We chose this cruise because it visited the Countries and Ports we really like. I contacted Costa on 29th February the day before flying into Singapore and they told me the cruise was going ahead as originally planned. We had heard via (Facebook) that Cambodia and Vietnam ports had already been canceled, and I suspected that Thailand and Malaysian Ports were also going to be canceled as well. We arrived in Singapore the next evening, only to be advised this was true, and that all guests were notified via email whilst we were all flying towards Singapore. This was very poor customer service on behalf of this Cruise line, as they put profit well ahead of their Customer Satisfaction and Care protocols. We arrived onto the ship on 3rd March, to a throng of staff wanting to sign us up to drinks packages Starting at 110 Euro per 40 x 200ml soft drink cans. This equated to AUS$5 per drink, and as we were told that NO table water would be available in the dining rooms for meals except breakfast, we were then encouraged to purchase two packages for the entire 16 days cruise. Two days later we arrived into our first Malaysian stop and the day was just stunning, we then moved onto Phuket Thailand when the drama then unfolded. Thailand denied access into Phuket, this then caused a domino effect with all ports thereafter denying us access. Costa advised all passengers that we were heading straight back to Singapore, where we would be bussed straight to the airport, and flown home 9 days early. Even Singapore didn't really want us! To Costas credit, they did organize our flights home early and gave us a cruise credit for the missed ports, however, Costa should have canceled this cruise before any guests had jumped onto a plane two days prior to our departure! They lied to me that ports had not been canceled, and didn't fess up until we all started boarding the ship. Being a regular Princess customer and knowing their very high customer Care standards, we were very disgusted with Costa in providing very minimal communications with their passengers and saw us all as captive guests to touch with every passing day. Would I cruise with Costa again, NO they have burnt me badly with their total lack of Customer Care, seeing all passengers as a fountain for their wealth, and very poor communication skills, they have seen our backs for life! Read Less

We were really excited to be going on the Costa Fortuna cruise ship. We arranged for the appropriate visas for Cambodia, travel insurance and up to date passports as these were required documentations BY COSTA, otherwise you would be denied boarding the cruise. Well to start off, we were NOT EVEN ASKED for these documentations upon arrival and second, WE DID NOT NEED TO DO THE VISAS AS COSTA WOULD HAVE ARRANGED THE VISA WHILE ON BOARD. The food was horrible, at the buffet and for 2 weeks it was same for breakfast, lunch and dinner and the so called bacon they served was burnt that it looked like it was cremated. Coffee was only served at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Other cruise we did had coffee and snacks available 24/7. Bad luck if you went on an excursion and returned late as after 2pm doors were closed and reopened at 7pm. Hand sanitizers in the eating areas were often empty or broken. With the Corona virus around you would think that COSTA would have someone at each point where the sanitizers were to insure people used them before entering the buffet area but not one attended was ever present Now, for the dinner reservation at the fancy restaurants, well the meals were not that spectacular either, you had to pay for the water where it was free in the buffet. The constant Italian music, daily games which were more like you play at a kid’s parties were in Italian. The nightly shows in the theatre again were in Italian and again were not spectacular, people walked out numerous times. Restrooms are so hard to find they were hidden outside in a corner because they blended in with the wallpaper. The staffs at the reception desk were arrogant and not very helpful and would get irritated if you asked them a question. Every day an argument would occur between guests and staff. Take the case of the daily mandatory fee of 10 Euros per person per day for services in cleaning the cabins {doing the beds and showers}. I guarantee that the sheets had not been changed not once in the 14 days we were there With so many of us complaining, a meeting was arranged with an English speaking lady from hospitality. When asked about the visas we were asked to do for Cambodia, she replied that Costa does not ask guests to do visas as they are arranged by COSTA FORTUNA for a fee of 40 Euros for everyone whether they were going ashore or NOT. When I presented a copy of the email I had received from Costa her response after reading was, THAT’S UNFORTUNITE FOR YOU Yes it was unfortunate as it all cost us $150 each person. Another question was raised by a fellow passenger regarding the so called 10 Euros per person for room cleaning. We were told it is a gratuity fee that goes to the cleaners. We already paid $ gratuity. Passengers were not happy and when they complained, we were told, “IF YOU DON'T LIKE THE SHIP YOU CAN GET OFF. For a couple of seconds everyone sat there looking stunned at what they heard then all hell broke loose. We were in the middle of the ocean, where did she expect us to go. At the end of the cruise all English speaking guests were to attend a meeting for brief instructions on the day of disembarkation We were ALSO instructed and I quote again, TO RATE COSTA FORTUNA a 10 because if we DON’T, the crew members will NOT RECEIEVE THERE BONAS. Costa Fortuna THAT IS BRIBERY. NOT going to do what you asked. Worse cruise ever. COSTA FORTUNA WAS A BIG MISTAKE. So if you’re thinking of doing a cruise with them you better think twice. Read Less

24th February 2020 cruised from Singapore 15 days, Cambodia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand back to Singapore. First trip to Borneo to see the orang-utans (most peoples attracted by this opportunity to the cruise) cancelled because the ship was too big to navigate the channel (you would have thought that this was known before being on the itinerary), To cut a long story short the main reason for the cruise was missed and the ports of call for example we stayed because of this missed itinerary an extra day at Phu My, Vietnan I can only liken to being moored literally next to the Port Talbert steel works in South Wales (a smelting furnace alongside) for two days with nowhere to go unless you were repaired to be ripped off by the very very extortionate taxi fairs or take the shore excursions which were not good value and a disappointment for the those that did. All the ports of call except Singapore were of poor quality and I guess chosen by accountants rather than the benefit of the passengers (it's cheaper to moor in out the -way industrial ports) and were too far from the intended destinations to make you take the expensive excursions. The fee for Cambodia landing card $120 for 2 whether you got off the ship or not, another rip-off. That said the ship was well cleaned, staff were excellent, cabins good even if dated and the food very good despite being served (that they were aware of) a food that could have killed me owing to an allergy but fortunately stopped by my wife. Read Less

My wife & I booked this trip at the last minute and can honestly say "WOW!" Although we had to miss Cambodia due to the virus situation we were blessed to have an overnight stay in Vietnam which turned out fantastic for us as it gave us time to see Ho Chi Minh and a trip down Mekong Delta. The staff & crew were fantastic especially the waiters Damoder,David,Dede & Ernesto. The captain,Chris,was so down to earth and his announcements were enjoyable yet informative. Visiting Thailand,Malaysia,Singapore etc gave us the chance to visit some breathtaking temples,beaches etc and we spent very little due to the local street food etc being less than £5 for 2 people and it was deeeeeelicious! The cabins on board cleaned daily made it soooo refreshing to get into bed after a great day exploring although it was after a great night onboard also with entertainment for all tastes. Our housekeeping team Ramil,Liza & Manju were the most attentive and caring as my wife who is disabled was never bothered when she needed to stay in bed longer. We can only say Thankyou TUI & the Marella Discovery Cruise team for our trip of a lifetime! Read Less

We chose this cruise on Valentine's Day when we found an amazing price on line. Flying from Manchester was quite smooth but our disembarkation in Thailand was so slow and frustrating. Once at the ship our check-in was quick and easy and our cases were at our room within the hour. Our cabin: deck 2 outside was clean and tidy and our cabin crew kept it spotless throughout the cruise. The itinerary was excellent though we had to miss Cambodia because of the developing Corona crisis. We loved Penang. Langkawi was a sheer delight. Malacca was fascinating and Singapore was impressive. Thailand: Ko Samui was great fun and we were well pleased with all our stops. My wife and I made our own arrangements for shore stops and found this to be quite easy to do. On board the entertainment was excellent. Daily dance lessons and twice-nightly social dances were superb and our heartfelt thanks go to Amy and Dmitrii for making our holiday really special. The showteam were excellent, performing a range of shows to suit all tastes. We also enjoyed Celidh dancing, Jazz Dancing and line dancing - so much to do! We ate in the waiter service restaurants for breakfast and dinner. For lunch we used the Islands self service restaurant. The food was always excellent... suckling pig was an unexpected treat and the veal, venison, duck and Angus beef were great. All bar and waiting staff were so helpful and good-natured. There was a real family atmosphere on board throughout the cruise. Captain Chris Dodds and his officers were an inspiration, dealing brilliantly with many difficult situations caused by outside factors. The reception team were also really helpful and caring for the entire cruise. It's hard to find fault with this cruise, crew and ship. They were all excellent. We will be back on board as soon as circumstances make it possible! Read Less

I was Very hesitant,husband booked it really wanted to go (Without the virus) just wasn’t on my to do list How wrong was abs amazing Would not have gone to the countries without going on a cruise the itinerary was excellent and was adapted due to restrictions what also made it was knowing I was goin back to a wonderful friendly ship everything and everyone was amazing and made lasting memories Thanks to sue Stewart who made us feel special inviting us to sit at her table and to all the staff Thank you so much The food entertainment service cleanliness everything was spot on varied entertainment to suit every taste met some really lovely people from all over the UK due to choosing to share a table some nights surf n turf was a special night at an extra but it was worth it would have done it again but left it late to book Would recommend defo Read Less

We were really excited to be going on the costa fortuna cruise ship. We arranged for the appropriate visas for cambodia, travel insurance and up to date passports as these were required documentations by costa, otherwise you would be denied boarding the cruise. Well to start off, we were not even asked for these documentations upon arrival and second, we did not need to do the visas as costa would have arranged the visa while on board. The food was horrible, at the buffet and for 2 weeks it was same for breakfast, lunch and dinner and the so called bacon they served was burnt that it looked like it was cremated. Coffee was only served at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Other cruise we did had coffee and snacks available 24/7. Bad luck if you went on an excursion and returned late as after 2pm doors were closed and reopened at 7pm. Hand sanitizers in the eating areas were often empty or broken. With the Corona virus around you would think that COSTA would have someone at each point where the sanitizers were to insure people used them before entering the buffet area but not one attended was ever present Now, for the dinner reservation at the fancy restaurants, well the meals were not that spectacular either, you had to pay for the water where it was free in the buffet. The constant italian music, daily games which were more like you play at a kid’s parties were in italian. The nightly shows in the theatre again were in italian and again were not spectacular, people walked out numerous times. Restrooms are so hard to find they were hidden outside in a corner because they blended in with the wallpaper. The staffs at the reception desk were arrogant and not very helpful and would get irritated if you asked them a question. Every day an argument would occur between guests and staff. Take the case of the daily mandatory fee of 10 euros per person per day for services in cleaning the cabins {doing the beds and showers}. I guarantee that the sheets had not been changed not once in the 14 days we were there With so many of us complaining, a meeting was arranged with an english speaking lady from hospitality. When asked about the visas we were asked to do for cambodia, she replied that costa does not ask guests to do visas as they are arranged by costa fortuna for a fee of 40 euros for everyone whether they were going ashore or not. When i presented a copy of the email i had received from costa her response after reading was, that’s unfortunite for you yes it was unfortunate as it all cost us $150 each person. Another question was raised by a fellow passenger regarding the so called 10 euros per person for room cleaning. We were told it is a gratuity fee that goes to the cleaners. We already paid $ gratuity. Passengers were not happy and when they complained, we were told, “if you don't like the ship you can get off. For a couple of seconds everyone sat there looking stunned at what they heard then all hell broke loose. We were in the middle of the ocean, where did she expect us to go. At the end of the cruise all english speaking guests were to attend a meeting for brief instructions on the day of disembarkation we were also instructed and i quote again, to rate costa fortuna a 10 because if we don’t, the crew members will not receive there bonas. Costa fortuna that is bribery. Not going to do what you asked. Worse cruise ever. Costa fortuna was a big mistake. So if you’re thinking of doing a cruise with them you better think twice. Read Less

We booked this Far East Asia cruise six months ago after seeing it advertised in our local newspaper. It was included in a package with return flights to Singapore and was priced very reasonably. We always check reviews before making holiday bookings (cruises, hotels etc) but in this instance we didn't until after we had booked. After reading the many negative reviews about the Costa Fortuna we became a little concerned but decided to go with an open mind, simply "take things as they come" and be prepared for the worst. Big surprise!! The cruise proved to be one of the best out of the several that we have done. We thought we must have been on a different ship to the one all the negative reviewers had been on. Even though we didn't check any reviews before making the booking we did check out everything else possible about the cruise and ship online before the cruise commenced. We cannot believe that people weren't aware of the 10Euros per day mandatory service charge, or that you had to pay for water in the restaurants etc (we didn't because we had pre-booked a Piu Gusto drinks package) or that they didn't realise it was an Italian cruise line, hence lots of Italian dishes (which were varied and tasty) .... all this information is readily available online!!! Our balcony cabin was roomy, comfortable, very clean and the fridge worked fine. Only complaint was that the cabin's air-conditioning didn't work as well as we would have liked, especially in the mornings. The public areas of the ship were nice and cool but our cabin sadly wasn't. The crew on the whole were friendly and helpful but like can happen on any cruise ship one or two appeared to have a bit of attitude, however that certainly didn't stop us enjoying the cruise overall as most of them always greeted you with a smile. The bar staff were amazing and we also loved the way the wait staff took our drinks order, keyed it in on their little gadgets and bingo a few minutes later the drinks arrived from the bar. The cocktails could not be faulted and were definitely not short on alcohol content!! We were more disappointed in some of the passengers than in the crew when it came to manners. The way in which some passengers treated the crew was plain rude . No "pleases" or "thank yous" when they were served food and drinks and this was not just by the European passengers either but across many the nationalities on board. The theatre shows were great; sure, not all of them but the entertainment was varied and there was pretty much "something for everyone". We would definitely do another Costa cruise on either the Fortuna or one of their other ships in the future. Read Less

Positives. Staff. Top class. Waiters - Excellent especially - Dining Melvic Z and Jansen Nicolas along with others we made good contact with and there was several of them. Thank you boys and girls - bar. Sheila, Jennifer, Araminda and lots of others whose names I didnt remember! Shows - Excellent and fresh- no repeats! and wide variety all done by staff who also had other duties. The energy!!!! Music - lots of it and various styles and in many venues Communication - excellent altho in up to 7 different languages. ( remember its an Italian ship) so obviously everything was in Italian then other languages followed. Service desks- excellent. Dining rooms - excellent choices, flavours and presentation and energectic entertainment was a hit with all -Buffet. Many choices and styles of food and never a shortage in quantity or quality! Variety of drinks with in each package was very good. The range of coffees, teas and juices was great. Only one type of beer avail by the glass The effort that went into keeping the Ship free of the CV-19 was commendable. Some of the ports of call were extremely good. Others interesting. Some activities had the gloss taken off only due to the language barriers. Negatives wine- Maybe better quality? Why not water available free as duty of care? the water available from the Buffet was not nice as it was heavily chlorinated not filtered, and not always available. I was of the understanding the buffet area was open for longer hours than it seemed to be, Some one apparently did complain and it was open longer for the 2nd part of our trip. No quiet zone any were except in your room to chill out in.Only place was on deck 5 with the smokers - no thank you. A quiet lounge/seating area with soft music and view outside would have been magic Difficult at the service desks from time to time to hear while the music was blaring! Internet. super expensive. Rating? still 10/10 from us Read Less

Part of a package of 4 Cruises. We are a couple in our mid 70s who have been on several cruises and this is our first Costa Cruise. Cabin - spacious. Crew - overworked but wonderfully friendly, courteous and helpful. However, *No ice- bucket in cabin in spite of it being a Premium Balcony - whatever Premium means in the Mediterranean. The fridge was not called. *We only had dinner at the Michelangelo on the first night. Menu had an item Char Kuay Teow - the first time it was presented at the table it was stodgy fried rice. On the second attempt it turned out to be gluggy yellow noodles. No one in the dining room or galley knew what Char Kuay Teow ought to be. We requested for water and were told we had to pay for it - yes, plain water. Never had another meal there during the 2 week cruise. *Insipid coffee and God knows from where tea is provided during breakfast and evening tea sessions. No coffee, hot water or tea at other times - machines are off and tea packets and mugs removed. * So called maintenance work. In fact, there were preparing the ship for the European summer. Sanding of wooden bannisters near the public pool areas in spite of people being around. Chisseling away rust - clanging away does not make for a wonderful holiday experience. Followed by paint fumes - anti- rust, primer and overcoat. For 4 nights we got notices that the cabin balconies would be subject to maintenance work - imagine what a glorious time we had with the crew walking past the cabin balconies on a regular basis. We advised to close the curtains from 8.30 am to 3.30pm - just nice to be gloominess. *(Not the fault of the Cruise Line) Most of the passengers have not understood the word courtesy - please, sorry, excuse me (in any of the European languages will be understood and welcomed. Queue - many have not heard that word either. Behaviour of many reflects what some travel writers refer to as, " The village visiting the city". Though mzny villagers are more refined than city folks. *Food - plentiful but the few same items seem to be presented in the different themed areas. Example - roasted chicken in the Burger section, and in the grill section and in the main buffet area and in the Indian/oriental corner. * Embarkation - all the cruises we have been on have crew directing new passenges to their cabins. We had to find our own way. Will we go on a Costa Cruise? No. Read Less

Celebrity Cruises had to announce on the afternoon before we left home that the ship was no longer sailing from Singapore, but from Dubai. Amazingly we were redirected to Dubai for the first 4 nights instead of Singapore and whilst the hotel was not ideal (Holiday Inn in Festival City Dubai) it was adequate for 4 nights. The transport to and from the airport and Port Rashid on the day we set sail were all in place. The cruise on Celebrity Constellation was absolutely fantastic. I guess helped with so many people not proceeding with their cruise for reasons mostly associated with the coronavirus. The ship was therefore not busy, anywhere and it seemed to add to the enjoyment and great atmosphere, especially from the staff who seemed to be trying even harder to make sure we had a wonderful cruise experience. Of course it was disappointing not to get to Singapore and we were equally disappointed not to visit Phuket but it was for our safety and well worth making the change. Four cruise to start the cruise and then the cruise ports of Colombo, Sri Lanka and Cochin, India weren’t great. Or we just picked the wrong tours. However we enjoyed Goa (we went to Panjim) and absolutely loved Mumbai for two days. Muscat was super and then back to Dubai where we enjoyed an afternoon at the Miracle Garden (although 3 hours there was 90 mins too long). Celebrity Constellation did not look "too tried" and while it will get a $500,000 refit in a couple off weeks, it didn't look to us as if it was essential or even needed. Michael's Club was brilliant and the Concierge service there was wonderful (Lucy and Natalia). We were superbly looked after in our cabin by Brijesh. Films Deck on Level 12 (outdoors) was good but not all the films were entertaining or good. Entertainment in the Theatre was no more than ok - best were the Tribute acts for Stevie Wonder, Elton John and Phil Collins. Met lots of nice fellow passengers and loved the massages from Shami in Canyon Ranch. Overall - a wonderful, friendly, happy and enjoyable cruise. Read Less

The Celebrity Constellation is even before the major Revolution overhaul scheduled in May 2020 an excellent ship. Very stable, not too crowded and in very good condition. The staff is very, very friendly, no exceptions. Service onboard excellent. Trip was changed, start and finish in Dubai with extra sea days. Even with less people aboard all the shows, music en entertainment was excellent, we haven't been board a single moment. Dining in the main dining room San Marco is like on every Celebrity ship very special. The Ocean view cafe is set up in a bit strange way, but the quality of the food is excellent. Eating outside on the after deck is a pleasure, especially with a nice drink from the bar. Embarking and disembarking in Dubai is very comfortable, even with the extra health checks. Shore excursions were not very special, but this has to do with the stops and the facilities in the visiting countries. Read Less

As we were leaving home Celebrity changed the embarkation port from a Singapore to Dubai and dropped the Phuket port call All this was due to the evolving Covi-19 epidemic. Onboard we were maybe at two-thirds occupation due to the cancellations. This meant that everything was much easier than expected - no pressure on sun beds, dinner times, buffet or the theatre. The staff were excellent and we enjoyed a fabulous cruise. After many sea days (4);we arrived at Columbo, Sri Lanka. This and all subsequent port dates were unaffected by the new itinerary. The ships’ excursions were the best we’ve ever been on. The food was excellent as was the service in the restaurant. The passengers onboard were mainly from UK, US, Canada and the EU. We never felt at all at threat from the Coronavirus at any time, though the precautions taken were very thorough. This was our first cruise with Celebrity having previously travelled with P&O, Cunard and a Princess. The only ‘complaint’ we had was the incessant attempt to increase the money spent onboard. The cost of WiFi and drinks packages was exorbitant, higher than even on Cunard. Obviously lots of fellow passengers had these packages included within their original purchase or maybe as a result of loyalty perks. Another example of ridiculous charges would the cost of studio photographs. A minimum charge of €900 for a nice photograph is simply ridiculous. We have a fabulous photo taken by a professional photographer at the Taj Mahal after our cruise for the astonishing charge of €2 and it was superb! The cruise director, Luiginano, deserves special mention. His vivacious approach kept everyone happy and he even on the dockside in Dubai wishing passengers a happy journey home. Regrettably passengers on the following cruise on Constellation were not so fortunate. The ship apparently reached Mumbai and was then forced to disembark all its passengers to find their own way home. Overall I think Celebrity did a fabulous job in very difficult circumstances. Soon it should be reaching dry dock in Europe for a refit. It would be inter3sting to see what those changes turn out to be. Can others on the forum please update us when she comes out of the refit. Read Less

Our introduction to Vietnam was interesting and educational with our tour to the Cu Chi’s tunnels and a visit to the city of Saigon followed the next day to transfer to our ship. Everything about this cruise was excellent. The slide down window turned our stateroom into our private balcony where we could enjoy life on the Mekong River as we sailed along. The dining experience was wonderful with an amazing variety of food and some good old stand byes for the less adventurous diners. The lounges allowed space for visiting and smaller cozy lounges were available to curl up with a book and a cup of tea or coffee. The entertainment brought on board with young people sharing the traditional dances of the region was excellent. It was good to hear that Emerald is supporting organizations helping disadvantaged youth. The excursions were very interesting showing history of the regions and daily life. Service throughout the ship was excellent from the front staff, the cruise director, our group leader, the spa staff, dining room servers, room attendants etc. We look forward to another adventure in the future with Emerald Waterways. Read Less

We chose this cruise because of the port calls in Vietnam and Hong Kong. Unfortunately, the cruise was canceled in Bangkok through an abundance of caution due to the Coronavirus. Yes this was disappointing, but this ensured that the ship and us did not got stuck in 14-days of quarantine somewhere. Regent did the right thing and was more than generous with the refund and future cruise discount. The embarkation process in Bali was smooth, taking only about 30 minutes total from beginning to end. Our room was ready as we boarded. Since we had sailed Voyager in this room a year earlier, we new what to expect and were not disappointed. For those wanting a more relaxed dinner experience, Regent is serving dinner on the pool deck most evenings. We were planning to take advantage of this, but did not get the chance. We did have at least one dinner in each of the other restaurants, and enjoyed our meals. We made it to a couple of the evening shows and enjoyed the magic/comedy shows the most. We also enjoyed the Enrichment Lectures. Regent should consider an earlier time for the evening shows. One evening the show was at 5:30 PM, which was great and had the most attendance! We did not use any of the fitness or recreation facilities. We were in a Penthouse Suite and the service was great, as it was throughout the ship, no disappointment here. We also enjoyed each of the excursions. We have two more cruises booked on Regent and our very much looking forward to each of them. Read Less

Everything was top-notch about this cruise. The service was impeccable: everyone, and I mean everyone, treated you like the special customer you want to be, including much of the staff learning your name from the first day. The food was consistently great, although not spectacular, and an good effort was made to make local food available at all meals. The variety and care taken on the shore excursions was awesome. This was an 8-day cruise, and we had excellent times with the other passengers (primarily from Australia, UK, and Canada). The balcony cabin was perfect (we had one of the less expensive options) and everything was in good working order. The only thing that I can think to improve is the wine selection: there are a world of better wines out there at the same prices as the ones on the cruise. But, that's minor, and I highly recommend this cruise!! Read Less

Our time in Myanmar was fantastic. Having a day in Yangon prior to the tour was beneficial and we were rested and saw some different sites to those included. The hotels prior to and after the cruise were excellent Our tour guide, Tin Pa Pa Min was the best. She looked out for every hidden opportunity and was full of fascinating information. On board Scenic Aura the staff were fantastic. Always friendly and helpful and looking after everyone's needs. Special mention for Sai on the front desk and Lal and Moon in the dining room. The ship was always spotless despite the determined effort of some flying insects at one stage. The small gifts each evening were a treat and will be valued. We thoroughly recommend a visit to the spa for a massage. The ports of call were all excellent and the sandbank campfire most enjoyable. We especially liked that, in addition to important locations, such as Bagan, we visited small villages and interacted with the people. Every effort was made to include those with mobility issues on all excursions, although access to the boat would be all but impossible for anyone in a wheelchair. We would thoroughly recommend this trip and are glad we picked February for the best weather Read Less

Chose Costa because we’ve tried Royal Caribbean and P& O so wanted to try a different cruise line and because of the value for money it offered. Almost cancelled because of coronavirus ( more a fear of being isolated in our ( inside) cabin for 14 days, rather than catching the virus) and because of all the negative reviews that we didn’t read before we booked it, but SO glad we didn't! This cruise was so much fun! Staff were excellent and couldn’t do enough for us from the cabin steward to the ships doctor and everyone in between! Particular mention to the bar staff in the Grand Bar, Mark Anthony, Dani, Armando and Glady who went above and beyond to ensure we enjoyed ourselves and our cabin steward, Mark, who was constantly there to direct us to our cabin. The entertainment and restaurant staff were fantastic and full of fun, particularly the lunchtime staff who made us feel SO special! Guest services staff were also wonderful despite doing a difficult job; lost my iPhone on second day which would have been disastrous for me but they pulled out all stops and eventually it was found on a tender and returned to me. Also had occasion to use the hospital and the elderly doctor in particular was charming, helpful, reassuring and solved the problem without making us feel like a nuisance ( which happened on a previous P & O cruise). A word of warning though- take out travel insurance; hospital visit was expensive! Most tours can be organised from the ports which is a much cheaper way of doing things; Costa tours are expensive. In summary, this was a fantastic ship and cruise and was great value for money. Costa Fortunas main strength lies in its wonderful staff who are hard working, full of fun and energy and obliging and I would not hesitate to cruise with them again. Read Less

I had high hopes about my first cruise with Costa. Needless to say they were wasted. This 2 week cruise was part of a six week package which incuded 4 weeks with P&O. Information about the Costa cruise line was sparse as my booking agent had not had dealings with them before. So here's your feedback. Pay for water! No free tea or coffee after breakfast! Surly staff who don't like to deal with English speaking passengers. Very few announcements in English. Very class oriented ship. Everything is in Euros, in Asia? Mandatory service charge of 10 euros EACH per day that no-one knew about before boarding, supposedly to encourage staff to work harder. Any redeeming qualities are far outnumbered by the bad. I have personally not had a worse cruise. And this mob want to break into the Australian cruise market? Not a chance Costa. We won't want you. Read Less

We would strongly recommend that passengers considering a cruise choose Regent Seven Seas Cruises! There are so many reasons that make a Regent cruise outstanding and a cut above the competitors: • Perfect Size Ships: typically, 700-750 passengers. Not too big…not too small. On Regent you can always find others to share the experience without feeling lost, but you can also be very comfortable just staying by yourselves. • Extremely Luxurious Experience at Reasonable Prices: Unlimited wine and premium alcohol drinks include are included; Business Class Air included for suite bookings; Butler Service; Free Excursions • Incredible Selection of Land Pre-tours and Hotels (many are free!!) • Service, Service, Service, and Excellence • All the special touches… Specialty restaurants, Pre-paid gratuities, Unlimited WiFi Airport/Hotel transfers and more All that is great but it’s the intangibles that count most and are hard to simply list. Every day you feel special, pampered, sincerely cared for. Every little detail is just right…the crew always saying hello and being cheerful… We could go on and on, but Regent shows up when it counts most… Our most recent booked tour had one hurdle after the other. First there were issues created by China with its ports. Regent solved that by adding a fabulous land program so we could still experience everything we hoped for. Then the Coronavirus hit. Regent cared more about its passengers and crew then its own financials. Ultimately, they were forced to cancel the cruise to protect us from a potentially horrible experience or illness. But that’s not all…passengers were given a full refund and a 25% discount on a future cruise! How can you beat that!!! We’re off to the Middle East and the Mediterranean at 75% fare!! Cheers! Read Less

If you are looking for a luxury expedition cruise in a remote and stunningly beautiful region of the world then consider Aquablu program throughout Indonesia. Cabins are large and well appointed with ample common areas to laze and socialize.The service and food is of a quality you will find in the finest dining restaurants anywhere in the world. A Grade.The scenic backdrops to these dinners and breakfasts are better than you will find anywhere. Beach picnics on deserted islands with crystal clear water and coral gardens at your feet are par for the course. Swimming down freshwater steams through the tropical jungle with flocks of Hornbill overhead is a treat to behold. Visiting local fishing villages and joining in their dance ceremonies is a memorable part of the adventure. Aqua Expeditions offer several different itineraries that are alluring, there are 17,000 islands in Indonesia so one trip is never enough. Combining this ocean going expedition with the serene river adventure on Aqua Mekong is the ultimate combination. Read Less

We are regulars on cruise holidays and were looking forward to our cruise of Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand as these were all countries we had never visited before and my partner was particularly looking forward to visiting Singapore. Plus points - the first week was great fun, we met some great people, the staff in restaurants and bars and cleaning and domestic services were lovely and all added to a great atmosphere onboard. Cambodia was an experience but we welcome the opportunity to see how people live in some of the poorer countries. The entertainment we saw was very good and the singer's rendition of Whitney Houston songs was wonderful - best I have heard in 16 cruises. Now the negatives - my partner had a relatively mild condition but one that she felt needed medical attention. The diagnosis was that she was suffering from an "acute respiratory condition" which warranted her being sent off ship for a CT scan at Hospital, despite the fact she had responded to treatment. This diagnosis was reached in spite of the fact that she had successfully toured Penang in hot temperatures for 5/6 hours on day previous without any issue!! If she had chosen not to follow medical advice, our travel insurance would have been invalid. Things went from bad to worse, the hospital authorities treated her for Covid-19 (well hardly treated her - tested her pulse, temperature and blood pressure - as had already been taken onboard and were fine). She never received any treatment at all yet was transferred to another hospital for another procedure (same happened here, no treatment just questions and tested pulse, temperature and blood pressure). Marella rep at hospital was no use at all, all he did was advise there were procedures in place but not explain what they were and if he communicated with the ship (I assume he did) and with the Hospital authorities then he didn't let us know what was going on. Apparently there should have been a Marella Port Agent available to support us - none available. As my partner had not been discharged from Hospital by time the ship sailed, we were disembarked and basically abandoned in a foreign country with no support. Useful contact numbers are only useful if they are attainable - they weren't - and in our opinion, the ship should not have sailed whilst my partner had not been cleared of COVID-19. We had to arrange to get to Singapore and re-embark there - this despite the fact that we were both in a state of shock at how this ridiculous situation had ever materialised. We were up for 28 hours and stayed in Singapore Airport guarding our belongings (which had been sent to us at the Hospital along with our passports via a local taxi driver - no one from Marella involved in ensuring our belongings arrived safely but totally left to chance). We re-embarked at Singapore but were nervous about leaving the ship again in case we were disembarked and our cruise was ruined. Subsequent attempts to get answers from TUI on how this farcical chain of events happened have been shockingly handled by the company to date. This experience has put us off cruising completely and we are trying to ensure that what happened to us will never happen to any other couple ever again. The service rating reflects the onboard welfare service and customer service thereafter and is no reflection of the excellent service provided by the bar staff, restaurant and cleaning staff. Equally the VFM would have been a 4 based on week 1 but was reduced to 1 in light of our experience. Read Less

3 more Vietnamese ports cancelled as docking was refused due to passengers and crew having been on board who had been to Hongkong. Other ships were allowed to dock. A very expensive time at sea with the potential of having been exposed to the novel corona virus. Captain was hiding and left it to guest relations to deal with unhappy customers. NCL refusing to accept responsibility. Have upped offer to 50% of cruise part and 50% of cost towards future cruise. No refund for flights and other costs incurred. Disappointing and shabby treatment of their customers. No sense of duty of care. This was supposed to be a one-off cruise we had booked nearly a year before. We followed news coming out of China and expected the cruise to Hongkong to be cancelled at short notice. It would have been sad but with the refund we could have booked another cruise and would have felt that our well being was of importance. Turns out that NCL are only driven by profits. Read Less

Just returned from this cruise. It was terrible. It should have been cancelled but NCL put greed first. They put us at risk of Coronavirus by allowing people on board who may have it. Only allowed to dock at 2 of the 7 ports on the itinerary. Spent 6 days at sea. Also 1 of the 2 ports was Sihanoukville in Cambodia. Nobody would ever want to go there on vacation... absolutely filthy. Only reason for going is the NCL can charge 89 dollars per person for a Visa that actually costs 30 dollars. Would never travel with NCL again. After 1000 person petition asking for more than the 10% refund offered, we received a standardised letter a week later. If anything goes wrong on an NCL cruise don’t expect any help at all. All NCL want to do is blame Vietnam for not allowing us in. Surely when Vietnam declared an epidemic at the beginning of February, NCL should have cancelled this cruise Read Less

The handling of the above cruise by NCL and the treatment of the passengers was wholly abysmal. This was not caused by one or two issues but a series of poor decisions, communication failures, and what can not be explained away by anything but corporate greed. This all started with the news that the Corona Virus was impacting travel to Southeast Asia. Many airlines and cruise companies were allowing passengers to cancel or make changes without penalty due to the concerns raised by the virus. NCL was a glaring exception. Guests who made similar requests to NCL prior to the cruise were advised that there would be no refund or credit if we were to cancel. NCL did send an email stating that no passengers who visited China in the previous 30 days would be allowed to board and would receive a full refund. A second email advised that passengers who transited through Hong Kong and certain other cities in the last 15 days would not be allowed to board. The miscommunications started before we even left. Some received an email the date of departure advising us of an itinerary change before we made it to the terminal, but many did not find out until checking-in and some not even at check-in. The email that I received stated that we would no longer disembark in Hong Kong and instead, we would be journeying back to Singapore. Further that due to the change of the extended trip back to Singapore, we would no longer be docking in Halong Bay (Hanoi). As two of the main destinations which led vacationers to choose this cruise it was a major change. NCL offered to reimburse “reasonable charges for airfare changes, a 10% refund of the price of the cruise and 25% off a future cruise as compensation. Again, we were advised that that was the only option, we could not cancel. Reluctantly we scrambled at the last minute to contact our airline, changed our departure home from Hong Kong to Singapore (at a cost of over $600 per ticket) and boarded the boat, my friends and I included. We also had to cancel private tours we had arranged in Hong Kong and Hanoi, as well as our hotel rooms in Hong Kong. Despite the warning in the February 5th email that passengers who transited through Hong Kong would not be allowed to board, walking through security and going through the boarding process, I found it interesting that my passport was never checked nor was I asked if I transited through the prohibited cities . Another lapse on NCL’s part. Our first day was at sea. During that day NCL made several announcements asking passengers who transited through Hong Kong or one of the other prohibited cities to come to Guest Relations. Later the announcements were extended to also include crew members who so transited. Query: If on the day of departure you notified us that such passengers would not be allowed on board, how were they now on board? In hindsight I realize that those visa checks were now happening, after the fact. Upon arriving at our first port, Laem Chabang, all was fine. My friends and I had hired a taxi and stayed overnight in Bangkok. However, on return we learned, that over 100 passengers were detained on exiting the ship, and taken to a holding room. They were advised that Vietnam would not allow the ship to call at its ports if any of the passengers or crew had transited through Hong Kong or the other prohibited cities. They were given the option to stay, in which case the ship would not stop in Vietnam, or “voluntarily” leave and receive a full refund. They had no choice but to leave. Needless to say the ship was abuzz with concern and rumors. Unsettling is the least severe way to describe the feelings at that point. Not a way to spend our vacation. The next day we had a day at sea before heading to Saigon. During that day the Captain announced, without explanation, that the order of the ports in Vietnam were being reversed. Instead of stopping the next day in Saigon (the closest port) we would instead sail to Da Nang (the furthest remaining port after the cancellation of Hong Kong and Hanoi). Again no explanation. Again those of us with private tours in the three ports, had to scramble via email and WhatsApp to change the tours. Why did I have to spend so much time on my vacation making changes to plans that I booked months ago? Not the way I wanted to spend my time on board. Once again this decision would prove to be another error on NCL’s part. If Vietnam was not going to let the ship dock, why go to the furthest port instead of the closest one? The only possible answer is that NCL knew that there would be problems with docking in Vietnam, in which case we should have been given the option to get off in Bangkok and get a full refund. NCL’s decision to proceed in this manner and without communication of the situation can only be seen as corporate greed: keep us on board, don’t give us any options, keep our money. Yet we awaited our vacation in Vietnam. After all this was an 11 day Vietnam cruise and we would at least see three of the 4 Vietnam ports promised. The night before we were advised that we would dock at 7:00am and we were given exit cards for Vietnam. Waking up on the day of our first Vietnam port, Chan May, I was greeted by a beautiful sunrise but no land in sight. It was 6:30 and we were to dock at 7:00am...where was the land. Something was not right. I scrambled to the TV channel which displayed the boats navigation details to see the boat had completely turned around; we were heading South and we were south of Da Nang. NCL should have effectively communicated what was happening. I called our concierge (who seemed to know everything) but was told that the Captain had not advised them of anything. Clearly a lie as the Concierge was not at the preferred disembarkment area at the predetermined time. Instead, 7 am (our docking time) quickly passed, next the tour meeting times passed, still no land in sight. It took until 10 am for the Captain to come on the intercom and read a legal-department approved message; verbatim from the document we later received describing that Vietnam closed their ports to cruise ships. We would no longer be stopping in any of those 4 planned ports. Our compensation: NCL would reimburse “reasonable charges for airfare changes, a 10% refund of the price of the cruise and an increase to 50% off a future cruise. Pretty unreasonable for an 11 day Vietnam cruise that never stops in Vietnam. From that point on the remainder of the “holiday” was far from it. With our extra days at sea and 5 missing ports, the exceptional vacation experience quickly disappeared. Unanticipated activities had to be scheduled and continually repeated, and the lack of pre-planning was visible. The crew themselves were visibly stressed by the change in schedule and the additional work placed on them. The passengers became distressed, worried, and aggravated. The series of itinerary changes and removal of passengers led to many of those final sea days being spent concerned that Singapore would not allow us to dock in their port. The cabin was nice and large (aft facing penthouse ) but when the ship was stopped the diesel fumes were bad even in the room with the door closed. The food at the buffet was good, typical NCL but there were two very off nights when the food was bad. OSHeehans was very good as is Cagneys. THe food in the asian restaurant (other than the sushi) was inedible. The common areas are very good. The entertainmant was poor but likely because we missed so many ports that they were unable to change the entertainers so it got repetitive. Norwegian Cruise Lines owes the passengers and crew of the Norwegian Jade an apology and a full refund. Not only because of the changes required due to the Coronavirus but because of poor decisions making which lead to the ship stopping in only two of the original 7 ports, none of which were in Vietnam and the terrible lack of communication ensuring an environment conducive more of mutiny than of fun. In all aspects of this situation, NCL has acted with reckless disregard for their passengers and completely failed to provide what was promised: an 11 day Vietnam cruise. Read Less