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Delve deep into India’s fascinating historical and religious heritage.
Complex and beguiling, India is a country unlike any other. Wondrous sights rich in romance and intrigue come alive in the “Golden Triangle”—Delhi, Jaipur, and Agra. Delhi’s immense red sandstone marble tomb, commissioned by Emperor Humayun’s grief-stricken wife, will capture your heart, while Raj Ghat, a black granite memorial to the “Father of the Nation,” Mahatma Gandhi, will stir your soul. Jaipur’s Pink City and Agra’s Taj Mahal, a grand tribute to love, will leave you forever mesmerized.
Start your trip with five luxurious nights at three different award-winning Oberoi hotels. Enjoy a rare opportunity to see the Taj Mahal two times—once at sunrise and once at sunset. Once onboard, travel to villages lining the Ganges River that only a few people get to see each year and experience our new Wellness Program, centered around the destination’s ancient tradition and practice of yoga.Price includes
Complex and beguiling, India is a country unlike any other. Wondrous sights rich in romance and intrigue come alive in the “Golden Triangle”—Delhi, Jaipur, and Agra. Delhi’s immense red sandstone marble tomb, commissioned by Emperor Humayun’s grief-stricken wife, will capture your heart, while Raj Ghat, a black granite memorial to the “Father of the Nation,” Mahatma Gandhi, will stir your soul. Jaipur’s Pink City and Agra’s Taj Mahal, a grand tribute to love, will leave you forever mesmerized.
Start your trip with five luxurious nights at three different award-winning Oberoi hotels. Enjoy a rare opportunity to see the Taj Mahal two times—once at sunrise and once at sunset. Once onboard, travel to villages lining the Ganges River that only a few people get to see each year and experience our new Wellness Program, centered around the destination’s ancient tradition and practice of yoga.Price includes
- Seven-night cruise in a river view suite with private balcony on the elegant Ganges Voyager II with a complimentary wellness programme
- Two nights in New Delhi at The Oberoi New Delhi (or similar)
- One night in Agra at The Oberoi Amarvilas (or similar)
- Two nights in Jaipur at The Oberoi Rajvilas (or similar)
- Meals on board prepared using the finest and freshest ingredients
- 12 breakfasts, 10 lunches, 9 dinners
- Welcome and Farewell Gala Dinners
- Complimentary house wine, local spirits and beer, soft drinks, tea and coffee will be served throughout the cruise.
- Onshore lunches include complimentary coffee and tea. Onshore dinners include complimentary house wine, local beer, soft drinks, coffee, and tea
- A great range of culturally-enriching excursions, all fully hosted by English-speaking local experts, including an exclusive early morning viewing of the Taj Mahal without the crowds
- Take a Rickshaw Ride to Old Delhi
- Visit the Taj Mahal at sundown and sunrise
- Explore Rajistan and go on an Amber Palace Tour
- Travel to the authentic village of Matiari and meet the master craftsmen with an introduction to brass
- Go on a buggy ride to Katra Mosque and visit Baranagar village
- Visit the Hare Krishna complex and temple of Vedic Planetarium
- Go on a Kolkata city tour and Khusbagh walk
- Visit 4 UNESCO World Heritage sites
- Group transfers, services of a tour manager, gratuities during the cruise
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Day 1
New Delhi Arrive at New Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport. If your cruise/ tour package includes a group arrival transfer or if you have purchased a private arrival transfer, you will be greeted by a Uniworld representative and transferred to the Oberoi New Delhi hotel. Day 2 New Delhi India’s sprawling capital city is colorful, confounding, and captivating. Your expertly led city tour provides an ideal first foray into this fascinating land. To cap your day taking in the sights of scenic New Delhi, relax this evening over a delicious dinner at the Oberoi. Featured Excursion India’s Capital City with Rickshaw Ride to Old Delhi Travel down the broad boulevards of New Delhi, laid out early in the 20th century after the British moved the capital of the Raj from Kolkata to New Delhi and created a new administrative city just south of the old city. Sir Edwin Lutyens, a noted British architect, was given the task of designing... Day 3 New Delhi, Transfer to Agra This morning you will check out of your New Delhi hotel and head south via motorcoach to Agra, the site of Shah Jahan’s best-known building project, the exquisite Taj Mahal. You’ll visit the Taj Mahal this afternoon and stay for sunset, as the monument’s changing colors draw comparisons to the shifting mood of the late Emperor’s wife. Featured Excursion Majesty and Grace—the Taj Mahal at Sundown Arrive this afternoon at the luxurious Oberoi Amarvilas. Relax over lunch there and then check into your room, where you will be delighted to discover that your room—indeed, every room—has a view of the Taj Mahal, your next destination for the day. It’s easily the most famous... Day 4 Agra, Transfer to Jaipur Is the Taj Mahal best seen at sunset or sunrise? It’s an impossible question to answer, so Uniworld guests have the rare pleasure of experiencing both. Wake up early this morning to see the white marble monument aglow with the rosy tinge of dawn. You’ll spend your next two nights at the beautiful Oberoi Rajvilas. The luxury hotel sits on 32 acres of landscaped gardens and is built around an ancient Shiva temple. Featured Excursion Early Morning at the Taj Mahal Awake early in the morning for a return visit to the Taj Mahal, which will take on the rosy pink tints of sunrise as you arrive. The gates open as the sun lifts above the horizon, and you enter the exquisite precincts, which you may explore at your leisure. You’ll return to your hotel for... Day 5 Jaipur Pink is the color of hospitality in Rajasthan, which gives you an idea of what to expect in the “Pink City” of Jaipur. Featured Excursion Jaipur—Rajasthan’s Princely City and Amber Fort Today you'll tour the Amber Palace, followed by a visit to another of Jai Singh II’s architectural projects, the Jantar Mantar, a UNESCO World Heritage Site devoted to astronomy. Each of the curious structures, called yantras, in this observatory without telescopes enabled court astronomers... Day 6 Jaipur, Fly to Kolkata (Embark), Cruising the Ganges River Settle into your beautifully appointed suite aboard the Ganges Voyager II in Kolkata. Day 7 Kalna Kalna, once an important trade port on the river, is best known today for the magnificent Hindu temples built by the maharajas of Bardhaman— which you’ll experience today. After marveling at the astonishing Rajbari temple complex, you may opt to walk with your guide through the colorful local market. Featured Excursion India’s “Temple City” Stroll along the streets of Kalna as you head to the Rajbari temple complex. The Pratapeshwar Temple, built in 1849, is embellished with exceptional terra-cotta carvings depicting myths and rituals, as well as scenes of everyday life (see if you can spot the girl in typical Victorian dress with a... Day 8 Matiari Your ship serves as a time machine today, transporting you hundreds of years into the past, as we travel to the authentic artisan village of Matiari. Featured Excursion Matiari Master Craftsmen with an Introduction to Brass Artisans have been making ornamental brass objects— vases, lamps, figurines, platters—in Matiari for more than a century, so it’s no wonder that production is so well-organized and the craftsmen so skillful. Scrap metal is melted in the village foundry and pressed into new sheets... MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences Day 9 Murshidabad, Baranagar Today’s adventures take you to a duo of Bengali towns—Murshidabad and Baranagar—each one boasting surprising and beautiful architectural monuments closely linked to the ruling families of the area. Featured Excursion Visit to Murshidabad City, Ride by Buggy to Katra Mosque, and Visit to Baranagar Village Climb aboard a horse-drawn buggy for a ride to Katra Mosque, built in 1723 by the first nawab, Murshid Quli Khan, who gave his name to the town. The huge mosque was damaged by an earthquake in 1897, losing two of its four great towers, but it is still a remarkable sight. Your visit continues in... Day 10 The Ganges, Khusbagh, Mayapur One of the world’s most sacred bodies of water, the Ganges River flows through a myriad of small villages and highly populated cities throughout India and Bangladesh. Take in the remarkable scenery as you sail and be on the lookout for a rare sighting of the endangered Ganges river dolphin. Also today, watch as a skilled practitioner of mehndi demonstrates how the intricate henna patterns are created, and discover the meanings of the traditional motifs. Featured Excursion Khusbagh Walk Khusbagh, which literally translates to “Garden of Happiness,” is the garden-graveyard of the Nawabs of Bengal. Several historic rulers of this region, including Siraj ud-Daulah and Alivardi Khan, were laid to rest here. Take a walk through the village here, with a visit to see the... Day 11 Mayapur, Chandannagar Few places of worship exist on such a head-spinning scale as what you will witness today in Mayapur, the center of the international Hare Krishna movement and home to the new Temple of the Vedic Planetarium, still under construction. Most students of history know a thing or two about the British colonial powers in India, but few are aware that the French had colonies here as well. You’ll visit this former French outpost today. This evening, enjoy a Farewell dinner and take in a lively cultural dance performance, complete with music and dancing. Featured Excursions Hare Krishna Complex and Temple of the Vedic Planetarium As the ship comes into sight of Mayapur, look for the new Vedic temple currently under construction. Funded in part by Alfred Ford, great-grandson of Henry Ford, the temple is designed to be larger than St. Paul’s Cathedral in London once completed. The new temple construction coincides with... India’s French Colonial Heritage “Liberté, Egalité et Fraternité.” These words, the famous slogan of the French Revolution, are inscribed on the gateposts of Chandannagar, a mark of the centuries the town was a French outpost in West Bengal. In fact, Chandannagar did not officially become part of... Day 12 Kolkata The city of Kolkata is synonymous with the enduring legacies of Mother Teresa and the colonial-era British Raj, both of which you will get better acquainted with today. Featured Excursions Kolkata City Tour with Visit to the Flower Market Continue this morning with a panoramic tour of Kolkata’s city center. The first stop? A visit to the captivatingly colorful Flower Market. Located adjacent to the Howrah Bridge, this vibrant and bustling market is filled with vendors and buyers exchanging money for flowers to be used in... Kumartuli Visit (Potter’s Colony) And Colonial Sites After lunch, you’ll venture to Kumartuli, a traditional potters’ neighborhood that specializes in making intricate clay idols, for a look at this complex and fascinating time-honored tradition. Next, on your way back to the ship, you'll see the many remnants of Kolkata's colonial past.... Choose between... NGO "Calcutta Rescue" Visit This morning, you’ll visit the local NGO Calcutta Rescue, which serves the area’s underprivileged children. They provide much-needed services at no cost to the neediest people of Kolkata and West Bengal—regardless of gender, age, caste, or religion—through health clinics,... MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences or Mother Teresa’s Home and Tomb She came to India in 1929, after growing up in Macedonia and joining a Loreto nunnery in Ireland, and two decades later she founded her own order, the Missionaries of Charity, devoted to the “salvation and sanctification of the poorest of the poor.” Visit the Mother House, where she... MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences Day 13 Kolkata (Disembark) Your incredible Indian adventure ends early this morning, as you disembark and transfer to the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport for your flight home or extend your journey with an optional extension to Varanasi. Optional Extension Varanasi, India Post-Cruise Extension
Optional Extensions are additional and based on Availability. Flights can be booked soon – Nov 2024. I will keep you posted. |
Costs:
We have blocked space on the Oct 10- 22, 2025 departure aboard the Ganges Voyager II
Stateroom Categories on the 56 passenger vessel will not last long.
Signature Suite Cost per person is $8381.05 if reserve and deposit before Oct 31, 2024
Colonial Suite Cost Per person $9047.05 if reserve and deposit before Oct 31, 2024
Heritage Suite Cost Per person $10,662 if reserve and deposit before Oct 31, 2024
Viceroy Suite Cost per person $11612 if reserve and deposit before Oct 31, 2024
This is on a first come first serve basis and will fill up quickly.
Deposit of $1881.00 per person will save your space in Signature Suite (5 left here)
Deposit of $1908.10 per person will hold space for the Colonial Suite (8 Left here)
Deposit of $2029.90 per person will hold space for the Heritage Suite (1 left) Fixed king bed
Deposit of $2129.90 per person will hold space for the Viceroy Suite (1 left) Fixed King bed
Stateroom Categories on the 56 passenger vessel will not last long.
Signature Suite Cost per person is $8381.05 if reserve and deposit before Oct 31, 2024
Colonial Suite Cost Per person $9047.05 if reserve and deposit before Oct 31, 2024
Heritage Suite Cost Per person $10,662 if reserve and deposit before Oct 31, 2024
Viceroy Suite Cost per person $11612 if reserve and deposit before Oct 31, 2024
This is on a first come first serve basis and will fill up quickly.
Deposit of $1881.00 per person will save your space in Signature Suite (5 left here)
Deposit of $1908.10 per person will hold space for the Colonial Suite (8 Left here)
Deposit of $2029.90 per person will hold space for the Heritage Suite (1 left) Fixed king bed
Deposit of $2129.90 per person will hold space for the Viceroy Suite (1 left) Fixed King bed