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

Excellent itinerary - The pearls of the Indian Ocean including Mauritius, Seychelles, Madagascar and Reunion. We are frequent travellers from Norway and we have been on cruise many times with Cunard, RCCL and Celebrity. We were rather surprised to read about the bad critics made by other travellers. We decided therefore to write this review in order to give other points of view regarding Costa Cruise. Although the Costa Victoria is old, she is very well maintained and very clean. The overall organisation and logistics on board are outstanding. In my view at same level as the other companies we know: RCCL and Celebrity. The security is taken very seriously and the service everywhere is excellent. The food is better than average and one will always find something he/she likes. Very large variety of menus. However, after 2 weeks, one loose appetite, which is rather normal. We "upgraded" our meals to the restaurant Club Victoria for 5 days at an additional cost of EUR 25 per day including breakfast, lunch and dinner. The restaurant is more elegant and smaller. The service there was more personalised and sitting place/time flexible. Activities on board are good. Dynamic teams entertain people on deck. In my view, there are a little bit too much activities on deck, but it probably suits younger people than me. There are quiet places many other places on board when it gets too noisy at the pool deck. The shows in the evenings were exceptional nearly every night. Bravo to the dancers! The fitness room needs to be refurbished. The size is too small and not adapted to the large number of users. The cabin (with balcony) is not very large but comfortable. The beds are good. We did not use the excursions proposed on board because we are used to take local taxis or other transportation means when we are on land. Excursions sold on board are too expensive. The spa and massages are far too expensive as well. But overall we will highly recommend Costa Victoria and the itinerary in the Indian Ocean. High value for the money paid. Read Less

My wife and I chose this cruise for its itinerary, its cost and not the cruise line. We had read a variety of differing reviews and were expecting to have some problems with availability of free drinking water and hot drinks. We encountered no such problems as both were readily available in the self service restaurants throughout the day and late evening. Staff were approachable and friendly given the fact they had to contend with so many different nationalities. Once we had recognised we were aboard a ship reflecting the United Nations we embraced the opportunities to interact with our fellow passengers who reciprocated in a similar manner. Fellow passengers were friendly and it is to be expected with so many people in a confined space there were some occasions when people acted in a discourteous manner. Embarkation was the quickest we had ever experienced and everything was available for us to use once we were aboard. Disembarkation proved to be a similar experience and because we were going to hotel later on in the day we were able to stay onboard enjoying the benefits until no later than 12 noon. Our outside cabin was comfortable and clean. We had no issues of disturbance from entertainment sounds even though we were below the Concorde plaza which had live music until the early hours. Lifts were plentiful and efficient. However, our cabin was on deck 6a and to get to it we had to climb down a flight of stairs from deck7 which would be challenging for anybody with mobility problems. Staff easily changed our assigned dining time to our preferred time. The menu choice in restaurants and buffet was varied given the large numbers of diners.The Sinfonia restaurant provided a more relaxed environment for breakfast and you were able to order items from a menu additional to the buffet. On our 14 night cruise there were two Gala dinners and dress code was optional, black tie, suit and smart casual. We were not able to find out before embarking on the cruise what the dress code was going to be. Additional to the two formal nights we had a white night and an Italian red white and green night, all of which were optional. The daily diary,delivered late evening, was full of the days activities, timings and venues. We participated in some and watched others entertain us and fellow passengers as is usual when cruising. Entertainment in the the theatre included a variety of genres and overall it provided a pleasant experience. Visiting the Seychelles for 2 days enabled us on the first day to tour the Island using the local buses from the central bus station in Victoria for 7 rupees per journey. On the second day we used the services of one of the many tour touts ,outside the port gates, to provide us with a days tour to to the marine reserve, Moyenne Island, snorkelling and Creole meal for 90 euros each, which was cheaper than the cruise line. During our 3 days in Madagascar we used the excellent services of Madagascar Excursions to provide us with 3 excursions offered by the cruise line but at a much reduced price. In all the ports we visited taxis were available to negotiate a price for an excursion and we heard of no one being disappointed by using them. In Reunion Island we chose to hire a car from Avis, who have a pickup location five minute walk from the cruise terminal.The location also provides rentals from Budget. We chose to tour Reunion using a car because it gave us greater freedom of choice. We booked the car knowing we had to find overnight parking which we were pleased to find was available in the cruise terminal char park. In Mauritius we secured the services of Mauritius taxis, operated by a Mr.Charles, to provide us with an 8 hour tour of the south of the island for 83 euros between 3 persons. Both Mad’Ex tours and Mauritius taxis can be contacted by email. Overall we thoroughly enjoyed the islands we visited acknowledging we have only had a snapshot of them. Read Less

We booked this cruise mainly due to the itinerary and this was our first taste of a Costa cruise. I did not have high expectations of Costa after reading the reviews here and so was not disappointed!!. Our cruise was in February 2019 visiting Mauritius, Seychelles, Madagascar and Reunion. . My review is about the ship and not the ports visited. What is the first thing you associate Italy with and would presume an Italian ship would deliver??.....Pizza and Ice Cream!!!. What a let-down… Ice cream available at a cost from a small freezer cabinet at the back of the buffet on the rear deck in the style of a Cornetto. Pizza only available from one of the specialist outlet at €8.50. What a lost opportunity for them to incorporate an ice cream bar like other cruise lines and serve some of the amazing Gelatos you find in mainland Italy. Also, instead of serving beef burgers and chips (everyday) at the pool bar, this area could have served slices of pizzas, at, I’m sure, a lower cost than burgers. Arrival: This was one of the quickest embarkation we have experienced(Mauritius). N.B. Debit cards cannot be assigned to your account, only credit cards. Also, if you usually pay your account at the end of the cruise by cash, this money must be deposited within 48 hours of boarding. Drinks packages: These are a nightmare to work out…I believe there are about 30 different types. Here are a few: 24 Cappuccinos €75, 24 Expresso €44, 12 x 1ltr water €36, Brindiamo (beers, juice, coffee, wine by glass, shorts) €28 per day per person. Piu Gusto (as Brindiamo but includes some cocktails) €33 per day per person. Intenditore (total freedom for any drink up to €9 each) €46 per person per day. Coffee and water packages can be taken by one person per cabin but beware drinks packages must be taken by all persons in same cabin over 18 years old. We drink very little, and so only went for the water package and purchased drinks as and when we wanted them. We found the prices were not as high as some cruise lines i.e. €5.50 for glass wine, €3.45 for Coca Cola, €5 for a draught beer. Prices mentioned here includes the 15% surcharge. Minibar drinks not included in the drinks packages. N.B. No water or coffee is served with lunch or dinner in the MDR. Coffee, tea and water by the glass is available free in the buffet areas from approx. 6.30am to 9pm. Food: (Lack of hand sanitizer used by many passengers and no staff enforcing this) Buffet: Oh, what a let down. Same old, same old….. The buffet deck has 4 different food areas, but the choice changed very little day to day. No hot plates, so by the time you got to your table, the luke-warm food was now cold! The tea urn supplied during the evening in the buffet is very poor. I think they show the teabag to it as it was so weak. MDR: Breakfast and lunch is open seating with Dinner being served at 2 different times, depending on which dining room you are allocated. The 2 sittings are 6.30pm and 6.45pm and then 9pm and 9.15pm. Breakfast in the MDR was part self service and a few set items on the menu…again this was a fixed menu for the whole cruise. Beware some items are pre prepared and kept refrigerated, so arrive cold and solid. Coffee and tea available, but had to ask for a teapot otherwise it’s just a small cup, which takes ages to get a refill. Lunch: again very little choice and at best luke-warm food served. Dinner: A very basic 3 star affair and they know how to put you off eating too much!!...on entry to the dining room they display each of the meals on a plate in a cabinet, talk about a turn off. Any drinks, water etc is not free at the table, unless you have purchased a drinks package. I think this is the first cruise we have ever been on where water is not served free of charge with a meal ( I can get it free in the buffet, but not the MDR!). Formal nights/Gala nights were no different to any other night. We also saw people arriving in t.shirts etc to sit in the dining room. When I challenged the waiters to this ,they just shrugged their shoulders and said they couldn’t do anything about it…memo to myself: if I go on a Costa cruise again I will only pack casual clothes. Speciality dinner in Club Victoria…DON’T DON’T DON’T!!!! For a special offer of only €14 per person (this price is only if the lead person of the cabin books, otherwise the cost is €28pp) you can have a ‘gourmet dinner in an elegant environment’. We tried the restaurant one evening. The seating and décor is very well laid out but the food was nothing special. We took the menu with us to compare it to the MDR……guess what. IDENTICAL!!!! Word for word the menus read the same, even the wine they suggested with the meal. So for an extra €28, We ate the same food as if we had eaten in the MDR!!. By the way anyone who would prefer to eat in Club Victoria for the whole cruise, it will set you back €330 pp. Cabin: We booked an inside cabin. Our first cabin was 80527. It was the average size for a cruise ship. It had a hanging wardrobe with a few huge hangers locked onto the rail..grrrr, why oh why do they have to do that. Also it means there is very little room to hang more than about 12 items. There were also 4 drawers, 3 shelves, safe, fridge etc. Bathroom was a corner layout. Soap was in a dispenser in the shower and a small bar of soap on the side of the sink. No other toiletries were supplied. That evening we went to bed and then realised there was massive banging going on as much as 27 times in 15 minutes. By 2.30am my husband got dressed and went to reception, to be told it was ‘normal and just the waves outside’........it was flat calm outside!!!. With barely any sleep, in the morning, we asked our cabin steward to come in and listen..he agreed something was wrong. Complained again to reception and they sent an engineer. Again he agreed and even said he could hear it in his cabin. Anyway after a few more calls and meetings, they moved us to another inside cabin 90534…oh bliss, no noise. There is no turn down service in the evening and no chocolate on the pillow! There are no launderettes on board any Costa ship. In addition there was no washing line in the bathroom. To have a shirt laundered by staff was approx. €2.50. Shops on board: There was not much choice unless you like watches!. 3 watch shops, 1 handbag shop, 1 clothing shop and a general store. Toiletries were very limited in the general store. There was the usual sea day sales bonanzas going on. The best was the ‘scrum’ at these events, which seemed much livelier due to mainly European passengers!. Sunbeds etc: Usual complaints regarding sun beds being commandeered by passengers with towels left on them, unattended for hours on end. Again staff did not do anything about it. We had some passengers pulling sun beds across gangways and again staff just walked around them. Maybe staff don’t do anything as they are forcing you to buy time in the quiet area..€10-14 pp per day!! Tours/port transfers: Tours costs as usual were much higher than if you did them on your own. I only did one tour, on my own, by the ship (2nd day in Reunion). We did visit all places mentioned but due to the traffic congestion, time was cut from the stops, so we still arrived back at the same time. For all independent travellers there is no information or maps given out. Any port transfers to town were charged approx. €7. Generally…the staff are very friendly and helpful. We felt the staff were much happier than on other cruise lines we have cruised with. I wonder if this is due to the automatic tipping system that cannot be cancelled. On Costa it is called Hotel Service Charge at €10 pp p.n.. Finally, would I cruise Costa again??..never say never, but the itinerary and price would have to reflect another Costa cruise! Read Less

The itinerary looked good and so I booked the cruise allowing Costa to book the flights. This was a big mistake, you cannot trust them. I normally book my own flights and allow for possible flight delays by staying overnight the night prior to boarding. I was due to fly Manchester /Paris Charles De Gaulle changing for flight to Mauritius. They allowed 85 minutes to change planes, anybody knowing this airport would think this tight. This ultimately was not a problem as the first plane was cancelled as my taxi arrived to take me to the airport. I rang Costa who told me to go to the airport and they would contact me . I was left for about four hours without contact, finally with the office now closed for the weekend, I received a call from India in broken English. I could not hear in the busy airport, so went to hotel for Friday night and rang India for instructions. I offered to go home or go on the next cruise with compensation. I was offered to fly me to Seychelles and miss the first 3 days of the cruise, the unnamed hotel was with food , a drink with meals and no entertainment. It meant one day stay in place of 3 days fully inclusive on cruise, I said that I would prefer to stay on the ship and return from Seychelles, so that I would get what I paid for. I would go on the shorter cruise if compensated. I was assured that the compensation would be made onboard. Once onboard, it was left until the day before I left to be told my cruise was not being extended and my compensation was €50 a day. I find this to be grossly undervalued plus all the stress. Upon my return, the offer of a €100 per person off a future cruise was derisory. Entertainment was boring with few entertainment staff working hard. Tours are very expensive and poorly organised. Madagascar very dissapointing. Cruise operating in rainy season did not help. I dined Ist sitting on a table for 12 in Sinfonia Restaurant, they brought another chair so 13 could sit there. This squashed everybody and annoyed next table waiter, who kept telling me to move my chair in. He was friendly, I asked him for a spoon and he told me to ask my waiter. The cutlery offered was often bizarre, a knife and fork for spaghetti. The food was terrible and displayed with pride as you entered the restaurant, it looked unappetising and nobody waived a magic wand when it appeared on your plate. The portions were small,poor quality and often served colder than desired. A doctor sat with me shared my concerns as the restaurant became half full, I developed diarrhoea for five days, so I moved to the upstairs buffet. This is self service and first night a Chinese girl vomited on my table, this could happen anywhere, however I had my suspicions. Every night half the dishes were lukewarm. I never saw anybody with a thermometer and I reported it to a supervisor. He went and spoke to chef, he came back and said that chef would do me some hot food if I wanted it. Says it all Costa have lost control on this ship. Please and thankyou are not used on this ship. Smiles seldom and rude waiters tolerated. This cruise shows the low level now tolerated by Carnival. I was a Perla member with Costa and will not cruise with them again. Read Less

maybe at the outset I will refer to the fact that unless the economic situation of Italy reflected the situation that took place on the ship :), but quite seriously we start with the fact that we had the opportunity to be your guests and regret that the conditions that prevailed on Victoria were terrible, I think. that such ships should be removed from use. Everything old, crackling, perishable. There was a haos on the ship, no one knew anything. People working at the reception were forever uninformed. Excursions offered by the shipowner were up to 300% more expensive than in private companies that were in the port, it's embarrassment :). Drinking and eating was terrible, it was hard to choose anything from what was offered in the dining room for everyone, generally hideous food. No wonder that paid thematic restaurants functioned very well, since the hopeless food was for everyone. We also do not understand the situation related to eternally loudly playing music, which instead of bringing some peace and relaxation during the journey caused irritation and anger. Is there nobody thinking about you? After all, the ship had only one pool and it was necessary to take into account that there are young and old people who also wanted peace and relaxation, and not listening to taunting animators and stupid jokes, was Costa so low down? You count for a service of 10 euros per person per day, as a service when during the whole stay none of the service staff asked us whether we would drink something or do we want something? Mockery!!! Costa today represents a very low level, I suggest that you think hard about buying a cruise from this company, in our opinion definitely "no" Please, finally, fix the toilet, because it's hard to run around toilets generally available on the ship, it's not this epoch, time does not go back only goes forward and Costa goes backwards !!!! Read Less

Taking a cruise on the Victoria is like going back into the early days of cruising, with the exception that the food was for my wife and myself was inedible for the most part. Although the ship underwent renovation in 2018, I found it difficult to see where the improvements were. The ship is dated and worn and stains and wear are evident everywhere I read the previous reviews and I knew enough to lower my expectations, but obviously I didn't lower them enough. The itinerary is excellent and was the primary factor in booking this cruise. Two waiters, Omesha Kilpaldy in the dining room and Kenneth in the specialty pizzeria were outstanding. Other crew members were fine for the most part, but there were a number of instances where crew members were just rude. The majority of guests were French speaking, many of them from the islands, taking advantage of a cruise that leaves close to home. Often we were placed with people who did not speak English for lunch and breakfast. I used the best French I could muster, but in some cases people just didn't want to converse with someone who had poor French language skills. Things you should know: 1. Speaking French would be a real asset, as well as abandoning expectations you would normally have on a mainstream North American cruise line. 2. The water on the ship is not potable. There are four water stations in the buffet area where you can get water for free. There are lineups and the water pressure is so bad that it often takes a minute to fill a glass . Some machines did not work consistently. We had a USA water plan which entitled us to one glass of water each for lunch and dinner. Beyond that you pay 2 euros. You should know that if you go to the specialty restaurant or pizzeria (pay for items) your water plan does not count and you must buy water for 2 euros. 3. The specialty restaurant will offer the advantage of a quiet space to eat, but according to German English speaking acquaintances the restaurant is not worth the price since the menu is largely the same thing you get in the dining rooms. Looking for a North American pizza experience choose the Margherita which is the only pizza which has a tomato sauce base. Other pizza are oil based rather than tomato sauce based, but to be fair they were edible is not tasty. We went to the pizzeria four times, since the food in the dining room was as described earlier. Cost for a pizza and 1 dessert to share was 8 euros, but if you sign up for Costa Club you get a 50% discount. 4. The toilets would often fail to flush in the morning hours. You would press the button and nothing would happen. Then five to ten minutes later it would flush. Some times this led to embarrassment, even for spouses that have been married for over 40 years. The air conditioning system was excellent, but the set up is such that the person closest to the duct gets constant cold air blowing on them. 5. If you don't like crowds, avoid the buffet. Early in the cruise we sat at the larger table for four, an East Indian lady proceeded to take her dirty dishes from her table and place them on the portion of the table which was not occupied, which bring us to the point that, table clearing in the buffet is not as great as on some ships. Needless to say this was an upsetting experience. 6. Be very careful In Madagascar. According to Mauritius friends two ladies were kidnapped and held for ransom in Tamatave. A ransom was paid and the women apparently were returned to the ship. Leaving the port gate in Madagascar is placing yourself among hundreds of people, all wanting to provide transportation. Be prepared to negotiate a price that is considerably less than the asking price. Ships tours are very expensive, but in Madacasgar, I would probably choose the tours since the people are poor and there is a risk to safety. In Nosey Be once we fought our way past the throngs of tour and taxi drivers, we found a wonderful Christian man who took us on a great tour for a very reasonable price (less than one fifth of the ship price). We had to travel a kilometre from the port to find him in a local park. Antisarana (Diego Suarez) was a less pleasant experience with a tuk tuk driver who stopped the vehicle a kilometre from the ship and wanted to renegotiate the price. We were going to tip him 25% anyways. We told him we would walk from there, but if he wanted the tip he would have to take us to the ship. To be fair the police are corrupt and they extorted money from him at two stops. I offered to pay but he wouldn't tell me how much they extorted. 7. For those who like to travel on your own using public transport system, the best place is the Seychelles. Although it is challenging at first, once you know the system and purchase a schedule (main bus terminal) it is quite easy to tour the island at minimal cost. The beaches are beautiful. Anse Goulette and Anse Royal are excellent. Anse Royal is by far the easiest to get to with 5 buses on the route... Buses generally come every 15 to 20 minutes. Would I go on Costa again, not a "snowball's chance in hell", but it was the only game in town and despite the numerous frustrations, it was an interesting trip. Fortunately we did meet some wonderful people on board, Mauritians and Ukrainians. That and the two waiters I mentioned were the best things about the ship. Read Less

We had an amazing time during our stay on Costa Victoria mainly because of the nice friendly and helpful staff. We travelled with our 7 year old son who was treated like a Prince by all staff on the ship but mainly the animation team and kids club. Ferdy and Sara were exceptionally good with him, most of the staff is Italian nd most of the guests were French spraking but they all made my son included and welcomed. I was happy my son made so many friends even though he can only speak Polish and English, the language is not a barrier he loved his time in the kids club. The animation team work so hard, special thanks to Ralph who was the kindest person on the ship, Francesco the sports instructor and crazy Marco. The staff at the restaurant were incredible as well and made up for the bad food at times. Donna the waitress is so lovely and helpful always smiling. The exurcions are terribly expensive, it's much cheaper to get something on the land. WE MET SO MANY nice people on the ship and on the land and visited hidden gems and that's what we are grateful for. The food, drinks packages and service charges are things we want to quickly forget about ;) Thank you to the staff of Costa Vicortia who made our journey so special Read Less

We had read previous reviews and we must have been cruising on a different ship as the ship was beautiful spotless good furnishings and fabrics and the public toilets were kept spotless.The itinerary was 27 nights from Italy to Mauritius ports included Crete Suez Canal Jordan Israel Maldives Seychelles Reunion Island.We could not call at Oman due to a Cyclone so much value for money on this cruise even with gratuities and drinks package we paid half for a four week cruise compared to a two week cruise on other companies. All the staff spoke english and were very friendly. The food was very good five courses every evening in the main dining rooms so much choice and of a good quality . Water was available free all day in the buffet restaurant until about nine in the evening .You only had to pay for water lunch and evenings in the main restaurants.Our cabin was kept spotless as was all the ship cleaning was done 24 hours a day. There was so much to do during the day and every evening there was a show. The entertainment team were a credit to the company especially Marco and the rest of the team. The english speaking guests had their own dedicated english speaking customer service advisor as did french german and spanish speaking guests. The daily information newspaper was printed in English and other languages. The cruise was magical and we have no hesitation in recommending Costa and Costa Victoria this was one of our bucket list cruises we travelled a quarter of the world and received so much value for the price we paid. We will be looking forward to booking another cruise with Costa for next year. Read Less

The reason I decided to write this review is to warn those people who privilege the rest and sleep at night to dancing and partying (I am not judging here, cruises are the right place for such things, just claiming my share of pleasure-the night's sleep): this is an old ship and there is practically no sound isolation. My cabin ( 11101 if i remember well) was exposed to very loud music to the point things were trembling each night from 23 till 1.00. Earplugs were not helpful. In this ship it is either one is lucky to have one's cabin far enough from the epicenter or not. Hospitality did not offer any sustainable solution either. Having paid about 4000 euros for three persons in a suite for a week's time, I really think it was a pitiful investment. This was a real shame, because on the whole the total experience was not awful at all. The club restaurant provided very friendly personalized service accompanied by quite acceptable and sometimes deliscious food. I could say Edd and Err saved our expeprience on the whole. Excursions, inspite of all the efforts of the guides, were not at their best, because the poor guides had to speak up to 4 languages which resulted in repeating one thing like where to find the toilettes and where to meet up to 4 times...Very little space left for cultural information. Spa on this ship is a joke and not worth a try, a shame again because it used to be a good part of a cruise activity for me and family. Finally, a valuable info for coffee lovers: traditionnally, on all Costa ships I travelled coffee is a very delicate issue: my point is, the americano they are offering in general service, is below human dignity, while the one in the bars is too strong for a morning. Well, I could order a cappucino, but I do not drink milk... My personal solution was to pack a little french press coffee maker and the brand I am used to. It could serve for a good verbal tea as well. Hot water is something one can always count on Costa company! The last but not least-many thanks to our cabin butler Yan for his perfect service and friendly smile. Read Less