An Ensemble Hosted Cruise Experience

Last year, my husband Bruce and I embarked on a seventeen day Ensemble hosted cruise that went from Singapore to Dubai. The journey was remarkable and we had a fabulous experience. One of the highlights of our cruise was the private tours offered by Ensemble. When traveling on an Ensemble hosted cruise, you get to enjoy a number of additional amenities such as private tours, or cocktail parties.

On our cruise, our favourite Ensemble amenity was the private excursion was in Kerala, India. We had a wonderful guide from the local university that had an extensive knowledge of the history and culture of Kerala. The guide took us to an art gallery in the old Jewish settlement in Kerala and we had a beautiful lunch. After lunch we enjoyed a private Kathakali performance - a classical Indian theatre form involving dance and drama.

The themes of Kathakali tend to be based on one of the two Indian epics. The performance we saw was based on the epic Ramayana.

We arrived early enough that we were able to watch the performers prepare for the performance by applying elaborate makeup. Overall, it was a fascinating experience that we would not have enjoyed had we not been on an Ensemble hosted cruise. I would highly recommend a hosted cruise to anyone who loves cruising.

-Wendy