My wife and I have recently returned from a river cruise onboard the RV Rajmahal…

…along India’s River Ganges between Farakka and Kolkata...

 

As part of the overall travel package we also undertook a 7 Night Pre-Cruise package through India’s ‘Golden Triangle’ tour which is covered as a separate review…

 

https://solentrichardscruiseblog.com/2019/03/18/indias-golden-triangle/

…that included a visit to the World renowned Taj Mahal…

Here is a map that graphically illustrates  both packages itinerary…

As far as the river cruise was concerned we started the itinerary with an overnight stop in Kolkata before heading north to Farakka by Indian State Railway.

The RV Rajmahal is a relatively new (she entered service in 2014)  custom designed and  purpose built Ganges River cruise ship,  with a mix of 22 double and single occupancy cabins: a maximum of 40 guests in total.

She is operated by the Assam Bengal Navigation Company and had been chartered by APT/Travelmarvel for our particular journey…

By booking early some 18 months in advance we were able to secure our ideal cabin on the Upper Deck,  cabin No 14…

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All cabins on ABN Rajmahal have French balconies. All cabins and public rooms onboard are also fully air-conditioned.

The Rajmahal boasts a vast partially canopied Sun Deck, looking forward…

…and aft…

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…with a Sun Deck bar facility …

…serving alcoholic drinks plus hot and cold beverages daily.

Across the Sundeck we found more than ample comfortable steamer chair and sun lounger seating…

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…with stylish decor across the deck…

Sharing accommodation on the ‘Upper Deck’ is the Saloon and Bar…

…that’s the bar in the far corner above, a little closer here…

The saloon décor is stylish, fresh and with touches of colonial elegance…

*****

 

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…while additionally benefitting from a stern facing balcony…

The saloon, apart from being a relaxed lounge in which to enjoy a variety of fresh beverages, all day complimentary alcoholic drinks,  pre-dinner links and canapés…

…was also the venue for the daily ‘following day’s briefing’...

…and was often easily transformed to a theatre style seating arrangement for evening entertainment.

The Dining Room is situated in the rear section of the ‘Main Deck’…

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Breakfast and lunch were ‘buffet’ affairs, but on all bar one evening dinner was fully served and was pre-chosen from menus passed around at lunch time.

The Rajmahal towed its own ‘tender’ boat…

…for the many occasions where berthing alongside was not possible…

 

LIFE ONBOARD

Rajmahal has a capacity to carry 40 guests though on our particular river cruise there were only 33. To cater for the guests there are a crew numbering 30 which kind of approaches the perfect personalised experience.

The dining experience onboard is always an important aspect of any cruise.

The food onboard was predominantly Indian – why shouldn’t it be – with a distinct variety of cuisine drawn from many areas of the Indian Sub- continent.

Breakfasts were  pretty standard buffet affairs…

…with a daily changing selection of ‘western’ staples…

…an eggs to order station and table service for tea, coffee and fruit juices other than those on the buffet.

Lunches again were ‘buffet style’…

…generally following the same pattern with fresh salad style starter…

…a single western main course with a choice of numerous Indian dishes including Bengali Sorshe Maach…

…Chicken in Hot Garlic Sauce…

…Plated…

…and other vegetarian choices such as Cauliflower Manchunian style…

 

 

Dinner onboard each evening was an ‘open seating’ affair with a standard starter and a pre-ordered main course and dessert with the dining room taking on an altogether more classic appearance and feel…

The dinner menus were all varied and, once again, offered choices spanning the culinary delights of the whole Indian sub-continent…

 

*****

Some examples of dishes…

An appetizer, Aloo Achari (Pickled potatoes)

…and Chicken Steamed Momo…

Indian main course, Shahi Korma…

and a rather large plate on the last night, a selection of Prawn Malai Curry…

…and Chiken Kolapuri.

Desserts were again varied between Indian and Western styles, my favourite being the Sticky Toffee Pudding with Chocolate Sauce…

 

Entertainment onboard proved interesting. On two consecutive evenings there was a screening of a fascinating two part hour long documentary film on the River Ganges and was particularly pertinent to the history of the areas in which we were sailing.

When opportunity allowed three separate groups of entertainers, one musical and two dance, embarked and gave very good performances…

…and the musicians even recruited a locally attired female passenger for their finale photo shoot…

The first evening of Indian dancing featured an eight strong dance troupe who gave a very good show…

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…while on the second evening the star was a solo turn with a completely different style of dance…

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…and never one to miss a photo opportunity…

In addition to the evening entertainment there was often scheduled, during river transit periods, various daytime activities including cookery demonstrations, cultural talks, and a Saree demonstration for the ladies…

…and for us chaps a Bridge Visit…

*****

…and Engine Room Visit… 

…duly noting the Engine Room Shrine…

On the River

Considering the number of included excursions scheduled each day (which will be covered in more detail in the ‘Itinerary’ section) it seemed that we spent a fair amount of time actually sailing on the river.

Capturing the activities and sights as we meandered along the Ganges was both interesting and fun. The following photographs are just a small selection taken during our sailing between stops.

It is a fact that one tenth of the world’s population live along the banks of the Ganges and the influence of the ‘Holy River’ on their lives was constantly on show…

 

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…while the means of crossing the river came in many shapes and sizes…

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…for both people, vehicles and farm produce…

What was also often striking was images of times gone by when once great industries thrived on the river bank: their buildings and equipments now laid to waste…

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…along with once essential utility facilities…

…this one dating back to 1866…

…all slowly making way for new and more modern advances in water treatment…

…and communication and transport systems…

But the colours and flavours of days gone by remain, the farmers washing their crops before heading to market…

…or washing their water buffalo…

There is always a rich tapestry of colour and life to observe and the Ganges provides, whether it be transportation…

…cultivation of the future rice crop…

…or the servicing of  laundry…

Without any doubt though the most meaningful, probably even poignant,  moments were when, on a number of occasions,  we passed river bank cremation sites…

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Of course it wasn’t always us looking and photographing life on the river. On occasions whole hosts of local people would gather to cheer and wave to us..

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…while others were always eager to record our passing via mobile phones….

The Itinerary

Our package  included a 7 Night guided tour of India’s ‘Golden Triangle’ which I will cover in a separate blog. So for the purpose of this review the itinerary started in the city of Kolkata…

…and a one night stopover at the magnificent Taj Bengal Hotel.

An optional excursion took us on guided visits to Kolkata’s  Marble Palace…

…a palatial nineteenth-century mansion which is one of the best-preserved and most elegant houses of nineteenth-century Calcutta. It is famous for its marble walls, floors, and sculptures, from which it derives its name. The interior walls are adorned with great paintings (works of Reynolds, Rubens and Murilla) hence yet again strict admission rules forbade photography which was a shame as the inside was truly amazing.

We also paid a visit to the Jain Temple…

The Temple complex…

…is a major tourist attraction in Kolkata.

We also visited a district known as ‘Potters Town’ which, as it turned out, was by no means what we had imagined…

The ‘Potters’ are in fact a group of artisans who have practiced their trade in this ramshackle neighbourhood since Kolkata became the capital of British India in 1772.

Indeed, ‘Potters Town’ is home to more than 200 ‘potters’ who  manufacture and supply idols for Kolkata’s three largest ‘Puja’ Festivals – each festival dedicated to one of the three major Hindu goddesses…

And a finished article…

Day 2 – Kolkatta to Farakka  

After a relaxed start to the day we were transported to Kolkata’s Howrah Railway Station…

…for our train journey north to Farakka…

Howrah Station is the largest railway complex in India.  Approximately 617 passenger trains pass through the station each day fully utilising  its 23 platforms and serving more than two million passengers per day. Our train arriving…

APT/Travelmarvel had secured  reserved seating in a first class compartment which included complimentary beverages and food served by Indian Rail employees. Very interesting indeed.

We arrived in Farakka early evening and were met by Rajmahal staff and transportation to take us to the ship’s berth.

Day 3 – Full Day excursion to Gour

We had a civilised start time just after breakfast before we embarked on our two hour drive to the ruined city of Gour. The journey was fascinating in many ways, the first being the need to cross the Ganges via the Farakka Barrage…

The barrage is 2,240 metres long and has 109 gates to regulate the flow of water and to divert 1,100 cubic metres per second  of water from the Ganges to the Hooghly River for flushing out the sediment deposition from Kolkata Harbour without the need of regular mechanical dredging.

Due to the high security sensitivity in the area we were warned that the Indian Army has a zero tolerance towards photographs being taken while actually transitting the barrage, hence the above photograph is all I have.

Once across the barrage we eventually arrived at the city of Gour. It was once the capital of ancient Bengal and one of the oldest residential colonies existing in India, and  had mention in Puranic texts as old as 500 BC.  This was once the city’s Northern Main Gate…

Though the place is now in ruins,  in its hey day it covered an area of 20 to 30 km².

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During the course of our tour we covered a number of the remaining main sites from both Buddhist and Muslim rule eras…

Gour is a feast for history lovers and my small number of photographs hardly convey what is available for exploration. Lunch at a local hotel was included in our day and we eventually returned to the Rajmahal, which had moved from Farakka to Jangipur, late afternoon.

Day 4 – Baranagar, Hazaduari and Nashipur

At this point I feel I should explain the excursion arrangements onboard the Rajmahal. Basically passengers were split into two groups designated by cabin numbers and given a colour code. Yours truly and Solent Barbara were allocated ‘Green’ Group…

There were a number of excellent guides onboard as well as a naturalist. Guides were allocated to each coloured group on an alternating daily basis.

Today there were two visits before lunch and one extended one in the afternoon.

For our first morning visit we wandered through some rural countryside and a village where lucky timing ensured we witnessed the local snake charmer…

Our walk eventually led us to a cluster of Terracotta Temples, this one the Gangeswar Jor Bangla…

Built in the 18^th century by Rani Bhabani this temple is one of the the finest specimens exhibiting Bengal’s unique style of surface terracotta art. The pillars and walls between the arches are profusely decorated with animals and human forms…

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The space above the arches in this temple have no scenes from mythology while inside the temple a trio of Shiva images are well preserved…

…and these, a complex of temples,  the Char Bangla…

Following a short sail along the Ganges we arrived at the second of our  morning visits, the Hazarduari Palace Museum…

Built in 1829 the Hazarduari Palace is the most conspicuous building in Murshidabad. The name of the palace,  Hazarduari,  translates as “a palace with a thousand doors”. Hazar means “thousand” and Duari means “the one with doors”; thus, the total sums up to “the one with a thousand doors”.

In the grounds of the palace is an imposing historical  British era clock tower…

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Today the Palace is regarded as the biggest site museum of Archaeological Survey of India and once again, sadly, internal photography was not permitted.

Following lunch we were driven on a guided visit to the north eastern side of the city of Murshidabad to see three separate important historical places, the Katra Mosque…

The mosque dates back to 1723 and its importance lies in the fact it was a great centre of Islamic learning, hence it being surrounded by double storied domed cells built for those who read the Quran in those days: today they would  be called Madrasa….

The entrance to the mosque is by a flight of stairs from the east, and the tomb of Nawab Murshid Quli Khan…

…is sited under these stairs…

The rather stunningly sited Kathgola Palace was our next stop. The palace and its gardens are dedicated to the Jain Deity…

We were given an  interesting  guided tour of this palace which houses  valuable paintings, mirrors and priceless furniture.  Alas, once again, no photography was allowed.

In the Kathgola gardens can be found the Jain Deity temple of Adinath, also known as Paresh Nath Temple…

 

Finally our afternoon excursion took us to another palace, that of Nashipur Rajbari…

The original grand palace was situated just adjacent to the current one which was built by Raja Kirti Chandra Singha Bahadur in 1865. Some parts of which are in serious decay…

The Nashipur Rajbari became the court of the Raja Debi Singha…

…who is historically renowned for being a most brutal British tax collector and who eventually became  the founder of the Nashipur Raj Family.

Today the Nashipur Palace  has been converted into a museum showcasing personal belongings of the Nashipur royal family,  documents pertaining to tax collection of that time, and other memorabilia of the times.

 

Day 5 Moghul Khosbagh and the Plassey Battlefield

This morning we were tendered ashore for a ten minute walk to…

…the garden cemetery of the family of Nawabs of Bengal Afshar dynasty …

 

The entire cemetery, along with the graves, is built on a 7.65 acres and and is surrounded by a 2,741 ft long wall. Khosbagh means ‘Garden of Happiness’…

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Within the garden walls can also be found the small Khosbagh Garden Masjid (Mosque)…

 

This afternoon’s excursion once more required a tender ride ashore from where we were taken on a ten minute drive to visit a battlefield site that changed the course of Indian history. Two monuments mark the site of the Battle of Plassey…

…which was a decisive victory for the forces of the British East India Company , under the leadership of one, Colonel Robert Clive, over the Nawab of Bengal and his French allies on 23 June 1757 .

With just 3,000 soldiers Clive masterminded the defeat of the last independent Nawab of Bengal,  Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah’s whose army consisted some of  50,000 soldiers, 40 cannon and 10 war elephants.

The battle consolidated the Company’s presence in Bengal, which later expanded to cover much of India over the next hundred years while the British further used the increased from their new conquests  to further their military might and push the other European colonial powers such as the Dutch and French out of South Asia, thus expanding the British Empire. The current monument  only recently replaced the original which, sited a short distance away…

…had become inaccessible through agricultural development.

While crossing the battlefield we spotted a colony of Indian fruit bats…

*****

 

Day 6 – Matiari Village and Mayapur

Matiari was billed as a famous brass working village and we headed ashore to explore what it had to offer and hopefully witness the whole primitive process of beating out brass water pots and other vessels…

In one cottage foundry we came across a team recycling redundant brass…

…and later witnessed a local tinsmith at his craft…

…before being given the opportunity to make purchases…

All passengers had been set another task in Matiari however. Prior to leaving the ship we were all given a certain number of Indian Rupees in cash with a piece of paper naming a specific vegetable we were to buy from Matiari’s local market.  Our Head Chef Vincent…

…promised to use our fare in the evening’s meal and so we set about our task, Barbara’s being garlic…

…while mine was cucumber…

All good, interesting fun.

Having returned onboard with our victuals we once again set sail, this time for Mayapur…

Mayapur is a holy city located on the banks of the Ganges.  It is the headquarters of ISKCON  (International Society for Krishna Consciousness ) or the home of  Hare Krishna to you and me.

Considered the holiest of all places in entire India, Mayapur is visited by over a million pilgrims annually.

Currently the main attraction in Mayapur is Srila Prabhupada’s Pushpa Samadhi Mandir…

…a memorial to ISKCON’s founder.

However, there is a building programme in progress…

It is the Mayapur Chandrodaya Mandir Temple of the Vedic Planetarium, seen behind me in the above photograph. I am including this video as an insight into what it will appear like on completion…

…when it becomes the world’s largest religious temple.

During our visit we were also taken into the Sri Mayapur Chandrodaya Mandir Temple for an insight into the religion…

Once again photography inside the temple was not allowed.

 

Day 7 – Kalna and Imambara

 

Undaunted after yesterday’s temple extravaganza we once again headed ashore into the town of Kalna. It was our first day of rain and we were pleased that APT/Travelmarvel had laid on local transport…

…which took us the some 15 minute drive to another temple complex.

But here was something relatively unique in the style of temples that we had become used to. For here, the major attraction is the Nava Kailash or 108 Shiv Mandirs…

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These temples were built in 1809 and are constructed in two circles. One consists of 74 temples while the other circle has 34. The former has white marble and black stone shivlingas…

…while the latter has only white marble ones…

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Due to its ingenious planning, all the shivlingas can be seen from the centre of the temple complex.

On the opposite side of the road was a further temple complex…

…..

We rounded off our visit to Kalna with a tour of the local fish market, in itself an education…

…once again we witnessed the universal use of the ‘Boti Blade’

 

Continuing along the Ganges during lunch we arrived mid afternoon at Imambara…

The Hooghly Imambara is a Shia Muslim congregation hall and mosque dating back to 1861 and the visit  is an opportunity to step back in time and relive a slice of Islamic history in Bengal.

The building is a two storied structure, with a tall clock tower over the entrance gate.

The mosque has intricate designs and texts from engraved on the wall.

The interior of the mosque is decorated with marbles, candles and hanging lanterns…

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Initial disappointment at the scaffolding around the famous vaunted clock was overcome when it was discovered we could at least still climb the clock tower…

(Strictly gender sided of course)

Each tower, having a height of approximately 150 ft., takes 152 steps to reach its top and the views, albeit through the bamboo scaffolding, was worth the effort…

As can be deduced from my photographs, the Imambara was undergoing extensive refurbishment.

Before returning to our floating home our guide pointed out a sundial at the open yard at the rear of the Imambara…

Set on a concrete table with a fixed hand it still indicates the correct time from dawn till dusk…

An amazing piece of kit that indicated the exact time of our visit.

Day 8 – Chandernagore and Barrackpore

Today we were scheduled to visit first Chandernagore…

…a former French possession until 1950 and epitomised by its wide waterfront boulevards and Franco architecture. During our walkabout we visited the 18th century Sacred Heart Church…

…and had a delightful chat with the priest, Father  Orson Wells…

(For doubters that’s Father Wells showing his birth certificate above) 

and later we toured Dupleix’s House, the erstwhile Governor-General of French India…

…now a museum…

Our next stop after lunch was Barrackpore…

The first British barrack or cantonment in India was built in the town in 1772. After the British crown assumed direct control of India, the sprawling Government House and the Government Estate were built in Barrackpore to provide the Viceroy with a suburban residence 15 miles outside of Calcutta.

Little remains  visible of the once massive military presence and barrack structures other than ruins…

…and all that remains of the old ‘Semaphore Tower’…

What our time ashore in Barrackpore did offer was an amusing interlude into the lives and practices of many Indians who have cramped or over-crowded living conditions. Introducing the ‘Love Boats’…

…where, if our guides are to be believed, they provide somewhere a little more private, for the furtherance of  carnal relations…

Departing Barrackpore we made good speed towards Kolkata, arriving under the Howrah Bridge as the sun began to set…

 

…eventually passing under…

and getting a view that truly shows the size of the Howrah Railway Station…

I have to confess to being a little surprised to find that were were anchoring mid stream for the evening and would remain there for our next day disembarkation.

 

Day 9 – Kolkata

Disembarkation proved to be a very orderly and civilised affair and after a leisurely breakfast we were tendered ashore to waiting coaches for an included guided tour of Kolkata before being dropped off at our hotel.

The tour was excellent and we were overjoyed to find that our allocated guide was once again the really excellent Malini Basu… 

Today our first stop was Kolkata’s  Mallik Ghat Flower Market…

…an incredible display of colour in a seriously chaotic and entertaining atmosphere…

…which lays claim to being the largest such market in Asia…

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The Flower Market actually extends under the Howrah Bridge…

…so it was pretty good to be able to this particular aspect of Kolkata’s famous bridge.

Our next stop on the morning tour was to be very much a pilgrimage destination in Kolkata, the one time home of Mother Teresa…

…which is now the Blessed Missions of Charity Motherhouse…

Inside there is a small museum to visit…

…and a room and chapel that houses Mother Teresa’s Tomb…

…very much in stark contrast to the tombs we visited in Delhi and at the Taj Mahal.

Our final stop this morning was at the magnificent Victoria Memorial Hall…

The Victoria Memorial Hall is a large marble building and a major city landmark. It is dedicated to the memory of Queen Victoria…

 

Built between 1906 and 1921 it is now a splendid museum and tourist destination set in beautiful grounds…

There are 25 galleries in the Victoria Memorial including a sculpture gallery, the royal gallery, the Central Hall…

a portrait gallery and armoury gallery and the many other fascinating exhibits including special historical dioramas depicting life in days gone by…

It is also possible to climb part of the way into the central dome…

…to obtain yet another aspect of this beautiful building…

Our tour complete we were taken to check-in our hotel, and a return to the outstanding Taj Bengal Hotel…

Rooms were ready and a welcome lunch at their Cal 27 poolside restaurant awaited…

We were also delighted to be informed that our rooms had been extended till early evening the following day, taking us up to a few hours before our flight departure from Kolkata.

This made our plans for our remaining time very much easier and once lunch was completed my wife and I headed back into Kolkata to commence our own pre-planned DIY exploration.

That evening there was a special farewell dinner  included in our package. It was held in the Taj Bengal’s Indian speciality restaurant, Sonargaon…

We ate from their set degustation menu and had an exceptionally fine meal with a rich diversity of flavours…

Day 10 – Kolkata

This was our final day before flying home and we fully intended making the most of it. We were the first into breakfast and then headed out  for the rest of our  DIY adventure into Kolkata. Here are just a few places we took in …

The Sir Stuart Hogg Market…

…with its 1930s clock tower…

…the clock of which had been manufactured in Huddersfield.

The Old Mission Church…

…Kolkata’s oldest Protestant Church having been built in 1770…

The Metropolitan Building on S.N.Banerjee Road… 

(Built in 1905 it was formerly the colonial era’s No. 1  Whiteway Laidlaw & Co department store)

 

The Shahid Minar…

Originally erected in 1828 in memory of Major-general Sir david Ochterlony, commander of the British East India Company though in 1969 it was rededicated to the memory of the martyrs of the ‘Indian Freedom Movement and renamed the “Shaheed Minar,” which means “martyrs’ monument”

Dalhousie Square

Dalhousie Square, now known as Benoy-Badal-Dinesh Bagh, is an historic oasis at the heart of modern Kolkata, formerly Calcutta, and is one of south Asia’s few surviving colonial centers.  It was once the centre of power in India and is unique in India because much of its peripheral environment remains intact.

St Andrew’s Church and the Writers Building…

Another view of the ‘Writer’s Building’ taken from the central square…

 

Dating back to 1777 this office building was for ‘writers’ of the British East India Company and is one of the centrepieces of Dalhousie Square. Named after Lord Dalhousie, the Governor-General of India, it was the hub of trading, the centre for the activities of the British East India Company and at one time the capital city of India.

On another side of the square was our number one Kolkata visit quest,  the General Post Office Building…

…the reason for this being that our research indicated that it was here that the boundary of the original Fort William defence complex was built over when the GPO building construction took place, and linked to that, the original site of ‘The Black Hole of Calcutta’ was buried beneath…

Today, the only indication of the historical site, and the tragic events of 1756, lay in the brass marker strip on the steps into the GPO…

During our research we also discovered that there had been a memorial to the victims of the ‘Black Hole’- a legend in the history of the Raj. Indeed, there had been a number of plaques and memorials, but over the years they have all been removed or re-sited.

The most significant of these, known as ‘The Holwell Monument‘ eventually fell into disrepair and was dismantled. It’s place was taken by a replica built under orders of Lord Curzon, in 1901.  Both were originally sited at a point where Charnock Place becomes Clive Street,  directly in front of the GPO Building.

Curzon’s monument has been removed to the grounds of the St. John’s Church…

…where it may be seen  today…

…and with the original Curzon inscription…

That basically concludes the itinerary section of this review. Yes it was rather long but over the 10 days we packed a lot in to what was another travel adventure.

Kolkata is one of the noisiest,  polluted, and poverty-filled cities that we have ever visited but our days there were amazing. The history, the colours, the vibrancy and the smells: they all combined to make it one of the most exciting Asian city visits we have undertaken. We certainly had an insight into Indian life and its social divisions and not just those practised through the caste system. We never once felt unsafe or threatened and only on one occasion were we pestered to make use of an obvious touting guide.

Later that day we checked out of our hotel and headed for Kolkata’s International Airport for our Emirates flight home.

Summary

India is an energetic melange of colour, aroma and flavour that provides both a feast for the senses and an insight into its diverse culture and social system divides.

One tenth of the world’s population live along the banks of the River Ganges and many of the traditions practised over centuries remain visible today.

This was a most successful packaged holiday that included both a land tour of India’s Golden Triangle and a cruise along the Ganges, India’s Holy River. Together both elements immersed us into both city and urban ways of life and my God it was diverse.

It was a journey any serious traveller really must do but also one that one would not really wish to repeat. The logistical arrangements  provided by APT/Travelmarvel were generally excellent and we were very aware of the quality and control of both food and accommodation that was in place. The choice of the Taj Bengal Hotel was a master stroke: perfect in all respects.

Overall it was good value for money and we found the overall pace of what was a very active programme pretty laid back. The crew of the chartered RV Rajmahal went out of their way to make our journey memorable and the only minor point I would make was that during the Golden Triangle element APT provided good vox boxes for our guides’ commentary whilst on the Rajmahal these were unavailable.

All the guides were good and knowledgeable on their subjects and the only downside was that our guide on the Golden Triangle element had an obvious aversion to using the APT paddle which on occasions slowed down progress.  Without any doubt our Kolkata guide, Malini Basu, was particularly outstanding.

The three British couples accounted for just one fifth of the 33 passengers on the Rajmahal, APT/Travelmarvel of course being an Australian based travel company. While I fully acknowledge we have respective views on dress codes it was very noticeable at evening dinners onboard who the Brits were.

 

This cruise package was booked through The Cruise Line of Hurstpierpoint, West Sussex.

 

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Disclosure to potential conflict of interest:

It is common throughout the travel industry for travel journalists and many cruise bloggers to be provided with complimentary cruises for the purpose of their reviews.

Solent Richard has no ‘conflict of interest’ as he is not an accredited journalist, he pays for his cruises, and is happy to confirm that all his reviews are his own given without fear or favour.