Azamara Journey: 29 Nov 2012, Spice Coast & Ceylon

[FieldstonEagle]

Have booked this cruise back-to-back with the following cruise, disembarking in Singapore, and would enjoy meeting others onboard.

[sergad]

Have booked this cruise back-to-back with the following cruise, disembarking in Singapore, and would enjoy meeting others onboard.

My partner and I just booked this cruise. We were supposed to be on an Oceania cruise right now doing much of this itinerary, but had to cancel due to a family member illness. We've done lots of research and had a great cruise critics group, well over 100. Had already set up private tours in most stops. Look forward to meeting you on board.

[FieldstonEagle]

Great. I look forward to meeting you as well. I have also booked the following cruise, so will continue on to Singapore with ports including Sri Lanka and Myanmar, which will both be new to me. Since I'm using frequent flyer miles for the flights from LA to Mumbai, I'll be trying to book that next month when the seats are first made available and intend to arrive to Mumbai 3-4 nights early to both recover from jet lag and see the city, but haven't yet decided on a hotel there. Sorry your Oceania plans got disrupted, but glad you'll be aboard.

[sergad]

We'll be using miles as well and flying from Seattle. Thinking of getting to Mumbai a few days early and seeing if the ship offers a tour to the Taj Mahal. If not, we may do it on our own.

 

Have you sailed with Azamara before?

[FieldstonEagle]

This will be my first cruise with Azamara, though I've been on the identical ship with Oceania. I had thought about flying directly to New Delhi and hiring a car and driver/guide through Out Journeys, which has an excellent reputation and is an active member of IGLTA, to see both Agra and Jaipur, but don't think now I'll be able to take that much time in addition to 24 nights on the ship. The only place I've previously been in India is Goa, where I spent a week on my way to Nepal. But if you do want to see the Taj Mahal, you'd definitely want to fly directly from the USA to New Delhi.

[sergad]

Thanks for the tip. We are going to be making our air reservations next month and will now fly to Delhi. I've also contacted Out in India about a land tour.

[FieldstonEagle]

"Out Journeys" also has a page on Facebook you may want to look at and "like." Its Owner/ CEO is Abhinav Goel. If no one gets back to you this week, it's because along with San Francisco based Community Marketing and the IGLTA, Out Journeys is sponsoring the first Asian symposium on the gay travel market starting with a large reception Saturday night 11/26 in New Delhi which coincides with New Delhi Gay Pride.

 

By the way, depending on your frequent flyer airline, if it's One World, AA has a nonstop flight from Chicago to New Delhi and I'm told that there is almost always frequent flyer seat availability in all classes.

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[sergad]

Thanks for the info. I was wondering why I hadn't heard anything back from them.

We live in Seattle so we're going to fly Cathay from Vancouver. They fly from Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai via Hong Kong.

[FieldstonEagle]

I was also thinking on taking Cathay from LA and connecting in Hong Kong Kong, but am told that the One World alliance doesn't allow one to travel on one ticket on a routing through Asia, so I'd have to book two separate frequent flyer awards (though I haven't yet checked to see how many more miles that will cost me). I'm using a service provided by the One Mile at a Time blog creator (Ben) to book my award travel - think he charges $150. and he knows all the ins and outs.

[sergad]

Finally took a look at the CC board again. We have booked 2 flight itineraries, one with BA and the other Cathay. Emirates just started flying out of Seattle and they have great connections. Am waiting to be able use Alaska miles and book F/C with them. Booked a private tour with Out Journeys to Agra and Jaipur. Have also booked the ITC Grand Central with Starwood points. Saw you were staying there. Have you stayed there before?

[FieldstonEagle]

Finally took a look at the CC board again. We have booked 2 flight itineraries, one with BA and the other Cathay. Emirates just started flying out of Seattle and they have great connections. Am waiting to be able use Alaska miles and book F/C with them. Booked a private tour with Out Journeys to Agra and Jaipur. Have also booked the ITC Grand Central with Starwood points. Saw you were staying there. Have you stayed there before?

 

 

This will be my first trip to Mumbai and The ITC Grand Central has received excellent reviews, not only on Cruise Critic, but also on Star Service, a review site for travel industry professionals. It's also, as you know centrally located compared to the Westin, though the immediate surrounding blocks are not of any interest, so one would have to take a cab or private car to go to any of the good restaurants or tourist sites. I used SPG points and Cash and I think it came to $60 plus 4,000 SPG points/night.

 

Out Journeys has an excellent reputation and I have a good relationship with its owner, Abinav Goel, with whom I have planned to communicate with regard to hiring a private tour guide for Mumbai and some of our Indian ports. (We had previously communicated re the tour you will be taking, for which I regretfully won't have time.