Christmas 2016 Cruise to India Onboard the Constellation

Well, it's day four of our 14-day Arabian Sea & India cruise and I'm going to try to post some information on the cruise as we sail along.

I had great hopes Celebrity's Xcelerate internet would be fast enough to post pictures, but what I've found so far is that it is still very slow! The picture below is around 500KB and it took several minutes to upload to Photobucket.

It's mid-afternoon here, so there may be a high number of people using the internet. Therefore, I'll likely try to post pictures during the early morning hours.

We've had a great trip so far and I'll be playing catch-up over the couple of days trying to cover the highlights.

Cheers,

Bill

This picture was taken onboard the Constellation at about 2pm Dec 22/16 - our first sea day.

Some earlier details of our trip.

We flew into Dubai on Dec 12th and stayed there until the 15th. We then went over to Al Ain for a couple of days, before continuing on the Abu Dhabi for a couple of more days - before boarding the ship on the 19th.

Having never been in this area before, we spent our time in Dubai doing the normal tourist sightseeing including the Burj Khalifa. We didn't go up it, but we will be spending a couple more days in Dubai at the end of the cruise and may go up it then.

Found Dubai to be very much as other people have mentioned - very commercial, with all the hustle & bustle of a modern city and without much history.

Thanks for posting. Really looking forward to your trip report and pictures of Constellation.

Fortunately for us, Collette (DrColl) an Aussie who has been living/working in Al Ain for a number of years, very graciously arranged for a driver to pick us up at our hotel in Dubai; drive us to our hotel in Al Ain; drive us around to see the sights in Al Ain; then drive us to our hotel in Abu Dhabi. The driver was very knowledgeable of the history of the area and spoke good English. We are very appreciative of the help Collette provided us, plus she joined us for most of the tour of Al Ain and also gave us some good insight into the culture & history of the area.

Al Ain is the opposite of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, as it is based on an oasis (which still exists in the centre of the city) and as a result has a history which goes back some 4000 years. It is also know as the Garden City due to it's greenery - well worth a visit if you're in the area.

We managed to visit many interesting sites some of which were:

The local camel market

.

Most of the animals were destined to be butchered for meat and the market appeared to be similar to cattle stockyards.

Falcons.

In the same area as the camel market we came across a veterinary centre and were able to see a number of falcons.

The Al Ain Zoo.

The zoo was similar to most zoos, but was still interesting.

Al Ain Fort.

In the fort they had a photo exhibition covering the travels of Wilfred Thesiger who visited the area in the 1940's.

Love the pictures, thank you for your ongoing review!

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Celebrity still seems to do things which causes a person to shake their head.

They arranged for the Cruise Critic Connections Party (meet & greet) to be held at 9:45am on departure day - when most people were still not even on board.:confused:

Expensive cars are a big deal in UAE and here are some I took pictures of:

A Lamborghini LP700 & a Maserati SUV.

One wonders about color choices - a lime green Bugatti!!!

Will be following this with interest. We're doing a similar itinerary (minus Kochi) next December.

Will be following this with interest. We're doing a similar itinerary (minus Kochi) next December.

Presently waiting to arrive in Kochi - weather forecast is hot & muggy - plus 32 degrees Celsius.

Thanks for sharing.

Nice photos. Will be following your trip report.

Thank you for sharing. looking forward to more...

Still having major problems with onboard internet service. Haven't been able to get a steady connection for the last couple of days, but right now it seems to be functioning somewhat!!

Went on a backwaters houseboat tour on their largest freshwater lake. We'd previously done a boat tour on Inle Lake in Myanmar and were expecting this lake to be somewhat the same.

Unfortunately, it definitely wasn't.

I'll let you draw you own conclusion - There is some 200,000 people on/around the lake and it's India (i.e. - limited garbage disposal).

Canal full of houseboats.

There are approximately 5,000 houseboats, along with likely that many of other types of boats. So getting through the canals is like driving on their streets. The boats have horns which they constantly using as they do when they're driving their cars.

Bus accident.

Speaking of travelling on their streets. The above tour bus had been sideswiped by a large truck.

Using lake water.

They use the lake water for everything. Washing dishes; washing clothes; bathing; and it provides them their drinking water and sewage disposal.

Internet is acting up - so will try to post more later.

Thanks for the report. Following with great interest as we're on the Constellation from Singapore to Abu Dhabi in spring.

We also booked the houseboat tour. Was it that busy all the time? How were the backwaters?

We didn't do the houseboat tour, but after 3 days I have not seen a shoreline, river, stream, lake or pond that was not filled with garbage.

Well, we made it back home and it seems most of our residual work and life problems have now been addressed - in one manner or the other!!

Had great hopes of being able to do this review on the ship and while the memories were fresh at hand - but unfortunately, the hoped for reliable internet service did not happen. While in the India area connection was almost nonexistent. The onboard computer staff said they understood the problem was related to Indian military interference.

Regardless, I now plan on continuing with my review - albeit with somewhat hazy memory - which will likely result in a bit of a haphazard reporting method.

Looking forward to reading this as we are on a cruise from

Singapore to Abu Dhabi in a few months.

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Thanks for the report. Following with great interest as we're on the Constellation from Singapore to Abu Dhabi in spring.

We also booked the houseboat tour. Was it that busy all the time? How were the backwaters?

It was likely busier then normal, as Indians must take at least two weeks of vacation each year and they all seem to take their vacation sometime between mid-December and mid-January.

It is a long drive (1 1/2 - 2 hours each way) through heavy traffic from the port to the "backwaters" (you spend most of your time driving to/from, as the actual tour is not much more then about an hour), but it does give you a fairly good look at Indian life and the general lay of the land. We found the tour interesting, but you just have to understand that India is very crowded and dirty - so if such a life style bothers you, then the experience may not be all that great.

In reality, we didn't find much else to do while in Cochin. Fort Cochin is not an actual fort, but refers to the old area of Cochin - which includes a number of churches, the Jewish area, markets and Fort Cochin beach, which are all in the same general area and can be somewhat easily walked around. So, other then the houseboat tour, most of the other sights can be seen by taking a taxi/bus to this area and just walk around for a while. Again, it is my feeling most visitors will find the areas to be crowded and/or dirty.

If you're interested in going to Fort Cochin beach for some swimming and relaxing on the beach - this is what it looks like - including the famous Chinese fishing nets in the foreground !!!

They seem to be trying to address the litter problem by having some collection bins - but then no one seems to bother emptying them!

Now back to our earlier port visit to Muscat, Oman.

Here we had previously arranged for a private tour by Mohammed, the owner of Sunshine tours. Although, with two cruise ships in port the day we were there and Mohammed having some 21 tours to run, he did manage to give the four of us just a fantastic glimpse at Oman's culture and unique Arabian Gulf views. He has an exceptional level of knowledge of Oman's history and culture. If you ever get the opportunity to take a tour with Mohammed - grab it fast!!

Whereas, the UAE is mainly a flat desert, Oman is mainly mountains - and wondrous views result!

We were only in Muscat for the afternoon and evening, and with the markets and general city sites closed from 1 - 4pm, he took us for a drive through the neighboring mountains to various seaside villages and beaches.

Lots of road construction was happening (much more difficult building roads through mountains then the open deserts) and found their "flag persons" to be somewhat more practical then having someone stand out in the very hot sun.

Our "chariot" for the tour.

Not really(!!!) - don't know what the RR was doing sitting at the port gate, but Mohammed's vehicle was a much more practical Toyota.

Your photo shots are informative and exciting.

Some pictures from our Oman tour.

One of the seaside villages.

Mohammed explaining some local features.

At most of the rural areas Mohammed took us to, we were the only people there - it was hard to believe that there was two large cruise ships in port, with thousands of people all looking for something to see!!

Another beach all to our selves.

For afternoon tea Mohammed took us to a small local bakery and he bought all of us a fresh baked piece of Omani bread, with honey - it was just fantastic, but each piece was more then any of us were able to eat.

After the tea & bread feast he took us to the main souk - and we were then back in the crowds for the ships!

Then he took us to his home for an authentic Omani evening meal - and what a meal it was!!!

We were required to sit on the floor and have the meal served to us by his youngest son (8-9yr) and we also were entertained by their youngest daughter (3yr). A great time was had by all and an excellent bonus for our tour. He also gave each couple a large bag of fresh dates from his uncle's farm.

Got some great pictures (including movies) of his son and daughter - but decided not to post them here as I do not have his permission.

Once again I cannot praise Mohammed enough for the very professional (and personal) job he did in showing us his country and culture.:)

Thanks for the review. Following along as we're on the same sailing next Christmas :).

We are booked for Dec. 19th cruise which does overnight New Year's Eve in Dubai. We were wondering if anything was open in Dubai on New Year's Day?

We were also debating between doing the Al Ain day tour or the Hattar mountains day tour while we are in Dubai before the cruise.

Quite enjoying reading your review and seeing the pictures. Thank you.

We are booked for Dec. 19th cruise which does overnight New Year's Eve in Dubai. We were wondering if anything was open in Dubai on New Year's Day?

 

We were also debating between doing the Al Ain day tour or the Hattar mountains day tour while we are in Dubai before the cruise.

 

Quite enjoying reading your review and seeing the pictures. Thank you.

It appeared that most of the businesses (shopping malls, etc.) and tourist attractions were open. I'd suspect gov.t and regular offices were likely closed. I believe banks were also open.