Most people treat a Lakshadweep trip like a spontaneous beach holiday. Book a cruise, pack a bag, show up. That approach fails — usually at the permit stage, sometimes at the government ship booking window, occasionally when travelers arrive at the vessel and discover the cabin class they assumed had air conditioning does not. This is not the Maldives. The permit system, restricted-island rules, and seasonal sailing windows add genuine complexity. But the payoff — turquoise atolls with near-zero tourist traffic, snorkeling visibility that hits 30 metres on a clear day, coral reefs largely untouched by mass tourism — is…