[honeybee]

19000 tonnes of diesel to run the ship for a day? It would have to lug a bulk carrier to supply this much fuel!

Very nicely written travelogue : plain and simple.

[manas_270]

Wonderful Travelogue SwathiS to accompany with some beautiful pictures
Couple of queries
1. Once the ship set sail from Kochi, wasn't there any safety drill/training for an emergency? This is sometimes taken for granted but with some recent spate of incidents with cruise ships, the drill is very important IMO.
2. Did they ever fill up the swimming pool during the duration of the cruise? I believe the cruise fare is inclusive of using the pool right?

[Desmosedici]

Very nice report. Never even thought about Lakshwadeep. Thanks for the info and pics. I think it would be well worth it. Better than Andamans? (not been there too hence asking)

[sandip]

Hi Swati,

Can't thank you enough for the travelogue - I am planning to visit Lakshwadeep around Dec and was searching the forum for recent travvelogues. Yours is fresh outta oven

I have to ask you - do you know if we can go WITHOUT cruise ? Be on our own ?
I am sure many more will have the same question.

Could you also share the details of the SCUBA and snorkelling agencies ?

Thanks Much !

[SwatiS]

Thanks all for your wonderful comments

Originally Posted by ampere

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

Very nice ! There are very few cruise related logs on the forum. And more importantly cruises in our backyard! Great going.

Originally Posted by satan's_valet

Awesome travelogue Swati. The Minicoy island reminded me so much of Neil Island in the Andamans. Calm and serene beaches with white sands and hardly any people around.

Any idea how much it would cost if we intend to take this trip without the cruise package?

I don't know about the cost. This is their official website: http://www.lakshadweeptourism.com/index.html. You will have to fly in from Kochi to Agatti island and book the resort to stay on the islands.

Originally Posted by Thilak29

Do they have to get their vehicles to mainland to get them serviced?!

Now that's a question an auto-enthusiast would ask... just like I asked the engineer how much diesel is required to run this thing. I am guessing that they service it on the island itself. Kavaratti has a population of 13000 odd people. I was surprised when I learned this. I thought the island population would be in hundreds

Originally Posted by noo.b

Amazing travelogue there Swati and beautiful pictures too, it reminded me of my trip to the Andamans. I considered myself to be a "mountain" guy till I took that trip and now I know I clearly know I am a beach person.

I am looking at going to Lakshadweep this year, any pointers on where to spend the most time? Looking to spend a week or so there.

Of the three islands I visited I liked Minicoy the best for the lagoons. But that beach on Kalpeni was unmatched. I think the name of the beach is northern point. I would say spend a couple of days in Minicoy and a couple in Kalpeni. Choose such dates so that it doesn't coincide with the voyages so that it will not be crowded.

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Swati, I am not one for reading travelogues but this was so good with useful detail and eye watering photos that I read it end to end in one sitting. Congratulations on an excellent write up and the effort you have made to prepare it. Clearly a destination I am now motivated to visit. When are you planning your next vacation! Serious question - how good was the service on board the ship. Best regards, Narayan

Honured! The only reason I was not depressed after the awesome Lakshadweep vacation was because I had a Himalayan trek planned during the last week on May. So I went from south to noth, from hot to cold.
Regarding the services in the ship, all the services were good except for the food. I would highly recommend you to take some ready to eat food with you and go.

Originally Posted by sandy0904

One of the finest travel report Swati.

Would it be possible for you to upload a pic of travel details and the site from you have booked the package?

http://www.lakshadweeptourism.com/index.html is their official website. What we did was, we called them up and asked them to send the dates. They will send you a word doc with all available dates. You send a confirmation mail with the number of people and other details. Once they confirm, you have to make payment with the given time in full. They are really helpful. I will check if I have the details. If I find it, I will upload it.

Originally Posted by honeybee

19000 tonnes of diesel to run the ship for a day? It would have to lug a bulk carrier to supply this much fuel!

Very nicely written travelogue : plain and simple.

The engine room complex is really huge and it runs across multiple floors. The engineer did explain some stuff about how it is carried etc, but I don't remember the details now.

Originally Posted by manas_270

Wonderful Travelogue SwathiS to accompany with some beautiful pictures
Couple of queries
1. Once the ship set sail from Kochi, wasn't there any safety drill/training for an emergency? This is sometimes taken for granted but with some recent spate of incidents with cruise ships, the drill is very important IMO.
2. Did they ever fill up the swimming pool during the duration of the cruise? I believe the cruise fare is inclusive of using the pool right?

During the briefing session on the first day, all these details were shown in a video. All details regarding lifeboats, life jackets etc were provided.

Those small red boats are the life boats.


The pool was never filled with water. Frankly speaking, after swimming in the great oceans swimming in the pool would be a huge disappointment.

Originally Posted by Desmosedici

Very nice report. Never even thought about Lakshwadeep. Thanks for the info and pics. I think it would be well worth it. Better than Andamans? (not been there too hence asking)

Its totally worth it. I have not been to Andamans so I cannot judge. But what I have heard is that due to the unrestricted access to Andamans, Andamans has become another Goa.

Originally Posted by sandip

Hi Swati,

Can't thank you enough for the travelogue - I am planning to visit Lakshwadeep around Dec and was searching the forum for recent travvelogues. Yours is fresh outta oven

I have to ask you - do you know if we can go WITHOUT cruise ? Be on our own ?
I am sure many more will have the same question.

Could you also share the details of the SCUBA and snorkelling agencies ?

Thanks Much !

Yes you can go by flight from Kochi. Just checked that Air India has a flight costing 4000 odd. All the Scuba and snorkeling agencies are run by the government itself - under SPORTS

http://www.lakshadweeptourism.com/watersports.html

[sandy0904]

thank you very much.

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

[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.

[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.

[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!

Originally Posted by SwatiS

So we named ourselves the "Fantastic four".

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

[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 - Society for Promotion of Regional Tourism and you had to go through them for a conducted trip, no alternative. I was an eight year old but I distinctly remember my parents discussing how expensive it was. The tickets were like airline tickets in a nice jacket. The mode of travel was ship -- either MV Tipu Sultan or MV Bharat Seema, the former more luxurious (Tipu Sultan is awaiting scrapping now).

Well, there were hardly 25-30 people on that big vessel and we were all guided through the 5-6 main islands under the watchful eye of the SPORT officials at all times. No overnight stay on the islands - strict rule, but during the day we were taken to various islands (where tractors drove us around) and had lunch on some of them. The coral lagoons were beautiful and kayaking was just getting started. The food was great, ambiance terrific and the weather excellent! Overall a 5 day trip and one of the best holidays Ive had.

[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.

[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

[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.

[peterjim13]

Originally Posted by SwatiS

The oldest church in India

Great Travelogue Swati.

Though I keep seeing the ship you traveled "Kavarati" during our evening drives through Wellington Island, never had a chance to get in nor hitch a ride like what you did.

Your photos had a story to tell and this should obviously make a reason to get to Lakshadeep, (if "everything" comes in place)

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.

Wiki Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Cruz_Basilica

But the oldest is far more beautiful and elegant than this and it is infact close to 2000 years older. Built around 45 AD, this one sits near Thrissur in Kerala.
There are something close to or may be more than a handful of churches in Kerala and some in Tamil Nadu which were built during the 1st Century. (Including the 7 and half by St.Thomas himself)

Wiki Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Th...urch,_Palayoor

Its all on Wiki if history is something that excites you.

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

Cheers : Keep Writing

[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!