset this against having to take time off work and then visit one of the VFS centres for an appointment it was an absolute bargain. We used a company called Visa Genie, which vetted all the forms before submission to prevent the application from being rejected by a wrongly worded answer. Within 3 weeks, we both had our visas. It wasn't the smoothest of applications but at least we have the required documents to enter India now. At the beginning of October, the Indian embassy announced it would now require all applicants to attend in person to apply for visas, including agencies so it looks like we timed it just right.

So, that's the bare bones of where and what we will be doing and all that remains is for us to get there safe and sound, stay free of Covid and make the most of this long-awaited trip. 🤞🏼

We are now airside at Heathrow T3 and on our way.

Costa Firenze Postcard #9 - Barcelona & Disembarking

Last night onboard is always a slightly sad one as you have to say goodbye to all people who you have made friends with over the cruise. Once again the crew that served us have been exceptional and made this cruise so enjoyable for us.

We arrived in Barcelona to find five other ships already in port, Regal Princess, Disney Magic, Celebrity Edge, MSC Meraviglia and on the other side of the bridge Seven Seas Explorer. All in all, a very busy port today.

This morning we needed to vacate the cabin at 8:00 but after speaking with our steward he kindly allowed us an extra hour so we could go and have breakfast. We made the decision to self disembark so we didn't have to put our cases out last night, for us it makes things just that much simpler. We were off the ship and in the taxi to the airport by 9:30, checked in and through security by 10:15. I also spotted a sign saying mask wearing is now optional inside the airport so another indication things are returning to normal.

One other thing I forgot to mention, there are now two new stamps in my passport, entry and exit from Spain, I can't remember the last time that happened.

Our thoughts are now turning to our next cruise in December and we are also considering another Costa one next April.

Costa Firenze Postcard #8 - Marseille, France

I know it's probably against the rules but we retired early last night as we were both feeling pretty worn out. I think being as it was 10:30 should just allow us get away with it. Today was our last full day onboard Costa Firenze again all of a sudden it has gone really quickly. This was our third time here, once we never got off, and the last time we took the shuttle into the marina, the latter is what we did again today.

However as a curved ball the drop off point had changed to the opposite end of the marina but it didn't stop us from walking up and down both sides. One of our objectives today was to visit the Savon Soap museum and shop to pick up some of the vegan soap Nicole uses. It's not a very big museum but very interesting to learn how it's made, a process that hasn't changed in hundreds of years.

After getting our exercise, we returned to the ship for lunch and to spend time out on the top deck. Before I settled down, I took a stroll along the port access road to see and get some photos of Celebrity Beyond who has been tied up behind us all day. I hadn't realised that she still has some traditional balcony cabins alongside the Infinite Veranda cabins.

We also had a rematch of crazy golf and Nicole has improved considerably, but not just enough. Drinks at Bella Bar followed by packing, a quick drink at Lounge Della Moda and then down to dinner for the last time on this cruise. We have had a great time back onboard Costa Firenze and are already in discussion about another Costa cruise next year.

Costa Firenze Postcard #7 - Genoa, Italy

Yet another great MDR experience last night and the vegan menu for Nicole just seems to get better and better. After our meal we wandered around the ship, stopping off for the occasional drink but what was really great to see was all the live entertainment with passengers dancing at several locations around the ship. One of the lounges (Viareggio) was packed and it was the first time we have seen this being used on either of our cruises. Things are returning to normal at last.

We arrived at Genoa at 9:00 today and today our plans involved a bit of walking finishing up with a vegan lunch. We spent a night here pre-cruise a few years ago and really enjoyed it so it was nice to revisit some of the locations. We also sought out Porta Soprana, which was a gate in the old city walls and built in 1155. For some reason or another we seemed to have overlooked this last time.

We also wanted to find a little gallery shop where we had spotted some work by an artist called Manuela Compri that we really liked last time but didn't purchase anything, today we put that right and it will go with all our other travelling art treasure's in our downstairs loo. We also used the Happy Cow app so Nicole could have a vegan lunch, there were only two places listed and the one we selected was 5 minutes from the gallery and a great choice as the food was delicious. Even staying in the shade as much as possible it was still very hot to walk around which is why we have been limiting our time ashore to just the morning. Today was no exception and we arrived back onboard around 12:30. The old cruise terminal with the Costa Firenze is a great blend of old and new.

When we arrived back in our cabin, we found our steward had been busy and left us a pair of towel animal swans with a heart shape in the centre

We spent a bit of time out on the top deck before changing the order around a bit to accommodate sailaway. Being as it was much later than the previous ones, we showered early, got ready for dinner then went out to find seats at Lounge Della Moda. Our Captain likes to reverse in and go straight out so it makes for the perfect sail away location even if tonight we were 25 minutes late.

Costa Firenze Postcard #6 - Civitavecchia, Italy

One of the reasons for taking this cruise was to celebrate my birthday and last night in the dining room I was totally blown away by the thoughtfulness of Costa's crew. Unbeknown to either of us they had organised a cake in the dining room but not just any cake, this one was vegan so that Nicole could enjoy it with me. Even to the extent of writing Happy Birthday on a piece of chocolate which came on its own plate. Wow, is all I can say. If anyone from Costa ever reads this then I would just like to say thank you so much, this one small gesture made my cruise.

So, to today and Civitavecchia, not wanting to make the trek into Rome, we decided to look for something local that just took up the morning and found some Roman ruins up in the hills just a few kilometers out of town. After finding a taxi, we negotiated a fee to drop us off and give us a couple of hours to explore, then pick us up later, in hindsight one hour would have been enough but it was nice to have a casual roam around.

The ruins are called Terme Taurine and are the remains of what was once a former Roman bathhouse complex. A fair bit of restoration has been done to preserve parts of the original remaining structure but it does look quite authentic while giving you an idea of what it looked like in its heyday. It took up most of the morning which meant that once done we could head back to the ship to enjoy the facilities. Back onboard by 12:15 so after lunch we headed for the top deck for some quiet R&R with much of ship seemly gone to Rome. Our daily routine pretty much followed the previous few days with drinks at a Della Moda then back to the cabin to shower and get ready for dinner. We have been told that with today's fresh intake of passengers, the ship is sailing with just under three thousand but strangely enough it doesn't feel like it.

Costa Firenze Postcard #5 - Palermo, Sicily

Another great MDR experience last night and I even treated myself to a couple of desserts for the first time this cruise. If it wasn't for the fact crew are still wearing masks, then this is the nearest we have been to cruising being back to normal.

So, today is my birthday and we were in Palermo, we arrived just before 8:00 and immediately spotted Resilient Lady tied up in another area of the port, not long after that we were joined by MSC Seaside.

Our destination today was the Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo which contains the largest collection of mummified remains in Europe, in total there are some 1,284 mummified and partially-skeletonized bodies. Since being made aware of it a few years ago it has always intrigued me and today was our first opportunity to visit. It's actually quite a macabre sort of place and does highlight your own mortality.

Photography is prohibited so if you want to see what it is like, I would suggest a Google image search. To get there we decided to get a Tuktuk for the outward journey and then walk back. The trip was great fun and a bit like a James Bond car chase at times, even to the extent of taking a short cut through a car park and squeezing through almost non existent gaps in the traffic

Having discovered the route and taken into consideration the heat we renegotiated a fee with our driver Paulo, to hang on and drop us back at the cathedral which he was happy to do for an enhanced figure but what the hell, he has missed out on so much over the last few years so we were happy to do our bit for the local economy.

Our walk back took us along a straight route back to the waters edge and it was then a simple case of heading towards the ships which could be seen from some distance away.

Once back on board we showered and changed, grabbed a bite to eat before spending a couple of hours in the sun. At 3:00 we made our way down to Lounge Della Moda for sailaway and a few drinks. It's not been so hot today but I have struggled with the heat a little bit, at least it's only been 32°C and not the forecasted 40°C in the UK.

It's been a lovely day albeit a bit on the warm side. It's so refreshing now to have the sea breeze as we sail away from Palermo.

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Costa Firenze Postcard #4 - Cagliari, Sardinia

Our MDR experience after changing it to first sitting was a vast improvement. In fact it was almost a polar opposite with 60% of tables around us empty. We had time to chat with the waiters and also a lovely couple on the next table from Latvia who are on their first cruise and loving every minute. After dinner we had a wander around the ship and stumbled on the 90's disco party in the Piazza Della Signoria in full swing, it was great to see so many people enjoying themselves and all ages joining in too. We also caught 15 minutes of the show in the theatre which was called "Leonardo the Genius". There were some great voices and visual effects on show.

We even found ourselves on the upper decks and took a stroll around. There was a lovely breeze which after the very hot day was very welcome.

This morning we arrived in Cagliari around 7:00 and as soon as we had eaten breakfast we left the ship to take a walk up to the Parco di Monte Urpinu which is on a hill with some great views of the surrounding area. It was a 30 minute walk in the heat but the views were well worth the effort.

Along with the views there is a bronze statue of Saint Francis of Assisi, the patron Saint of Italy. It was a lot easier going down that's for sure but I think I may have sweated out a good litre of fluid during the process, my t-shirt was soaked.

Once back onboard we took a quick shower before grabbing a bite to eat followed by a couple of hours in the sun. At four, we made our way to Lounge Bar Della Moda for late afternoon drinks and get good seats for sailaway. It doesn't get busy this time of day and is potentially one of the ships best kept secrets.