We had a balcony cabin on deck 8 and joined the Costa Victoria in Dubai. Overall we were very happy with the ship, the food and the customer service. The ship went into lockdown after a passenger was diagnosed with CoV19. Costa looked after passengers and crew very well in unprecdented circumstances for this century. The ship is appropriate for the fare charged. It is not the latest, biggest, most luxurious boat in the Costa fleet. It is however a good 'starter' cruise. This is our second cruise. Pre-lockdown The initial boarding went smoothly and was over very quickly. We had a short wait in the sun. The crew were very effecient, professional and welcoming. The ship has a patina to show that it has been around. I liked the ambiance of wood and white painted steel. Imagine you are on an 'old school' liner. The food was great. The ship was returning from an Indian cruise and there were lots of Indian dishes available. The 'international' buffet seemed to be very western European focused. We alternated between the Indian and the international buffetts and ate on the stern deck. We enjoyed every meal. The serving staff were great. The pizzas were delicous as well. Post lockdown As the Cov19 epedemic spread around the world ports were closing as we approached them. The captain did a great job keeping us informed. He ran two 'town hall' neetings with passengers, provided a daily PA update, written updates and took coffee each day in the passenger area where he spoke with every passenger that he could. The captain did all that was humanly possible for his passengers and crew. Costa provided every passenger with a 750 euro credit to be spent on the ship or to be transferred to our credit cards. Costa also paid for our charter flight from Rome to Perth, Australia. Costa reimbursed the cost of changing the embarkation port from Mali to Dubai. All considered, Costa looked after passengers very well. The crew remained professional and friendly throughout the event. Imagine that you are a long way from home. Your family in Bali and India rely on your income. You know that in a short time you will be going home with no job to a country enduring a pandemic with a poorly resourced health system. You could get ill at any time. Imagine if you would be able to maintain your friendly and effective proffesional persona while facing daily a bunch of seemingly wealthy passengers who are kicking up a fuss about missing ports and then being qurantiened in cabins. Gemma the English speaking liasion officer was great. Gemma kept smilling in some tricky and challenging conversations with passengers. Rivki (?) in the Fantasia restaurant looked after our specific needs very well. I reccomend Costa Victoria and wish Costa and the crew of Costa Victoria all the best. Thank you Captain, we hope to sail under you again. Read Less

We chose this cruise due to the locations it offered compared with other cruise lines. We embarked Costa Victoria in Male (Maldives). Due to it being an Italian cruise company, often English translations were forgotten about. The ship is tired and would benefit from a re-fit. The cabins were tired looking with what I would class as unsafe electrical sockets (loose). Compared with other cruise lines we have travelled with the food was very basic and what I would describe as a school canteen at times (however I think a school canteen would provide a better standard of food and selection) I would give it a 1/10 . Entertainment was of a poor standard. I have rated it this as poor due to previous experience with other cruise lines and they could do with booking on with their competitors to see how it should be done. Service staff were very friendly and eager to please, however you couldn’t sit for a meal without a hard sell to purchase Lobster or other exclusive dining. Ports and tour excursions were fantastic, however o could be biased as the Ports were places that we wanted to visit Would I travel with Costa again?, certainly not. Read Less

Costa Victoria is more confined than the ships of similar price we know (this was our smallest cabin ever) and would need major refurbishment. Our bathroom was a little smelly at times, and the shower tray was running out of water. The feeling of narrowness was exacerbated by the fact that the ship was full (of course, we can't complain that Costa is trying to rent all the cabins). That amount of people could barely fit in the buffet restaurants, and the personnel didn't win cleaning these restaurants. The multi-course menu of the evening seated dinners was excellent, but the other meals in the buffet restaurants provided a boring and simple choice. We have not experienced it elsewhere, and it was very disturbing that the water, tea and coffee dispensers were not available for 24 hours (they were closed for some time regularly even in the afternoons). In the case of coastal excursions, it was not the high price what surprised, but the fact that the quality of service provided was, let's say, varying (included in our case a bus without air conditiioning). This is not excused by the advance notice that there are no qualified tour guides on site. There were guides who were trying their best, others could only give mediocre and boring explanations. This situation was made a bit worse by the fact (hope it is is pc to say that, it may be a language problem for foreigners) that the majority of the tour guides spoke Indian English. It was unexpected that groups of different languages ​​were united several times without notice and only English explanation was given. A minor downside is that the theater is too loudly amplified. For example an opera singer could be enjoyed only outside, in the hallway. The overwhelming majority of the personnel are friendly and helpful, which greatly compensates for the ship's significant shortcomings. The internet service is not only prohibitively expensive, but its quality is poor. Read Less

We're Emerald on another line so we're experienced cruisers and have cruised many different brands. This ship was going where we wanted, when we wanted to go. Our usual travel agent wouldn't book this for us due to so many of her customers that had complaints about Costa. It's disappointing how horrible this was. The staff get paid tips no matter how bad the service is so they don't care and are rather flippant. Drinks that were advertised, they were out of, including Draft Beer. REALLY??? The food was the exact same every single day. The excursions we chose were canceled so if we wanted to go on their excisions, we had to scramble. It was just so disappointing. We complained at the desk but, although they spoke English, they just rolled their eyes and really appeared not to care in the least. They should be ashamed of themselves. It was embarrassing to expect we'd have a descent experience. Read Less

We had a great holiday but it’s the worst ship we have been on. The bars are so boring and old fashioned. No waiting staff at breakfast or pool deck or even in the theatre, even though we paid £300 in tips. Very poor entertainment, not much of it. All parties started very late. All the food was cold, I complained many times, I had upset stomach most of the trip. Very poor manners from Italians and Indians, pushing in. Sun bathing towels was a joke. From 6 am people put towels out, some had 3 beds each, 1 in the sun, 1 in shade plus a sofa and chairs. Great itinerary. Unhelpful reception staff. Lots of cuing for passports and e visas over 1.5 hours for worst time. Tips must be paid, way to much. We upgraded to the club restaurant at €420, it was beautiful and away from the bun fight below. But the food was still cold most of the time. You cannot serve luke warm rice and prawns. Hardly anyone used hand sanitiser, even though corona virus is rife. Great holiday but I don’t like the ship. Happy to be off. I won’t be using costa again. Read Less

My review of Costa Victoria trip Jan. 4th - 18 Mumbai First thing the inside cabins are about 4 feet smaller then -Princess, Cunard , RC, Celebrity, Carnival, and so on. Could not open my night beside side drawer see pictures. My bathroom think water was brown. When I had to call the front desk because my fire alarm was going off - nobody came to see what was up- nobody answer the phone # 88 customer service - after 15 min my husband finally found our cabin steward which got someone to change the battery. After he left -AGAIN the alarm went off ... eventually it got fixed. Shower curtain was to short - after a shower the BR was wet had it changed. Buffet: only packets for decaf coffee-at night when you need it or want it ---- all gone, sugar containers where empty numerous time, milk container same, no paper napkins, Supervisors just walking around doing nothing - Except " Indian looking one " Yogurt bowl empty, omelets cold, only same 5 vegetable available for 14 days- carrots, garbage red and white, zucchini, tomatoes, bell peepers. People taking buns out of the bread basket with their hands in front of Employees, no correction - out of cups and water glasses all the time, at night only only on water fountain available even so they had at lunch converted the Juice dispenser to water ???? why ? also only one out of 2 coffee and hot water dispenser open ?? logic?? Loved the Bread - soups - cheeses. Hand disinfect out of liquid- when I told " Sergio" a officer all in white- " does not matter since it is in front of the Hamburger place which is closed now ?? that it is also in front of a Bathroom seemed to have escape him - was speechless.... Same happened when I needed the bath room on the pool deck by the Spritz Bar which by the way was open only a couple of time ??? why?? in the 15 Day cruise- it was flooded and bowl was full of # 2- when I told the Officer having coffee at the Bar that was open - answer: "Thank you we are aware of it and working on it ???" no paper available to make a sign : out of order ???? Kids running around without parents in Casino touching machines - no casino host around...... We did not have a drink package which cost ....48 EU-40 pounds-53 US-69 Canadian- plus 18% tip added. Only 1 waiter on the Pool deck ??? or Back Bar?? so 95% of us had and did go to fetch own drinks and coffee. When we complained to Guest Servises and asked to remover service charges was told NOT POSSIBLE! Why these people who had drink packages did NOT complain for more waiters at the pool deck since they had to pay 18% for getting their OWN DRINKS baffles me ??!!! On all off the Cruise companies I mention before we got FREE PIZZA AND SOFT ICE CREAM - NOT ON A ITALIAN SHIP?- AND PIZZA PLACE FOR A CHARGE NOT OPEN AT LUNCH WHEN WE CHECKED?? DINING ROOM: Had to ask 3x for lemon, no butter on the table only bread. Not a lot of smiles on the staff. The lady who was in charge of the crafts was very nice. Guest services was not available by phone? gave up after 10 min. TV picture in the room was poor often My first Costa cruise and my last - to bad - you only have one occasion to make a good impression. To many companies available that even if they may cost a little more give me MUCH more service. Read Less

We chose this cruise mainly due to the itinerary as India has been on the list for a while. The negative reviews were numerous but we decided to go ahead as we were not expecting 5 star treatment. First the positives; Embarkation was quick and easy as was disembarking. The staff was pleasant and helpful in the dining room and bar. The excursion we booked for Goa was OK. Second the 'requires improvement'; food choice in the dining room was a bit repetitive. The availability of food after 10pm was non existent unless you paid extra. This was a first for us. (We are not greedy just grazers). Food was always tepid or cold. No bar service on pool deck or upper decks where the sunbathing areas were which made life difficult. Try trundling up steps with drink in hand (water of course). No shade on deck. Finally, the unacceptable; no hand sanitisation supervision despite the usual coughing and spluttering and I witnessed people using their hands to pick up bread. People leaning across food to get to the back row at the buffet. The incessant high volume of noise everywhere, high decibel screeching from animation team and most performers in the theatre and loud music...no peace and quiet. Ports OK but too long in The Maldives for us. We would have preferred an extra day in Cochin or Goa. Entertainment mainly dire. Gratuities excessive at €10 per person per day for lack of service and general grubbiness. Cabin OK but electrics on the blink at times. Read Less

The cruise was part of Imagine Cruising itinerary for our cruise of the Indian Coast. We would never have chosen Costa Cruises as their reputation precedes them. But with good intentions we went ahead. Rather a dated ship to say the least. Exceedingly Italian, but we could live with that. The cabin was adequate if a little crammmed in. Certainly no luxuries. The Restaurant Manager listened to our table request and on the second d night we had our ideal table with a lovely friendly and efficient waiter Jayson. Overall we enjoyed the food selections throughout our cruise and our included wine package of topped up wine at lunch and dinner was fine for us. The additional beverage packages were far too expensive. Plus when you purchased any other drinks outside the package the additional service charge was added. Then we left our cabin for the evening on our third night, ensuring that our door was locked, as it needed a good pull to do this, at around 7pm returning at 11pm. We found our door ajar and on going to the safe found that to be open as well. All our cash had gone....I won’t tell you how much, but enough, including GB Euros and Indian Rupees. We immediately informed Reception and five security men attended our cabin. They searched it fully to ensure we had either not forgotten where we had put it or had stashed it away. We both felt so guilty and we had been robbed. Security were adamant it was impossible to get into the cabins or safes with proper access and provided us with printouts to prove their point. In this technology age we all know that anything is possible. But not Costa Cruises! Read Less

My husband booked cruise on Costa Victoria mainly for destination Indian Ocean I was a dubious after some of the reviews. We arrived at Mumbai Port at 11am and were allowed to board straight away. Embarkation was fast and straightforward and we headed to buffet while waiting for our cabin which was ready by 2pm. The cabin was a good size and clean. Our cabin steward always had a smile and was always very helpful. Safety drill was out on deck by allocated life boat this took sometime mainly because of waiting for passengers who took their time getting there. We were in Fantasia restaurant and our waiters Swapnil and Oscar really looked after us well. The menu was varied and so had good choice. One of the complaints we had seen was cold food but every meal we had was hot apparently the waiters have instructions that they must get food freshly plated for British and German guests as we like our food hot. It also made us smile when ordering a cappuccino the one waitress would always bring us a very hot cappuccino. We used the buffet for breakfast and a reasonable selection of hot and cold options. Lunch in the buffet was quite as a good proportion of passengers were Indian so as well as European options there was a section of Indian food as well as the grill where you could get burgers and chips. Entertainment in theatre the first week we found was ok especially the Italian tenor the second week we found not so good but that week they were trying to please be at least six different nationalities. Entertainment in the bars was good except one night the one group scheduled did not appear and it was only after passengers complained to bar staff that anyone realised there was a problem. Because most of the ports were away from the main towns we booked several excursions and found them to be good value for money and well organised. Disembarkation in Mumbai was fast and straight forward as had cleared customs in Goa. Overall an enjoyable cruise Read Less

We chose this cruise, as it was part of an Imagine Cruising package. The land content, Indian Tour, was most enjoyable. Once we boarded the Costa Victoria, things went spiralling downhill at a quick rate of knots. The room was very ordinary, discoloured and paper thin towels, NO TOILETRIES, and the double bed was similar to sleeping on the floor. We boarded later in the afternoon, so we went to our cabin, (which, I might add, cost a further AUD$2,000.00 for a porthole), and unloaded our belongings. We then proceeded to the bar area at the rear of the ship to enjoy a few drinks. This as where the "fun" began. The barman explained to us that our pre-paid beverage package was the most limited restrictive beverage package that we have ever experienced!! The beer ration was limited to One plastic cup of draft Heinekin, or, a small bottled beer I've never heard of. I proceeded to have three of these bottled beers, and on my forth visit, was informed by a different bartender, that in actual fact, I had to pay for the bottled beer, which the previous attendant told me, were included. So, after much anxious arguments later, I was informed that it was my lucky day, as the original attendant returned very apologetic. So, here we are, back to ONE BEER, being the Heinekin, in a plastic cup!! Our package was advertised as a SELECTION of beers. NOOO, only one draft in a plastic cup!! My wife likes to enjoy a wine, which was very similar to vinegar. We were shown a list of drinks that was on the bar. This list consisted of blue dots, (for our package), and was extremely limited in selection. I then visited the main service desk on level five, to enquire as to the limited beverage package, and also, to ask to have the gratuities taken off our room account, which I, and most people I know, do the same. We Australians give tips whenever we receive good courteous service. I was told that the 10 EUROS, per day, per head, per cabin, was indeed mandatory. I informed the service officer that this was the only Cruise Line that does not allow the passenger to opt out of gratuities. He then went onto informing me, quite rudely, that my information was not true. I might add, that we have been on many Cruise Lines around the world, and have not experienced mandatory gratuities. The bistro doesn't open until 7.00pm!!! The meals that were served up, were nothing short of slop, sitting on a bed of white rice. No carvery, The bar service was non-existent. There were three attendants standing near our table, and when I asked for some beverage service, he told me that he only cleans tables, and NONE of them serve drinks to tables!! Unheard of on any other ship we have been on. So, I had to leave my very ordinary meal, and walk to a tiny makeshift bar to order drinks. We enjoy a nice Shiraz, or Merlot with our evening meal, and the wine that we were permitted on our package was unpalatable. Disgusting, even coupled with the extremely ordinary food. After the terrible dinner, we always take bottled water to our room, so I went to the bar, and asked for two small bottles of water. After the barman checked our wonderful beverage package, he informed me that we were NOT ENTITLED TO A SMALL BOTTLE OF WATER!! So, we asked for two plastic cups, and filled these with water, which mostly had spillied by the time we walked back to our room. Also, there was no water supplied in our room. That was the final straw for both of us, and as the ship was in dock for two days, we booked our flights back to Australia on Singapore Airlines, and were leaving the ship at 6.30 pm the next day, as the ship was leaving at 9.00 pm. The cruise was for 14 days, and we were extremely glad that we did not stay on it. As we had all day, the next day, to fill in, we disembarked , and were going to take in the sights of Mumbai, but as we were about to get off, the security woman scanned our cards, and ordered us to stand aside, much to our embarrassment. We couldn't work out why, because of her limited grasp of English, but we did hear the word "money' mentioned. We were ordered back to the service desk and told to pay the 20 EURO "service fee", before they would let us off. Our bags were all still in our room. That afternoon I went to the bar to order my wife a cup of coffee, (which, surprise,surprise, was within our beverage package), and the barman told me that I would have to pay for the coffee, as the service desk had cancelled our cards!! Never have we been so glad to get off any ship in our lives. The whole enterprise cost us around AUD$6,000.00. So, any of you who are thinking of a cruise with Costa Cruiselines, you have our sympathy. Read Less

Our second cruise with Costa had some good points but some unbelievably bad points too. We chose a suite because my husband had worked interstate for the past year and we wanted some quality time together. Embarkation was a nightmare - over two hours standing outside in a queue outside in the sun to drop cases. The delay was the people checking for visa's could not read English. There were two people checking passports and a queue that stretched way to the back of the car park. There were over 1000 English speaking passengers on this voyage. So much for priority embarkation. That did not happen until after you were inside the port building. We had late lunch in the Club dining room - we asked if this was possible and were told that we had to go to the buffet and we couldnt access Club dining. We went anyway and found that we could. The meals in the Club dining room were quite nice. The menu is much the same as the rest of the ship with a few changes. However, the atmosphere is supposed to be "refined, exclusive and a private environment for suite guests". They forgot to tell you that the basketball court is overhead. Lots of thumping and banging from the courts use totally put us off our dinner and we ended up in the buffet regularly. The buffet - although very busy and noisy provided and excellent choice and all food that we had there was of a good quality. When we complained about the banging overhead we were told that the "teenagers have to have something to do". Around 2pm our cabins were ready and ours was old but nicely appointed and comfortable. Until that night!! We were tired after travelling and had an early night, the music from the Concorde Plaza was loud. At 10.45 it was deafening. I was wearing noise cancelling headphones and could still hear every word of every song. We thought ok this is the welcome party. However, 21 night cruise and the band played every night - deafening, tiring, outrageous that this could not be fixed by moving the band elsewhere. It kept all the suite guests awake for the sake of a few (6 when I went to investigate) late night partygoers. They played the same songs over and over every night. When we tried to rest in the afternoon they practiced most afternoons. When we complained about the afternoon practice we were told we were wrong that there were no bands playing. !!!! Our cabin was also inundated with smells - paint, varnish and turpentine smells from the maintenance room and the replacement of the outdoor carpet. The maintenance room surprisingly had an airconditioning system linked to the deck below -our deck. Once it was discovered where the smells were coming from maintenance was stopped on sea days (the day before we left). The suites do not have opening windows so for 9 of the 10 sea days it was impossible to breathe in the cabin and it caused headaches and vomiting. Entertainment was provided and was reasonably good. We attended quizzes and dance lessons. The people who did craft reported that they enjoyed those sessions. Although there was a majority of English speaking people there was no English speaking entertainment organiser. So you got weird translations that didnt make sense. Such as "which is the river with the most affluence" !! so we felt that the Italians and French had an advantage at quiz and it got to the stage where everyone was groaning when the same people won nearly every quiz. We took two Costa excursions and these worked well for us although we usually do our own as we do not like travelling with crowds of people where you cannot hear the guide. We also do not like waiting for people who can't make it back to the meeting place on time so the only Costa excursions we took were to places that we found difficult to get to on our own. We went to Matera from Bari and Masada and the Dead Sea from Eliat. These were excellent places to visit and we would go again. We went Petra from Aquaba with a private tour company and the rest we did with taxi's and public transport. We had two tender ports and both of these were well organised and we had no difficulty getting ashore. We felt the service from the crew that we dealt with on a daily basis was excellent, service in the bars, the room steward, the dining staff but the administration and management were either unwilling or unable to resolve any issues. They just did not care. We were told that they understood our cruise had been a disappointment and we had not received what we had paid for and were told we had to complain when we arrived home and we would be compensated. We were given an email address to write to. However, the complaint and request for compensation was viewed as "feedback" and an apology was given. So we felt we were brushed aside during the cruise and there has been no resolution from Costa. All in all our romantic holiday together for my 60th birthday turned out to be anything but. Read Less

This cruise was very reasonably priced and the itinerary appealed to us. In fact it was so cheap that my expectations were not high.We had been on a number of cruises with different cruise lines including The Queen Mary so I feel we are in a position to compare. First of all, I’m afraid the embarkation was chaotic, as all passengers seem to arrive together. The result was that it took us over 3 hours to embark which was not pleasant. On the other hand, disembarkation went really smoothly with no delays. The cabin and we had a balcony was surprisingly good , not luxurious , a bit dated but the bed was comfortable and we had as much space as we needed. We had been allocated the earlier dining which didn’t always suit us , so we very often ate in the buffet area which gave us more flexibility. The food was fine , not gourmet but we enjoyed it. The best choice was definitely as you would expect Italian especially the pasta and husband loved the bread and the desserts. The theatre shows were mixed, excellent and mediocre but I would suggest appealed to a variety of tastes. Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed the Italian tenor and The Beatles look-a-likes.Though not as sophisticated as others we have enjoyed on other cruises, the shows were entertaining. The shore excursions on the whole were excellent. Overall, the service from all the crew was A1.Unfortunately the behaviour of some of the guests was abhorrent. They were rude to the crew and to the other guests. Thankfully it was only a minority but I was delighted that I had a cabin. I would suggest a movie in the theatre in the afternoons especially during sea days, and notices regarding towel- hugging chairs and sun beds around the pool area would alleviate tensions and hence make the cruise more pleasant for all. Read Less

We chose this cruise for the ports visited. Embarkation was slow and it was hot to stand in the sun. We had an inside cabin, spacious and quiet. The food was quite adequate, the fish was good and the puddings very good. The ship is well laid out with many quiet places to rest and read. The cultural talks by Jean Christophe were excellent, this man really worked hard for his money! and I loved his quirky sense of humor. Craft sessions with Fabio were a lot of fun, a wonderful bloke. The two cruise tours of Masada and Petra were most enjoyable, swimming in the Dead Sea was slimy fun, highlights of the trip. Passing through the Suez canal was also a highlight for me I stayed on deck for the entire transit from 3 am to 2:30 pm. Enjoyed every minute. The only downside of the cruise was the daily 'service 'charge added per person per day, it was in Euros and not cheap, this should be included in the 'up front' cruise price. The dining room service was slow, it was quicker to eat in the buffet. Read Less

Having chose this cruise for its destinations, we where surprised to find that this ship was exceptionally old and the food was exactly the same. The food in the buffet was unappetising and always luke warm and most times cold. The lack of hand sanitation was incredible, every other cruise we have been on there has been hand washing stations all over the ship, not on Costa! Yet there are signs and displays saying about washing hands etc, though no facilities. No waiters to take your drinks order on Piu Gusto package, if you didn't drink wine or water you had to go to the bar your self. The dining room was ok but the food wasn't much better and the noise as several times the staff and crew decided to do impromptu dances etc and to celebrate the captain or crew making a grand entrance that ruined dinner. The crew very rarely smiled and the poor waitresses in the bars etc mainly all philapino bless them working 15 hour days and hardly any appreciation though the captain and crew expected us to do a song and dance for him doing his job as they where. Also this is a multinational boat be prepared for exceptionally loud announcements in several different languages, the last being English so if the boat was going down we would have drowned! Dining the food was often repetitive and luke warm or cold, the waiters did their best with the tools they had. Activities we did not take part in any though there was some dotted all around. Cabin staff where ok but only came once a day. Most of the staff where ok but the odd few did spoil it by not even being able to smile. Entertainment was ok but also a bit repetitive as with a lot of other things. the bulk of the passengers where italian as its an italian line. Alas some passengers where quite rude and abrupt which spoilt the whole experience The worrying thing is Costa will not read this and wont respond so it will just continue, this was like going from first class to economy! Read Less

I cannot fault the staff, who always wore a smile, however such a lot would appear to have changed since we last sailed with Costa, though that was on the Mediteranea. This ship was really tired and I could not believe that there were only two ladies toilets in each location for a ship of 2500 passengers, with one almost always not working. There is no waiter service in many areas of the ship, which I find a massive problem being disabled and unable to carry glasses easily and the food and coffee, was always tepid.. Entertainment was very good, but there was none on the last night, which was a disappointment as we were only on for 7 nights. Organisations was lacking in many areas including the tour desk and the photo shop, which was almost a free for all. Our cabin 80225 was an excellent size for disabled and consisted of a walk in shower room, as well as an additional toile, though I would not consider there were any other disabled facilities throughout the ship and certainly not the toilets Read Less

Price and Itinerary were the reasons picked. I was quite scared after booking after I read the bad reviews about the Victoria and all of Costa's ships. I found the bad reviews not to be true at all. I guess I was on board with civil travelers. Lots of Italian speaking, but they all seem to be having a great time. Fun atmosphere. Cabin was clean and adequate and always made up. Friendly cabin staff. Food: I preferred the dinning room for breakfast. Good menu and also a self serve buffet and coffee, juice, milk available. Quiet. We were off the ship for lunch, but enjoyed the deserts and sandwiches at tea time from 4-5 pm. We had early seating and having assigned seating made service quick and we liked our waiter. He worked very hard. Food choices were kinda weird for me, but enjoyed trying new things. We did not spurge on the added price options. I was concerned about paying for water, but we had USA water on our card and always offered water with meals. We do not drink, so we did not buy or need a beverage package. But everyone seemed to have plenty to drink. So I would say the food was as good as most cruises I have been on. Entertainment in showroom was good. Happy we only had one sea day, because there was nothing to do on the ship and NO Movies! I missed having movies, even if I had to read subtitles, would have been OK. So I would suggest that you pack a small DVD player and movies in your bag if you have room. Venice port was amazing. Be sure to be up on deck when you leave and see Venice. We also got up early on day we returned and saw Venice at sunrise. Again best view of the city is on top of the cruise ship. All the ports were amazing. Bari/Alberlobelo Italy, Corfu, Kotor, Dubrovnik, Zadar, Venice!!! Read Less

I'm not sure I can even describe how bad this cruise was (for comparison we've cruised Costa, Aida, Holland-America, Royal Caribbean, and Disney in Med, North Sea, Fjords, Carribean) and we were in one of the deck 11 suites. The friendly staff was incompetent and the marginally competent staff was rude. A main restaurant waiter literally argued with my wife about the salad dressing one night instead of bringing additional dressing as requested. Another waiter would not even acknowledge your request. You would have to ask multiple times for a drink or anything else. Food...that's a generous description. Nothing on board remotely resembled it's original state. It was virtually inedible. The ranch dressing at the buffet was watered down. It was more like ranch flavored milk. We would have starved without in port restaurants. Cabin service?? Nope. Can't reach anyone on the telephone. Cabin steward number times out after 10:00. Ran out of toilet paper one night and the bar tender on the deck 11 forward was the only one who helped. They installed metal strips in the hallway one day with silicon bonding caulk so noxious the fumes woke me up. The ONLY positive things I can say about this ship is that 1) because the beds were old inner-spring it was marginally comfortable 2) the layout of 11108 suite was nice with the floor to ceiling windows and large closet and 3) the staff at the deck 11 starboard forward bar were friendly and made a good cappuccino. Read Less

As part of my aim to cruise with as many different cruise companies as possible in 2019 it came to the turn of Costa. I will have to say my expectations were low in advance of the cruise, mainly for three reasons. My previous experience with an Italian based cruise line, MSC, had been appalling. Secondly the cruise was cheap - did that mean I would be getting what I paid for and, thirdly, there have been some very mixed reviews about the ship on here. Embarkation was typical Mediterranean chaos but it was reasonably quick. Registering payment card for onboard spend was easy at the self-service terminals on board. As we were planning to spend most days ashore we opted for a seaview cabin and it was satisfactory with a nice large porthole style window. The cabin was a reasonable size with plenty of space to walk around. Both the bed and pillows were very comfortable and that is praise indeed from me as I'm incredibly difficult to please when it comes to pillows. Initially we only had one pillow each but a quick chat with the cabin steward soon resulted in a couple of extra pillows. The steward was very good, almost OCD when it came to tidying - charging cables left on the desk were always neatly arranged on our return. Paperwork was also neatly stacked etc. and most days the valance across the bed had been arranged in some neat sculpture. The bathroom was good and although very small the shower head was detachable. Water temperature was just about hot enough. There is no night time turn down service but that's more a luxury than necessity. Food fell into two categories. The main dining room was good with five courses available for the main evening meal. Food was hot and of a good standard. Service, on the whole, was good although one night there was a problem with the tablet used for ordering and they had to resort to paper, which slowed things down a bit. The final night of the cruise they played Italian opera with some audience participation - not normally my scene but it was actually good fun. Most days we had breakfast in the main restaurant, although the first morning we diod regret our decision. There are breakfasts from around the world available and we made the mistake of ordering the "full English" The only edible part was the scrambled egg, the rest was inedible as everything else had clearly been deep fried and it was like eating an oil slick. Plus the "bacon" was the appalling streaky variety, cooked to within seconds of cremation. The other days we stuck to the extensive cold buffet which was good with plenty of variety. By contrast the buffet was disappointing. relatively small with limited choice and many items appearing every day, so not a huge amount of variety. Also, in contrast to the main dining room, the food quality was variable. Minute steaks for example were very chewy with a lot of gristle. Buffet opening hours were more limited than other cruise lines. What was exceptionally good was the use of ropes to funnel passengers through the serving areas, greatly reducing the amount of pushing in which can occur. Other cruise lines take note. We had the Pranzo and Cena mealtime drinks package included in our fare but upgraded to the Brindiamo package for €10 a day each. We are not great drinkers by any means but the package also included tea and coffee so it was worth the extra cost. Dress codes are optional. On the "Gala night" probably no more than a dozen men wore dinner jackets. It's a shame but that's the way it is with some cruise lines Three of the four shows in the theatre were from the in-house entertainment team with two lead singers to the fore. The female singer was superbe and the male singer had a good voice as well, however many of the songs he was given to sing were not suited to his voice, which did not do him justice. The other show was an exceptional acrobatic show - the standard of which would give Cirque du Soleil a run for its money. There were plenty of activities throughout the day with an enthusiastic entertainments team - although having to use half a dozen languages all the time did slow things down. Costa Victoria is a smaller cruise ship, around 2,000 passengers but for me that is a major plus - I prefer the smaller ships to the new mega-ships which are, sadly, becoming the norm. Built in 1996 she is also a little dated but that, also adds to its charm. The staff were generally friendly and attentive, without being in your face. The captain was conspicuous by his absence, appearing only for the obligatory photo call - something I still cannot get my head around. Why do people queue to have their photograph taken with the Captain then pay an extortionate amount for the photograph. If I catch a bus or train I don't queue to be photographed with the driver, so why do it on board a ship. I'm happy to admit my initial concerns about Costa were wholly unfounded. Would I sail with them again - absolutely. Read Less

Cruise was chosen primarily for the itinerary and because we had travelled with Costa before. Although not 5 star, Costa has generally offered good value but this time there were cutbacks apparent which changed all that. Firstly, it seems that staffing has been reduced. For example, no poolside or buffet bar services offered - apart from the short period at breakfast, supplying coffee etc. Also, only one cabin visit from the steward per day which meant having to reuse wet towels for a morning shower. There seemed to be fewer staff around generally which might have been the reason for slower bar and restaurant service - and as a result this may explain the tepid or sometimes cold food being delivered to tables. The Cruise Consultant confirmed (sadly) that these changes were across all Costa ships, not just this one. There was a lot of pressure to buy the drinks packages, which we tend to do anyway but far fewer people seemed to be PAYG for drinks. With the reduced staffing it was much more difficult to get served and we began to wonder whether this was engineered to reduce the drinks bill for those having bought packages. Also, talking about the drinks package, we were on board for nearly 4 weeks and at dinner and lunch we were served only two different white wines and two red. It got rather monotonous after a while. Finding a table for a buffet lunch was a challenge to say the least. Queueing was the norm - at the buffet and bars, the information desk, to see the English host, the Costa Club rep, even the Cruise Sales rep. A friend, went back to book their next cruise but walked away because the rep allowed someone to queue jump. Additional quick points: No chance of getting into the gym - far too small At the quiz, shabbily presented - girl with a mike - and poor English. Embarkation - bit of a farce, but that's not unusual with Costa Disembarkation - they blamed Port Authorities for a long delay, but it was Costa that evicted us from cabins at 8am Informstion Desk - visited twice and twice given incorrect info Despite all the above comments, I do want to emphasise that overall, staff were trying their best, still smiling and obliging. They seemed to be hampered by trying to serve more people in less time. This seems to be more of a management issue - or dare I say, a profits issue. Overall, I do feel reviewers should rate cruises with some consideration of the price they have paid for the their cruise and I have done so. Previously, I have been more than happy with the more laid back approach to cruising proved by Costa, and found it to be good value. Now, I feel it's gone too far. Read Less

We have cruised on many cruises ships over the last 30 years, sometimes twice a year and all cruises have been amazing except for Costa. We used Costa 3 years ago and said never again. However we were looking for a cruise and having been all over the world decided to opt for a different costa ship as the itinerary looked appealing. The attitude of the majority of the staff was appalling. we literally had to plead for English Breakfast tea bags, and butter. Please, thankyou and smiles were rarely used. The food was not good, the portions were small and always luke warm. We used the upstairs buffet mostly, this was not much better but at least there was more choice. We got talking to other cruisers and found that a lot had sickness bugs which leads to my main concern -----THE SHIP HAD HAND SANITISERS WHICH NOBODY WAS ENCOURAGED TO USE. Worse still a lot of the time they were empty. When we pointed this out we were met with a shrug of the shoulders. Passengers often used their fingers to pick up food from the buffet and filled their water bottles from the water machine. Oh and by the way be careful if you ask for a bottle of soft drink as we sat and watched the staff filling up bottles with the bits left over. we returned many bottles that appeared full but the seals were broken. There were many other bad points, but just please think twice before you spend your money on a costa cruise. Read Less

My hubby and I are not seasoned cruisers and the only previous cruises we’d done were only 4 days each, 25 years ago. We booked this cruise because of its length (28 days) and its interesting itinerary. Only after booking did we read the reviews and some were not very flattering. Well, I don’t know what the complainers were expecting because we were blown away by the entire experience. Boarding at Port Lois in Mauritius looked chaotic at first glance but went very quickly and efficiently. We were even given a fruit drink while we waited - all of 20 minutes. Our sea view cabin was on Deck 4, was very comfortable and we were very well looked after by our steward, Agnad. The only thing that I did not like was the bunks hooked up on each side of the bed but once used to them I stopped bumping my head! Obviously the cabin could take a family of 4. We booked late which is probably why we got the cabin with extra bunks as many other cabins did not have them. We upgraded our drinks package from pranzo and cena to brindiamo. It was well worth it as it included limitless tea, coffee, mineral water by the glass, beer, wine, soft drinks and other alcoholic drinks that were not above €9 each. We were assigned to Sinfonia Restaurant - first sitting and our table companions were all South Africans like ourselves. Costa try to at least place you in language groups even if not with compatriots. The food was amazing and our waiter, Talekar, the gentlest young man with exquisite manners. Not only was he attentive to our needs but he always asked about our day and made sure we were enjoying our cruise. The Sinfonia was also open for self service breakfast with the option to order egg dishes or salmon. But if you just wanted to grab something quickly the buffet breakfast was also available but you might struggle to find a spot to sit. We found sitting on the stern deck was the best option both at breakfast and lunchtime. The buffet food was very varied and you could always find something to suit your taste. Of course the Sinfonia was also open for lunch. This cruise was not during School holidays and most of the passengers were over 60. There were perhaps a dozen pre-teen children on board. Activities on board were varied - I enjoyed the stretch classes, water aerobics and walking offered at various times of the day on the Pool Deck. The animation team were in charge and they were awesome. Then during the day there were craft classes, cultural quizzes, Bingo etc. at all times there would be a place you could go to listen to live music. In the evenings the theatre shows were outstanding. There was also a casino but we didn’t ever use it. Costa offer a variety of shore excursions. They are pricey but excellent. We chose the least expensive ones at most ports and were never disappointed. The guides were excellent and if something went wrong you could rest assured that the ship would not leave without you. However, don’t be afraid to explore on your own if you’re on a tight budget. Just make sure you give yourself plenty of time to get back on board before the ship sails! Photographers are all over the ship and the photo packages are over-priced. If we were able to just get the digital copies at a reasonable price we would have gone for that. I feel it’s an enormous waste to print huge copies of all the photos that most people won’t buy! The Costa Victoria is an older ship and does not have the glitz of the newer cruise ships. Call me old fashioned but I like that! There were less than 2000 passengers. Everyone was friendly . The staff were amazing. The cruise director, Daniela was charming and fun and had a word for literally everyone in their own language - she speaks five fluently! I can49not recommend a Costa Victoria Cruise highly enough. We enjoyed the dining, dancing, shows, daytime activities and the shore excursions. We loved the food. We made wonderful friends and it’s a holiday we will never forget. Thank you Costa Victoria! Read Less

We sailed from Mauritius to Venice, we picked this trip because of the itinerary I did look at some of the reviews before we went, but unfortunately I was too late to cancel. A lot of what I have to say has been said elsewhere, so I will confine my self to the main points, i.e. cabin, food, staff, general wear & tear of the ship. The cabin was tiny, with no room to stow our suit cases, the safe was also very small with only enough room to stow my wives jewels, also set so far back it was an effort to open & close it, the shower tray & curtain didn't meet, so the first time I had a shower I flooded the bathroom. as for the beds, in this day & age you expect foam mattresses not ones with the springs sticking our, our cabin steward did his best. Next door there was a French couple, my wife speaks good French, the walls were so thin that she could hear every word they said, which she then translated for my benefit, Food, others have commentated on the standard of food, regardless of where you eat was equally terrible, The variety of the food on board was good, just that the cooks didn't know how to cook it, 9 times out of 10 it was served up cold, the meat was so tough I thought the knives were blunt. My wife & I used to run a hotel, we had regular inspections by the catering standards board, one of the things they always were hot on was that all food must be served at 60º F (15.55ºC) this is an EU regulation. on many occasion I pointed this out to the staff & they said yes, yes we will put it right, next day they were serving cold food again, the ship has a motto (Taste don't waste) the majority of the waste was due to cold food. The staff seemed to think it was alight if they put it in a bane-marie, you can not reheat food in a bane -marie. It didn't matter if you eat in the main restaurant or in the buffet it was just the same. Water this has been covered by other reviewers, I will just add a foot note that no other cruise line makes you pay for water. They do not serve coffee after dinner, you have to go up 5 decks to the buffet to get a cup of coffee, they only serve hot milk at breakfast & lunch, so it's. stewed coffee with cold milk or do without. while on the subject none of the dinning rooms have a sommelier, you have to ask for the wine list, which is handed to you with very bad grace, as if to say "why haven't you bought a wine package" For some reason all music on board must be amplified which means where ever you go on the ship your ears are assaulted by Jungle music, they even amplify the concert grand. The evening entertainment was supposed to be top of the range acts, at best they were feeble at worst vulgar. On the qustion of dress code, Gala Nights (formal nights on a proper cruise ship) I packed a DJ, waste of space passengers came to Gala Night dinners wearing any thing from jeans normal trousers, some of the ladies made an effort but not many, out of the 2000 odd passengers you could count the number of DJs worn on one hand, However Costa do like to confuse its passengers, they throw special nights, like red & black night, or Italian night when you should wear red & green, this is all very well but they do not tell you any where, web site or Costa club when the nights or even how many there will be, There have been some comments in the reviews that the staff seem surly, I feel this is due to passengers not being able to give gratuities to the staff that have served them well, whether you like it or not 10€ per person per day will be added to your account. The price of the cruise may look cheap, but add on all the extras, like paying for an invitation to the captains cocktail party, having to buy more than 1 photo I believe its 4 or 5. The ship has been nicknamed Costa Packet. The ship is past it's prime, perpetual maintenance is the order of the day. Tired & tatty. This is an Italian ship, but it doesn't have the Italian flare, unlike MSC also Italian but as different as chalk from cheese. To sum up, if you are an english speaker, don't sail with Costa. I likened Costa Victoria to a 50 holiday camp on water, i.e. Butlins, some one piped up that that was an insult to Butlins. Read Less

This was a 31 day repositioning cruise from Reunion to Venice and the main attraction was the itinerary around the Indian Ocean and the Eastern Med. The Victoria is an old ship and the decor, compared to MSC ships can best be described as ‘drab’. This was my first Costa Cruise so I had an open mind. The usual mix of five languages with French and Italians being predominant - very rude and very ignorant. The cabins were comfortable and the showers were always hot with plenty of pressure. Food was very good. Never a bad meal. I did not use the buffet after witnessing people handling food directly, replacing food from their plates having changed their mind (I assume) and generally coughing all over it. The standard of hygiene was a genuine concern - the Staff did nothing to enforce cleanliness and, as others have commented, hand gel containers were usually empty. Almost all passengers were affected to varying degrees with a severe cough and chest infection which the staff did nothing to prevent or restrict. Passengers that were clearly very ill and should have been confined to their cabins were allowed in the dining rooms - happily sharing their germs to all and sundry. Security was also very poor - the ‘Security Team’ inspired absolutely no confidence. Entertainment was generally good and the majority of the bar and restaurant staff worked very hard and always with a smile. My cabin steward was hopeless but he was probably the exception. Shore excursions were, basically, a rip off. Extremely poor value for money. Drinks prices in the bars were high - much higher than in a shore bar and with a 15% service charge. The daily service charge of 10 euros was mandatory. Pizza was available at an additional charge - on an Italian Ship! Because of the hygiene and security concerns I would never consider a Costa cruise again. Read Less

Visiting unique ports of call like Madagascar and the Seychelles the Costa Victoria was fine. The staff on the ship worked very hard and managed well dealing with the incredibly variety of languages spoken by passengers from so many different countries. Entertainment was first class and probably better or at least equal to the best on any of our previous cruises. The food supplied was very good but not outstanding with extra charges for things normally included on a cruise like ice cream (not even supplied with the desserts in the dining room) and pizzas ( on an Italian ship!!) As a European registered ship paying minimum EU wages it was consequently understaffed compared to some other cruise lines paying lower wages. This was evident in the dining room, bars and cabin care. No waiters or bar evident in the theatre either. Excursions (in such an impoverished part of the world) were very expensive but were generally very interesting and worthwhile. We suspect that staff would make extra efforts if the gratuities were not a compulsory automatic addition to the ship account. Another oddity was the daily debit of our credit card rather than the usual procedure of settling the bill at the end of the cruise. This made it difficult to dispute the bill or cancel a reserved excursion (if, for example! It became apparent that it required more physical ability than expected). However - we are confident that the totals at the end of the cruise were correct. The ship was in excellent condition and was constantly being varnished and painted. Read Less

We didn't have high expecations after all bad reviews on ths website. But by the end it was a very nice surprise for us! It was an excellent cruise as we could stay almost three days on Seychelles, we spent three days on Madagaskar and two days on Reunion! Crew on the ship was just perfect, entertainment team was unbelievable (entertaining for 24 hrs a day!), teather shows were excellent!, food in the restaurants very good (Club restaurant very professional!) - and some very very nice wines! Yes, gym was too small and some equipment broken, that could be improved. Internet was also very slow, we bought 3000Mb package, but we could use only half of that, that could be improved also. Some shore excursions were ok, some could be better, but it is everybody's choice. We had a rented car on Seychelles and Mauritius. CONCLUSION: Vivat Victoria! We will definetelly go again with Costa! Read Less