Gateway of India, arch monument in Mumbai, India
South Mumbai is the worldliest part of the city and home to many of its most-loved sights. Walk around the base of the massive Gateway of India — the arch-shaped monument was built in 1924 and meant to be the first thing visitors see when they arrive by boat. Or pop your head inside the Taj Mahal Palace hotel, one of India's most opulent and recognizable buildings.
View of Mumbai, India, from Marine Drive
Communion with nature is more meditative when you make the journey to the seaside Shree Mahalakshmi Temple — less than an hour each way from the cruise terminal by taxi. And check out Chowpatty Beach, where thousands of locals come to dunk statues of the god Ganesh into the waves each year in September.
Hop aboard one of the many boats bound for Elephanta Island, which sits just offshore from Mumbai and is home to the Elephanta Caves. At this UNESCO World Heritage Site, you'll find caves full of otherworldly rock carvings in both the Hindu and Buddhist traditions.
Mumbai is home to fine restaurants, but the best way to understand its culinary disposition is with its street food. Sit down for a masala dosa, India's take on a crepe, which in Mumbai is served with spicy tomato sauce. During your cruise to India, enjoy one of the many fritters for sale at Chowpatty Beach — the potato-and-onion bhaji is popular among vegetarians.
Mumbai is a shopper's pardise, whether you take a walk down Colaba Causeway to browse traditional Mahrashtran jewelry or snag a vintage Bollywood movie poster from any of the souvenir stalls in Apollo Bandar, the neighborhood nearest to the cruise ship terminal. Alternatively, take home a piece of Indian fashion in the form of a woman's sari.