Boat/Ship from Chennai to Port Blair/Andaman Islands

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When we were doing the research on the Andamans, how to get there etc. we struggled to find any information on how to get the ship there and what it's actually like. This is in keeping with everything about getting to the Andamans. The Indian government really doesn't want this absolute paradise to go the way of Goa, who can blame them!?



Since we're budget travellers we wanted to get to Andamans the cheapest way possible, this is by getting the ship from either Chennai, Kolkata or Vishakapatnam. The ship from Vishakapatnam is much more sporadic, and I’ve never heard of the place so obviously there's nothing going on there!

According to the guide book and what little information there is online, the ship should sail roughly every two weeks. However, this is India we're dealing with.



The first thing you're going to want to do is decide WHEN you want to go, this seems like it should surely be the easiest part, right? no. There's allegedly a “shipping schedule” online and in the newspaper. First of all trying to find the page with the link to the schedule is hard enough, then you get there and it only has the next ship listed.

On top of this you can't book the ticket anywhere except your departure city! YOU HAVE TO GO TO THE SHIPPING OFFICE TO GET THE TICKET.



We got the phone number for the shipping office and called them everyday in the run-up to leaving to find out when the boat was and when the tickets were released.

After four days of calling we finally got the information we needed. It was currently the 25^th February and the ship would sail on 6^th March, the tickets were released on 27^th.

We were in Bangalore so made the short journey to Chennai to get the tickets on the 27^th.



The guide book says the office opens at 9AM and there will be massive queues to get the ticket so turn up early. We arrived around 8.30AM and the security guard informs us they don't open until 9.30AM, classic.

We go in at 9.30AM and there's around 15 people also waiting to get tickets, nothing like the mad queues the guide book suggests!



To get the ticket you NEED THREE PHOTO COPIES OF YOUR PASSPORT AND VISA, the ticket costs (at the time of writing 2016) 2380rs for BUNK CLASS.



The cabin class prices are indicative of per person (6000+rs per person). YOU CANNOT POOL YOUR MONEY WITH FRIENDS TO GET A CABIN.



Given that the tickets are released roughly a week before the ship sails and no one wants to be stuck in Chennai for more than a day or two, nearby Mamallapuram and Pondicherry are nice places to check our while you wait.



So we left Mamallapuram on the evening of the 5^th so nothing went wrong and we didn't miss the ship (this is after already spending way too long in Chennai the first time) and arrived back in Chennai.

We awoke the morning after keen to begin the voyage to paradise, but we must have still been dreaming and the fact we were still in India hadn't crossed our minds.

Literally as we're packing to leave I receive a text (get an Indian number, it makes life so much easier) from the shipping office advising that the ship's been delayed until the 8^th due to bad weather! Brilliant stuck in Chennai again, at least they did text us though!



We eventually get to the 8^th and we've been advised that we need to arrive at the shipping office two hours before we set off because we're foreigners, the ship will leave at 5pm.

We're the only other foreigners when we arrive, we're told to wait for 10 minutes.

Half an hour passes and we're getting a little irritable and ask again what we're waiting for etc... Again they tell us to wait for 10 minutes.

Another two foreigners (a Russian and Ukrainian) arrive, and we're told the same story “wait 10 minutes”.

Another two foreigners arrive (a Dane and an Argentinian), again we're told to wait for 10 minutes. Eventually an important looking bloke comes over to us all.

We're all the foreigners on the boat and we need to be escorted through the port and fill out some paperwork etc.



We have to get a local bus from the shipping office into the port. On the way in the police stops the bus and asks to see our documents. Like with most things involving the Indian police it seemed as though this was the first time they'd ever had to do this...

Surely this officer, with his great moustache, who's sat on the roadside pulling this bus over to check us, has done this before?

There's a problem and the guy from the shipping office has to get involved and promptly clears up the issue.



We get into the port, fill out the required visa forms, and board the ship.



We were dreading the condition of the ship prior to leaving, having seen no pictures or heard any description.

IT'S NOT AS BAD AS YOU'RE IMAGINING.

On board it seemed like it was an old cruise ship that the Indian government's bought off a cruise company after it's finished being used for luxury, or something. The reason I say this is because on the top deck there's an empty swimming pool, and all the maps of the ship list the cafés as bars and dining rooms etc. Basically, this is India's version of the Titanic.



Top deck has a seating area and a café. The café sells tea/coffee, coke cola, sprite, crisps, Indian snacks and even cigarettes (although this is on the sly because I don't think they're meant to sell cigs given the sheepish way they were handed to you). You can smoke freely on the top deck and you can hang a hammock if you're “that guy” and don't mind being pestered by Indians.



The next two decks down are for cabin class and the bottom two for bunk class. Bunk class is where all the Irish people were on the Titanic, and where we called home for three very long days.

One of the officers on the ship genuinely referred to the people in bunk class as lepers! Unfortunately Jesus couldn't save us from this one.



THE BEDS!

The bunks are about eight big rooms filled with bunk beds with two bunks.

If you've been on sleeper class on the train then don't worry. This is mostly the same but slightly better. The bed is better, it's softer with more privacy. However the lights in the room don't get switched off, there's loads of people snoring (I was unlucky enough to be next to one of them) and people talk and play music late into the night.



EATING!

There was some confusion around this which led to an officer giving us a note to eat with the posh people, but I think I get it now.

So on the very bottom deck there's an eating area for bunk class that's veg items, the deck above is bunk class non-veg items. As far as I'm aware they're both the same meal times, three a day, and 95rs per meal and you just choose what meals to eat and pay as you go.

The cabin class eating area (where we ate) is a nice-ish dining room with A/C (worth it just for that). There's three meals a day, plus you get tea to your cabin twice a day (if you have a cabin, we did not). We paid around 800rs for all three day's meals, which worked out to be around 95rs a meal.

There's also an officers area within the cabin area that we had the option of eating at too, but we're definitely not posh enough for that!



The way we acquired the note to eat in cabin class was a stroke of luck, but feel free to try. We went to the information booth to ask where we ate etc, there was an officer chatting to the guys who work there. When we asked they all either misunderstood what we were asking, assumed we would be eating cabin class because we're white, or just didn't want us eating in bunk class.

Whatever the reason anyway, the officer asked us where we wanted to eat (bunk, cabin or with the officers) and said he'd write a note for us to eat there. We chose cabin, that's why we ended up there.



TOILETS!

I don't know about the girls (obviously), I can say the floors were clean when we walked past....?
The guys toilets were disgusting at most times. Just as filthy, if not more so, than your average public toilet in India. Even to the point me and Cam saw an actual shit (sorry Mum) in the middle of the floor!

I went in at some point one morning though and they had just been cleaned, so if you time it correctly you can have a “pleasant” time.



There are two “chill out” areas on board. One is what was probably once used as an entertainment area and bar. There's a dance floor and what were once nice chairs. You can stay in this room until 9PM, there are sockets in here too so you can charge your phone/laptop. The other is right at the front of the boat and made for bunk class. The chairs are hard and wooden in here, again there are sockets for charging and you stay in here all night.

In this room during the day and in the evening there's showings of Bollywood movies, so unless you like having your ear drums pierced and bad acting, stay well away!





The one thing I was would say, as with most of India, female travellers be careful! Especially solo. Someone grabbed the bum of the Argentinian girl who was on the ship with us as she was getting in the shower, the officers were informed and he was dealt with.

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