I decided to write about the cruise because when we decided to go to the Andamans by sea we had no one to answer our questions. There were no photographs to show what the interior of the ships were like, what facilities were offered on board the ships and what the rooms were like. I have left out details like fare, sailings places to visit, etc as this information is readily available on various websites.

We were going to the Andamans…all four of us! I can’t recall when we’d last holidayed together as a family. When children fly the nest, moments like these are few and far between. The countdown had begun and an undercurrent of excitement pervaded the atmosphere at home in Kolkata.The icing on the cake being ‘The Cruise’!! After weeks of debating, endless hours of surfing the net and numerous trips to 13 Strand Road (where the office of the Shipping Corporation of India Ltd. is located) we were on our way to the Khidderpore Docks where our ship, the M.V. Akbar was berthed.


                                                   
                    Bunk class passengers

 
        

                     M.V. Akbar

We negotiated our way round the serpentine queues of islanders, contractors, labourers and traders (bunk class passengers) waiting to board. The gangplank was lashed securely against the side of the ship and we walked up after duly showing our documents to the officers on duty. We went up the companionway to our deluxe cabin .The cabins had two berths each and were spic and span, with sunlight pouring in. We were pleasantly surprised to see a T.V. set, flask and glasses. The ensuite bathroom had a shower, a bucket and mug, small bar of soap, crisp white towels and ---hold your breath--- a roll of toilet paper!!! I became an instant fan of the ship’s Housekeeping Cell!

                              Deluxe cabin                                                                                            

      
                     Ensuite toilet

We unpacked our stuff into the wardrobe and chest of drawers. The P.A. system announced that we had to buy our food coupons, which we did. No dinner would be served that day. Bed tea, lunch, evening tea and dinner would be served for three days and on the fourth morning of our voyage we’d be in Port Blair. Two movies a day are shown in the ship’s in-house entertainment channel – English at 10 a.m. and Hindi at 8 p.m. Other cabin class passengers get to use the lounge for TV viewing. The lounge boasts a bar (though no alcohol is permitted on board), a tennis table and plenty of sofas to loll around and read books or play cards.

             
                                  Tennis table                                                         
                                 The Lounge

The Captain of the ship (tall, single and handsome!!) ,along with the Chief Officer welcomed us and informed us that round 11p.m the ship would be towed by a pilot ship till Hoogly Point and would be anchored for the night at Garden Reach, as per the norms, to wait for the morning high tide. The time now was 5pm. We had another six hours to wait before the Khidderpore Bridge opened.

We decided to take a walk on the upper deck and realized that others were of the same mind. It was a curious mixture of East, West and in-between. Our fellow passengers were Israelis, Koreans, Europeans, Bengalis, Army men and the bunk class (most of who were in lungis of different shades, sizes and drapes. Later I came to know that there were about 1300 of them on board!).One of the ship’s officers told them to go to the lower deck as the upper deck was for the cabin class passengers

         

                                       
       
                View of the Hoogly

Day 1- Hoogly

The ship lifted anchor at 10 a.m. The water of the Hoogly was murky with bits of flotsam and jetsam floating by. Brick kilns and groves of coconut trees lined the banks on both sides of the river. We’d wave at the occasional fisherman who’d holler out a greeting. Numerous waterways and jetties were seen. . We went to the ‘library’, if it could be called so. On depositing security money we were permitted to take the latest magazines.
              
                                       The Library


                                                                         
The bed tea and evening tea, made with condensed milk, was as sweet as syrup. The dining hall hummed with activity as lunch was served at 12:30p.m. Much later as we prepared to have our first dinner on board, the calm of the evening was shattered by the shrill announcement on the ship’s P.A. system of Benazir Bhutto’s assassination. An eerie quiet fell, and then all at once voices of condemnation and remorse rose.  There was a mad scramble for cell phones but there was no connectivity.

                                              

                                                     
           The Dining Hall                                                  

              Cabin Class 


      
                         The Dining Hall
                                     Bunk Class

 

Day 2- Bay of Bengal

Thankfully the next morning we woke up to see the Bay of Bengal-- deep blue water; flying fish; no land visible! The Captain came and chatted with us. We were to be the recipients of his largesse over the next few days. He regaled us with sea faring tales and the history of our ship. We were such a receptive audience, that before we knew it two hours had passed. At his invitation, the four of us visited the Wheel House in the afternoon. A young Merchant Navy cadet showed us the GPS navigation system and the Radio room. The Chief Officer, who was on duty, explained the intricacies of the equipment in the Bridge (the navigational and command center) to us.

                     

               View from the Bridge Deck                                     
     
                     View of the Bridge Deck

The days were idyllic. It became a ‘bed tea →breakfast→ deck →lunch→ deck→ evening tea → deck→ dinner → deck’ routine!! We put in a ‘deck’ between the bed tea and breakfast, but the kids wanted to sleep! They added a movie between the dinner and deck!! What did we do on deck? Plenty. Sudoku, crosswords, catching up on reading, walking on the promenade, day dreaming! The most pleasant pastime being leaning on the guardrail and gazing at the white-capped waves.

 

Day 3- Close to the Andaman Sea

In the Andaman Sea the next day, we saw our first dolphins frolicking in the sea. Unfortunately we couldn’t capture the moment on our cameras. We also had the first glimpse of North Andamans in the far distance at noon. We saw the most splendiferous sunset at 5:05 pm. The sky and sea were ablaze with all hues of violet, red and orange. A gentle breeze was ruffling our hair as we jostled to take photographs. I was reminded of Coleridge’s ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ when he described the sun in its full glory (without the ominous undertones).  

           
                              Land ahoy!!!!

                    

      
                        Spectacular sunset

                    

                            Enjoying the sun

  

Day 4 - Port Blair                                                                 

We awoke at 5 a.m.as we didn’t want to miss the ‘land sighting’! All the decks had people milling around. Small islands – some palm fringed and others barren – were visible. The steward who’d been serving us these past three days got us some tea on deck. I was grateful for that gesture as no breakfast (or tea) was to be served to the passengers .We were expected to reach Port Blair by 8:00 a.m. and partake of our morning repast there.

Two hours remained. It was difficult to while away our time especially as we were packed and ready to disembark. No one volunteered any ideas .The enterprising steward came at 6:30 a.m. to collect the tea-cups. I felt the germ of an idea growing within me and as I looked at my kids, they returned my look with growing dismay, for they knew that look well. I requested the steward to give the three of us a guided tour of the bowels of the ship. Thus we went about peeking into the galleys and laundry room, going down the companionway into the dorms, hold, infirmary etc. There seemed to be a set of secret staircases and alleyways behind the bulkheads – one that no passenger knew existed.

                                                                           

                The Staff laundry                                 

             
        One of the galleys           

As we came up to the top deck at round 7:10 a.m. we saw that the pilot ship had come to navigate. Someone pointed out Chatham Island in the distance. The tug arrived and there was a palpable excitement as it was latched with ropes to the ship. Thus began our slow entry into Port Blair past Chatham Wharf and finally Haddo Wharf where M.V. Akbar was to berth.                                             

             The Pilot Ship                                                       

   
             Chatham Wharf                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Port 
              Port Blair welcomes us                   

  
               Inching closer

           
              The gangplank being fixed
          

   
        Disembarking from M.V. Akbar

With a heavy heart and a sense of homesickness we expressed our gratitude and bid farewell to the Captain, Chief Officer, Purser, Catering Officer and other crew members and made our way down the gangplank. Port Blair…….. here we are!