I thought Eugene or someone else had found the details of the three day post-cruise to Taj Mahal. Searching the Regent site, I can't find any details and if you follow their links, you keep circling through the same pages.

Does anyone have details? Do we lose our overnight on the ship which counts as one of our three nights? Or, do we actually have three additional night? In either case, do they drop us back at Bombay or Delhi for flights home? Flights from Bombay seem to be in middle of night, any idea if Regent will have hospitality suites or day rooms?

If we don't lose our last night on board, the three nights of the post will be 18th, 19th, and 20th. We have day of 21st to get to Bombay and then flights in early morning of 22nd.

Since I have been in planning mode for Monte Carlo, just started checking flights for this cruise too even though we are a few months away. ;)

I have asked for a more detailed itinerary and was told nothing was available yet so I have "an order" in for when it is available. Not received anything yet. Then again you never know something could be out but it is so early I doubt it.

As far as I can tell, Regent removed the description of their land program to the Taj Mahal from their Web Site. Unfortunately, while I have a printed copy, I only saved the link. My copy is pretty small print, so I'm reluctant to try and scan it and post. This was offered on the Dubai to Singapore cruise last month, so it's a different situation since it isn't an end-point, but it still may provide useful information.

As far as I can tell, Regent removed the description of their land program to the Taj Mahal from their Web Site. Unfortunately, while I have a printed copy, I only saved the link. It is pretty small print, so I'm reluctant to try and scan it and post. This ”Taj Mahal Experience” was offered on the Dubai to Singapore cruise last month, so it's a different situation since it Mumbai wasn't an end-point, but it still may provide useful information.

Briefly:

Day 1

After docking in Mumbai, drive through the city and arrive at Bombay airport. Board the flight to Jaipur (lunch aboard).

Upon arrival in Jaipur, enjoy 4-hour scenic drive to Agra. Arrive at ITC Mughai hotel and check in. Dinner at the hotel.

Day 2

Discover the Taj Mahal at sunrise (optional). Guests wishing to rise with the sun receive tea, coffee, juices, and rolls in hotel lobby prior to coach departure to the Taj.

After breakfast, drive to Indian countryside to visit Fatehpur Sikri (45-minute drive), the red sandstone former capital of the Mughai empire.

Return to the hotel for lunch with wine, beer, soft drinks and water (12:30 – 2:00 pm).

Afternoon options:

A) 2:00 – 4:00 pm: Visit the tomb of Itmad-ud-Daulah (first Mughai structure totally built from marble and using “pietra dura”) in the old city of Agra.

B) 2:00 – 4:00 pm: Visit the Agra Fort, a World Heritage Site, credited to Emperor Akbar.

C) 2:00 pm onward: Shopping shuttle to the marble inlay factory and local markets (on the hour).

4:00 pm: Depart to see the Taj Mahal at sunset.
Upon return, dinner at the hotel with wine, beers, soft drinks, and water. Overnight in Agra.

Day 3

After an early buffet breakfast at the hotel, check out, transfer to the airport. Lunch aloft. (Note on this trip, the group was going to Goa to rejoin the ship.) By the way, the price was $1,899 per person (double occupancy).

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Eugene

ITC Mughal? I was really hoping for the Oberoi Amervillas, but for the low per person add on I suppose that is an unrealistic expectation.

Remember that is just what they offered last month. Everything might be different in April 2013.

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Eugene

Leslie, Oberoi Amervillas is a FABULOUS hotel..so happy that's where they "stuck us" on WC. :D

Eugene, any idea what past offerings were for Angkor Wat?

Eugene,

Descriptions of the land programs to the Taj Mahal still exist on the website (see e.g., Taj Mahal 1 and Taj Mahal 2 ).

While the land program they have now help somewhat, they are two-night programs and the post-cruise Taj Mahal program will be a three-night tour. So there will be unknown differences. Also, there might be a logistical constraint. We disembark Voyager on April 18th, which is a Thursday. My understanding is that the Taj Mahal is closed to visitors on Fridays so unless Regent flies us directly to Agra, Saturday may be the only day we can visit the Taj Mahal. I wonder if other sites in the area are also closed on Friday?

I don't hold out much hope for the Oberoi Amarvilas. It is probably too costly for a tour on which we will not pay an additional fee and with only 109 rooms and suites, it may be too small for the number of rooms Regent will need. Personally, I would pay to upgrade from the ITC (if that's where we will stay) to the Oberoi but I don't know if that will be possible.

Interesting Dave. In 2005 we were on a Radisson chartered 737 non-stop from Mumbai to Agra. We only stayed in Agra 1 night (seemed much longer).

We visited the Taj the first afternoon and then again the following morning. We also went on another short excursion not too far from the hotel. Of course, this one included the customary stop at a souvenir shop (probably owned by the driver's Uncle).

Editing to add a favorite of mine - similar to what you may see:

Dave, all I can tell you is the link that I used was no longer active. It is clear to me from the two that you posted that the itinerary is similar. Regarding, the possible Friday closing, we'll have to see what Regent comes up with.

Marcie, I don't know anything about what Regent might offer for Angkor Wat. We went in 2007 after PANDA and spent four nights there. (We had planned on three, but rather than going into Bangkok, we decided to stay in Siem Reap an extra night.) It was fascinating. It was also easy and fairly reasonable to book round-trip air on Bangkok airways to Siem Reap. Nice jets.

I arranged everything independently. We stayed at the Hotel de la Paix, which I had found in a New York Times article. It has one of the best spas in SE Asia, so even if you have no interest in the hotel, if you like spa treatments it is well worth knowing about-- and compared with ships or U.S. prices, treatments are a steal, which you would expect being familiar with spas in that part of the world.

The hotel and rooms were terrific, and I have sent other people there who enjoyed it. The hotel offers packages with room, some meals, and a guide and driver to the major sights. I think that I posted photos at the time and could probably find some to forward if you are interested.

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Eugene

Charter flight to Agra sounds way better than a 4 hour bus ride. Marcie, i thought that you had stayed at the Amervillas. Love your photo!

I thought the Taj post cruise was included in the price. Marcie, Love that picture.

It is included in the TAJ MAHAL cruise. I just provided a price to show what Regent was charging when it was a special excursion for a previous cruise. It is the same price as the first option Dave posted. The private jet option -- the second one that Dave posted -- is almost twice as much.

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Eugene

We did the overnight(2 day) tour in 2005. Although it was expensive, it was well worth the cost. We had a charter flight from Mumbai-Agra(military field). The ride to the Oberoi was @ 15 minutes. The Oberoi is wonderful. Every room has a view of the Taj. We did a tour to the Taj at sunset after checkin. The next morning many of us did the sunrise tour to the Taj as well. Lots of great picture taking. In the afternoon we did the tour to the baby Taj by the river. The only bad part of the whole trip was Mumbai airport. It's a zoo!

Leslie, it is called the Oberoi Amarvilas and like Doug said, every room our group was in had a large furnished patio/balcony with a view of the Taj.

I looked at the the price Radisson charged in 2005...$1395.pp for double occupancy, included everything.

Judy, for the 2013 trip you can chose the Taj
post-cruise or the pre-cruise trip to Angkor Wat.

I just went to the Regent Web site and saw the details of the post-cruise to the Taj Mahal. Go to Taj Mahal Post-cruise .

Somewhat different that previous posts I think. By the way, I called Regent and although the description of the post-cruise mentions "after docking," the Regent representative assured me that Day 1 of the post-cruise is the day we disembark (Thursday). Note, also, for air travel, the return will be back to the States (or home) from Delhi not Mumbai. (I have no idea why a price is given at the end, given it also states that this is complimentary.)

Very briefly this is my understanding:

Day 1 (Thursday): Mumbai to Jaipur on Air India, where we overnight at the Marriott. Various activities around Jaipur (Royal Observatory, City Palace, etc.) in the afternoon.

Day 2 (Friday): After breakfast drive to Agra where we check in to the ITC Mughal hotel. Various afternoon options followed by a 4 PM departure to see the Taj at sunset. According to the Regent agent, there must be a special arrangement given that it is a Friday and usually the Taj is closed. (I have no idea how much this person actually knew.) Classical dance in the evening and dinner at the hotel.

Day 3 (Saturday): Sunrise at the Taj Mahal for those wishing it. After breakfast, checkout and drive to Delhi. Check-in to the Taj Palace Hotel(for the day -- not overnight). Lunch at the hotel followed by sightseeing. Dinner at the hotel followed by transfer to the airport for flight home. I think most flights to the States leave after midnight.

Day 4 (Sunday): Flight home.

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Eugene

Thanks for posting the link, Eugene. It is interesting to see them actually provide the details hour by hour. The Taj visit is from 4:30 to 6 PM; however the sunset on 4/19/2013 is at 6:45 PM. Maybe they will amend the times - I wonder about the Friday visit though.

Not sure why they show the pp cost, but the price isn't really complimentary - there is a $1,000 pp non-use credit available if you opt out of the pre or post land package.

Sure wish they were using the Oberoi Amervillas in Agra and the RajVillas in Jaipur!

I was speaking with Linda Litteken about all this yesterday. We concluded that there are a number of details that need further clarification. One reason that Regent may be posting the cost is for people that want to do both a pre- and post-cruise package, given that they'd only have to pay for one of them. That's just a conjecture, however.

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Eugene

Personally I am delighted that we will get to Jaipur it gives another aspect of India and I think that is a nice addition. Also I like that both the evening and early morning Taj visit options are available. The final tour of Delhi will give you a sense of this large city. The two four hour drives will be long but there is no other way. I think this is a good program.

Thanks for posting that Eugene good spotting

Sounds wonderful to us. I hope the 4 hour drives are in an air conditioned vehicle.

Oops, put this in the wrong place--just in case you missed it, here it is again:

It looks like they've changed the itinerary for the post-cruise trip to the Taj Mahal--now there's only one chance to see the Taj Mahal and that's at sunrise--so much for sleeping in that day. It's also the same day we drive to Delhi and fly home late that night. Get the Red Bull ready, it'll be a looooong day.
http://www.rssc.com/cruises/landhotelprograms.aspx?VoyageId=VOY130401&DisplayType=Program&Id=MUML05|False&TimeType=PO