Hello, everyone! I am Suraj, and I have joined the forum to find out about the Chennai to Andaman cruise. The information required may be very basic and common, but for someone like me who has not been on a cruise before it is like a baby learning ABC, so please bare with me. My main question is how what procedure do I take to go from the Chennai to Andaman cruise? Where do I book the cruise tickets from? What ships are available for the Chennai to Andaman cruise route? How long does it take for the ship to reach Andaman from Chennai? Is there a luggage allowance for the cruise ships? Is there a parking facility at the Chennai port?
Hello there, welcome to the forum! As far as I know and I've researched, there are only a few cruise ships plying the Chennai to Andaman route. They are the following: 1. Amet Cruise Ship - This cruise ship travels from Chennai to Andaman to Phuket. It's a nine-deck cruise ship with about 268 cabins. It has a badminton court, spa, dance floor, disco, multi-cuisine restaurant, lounger bar and swimming pool. They have suites, state rooms and stag cabins. Aside from plying to Andaman from Chennai, they also have other routes in the country and outside of it: Cochin > High Seas > Cochin. Cochin > Lakshadweep > Cochin. Cochin > Maldives > Cochin. Chennai > Andaman > Phuket. 2. Azamara Club Cruises - This cruise ship travels from Chennai to Singapore, passing by Andamans, Thailand and Malaysia along the way. It's a 13 night journey and the stopover at Andaman is quite short in duration. They have all the luxury amenities as well just like the first cruise ship. They have many cruises available, both in Asia and in Western countries. Here are some of their routes in Asia: Dubai > Mumbai > Mormugao > Cochin > Maldives > Colombo > Chennai. Chennai > Port Blair > Myanmar > Phuket > Malaysia > Singapore. Mumbai > Cochin > Seychelles > Maldives > Sri Lanka > Goa > Mumbai. You first need to contact these cruise ship operators via phone or email. You need to ask them for their schedules as these cruises don't have fixed schedules. Once you have done that, you can confirm booking through the operator and you are well on your way to the cruise. Do keep in mind that these cruises have fixed routes, unlike the passenger ships plying from other parts of mainland India to Andamans. So your time in the islands might be limited and you won't get to enjoy it fully. Here are the contact details for both cruise ships: 1. Amet Cruise Ship - Here are the details of their main office: Address - AMET Shipping India, 5107, H2 II Avenue, Anna Nagar, Chennai, 600040. Contact Number - 044 26161438 or 32217877. Email - sales@ametcruises.com or marketing@ametcruises.com. Alternatively, some tour operators also have relations to the cruise ship so you can also contact them: Ascon Holidays Bangalore Address - No. 23 Coles Road, Ground Floor, Frazer Town, Bangalore, 560005. Contact Number - 080 2549 9628 or 080 2549 9620. Email - infoblr@ascontravel.com. Chennai Address - MKM Chambers, No. 42, Kodambakkam High Road, Chennai, 600034. Contact Number - 044 4299 3452 or 44 4299 3333. Peekay Tours and Travels Address - No. 56, Casa Major Road, 2nd Floor Egmore, Egmore, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600008. Contact Number - +91 44 2819 4444. 2. Azamara Club Cruise - Here are the details to contact them: Number for Asian Countries - +91 44 2819 4444. Email - reservationazamara@azamaraclubcruises.com. I've mentioned them above, they are the Amet Cruise Ship and the Azamara Club Cruise Ship. These are both luxury cruise ships as opposed to the passenger ships plying from Chennai, Kolkata and Vizag to Port Blair and other islands in Andamans. It depends on what route or cruise you take. Ideally though, from Chennai, ship journey takes around 60 hours to cover the distance. But with cruise ships, there are many stopovers along the route so you might take longer to reach Andaman Islands. Yes, cruise ships are generally more spacious and bigger than passenger ships. They have a variety of facilities and amenities for guests that normal passenger ships don't have. There are some parking spaces around the port but none of it is officially a parking facility. There are talks about creating a specific parking facility here though. The Port Trust has been planning to set up a mechanised multi-level car parking facility for common users on Rajaji Salai, one that can easily accommodate up to 100 four-wheelers and 65 two-wheelers. However, this plan hasn't been finalised or implemented yet. I hope this helps!
