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Cruise Reviews » Costa Cruises Reviews
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AVERAGE RATING 
For variety, value and satisfaction…you haven’t lived until you’ve cruised! Our state-of-the-art cruise ships are filled with everything you need for an all-inclusive vacation. Your cruise fare includes your room accommodations, all standard meals, entertainment, onboard activities and more… You’ll discover an amazing thing about Cruising Italian Style. So many pleasures await you onboard that you can indulge in the vacation of a lifetime without ever setting foot on land. Will you join in the dozens of shipboard activities like art auctions, horse racing, bridge games, Italian lessons and trivia contests? Or learn to prepare perfect pesto in an Italian cooking class. Explore all the possibilities available to you when you’re Cruising Italian Style. |
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Costa Victoria
Reviewed by Wheatley on 23-4-2008 (Woodford Green) |
| Our first Costa cruise was very enjoyable and excellent value.We flew to Sao Paulo and were bussed to Santos for embarcation,stopping on the way at a hotel for a rest and a very copious buffet.Getting on the ship took quite a while,the worst being the final queue on board.Our inside cabin on Manon deck was big enough,with plenty of wardrobe and drawer space,and compared well with other cruise lines,though it could have been better arranged.There was a fridge with mini-bar but no safe and,strangely, no chair.A chair was promptly supplied and the safe promised but never materialised.The bed was extremely comfortable and the cabin well air-conditioned and quiet. The ship is very stylish, beautifully furnished and equipped and well maintained. All areas,including the decks,are very clean and tidy.The atrium with its panoramic lifts is very striking and there is plenty of seating. Although the ship was full there was rarely any sense of crowding.In fact,the three deck high forward lounge seemed to be under-utilised. There is a small library,catering for the six languages on board.The theatre is quite big and attractive but the entertainment was rather limited, mainly provided by a very talented British singing and dancing duo.There is a fairly large casino area with plenty of gambling machines and the usual marketing spaces for jewellery etc. The shops,however,were poorly stocked. The food was generally very good. We usually chose the self-service for breakfast and lunch which was varied and very nicely prepared and presented,with a delicious selection of fruits at the poolside buffet. Soft ice-cream was available in various flavours and a good array of tea-time treats. Hand-cleaning gel did not seem to be on the menu. Dinners were of very good quality,the menus carefully put together and the food usually excellently cooked. There were several special occasion menus. Our table,for 8,was all British and we had a very good time together.Our waiters were very good. There were frequent activities,sports,games or dancing,on deck by the pools,which were small and unheated but never overcrowded.There were plenty of loungers and no shortage of towels.Towels were also provided for use ashore.There were four jacuzzis. We booked our excursions online and all went well.Brits being in the minority, we had to join other language options on a couple of tours but this was no problem.The excursions were generally well run,interesting and good value. If all this sounds like an advertisement for Costa it must be said that not everyone we met were quite so happy. You have to be able to get on with people of several nationalities, some of whom, as on any cruise,seem to be rather short on manners or aloof.The entertainment was limited and the announcements in six languages did begin to grate. We also flew back into Heathrow T5. However,we were looking for an interesting itinerary on a pleasant ship at a good price and we got it. |
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