We got up this morning to find that it was raining again. We had planned some final sunbathing, but not in this weather. At 10.30am, the captain and his two top officers held a presentation meeting in the theatre. This was a very interesting insight into the building of the ship, the future of it and normal operational processes. This concluded with a guest question and answer session. After that, as it was still raining this was an ideal time to do the packing ready for our exit from the ship tomorrow. All larger bags need to be outside of the cabin by 10.00pm this evening for collection by the cabin steward for assisted offloading. We met a Canadian couple at lunch who had very much the same feeling about this ship as we do. It ... read more

We had hoped to do the Galley Brunch yesterday for George´s birthday, but it still felt like a bit of a celebration today. When we arrived in the main the dining room, we were really surprised at how many people were doing the brunch. We were thinking there would be a group of 10 or 20 and there were about 150. They split us into groups of about 15 to take us around a small area of the galley and explain how the different sections and areas worked. Seems like most cruise ships are the same. You can tell this is a new ship as everything is still looking pristine. After the tour, we were given bottomless sparkling wine, or in George´s case orange juice, and it was constantly replaced. It was a bit too early ... read more

Having a really relaxing time. All these sea days in a row with nothing to do. Perfect for us. We have looked through the RCCL Cruise Compass each day but have not yet found anything to interest us during the day. Another day of sun bathing it is then. Not really happy with Royal Caribbean - Our close circle of friends know exactly why. We are currently crossing the Andaman Sea which is prime Tsunami territory.... read more

We had again done our homework for Kochi and worked out that it was a lot more spread out that Mumbai was. We planned to get a Tuk Tuk to the fishing nets and then work our way back towards the port. Unfortunately, all the drivers only wanted to do a tour. We asked a couple about a one way trip and they just walked away from us. This was a big clue for a rethink. Eventually, we went to the taxi tent that had been set up for the cruise passengers. They gave us details of a tour around Kochi. It was either 1000 rupees (£10) for three people in a tuk tuk or 2000 (£20) for four people in a taxi. So we agreed to a Tuk tuk tour. Our driver was very knowledgeable. ... read more

India is somewhere neither of us has been to before, so are very interested to see it. We have done a fair bit of homework for this as we want to get to see as much as possible. The ship docked at about 4.00am in the morning, and by 7.30am, we were all allowed to start leaving the ship. The ship is docked a long way from the port entrance, so there are loads of shuttle buses to take everyone to the entrance. No need to book these though as there are so many of them. The journey to the entrance took about 10 minutes. Once off the buses, they checked our visas again and we were in Mumbai. It was absolute chaos. For about 20 minutes, we walked through man after man asking us if ... read more