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The Bollywood to South Beach Voyage - Regent Seven Seas Voyager, October 29-December 18, 2009

Text by Snookums, Pictures by Filbert

Part Two

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November 2 (Monday, Day 5, Boarding Voyager, Mumbai, India) -

Our cruise itinerary

More after the "read more." We woke up around 5:30 (the jet lag was really beginning to take hold) and watched tv. We ordered room service breakfast and started to pack. We originally were going to leave the hotel at 1 PM but we now decided that we were “done” with India so we called the front desk to change our prepaid taxi to 11 AM.

Our prepaid air-conditioned taxi (we had to pay extra for the A/C) was waiting for us. Our luggage was strapped to the roof and we proceeded to the dock about 10 minutes away. We pulled up to the dock and our driver got out to talk to the guards. He came back and said “Yellow cards”. We explained we didn’t have yellow cards and gave him the Regent invoice and our passports. That is all that we’ve ever had to give at other countries to access the ship for the first time. Well, this is India so that didn’t work. He saw our yellow international vaccine records in Snookums’s bag and said “Yellow card! Yellow card!” Snookums tried to explain that they were shot records but it was easier to just hand them over. He came back a few minutes later and said they were the wrong yellow cards. We kept explaining we didn’t have any other documents. He patiently talked to the guys in white uniforms and then the guys in brown uniforms and would come back to the car and then go back again. Finally he came back to the car and said we had to go to Immigration a few blocks away. He drove us to Immigration and he and Filbert got out of the car. Snookums stayed in since our luggage was in the car. The driver later came out of the building to get Snookums so she left the car and was hoping that the driver was trustworthy. (He was!)

Filbert was sitting in front of a government bureaucrat and the bureaucrat looked at Snookums and said her first and middle names, and then proceeded to take several minutes to carefully examine the passport. We were finally told we could leave so we got back in the taxi and the driver drove back to the original gate. Almost by the time we got there, the Regent representative that was at the Immigration office ran up to the taxi to say we had to return to the Immigration office. He got in the cab (it didn’t have room, but we managed) and the driver turned around to return to the Immigration office. More paperwork was stamped and signed and then we were told we could leave. We drove to the main gate again and thought the driver would be able to show the paperwork and yellow cards and drive through right away. Well, that didn’t happen. It took the driver another 10 minutes of talking to the white uniformed men and the brown uniformed men before we were allowed to go to the ship. 70 minutes after leaving the hotel we arrived at the ship. It should have taken 10 minutes. This is India, though.

We got on the ship and told the Regent official what had happened and she immediately called the Regent port agent that we saw at the Immigration office to straighten things out. People that joined the ship after us didn’t have to go through the “yellow card” nonsense. (The yellow cards were only for people that were leaving the ship for a shore excursion and then returning to the ship the same day. They weren’t supposed to be required for newly boarding passengers.)

As we expected, we arrived before our cabin was ready. We were ready for this, though, and went to the laundry room and started two washing machines with our dirty Mumbai clothing. Then we went to lunch and enjoyed civilization.

Free laundry, we're there!

Civilization in this case consisted of lunch, washed down with Diet Canada Dry ginger ale.

Ginger Ale (diet) on the Pool Deck

We dined with--well,by, actually--this Indian mantis, which was actually a bit camera-shy.

Mantis on the Pool Deck. We don't think he/she/it was a paying guest.

The cabins were ready around 2:30 and when we got there our luggage was there so we unpacked until we had to go to the mandatory lifeboat drill. That was followed by the “block party” where everyone gathered in the hallways to meet each other. The man across the hall from us, Per, is from Norway and one set of neighbors is from the UK. The lady that teaches arts and crafts is our other neighbor.

A few photos of our cabin:

We went to dinner and chose a table for two. We barely made it through our entrees we were so tired and left immediately, without even looking at the dessert menu. Embarkation day is always tiring.

Sunset from the Seven Seas Voyager

November 3 (Monday, Day 6, Cruising the Arabian Sea) -

Looking forward from our cabin

We woke up and worked out. Filbert walked around the deck and lifted weights and Snookums went to two exercise classes (Muscle Mix and Get on the Ball).

Filbert got Snookums’s pc to finally connect to the wireless network so that she could use the free internet. (He did this mainly by leaving it alone for a half hour to allow the poor thing to come to terms with its new surroundings, by the way.) He then attended the “Inside Incredible India” enrichment lecture and enjoyed Diet Canada Dry ginger ale that was served. According to Dr. Mark Elovitz, Director, Center for Strategic Geopolitics, “India is incredibly complex.” He also said that India is about one third the size of the United States but has four times the number of people and that more than 75% of the people in India make less than $2 per day. Plus over 800 million people in India do not have a flushing toilet. (We know that firsthand from visiting Judy in Hyderabad two years ago and seeing the men use the lake for their toilet….)

A bottle of very good champagne was delivered to our cabin due to the immigration snafu. It’s already been put away to bring home along with the 3 bottles of hard liquor that made up our in-cabin bar package and the other bottle of cheaper champagne that was in our cabin.

We saw several tan sea snakes on top of the water but that’s it for sealife so far. At first Snookums thought they were palm fronds or something but then realized that they were sea snakes.

Tonight was the “Welcome Aboard” formal night. Due to Filbert’s weight loss, his tuxedo wasn’t going to fit and we didn’t have time to get it tailored so he decided to bring his Indian kurta for formal nights. So he wore his Indian kurta (knee length tunic over drawstring pants), his scarf and flip flops and looked dashing. We went through the receiving line and the ship’s General Manager (in his formal Regent uniform) told Filbert “You’re cheating!” Filbert amiably agreed. It was pretty funny. We also met Captain Gianmario Sanguineti.

We sat down and started talking to another couple. David and Margarita now live in Switzerland but are from the UK (although she is Swedish). We ate dinner with them, too, and had a very nice evening.

Next: Cochin! (Or is it Kochin?)