[abhii176]

Wonderfully written travelogue Swati and stunning pictures as well. Lakshwadeep was always there on my list of places to visit but seeing your travelogue has just bumped it to the top of my list now!

[SwatiS]

Thanks everyone for your lovely comments

Originally Posted by Kumar R

Hi,

Great to hear you took the surface route. Thanks for the photos! Of late many people are flying to Lakshadweep and I think some of the charm is lost that way.

I went to Lakshadweep with my father in 1991, shortly after it was opened to tourists (in 1990 I think). In those days there was a Government entity called SPORT..... Overall a 5 day trip and one of the best holidays Ive had.

Even now it is conducted by the same officials - SPORT(Government run). I am guessing what you saw was even better as it would not be so crowded then. I have realised that the places I saw as a kid, I still remember them. For the cruise that I went also we did not have any overnight stay at the islands. But now they do allow you to stay on the islands in their resorts. I had mentioned about a surfer who would be staying in Minicoy - he came in our cruise, he was to stay there for a few days and return back via another cruise. One of my friends told me that someone she knew went on one of the ferries and there were just 2 tourists on that ferry. Rest all were locals. I am glad to hear your experience.

Originally Posted by rav11stars

Absolutely loved the way you described the journey. "thumbs down to indicate the time is up"

But any idea why we can't just travel there on our own and roam about? I know if that's allowed, the natural beauty is spoiled, but can't resist asking if there's a slim chance.

We can travel on our own and roam around provided we are staying on the island or not travelling via the cruise. You can as well stay in the resort and cottages.

Originally Posted by peterjim13

Great Travelogue Swati.

If I am not wrong, Kavarati was the same ship used to rescue Indians (and internationals too) from war struck Yemen. It used to get people from Djibouti to India.

* Just a correction on one of the pics, "Santa Cruz Basilica" which you tagged as the oldest church in India is in-fact close to 1500 years younger than the oldest church in India.
It may be one among the oldest churches build by European Settlers; I mean the ones came after the Portuguese (Vasco Da Gama, of course) but never the oldest.

But thanks so much for those pics again, and to please share more info, on the accommodation you had at Lakshadeep.

Cheers : Keep Writing

Oh yes! I forgot to mention that most of the cruises in april were cancelled as the ship had gone on the rescue mission to Yemen. Since it is a passenger ship, it was an ideal vessel for the people to come back. I am really glad I didn't book in april, else my trip would have got cancelled again... and I would have probably given up on Lakshadweep altogether.

We did not stay on the islands. All our accommodation was on the ships. I heard that the cottages are good though.

Thanks for the update about the church, I probably misunderstood.

Originally Posted by sameer sultan

Awesome travelogue Swati. A very detailed description given which was very captivating to say the least. Nice photos too. You did mention that the food onboard was bad, how was it in the islands where you had lunch. Do they serve non-veg(sea food)?.

I would definitely love to do a trip very soon!

The food in the resort was better than that of the ship but it was certainly not awesome or mouth watering. They do serve non-veg and a lot of tuna fish. I am a vegetarian so I cannot comment on the taste of the non-veg food.

Originally Posted by abhii176

Wonderfully written travelogue Swati and stunning pictures as well. Lakshwadeep was always there on my list of places to visit but seeing your travelogue has just bumped it to the top of my list now!

Great

Originally Posted by sandy0904

thank you very much.

Lakshadweep is on my charts for very long. May be after the monsoon will plan.

You should do that

Originally Posted by arunkumarsarat

Swati, that was a well written travelogue with meticulous attention to detail.


The pictures reminded me too of my trip to the Andaman's.

Thanks for including numerous photos of the sea and the beach. At the end of it all, I could almost smell the sea.

Awesome

Originally Posted by Hunter3077

Wow. That was some travelogue Swati.

Amazingly detailed and informative and equally interesting. Just goes to show that once you decide on something, the nature does conspire to let you achieve your dream.

The breathtaking beauty of the islands have been captured with an amazing eye for detail. Reading this through makes me pack my bags and embark upon this excellent destination in a jiffy.

Thumbs up for having had the patience to pen it all down. Kudos.

You should.

Originally Posted by Samba

An awesome travelogue with some great pictures! The details shared by you will definitely come handy for many who want to visit Lakshadweep. It was a great read and thanks a lot for sharing!


And lastly the 'Fantastic four' definitely deserves a high five, so duly rated this thread a well deserved 5*!

High five!!!

Originally Posted by ariesonu

Amazing travelogue and photos as MOD Ampere mentioned, I think, this is probably the first log containing info on local cruises.
I know MV KAVARATTI as I have done her condition surveys in the past and can see that SCI has upped the maintenance quotient of same.

Great log.

Regards-Sonu

Please give some information on the technical aspects of the ship if you can.

Originally Posted by drive2eternity

Swati, thanks for the wonderful travelogue. I have 2 words to describe my feelings at present, Inspired and Jealous. :P
I have traveled on govt ferries to and fro Havelock (Andamans) and I was equally shocked at the cleanliness and maintenance.
I have thought about visiting Lakshadweep several times but the idea of a ship cruise never occurred to me and the flights were always expensive and hotels always booked.
Thank you once again for your write-up.

I specifically wanted to do a ship cruise as it was something I had not done before. If I plan to visit the Andamans, I want to do one way flight and one way ship so that I can cover both.

Even now sometimes I just feel like booking the 3 day cruise and going off to visit one island

[procrj]

Great travelogue Swati . tempted to book the coral reef package and visit Minicoy & Kalpeni. Thanks a lot for sharing you experience and journey details.

Did you see any tourists with kids? If I do go, I will have my 5 year old with me and I wonder how they will accommodate 2 adults and 1 child in the cabin.

[SwatiS]

Originally Posted by procrj

Great travelogue Swati . tempted to book the coral reef package and visit Minicoy & Kalpeni. Thanks a lot for sharing you experience and journey details.

Did you see any tourists with kids? If I do go, I will have my 5 year old with me and I wonder how they will accommodate 2 adults and 1 child in the cabin.

Many of the families had come with kids, some as small as 2 years of age. Don't know how the accommodation works though.

[ariesonu]

"Please give some information on the technical aspects of the ship if you can."

Sorry but such info is confidential. However for similar info on any ship(s), pls feel free to log into www.equasis.org

It is kind of encyclopedia of ships.

Regards-Sonu

[rajshenoy]

Wonderful blog.

If i am not wrong, this package is called as Samudram package.
I am also considering Lakshadweep islands for some time now, but keep getting delayed.

Some questions

1. Do you recommend this trip for a family of 4 (1 kid and 1 infant)
2. I did not see much about the food, can you write bit more ? Are they like south indian meals or we have variety like roti, sabji etc in a buffet ? Being particular about this because of kids who are fussy eaters
3. How do you pass time in the ship ? How much time you spent in ship (apart from sleeping) as against on the islands ? say 30% or 50%.
4. I see the seat looks more like a railway coach. Can 2 kids and adults share same room ? will it be too crampy ? Any entertainment like TV etc ? Laptops/tablets charging points ?
5. I may not want to do scuba, but wont mind trying snorkeling considering little kids. What if someone just wants to relax in the beaches or play in water while others do snorkeling or scuba whatever ?

[RSUDARSANAN]

Nice TL there. Brought back memories of our own trip to Lakshwadeep in 1990 aboard the MV Tipu Sultan. On a 5-day voyage, we visited Kadmat,
Kavaratti and Minicoy. We too were similarly thrilled as it was our first sailing and believed it to be a "cruise".

In retrospect, it can't even be called a teaser.

MV Tipu Sultan


Frolic on the beach


Motor boat ferrying passengers back to the ship


Approaching ship to re-embark after island visit


Chinese fishing nets viewed from the ship


Inside the synagogue @ Kochi



Essentially the ships, sailing betweeen Kochi and the islands of Lakshwadeep, are supply and transport vessels for the islanders. A few air conditioned cabins are reserved for tourists to visit the islands. On board the ship, save for board and lodging, there is little else one can do apart from enjoying the ocean vistas, the sea breeze and a starlit sky, if lucky.

When we sailed IIRC the cost was 2222/- per head as against 25k .
Of course, now there are a lot more attractions like folk dance, snorkelling,
kayaking and scuba diving.

Less than a decade later, we would know the real meaning of a cruise.

Super Star Virgo, then, had just made its debut in the Malacca strait with sailings from
Singapore Cruise centre.

Super Star Virgo


One of the many restaurants on board


Delicatessen


Top deck


Details:
http://www.starcruises.com/en/home/s...roduction.aspx

A tip - if you can stretch your budget, book a cabin with balcony. You will not regret it.

We ended up booking it on account of non availability of economical options such as inside cabin (no view at all) and cabin with porthole (limited view).

It turned out to be an unforgettable experience .

Cheers

[SwatiS]

Originally Posted by rajshenoy

Wonderful blog.

If i am not wrong, this package is called as Samudram package.
I am also considering Lakshadweep islands for some time now, but keep getting delayed.

Some questions

1. Do you recommend this trip for a family of 4 (1 kid and 1 infant)
2. I did not see much about the food, can you write bit more ? Are they like south indian meals or we have variety like roti, sabji etc in a buffet ? Being particular about this because of kids who are fussy eaters
3. How do you pass time in the ship ? How much time you spent in ship (apart from sleeping) as against on the islands ? say 30% or 50%.
4. I see the seat looks more like a railway coach. Can 2 kids and adults share same room ? will it be too crampy ? Any entertainment like TV etc ? Laptops/tablets charging points ?
5. I may not want to do scuba, but wont mind trying snorkeling considering little kids. What if someone just wants to relax in the beaches or play in water while others do snorkeling or scuba whatever ?

Yes this is the Samudram package.

To answer your questions:
1. Yes definitely.
2. Food you get roti sabji but sometimes only rice. Food taste is not good so I recommend you take stuff with you.
3. We spent about 40% of the time on ship on the days we visited islands. On the 1st day, it was fully on ship. We used to just sit on the deck and relax.
4. The beds are small. I dont know how it works for kids. You do have laptop and mobile charging points in cabin. I personally prefer not to take gadgets on nature trips as I want to make use of my time looking around.
5. The choice is totally yours

Originally Posted by RSUDARSANAN

Nice TL there. Brought back memories of our own trip to Lakshwadeep in 1990 aboard the MV Tipu Sultan. On a 5-day voyage, we visited Kadmat,
Kavaratti and Minicoy. We too were similarly thrilled as it was our first sailing and believed it to be a "cruise".

In retrospect, it can't even be called a teaser.....

Cheers

Thanks for sharing

[Bakash4u]

Ms Swati.
could you details how you made the cruise bookings/arrangements.
Like whome to contact? when? how?
could you also tell about alternates to reach and stay in the dweeps??

[RedDevil_KP]

Kudos on the Travelogue. Since it was a cruise experience, the thread became more interesting for me. I have visited Andaman & looking at your posts, Lakshadweep looks more or less similar. But certainly a must visit place.