Cruise review: Antara Cruises’ Artisans of Bengal

At a glance:

• Sail on MV Ganges Voyager, a small 28-suite ship
• Seven-night roundtrip sailing from Kolkata
• Stops include Bandel, Kalna, Nabadwip
• Strong focus on the cultural heritage and traditions of Bengal
• Includes a variety of excursions such as visits to temples and markets

Our writer’s verdict

• for: Experiencing rural Indian communities and crafts
• Don’t miss: The excursion to the Hare Krishna temple
• Best spot on board: The sun deck at sunset
• Value for money: The fare includes Wi-Fi, excursions and entertainment. Flights, transfers, alcoholic drinks and tips cost extra
• Saving the planet: Chefs use local ingredients

Rating: 4/5

The Ganges Voyager glides past terracotta temples and riverside villages, offering an intimate glimpse into Bengal's soul. This seven-night journey reveals a world where artisans still craft idols from clay, weavers operate traditional looms and colonial architecture stands alongside Hindu shrines. Between cultural immersions, the 28-suite vessel provides a peaceful retreat with its elegant décor and sun deck. It's a voyage that trades typical tourist trails for authentic encounters with India's living crafts and traditions.

Itinerary highlight: Chandannagar

Butterflies dance around bougainvillaea as I pause beneath a sacred 274-year-old fig tree, listening to a cuckoo’s call. Stray dogs nap in the shade of sandalwood and banyan trees, while cows sprawl across Chandannagar’s boulevard, blocking my way.

North of Kolkata in the state of West Bengal, this city has a pedestrianised path – unusual in India – running along the River Hooghly, a distributary of the Ganges. Hawkers sell jackfruit from carts, music blares from secret speakers, and motorcyclists honk their horns, but even so, the scene is surprisingly serene.

I’m on Antara Cruises’ Artisans of Bengal tour, and my guide, Malini Basu from Kolkata, explains, “Chandannagar got its name because the land looks like a crescent moon. In Hindi, chand means moon and nagar means town.”

The French founded a colony here in 1673, and their influence can still be felt. We pass a French governor’s house – now proudly displaying an Indian flag – and visit a church built by the French in 1691. Like the house, it feels like a hybrid of cultures, its white façade revealing a fetching lime and pink interior. Nearby stands a statue of Mahatma Gandhi, the lawyer whose non-violent campaign against colonial rule helped to win India’s independence.

We escape the midday heat by returning to our ship, Ganges Voyager. Tapestries and hand-stencilled murals adorn its 28 suites, while rattan furniture and palms in golden pots decorate the sun deck. Speakers play soothing flute and panpipe music.

It’s too hot to linger outdoors, so I unwind in the lounge. Malini paints a henna tattoo on my hand, then gamely allows me to return the favour.

After a lunch of fish in thick, citrusy sauce, I take a cheeky nap in my room, which features a queen-size four-poster bed in front of a French balcony.

Itinerary highlight: Kalna

Feeling refreshed, in the afternoon I hop aboard a rickshaw in Kalna, passing goats, cricketers and a man carrying sugarcane on his head. Malini points to a lake. “That’s a fish farm,” she says. “Look, there’s a water snake! They’re poisonous.”

We arrive at Naba Kailash, a temple complex dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. I hear the swish-swish of broomsticks sweeping up leaves while I admire the 74 terracotta

and 34 limestone domes. “The total, 108, is auspicious, as the sun’s diameter is 108 times that of the Earth,” Malini explains. “It’s also the number of beads on a Hindu rosary, and the number of Ayurvedic acupuncture pressure points.”

In Kalna’s market, stalls overflowing with moringa, ash gourd and purple banana flowers sit next to sacks of lentils and spices, live chickens and fish waiting to be sold. Looking for a light snack, I spot a deliciously gooey slab of dried mango, which I promptly sink my teeth into.

Returning to the river, I spot children splashing as an Irrawaddy dolphin swims by. A local woman on board demonstrates her sewing skills and exhibits her collection of patchwork saris and embroidered table runners. As the ship sets sail, I settle in for a talk on Indian festivals.

Itinerary highlight: Nabadwip

Naba means nine in Sanskrit, and dwipa means island, so I’m already picturing an enchanting scene as we approach the village of Nabadwip.

Instead, cowdung patties dry on walls to be used as fuel and I’m confronted by a cacophony of crying babies, bicycle bells and hammers on metal mingled with the blaring of loudspeakers. “There’s a festival going on,” Malini shouts over the racket.

A family of langur monkeys don’t seem fazed by the din, which we escape by stopping at artisans’ homes to watch them sew saris, polish metal water jugs and shave shells to make eyes for brass Krishna statues.

Back on the ship, I enjoy a lunch of fried vegetables and coconut fudge before listening to a spice talk, during which I learn that my genes are to blame for my thinking coriander tastes soapy. I also participate in a cooking class, making lentil daal and samosas (rather good, though I say so myself).

Itinerary highlight: Mayapur

Crossing the river to Mayapur, we spend the rest of the afternoon exploring Iskcon, a palatial temple complex topped by a dome coated in real gold. It’s still being built, but already it receives up to 80,000 visitors a day, and when complete, it will be the world’s largest Hindu place of worship.

Street food stalls, paper lanterns strung in trees and women dressed in their finest saris give its grounds a festival atmosphere, while inside devotees of the Hare Krishna movement – a branch of Hinduism – press their foreheads or even their entire bodies into the floor in front of the altar.

Itinerary highlight: Guptipara

Sailing further south, we stop at Guptipara, which my guide, Champa Ghosh, explains means ‘hidden village’. “Tantra is a form of meditation that evokes dark energies, so it used to be considered black magic,” she explains. “The people here used to practise it in secret.”

I practise pottery on a wheel instead, before our group rickshaws to Brindaban Chandra’s Math, a 17th-century terracotta temple complex with a garden of litchi and mango trees. Then, after a lunch of grilled fish and bread-and-butter pudding on board, it’s time for our next stop, Fulia.

The rhythmic clatter of machinery signals that we’ve arrived in the village, where the weaving of sari cloth is a thriving cottage industry. I observe a man operating a Jacquard loom, have a go on a spinning wheel and visit a villager’s workshop to watch as excess threads are removed from a sari with a machine rather like a vacuum cleaner.

After a pitstop in Bandel to see Hooghly Imambara – a Muslim place of mourning built in 1841 – we arrive in Serampore. Colonised by the Danes and named Frederiksnagore in 1755, it was once a prosperous trading post with European mansions and gardens. Formerly known for weaving and printing silk, today it’s a commuter town for Kolkata – my final stop.

Itinerary highlight: Kolkata

I’m surprised to discover that even in this mighty city, which is estimated to have a population of 15.8 million, there are pockets that feel like villages. I feel perfectly safe wandering alone around the potters’ quarter of Kumartuli, a warren of lanes that are mercifully motorbike-free. I observe artisans wrapping hay around bamboo to create scarecrows, then applying clay and spray paint to transform them into idols.

Taking photos, I find that time runs away with me, and before I know it, golden hour has passed. It’s my final night in India, and as the glow of the night sky reflects off the water, I’m reminded of my time in Chandannagar, on the moon river.

Trip details

Antara Cruises’ 10-night Artisans of Bengal itinerary aboard Ganges Voyager, return from Kolkata via Bally Bridge, Bandel, Kalna, Mayapur, Fulia, Chandannagar and Serampore, departs on 7 January 2026, from US$7,720 (£5,889), including a seven-night cruise, meals, shore excursion programme and Wi-Fi in the ship’s public areas.

Alternatively, Audley Travel can arrange an Antara Cruise on the River Ganges as part of a tailor-made itinerary to India that includes flights, transfers, cruise and land tour. For more information, call 01993 838330 or visit the Audley Travel website.