Abu dhabi/India cruise - anyone experience?

Do you think Celebrity would go anywhere where all passengers wouldn't be welcomed?

Yes, they do that all the time.

http://www.detainedindubai.org/homosexuality-in-the-uae

My gay friends can't visit Dubai, Abu Dhabi and others places because of their marriage.

In the emirates they even can't kiss......

Yes, they do that all the time.

 

http://www.detainedindubai.org/homosexuality-in-the-uae

 

My gay friends can't visit Dubai, Abu Dhabi and others places because of their marriage.

 

In the emirates they even can't kiss......

Yes, many of us take basic equalities like race,religion or sexual preference for granted where in other parts of the world they are unheard of.

Def looking at this cruise for the January of 2019, looks fascinating

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Shalom.....:)

 

 

 

Dubai is more open for all tourists, as long you don't say out loud that you are jewish.

 

 

 

Your problem is going to Abu Dhabi. It's another Emirat with other laws then Dubai.

 

 

 

In Abu Dhabi and Sharja you could get questions.

 

If they ask, say no, I'm american.

 

 

 

If you have relatives in Israel, find another cruise.

 

If your name is known in Israel, find another cruise.

What knowledge do you have about avoiding Abu Dhabi if you have relatives in Israel? Most Jews have relatives there.

You have just made me nervous about our pre-cruise stay in Abu Dhabi!!

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I lived in Saudi Arabia for five years, working for the US Army Corps of Engineers. Saudi Arabia is more strict than the UAE regarding sharia . Even then, we had jewish people working for the Corps of Engineers in Saudi. Travel to the Gulf countries was and probably still is a problem for Israeli citizens on an Israeli passport.

We had Jewish friends on our cruise that terminated in Dubai. They had US passports, not problem. They also visited Jordan after the cruise.

We did the seven Emirates tour from Dubai and our guide explained that each Emirate has different laws (Emirates have more sovereign power than States in the USA). Dubai is one of the more liberal Emirates, but the most conservative Emirate is a smaller one east of Dubai.

I found this somewhat old post that may be helpful.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g294013-i3754-k1989006-Jewish_Family_in_Abu_Dhabi-Abu_Dhabi_Emirate_of_Abu_Dhabi.html

We did this cruise a few years ago on another cruise line from India , through out the middle east and ended in Egypt. We're Jewish and never experienced any problems. It truly was a cruise with different & wonderful experiences. Don't miss the shieks new mosque in Abu Dahbi, which was beautiful.

Don't be overly concerned about the Indian Visa.just follow directions and you'll be fine. Celebrity has a recommended service, Visa Central if you decide not to do it yourself.

However, the OP should be aware that if the cruise includes a call at Mumbai a multi entry Tourist Visa is required, NOT an e-visa which has caused a few issues in the past.

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This is an absolutely wonderful cruise. I can't imagine having a Jewish last name would be an issue; there were several people that we did excursions with that were Jewish and there were no problems whatsoever.

I wrote detailed information about our trip in my blog (http://www.TravelsWithHeather.com). Posts about this trip are found in the archives for November and December 2016.

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I am the "original poster". Thank you all for your remarks, comments, recommendations, suggestions. My question about "experiences" was intended to be pretty generic, but mostly personal. Just wanted to hear about the ports overall and anything helpful to those of us who have never been to this part of the world. I can certainly read the numerous websites about the cities, but hearing from those who have actually "experienced" the location is invaluable, in my opinion.

It was our favourite cruise. We especially loved the Indian ports. We loved India so much, we plan to have a land based holiday day in 2019.

We plan on doing a 2 day trip to the Taj Mahal and need to book a flight from Kochi. Is it easy to get a taxi at Kochi port? Please provide information on excursions that you enjoyed at the different ports.

There are so many fascinating things to see in northern india, why just fly to Agra...think about an entire trip to visit the entire New Delhi general area. We found Veranasi far more interesting and memorable than Agra....Just a thought......

It was our favourite cruise. We especially loved the Indian ports. We loved India so much, we plan to have a land based holiday day in 2019.

Thank you!

There are so many fascinating things to see in northern india, why just fly to Agra...think about an entire trip to visit the entire New Delhi general area. We found Veranasi far more interesting and memorable than Agra....Just a thought......

Could be our next trip! Love hearing about these wonderful experiences!

Hi Chewbecca

We are booked on this cruise April 2018 and would like to know how long does it take to get off the ship in Kochi going through immigration. We plan on doing a 2 day trip to the Taj Mahal and need to book a flight from Kochi. Is it easy to get a taxi at Kochi port? Please provide information on excursions that you enjoyed at the different ports.

We did the Taj Mahal trip out of Cochin. General passengers were off the ship in about an hour but those that were off boarding (both independent and Celebrity Tours) were not processed until all the other passengers had been processed (getting your immigration card). In our case it took another hour. We were in a Royal Suite and the MS Concierge kept us well informed and kept running to the immigration area to make sure we got off as soon as possible. Our flight was about 1:00 (Most of the Ships Tour were also on the same flight). No trouble at all making the flight. We noticed the Celebrity Tour Group arrived at the airport about 45 minutes after we did.

The airport is rather small but one of the most comfortable waiting rooms I have experienced. They have very comfortable upholstered chairs. Not much to eat.

The really strange thing for us was that they use a shuttle bus to take you to your plane. In our case the plane was only 30 feet away but they made us board a bus for a 15 foot "ride". Oh well I'm sure there was a reason.

One thing to be aware of is the chaos getting back to the ship. When we got to the 1st security gate they would not let us through as we did not have a immigration card for the port of Goa. We only had the one from Cochin. Evidently the port agent is suppose to arrange and in our case about 20 of us were eventually allowed to the security at the ship but again Indian Immigration would not allow us to proceed until the port agent arrived with our Cards. Celebrity eventually came out and gave us back our ship pass but they would not allow us until the immigration officer manually entered all the information for each passenger in a manual log. What a mess. After waiting about an hour the Ship's Tour Busses from Taj arrived back and had much the same problems.. It was such chaos that when a group of passengers made it through the check point we just got in the middle of it and slipped through.

I would recommend in advance get ahold of the Celebrity Port Agent's phone and address and try to arrange you immigration paperwork before arriving at the port.

There were plenty of Taxi's at the port - We had a driver arranged by the company that we booked our tour with.

We enjoyed our four ports of India in 2015, but I am in no hurry to return to India.

Positives for India-

The food was fantastic

People were friendly

Interesting things to see

Negatives

Worst visa process ever, even compared to Russia and China

Worst processing through immigration ever

Taking a tour that required going on highways outside a city was almost like being in a demolition derby, the infrastructure is terrible

The sights to see were interesting, but compared to China and Japan were mediocre.

I am sure that northern India would be a bit more interesting, but going back to India is not high on my list.

We did the Taj Mahal trip out of Cochin. General passengers were off the ship in about an hour but those that were off boarding (both independent and Celebrity Tours) were not processed until all the other passengers had been processed (getting your immigration card). In our case it took another hour. We were in a Royal Suite and the MS Concierge kept us well informed and kept running to the immigration area to make sure we got off as soon as possible. Our flight was about 1:00 (Most of the Ships Tour were also on the same flight). No trouble at all making the flight. We noticed the Celebrity Tour Group arrived at the airport about 45 minutes after we did.

 

The airport is rather small but one of the most comfortable waiting rooms I have experienced. They have very comfortable upholstered chairs. Not much to eat.

 

The really strange thing for us was that they use a shuttle bus to take you to your plane. In our case the plane was only 30 feet away but they made us board a bus for a 15 foot "ride". Oh well I'm sure there was a reason.

 

One thing to be aware of is the chaos getting back to the ship. When we got to the 1st security gate they would not let us through as we did not have a immigration card for the port of Goa. We only had the one from Cochin. Evidently the port agent is suppose to arrange and in our case about 20 of us were eventually allowed to the security at the ship but again Indian Immigration would not allow us to proceed until the port agent arrived with our Cards. Celebrity eventually came out and gave us back our ship pass but they would not allow us until the immigration officer manually entered all the information for each passenger in a manual log. What a mess. After waiting about an hour the Ship's Tour Busses from Taj arrived back and had much the same problems.. It was such chaos that when a group of passengers made it through the check point we just got in the middle of it and slipped through.

 

I would recommend in advance get ahold of the Celebrity Port Agent's phone and address and try to arrange you immigration paperwork before arriving at the port.

 

There were plenty of Taxi's at the port - We had a driver arranged by the company that we booked our tour with.

Was the Taj excursion done in one day, two days in port or over two ports

Looking to book this cruise for 2018. Anyone been on this cruise and want to share their experiences?

We did this last Christmas. Our review is here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2445381

We did this last Christmas. Our review is here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2445381

Thank you!

Not sure what kind of experience sharing you are looking for. A segment of our recent RTW cruise covered India, the Emirates, and several other ports. If you are looking for shoreside experiences, you can check out the May and April archive of my blog. Different cruise line, but that should not matter if you are looking for ideas for sightseeing.

What a outstanding information source you have put together! I have read about all the ports we will be going to in

April on our Abu Dhabi to Rome cruise. You helped me to pick out my tour guide for Muscat next year, Sunshine Tours. They sound wonderful and Mohammed has been such a pleasure to deal with.

There is a wonderful tour from Dubai that I recommend. It is the six Emirates tour. It was the seven Emirates tour when we took it, but the tour was 16 long and shortened.

What a outstanding information source you have put together! I have read about all the ports we will be going to in

April on our Abu Dhabi to Rome cruise. You helped me to pick out my tour guide for Muscat next year, Sunshine Tours. They sound wonderful and Mohammed has been such a pleasure to deal with.

Glad you enjoyed ... thanks for leaving a comment on the blog too. I refer to your reviews for planning purposes as well. In fact, just read up on the Eclipse as that is the ship we are taking next.

Was the Taj excursion done in one day, two days in port or over two ports

The excursion I created was 3 days 2 nights. Off the Ship in Cochin and returned to Goa. I fashioned our tour after Celebrities but made one major change. We spent our first night in Agra which was a real bonus. We were booked at the Jaypee Palace in Agra. It was one of the most beautiful hotel we have ever stayed in and relatively inexpensive.

Staying in Agra our guide picked us up at 6:30 for departure to the Taj. We were told not to check out as we would return after the Taj for breakfast and freshen up before continuing our tour to the Red Fort and the Little Taj. The temperatures were in the low 70's and virtually no crowds. By the time we departed the crowds were beginning to build.

I spoke with some others that did similar and one I would recommend was instead of missing ports to do the tour during a sea day ... e.g. Depart Sri Lanka rejoin the ship in Cochin or depart Mumbai and rejoin the ship in Abu Dhabi. These methods prevented the problem we experienced trying to rejoin the cruise and the Indian bureaucracy.

For a reference point - All flights in the afternoon have a connection in or around Mumbai. Flight time including stops is about 3 to 3 1/2 hours. Drive time from Delhi to Agra is 3-5 hours depending on time of day. Traffic in Delhi is terrible but the highway to Agra is very efficient.

Hi all

Just done Connie this april from abu dhabi to rome it was amazing and it must be on your bucket list and yes they do black out the ship which they called LOVE time !!! Lights Out Virtually Everywhere we also took on armed guards which were transferred off the ship once the threat level got reduced.

Abu Dhabi WOW that was an eye opener ,Do not miss Petra jordan which we done with a private company and was so much cheaper than CEL and more personal because of the group size ( only 10 ) .

Suez canal was interesting as we had a running commentary all the way through pointing out points of interest .

All in all a excellent cruise.

We're booked on the Abu Dahbi to Rome next April! Looks amazing. How long were the lights blacked out??

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We did this trip in November last year, these are some thoughts that I posted on a UK site:

We have recently returned from the Celebrity Constellation, Abu Dhabi to Abu Dhabi via Dubai, India and Oman although the final stop was cancelled due to high winds.

We had a rear facing Aqua Class cabin with a large balcony that allowed for sitting in both sun or shade during the day, the usual AQ amenities were supplied and replaced as required and our cabin steward quickly picked up our routine and the room was well maintained throughout.

Embarkation:

A little slow as we arrived around 13.30, the problem being a lack of check in desks, if Abu Dhabi plans to rival Dubai then no doubt this will be swiftly corrected.

Food and Drink:

A very subjective issue but Blu continues to provide an excellent overall experience, the dining room is smaller and quieter and many tables for 2 that allow conversations with fellow guests but no one is on top of each other, the service from both sommeliers was excellent and empty glasses were a very rare sight.

We have like a pre-dinner drink in Cellar Masters and in the past, they have had table service, this time there was only one barman to serve drinks clear table etc. and he was under a lot of pressure, I did meet the F&B director one morning at Café Al Bacio and mentioned this but nothing changed.

Entertainment:

On all our previous Celebrity cruises the main shows have been at 19.00 and 21.30 on this cruise they were at 20.30 and 22.30, we have in the past gone to the early show and then eat around 20.00 but not on this cruise. The timing of all the entertainment was geared to fixed dining which seems strange in an era where more are choosing flexible dining, this may be a reflection of the Cruise Director who was apart from the pre-show introduction was invisible, he introduced himself at the Cruise Critic meeting and was out of the door 10 seconds after he finished speaking no questions, very strange.

Ports of Call:

Dubai is Dubai with many options for tours, shopping or sunshine so something for everyone.

We chose this trip to get a flavour of India and anticipated full blown Indian bureaucracy and were not disappointed but it was not as bad as it could have been and passport collection at New Mangalore took about 20 minutes, the rate limiting step being Celebrity passing out the passports and not the Indian authorities, it was made worse by most passengers ignoring the time given the day before to collect passports and Celebrity shore excursions being prioritised.

New Mangalore, Goa and Mumbai each provided a different experience of India and we enjoyed each in their own way, we had private small group tours and enjoyed our stops including the best Indian food I have ever eaten at a hotel in New Mangalore. Some passengers just don’t seem to prepare for where they are, a couple of examples:

A passenger complaining that a local bus timetable was not provided at Mumbai

An English couple on a Temple and spices tour who each ate a bread roll for lunch when a large variety of meat, fish and vegetarian food was on offer, the fish was fantastic.

Passengers should bear in mind that these are industrial ports in a poor country and not ports like Talin where you can stroll into town.

Abu Dhabi:

We did not dock in Khasab due to high winds and arrived early in Abu Dhabi, around 16.00 rather than 05.00 the following day, we were told the ship was not cleared and no one could disembark.

Around 20.00 a ship wide announcement was made that the authorities wished to see all passengers with passports in hand, that night, to clear the ship and this would be done in deck order starting with deck 2. We were having coffee with some friends and as were all on deck 11 decided that a second round of coffee and brandy was in order, we waited until our deck was called and we were off and on in less than 10 minutes. Yes, it was frustrating and yes it was late but the sight of passengers in robes and slippers shuffling along the dock will remain with me for a long time, given the country we were visiting people should have at least got dressed.

Overall:

We enjoyed ourselves but I can understand that for some the various frustrations will have had a negative impact on the cruise.

We will continue to cruise Celebrity as long as we can find the right itinerary at the right price as the product suits us and our loyalty status provides valuable free extras.

We're booked on the Abu Dahbi to Rome next April! Looks amazing. How long were the lights blacked out??

 

 

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It could vary depending on the time of sunset but on our November cruise the curfew began at 6pm. No balcony lights, curtains closed and no access to outside decks, apart from a small curtained off area on the pool deck to accommodate the smokers. We turned off out lights and spent some time on our balcony to look at the stars which were spectacular.

It could vary depending on the time of sunset but on our November cruise the curfew began at 6pm. No balcony lights, curtains closed and no access to outside decks, apart from a small curtained off area on the pool deck to accommodate the smokers. We turned off out lights and spent some time on our balcony to look at the stars which were spectacular.

I hadn't thought about the star gazing opportunities with LOVE. That should be quite spectacular. I am so glad that I moved to a deck 11 Aqua, with great upward viewing from our balcony. The deck 9 ones wouldn't be able to see very much, since deck 10 covers so much of the sky above.

How many nights did they black out the ship?