A quick review of the Costa Victoria

A quick review for those that may be interested.

Just back from the Costa Victoria cruise 2/1 - 11/1 Singapore to Hong Kong.

Some fabulous ports on this trip - Singapore, Brunei, Kota Kinabalu, Puerto Princesa, Boracay, Manila, Hong Kong.

Boracay, Kota Kinabalu and Singapore being the stand outs.

The itinerary was changed after booking from Kuching to Brunei which was unfortunate. The people in Brunei were beautiful but very little to see there.

Also, arriving in Puerto Princesa at 1pm made it almost impossible to see the wonderful places that surround this city. Most are 2 hrs from port..bad organization.

This was my first Costa cruise. I'm easily pleased and expected much the same as our MSC cruise, which I loved (both being Italian lines) but sadly I found Costa fell well behind. I do however think that possibly the Costa ships in locations other than Asia may be different....at least I was told that is the case.

The Victoria is chartered out almost year round to travel companies in China and Japan. There is only a small window of opportunity for the rest of us.

Because of this, I assume, the majority of crew are Chinese. This may work well for Chinese passengers but not so well for European/Western passengers.

The majority have absolutely no personality, are disorganised (which surprised me), slow and at times downright rude.

Now I must say, I don't need to be pandered to. Just the occasional smile will do but apart from my cabin steward and the social hosts, they were not to be had.

Food in the buffet at breakfast and lunchtime had lots of flavour and a good variety. Restaurant food was typical cruise line standard but they did overcook the meat and fish on many occasions which let them down badly. No risotto ever :(

I rarely ate dessert as there was just nothing interesting to order.

The drinks package was indeed great value but not as good as MSC which included more. It took a long time to get drinks at any time of the day. This ship was definitely the most understaffed of any I have been on. Bottles of water were available all the time...just fyi as it has been reported that it was only served in a glass. We also were served bottles of wine at the table when it was realised it would be a pain to keep serving us glasses.

The shows were a mixed bag, Michael Jackson impersonator - awful, tenor - awful, dancers - great and best choreography of any cruise production show I have seen. Staging and props average but it didn't matter. I have to disclose here that my daughter was one of the dancers but I have cruised with her before and found many of the dancers lacking. Every one of this cast was outstanding.

I didn't do many activities but what I saw I quite often found strange and childlike. I can only assume this suits the Asian market.

The ship itself was nice.

At the end of the day...I had a great vacation because I love to travel and I don't let things phase me but I would be very hesitant to book Costa again and I've never said that of any other cruise line.

I'd be happy to answer any questions:)

I was also on the same cruise and would agree with most of what you say, but we thought the tenor was excellent. We didn't see any of the other shows but had planned on seeing the Michael Jackson impersonator but the models /dancers strutting up and down with handbags irritated us so much we left before he came on but it sounds like we didn't miss much.

There was a definite lack of bar-staff in the Terrazzo bar and this is the first time we've ever needed to go and fetch our own drinks although usually we'd then be told to sit and they'd be brought to us. We found some of the Chinese staff more friendly than others, especially one young bar attendant who was a bit dizzy and soooo funny, but they certainly didn't have the experience or polish of other nationalities.

The food was good, better even than our previous Costa cruises and also tried the Indian menu a few times - excellent.

Our stateroom was much smaller than on other Costa ships but we got used to it and managed quite well. Nice to have a kettle, cups and saucers provided too. Never had that before.

We thought Brunei was a waste of time, although very helpful and friendly people, still gutted about not visiting Kuching. The highlights for us were the Phillipine ports - the dancers and bands at the dockside provided an amazing welcome and bon voyage at all 3 ports. It was good to see the Fillipino crew having the opportunity to meet with their families and friends.

We did notice that ALL outdoor areas are available for smoking which seems a little unfair to non-smokers but it works both ways - no indoor smoking at all now. There seemed to have been no official policy change but all done by stealth.

The whole ship was clean and well maintained, even the kettles disappeared to be washed and returned:)

Thanks for the review - I was really interested to read it

We have a lot of experience now with chinese service as we visit our son regularly. We know exactly what you mean - They just havent got a clue and cannot seem to get any understanding of how things are meant to be done.

I don't think we will book a Costa Far East cruise!

Glad to hear you got water in bottles though:)

Cayl

Enjoy your cruises out of Australia Caspall!

I hope you're doing some land time as well. Like Europe, there's too much to see in just a few port time hours.:)

Sydney, Gold Coast (my home), Uluru, Great Barrier Reef etc etc...

Okay, edited as I see you have time between cruises...have a great time!! If you have any questions about Oz, ask away!

I'm thinking of doing this one in 2015. What did you do at the ports of Brunei, Kota Kinabalu, Puerto Princesa, Boracay, Manila? Can you please share some of your experiences and local contacts?

I'm at work at the moment. Will give you some detailed information tonight

BBSQuest, In Brunei I rented a van and a group of us drove into town. The port is about 30 mins (from memory)away from the city. We went into one of the mosques, walked around the water village, went to the Sultans palace. There really isn't a lot to do there. On the way back we went to Murara Beach which is a 5 min drive from the port and spent a couple of hours swimming.

Kota Kinabalu was lovely. I chartered a boat for the day. They took us to a few snorkelling destinations and provided lunch. Beautiful clear water, reefs and fish...it's just a shame the locals throw all their rubbish into their waterways. It won't be beautiful in a few more years.

In Puerto Princesa, we docked at 1pm which made going anywhere interesting almost impossible unless you were on a ships excursion. I hope this year, they have changed that. There are many interesting places to see and you can organise them yourself, however you need to arrive in the morning as most require travelling fair distances. In the end we chose to just go for a wander in town. We looked at the local wet market, ate some street food and visited the local dept store. We had the most amazing welcome at all the Philipino ports and the concert they put on for us in Puerto Princesa was an event to remember!

I loved Boracay and am hoping to go back there next year for a week of just relaxing on the beach. That is really all there is to do there but it had a really good atmosphere. Just get off the ship, get in a tuk tuk and ask them to take you to Boat Station 2. Lots of good food and drink options. Shopping if you want it. We just lazed on the beach all afternoon, drank lots of cocktails and ate some great mussels and calamari.

Manila was always going to be about food and shopping for us. We were supposed to do a food walking tour through Chinatown (Big Binondo Wok) but due to a huge religious festival that was going on that day near the port, we would never have made it in time. That was very disappointing. We went to a huge mall and while there was an amazing array of shops, it wasn't good for bargains. We did however have an amazing meal. Great local food! If only I could remember the name of the restaurant:confused:

I hope thats some help to you.

I'm thinking of doing this one in 2015. What did you do at the ports of Brunei, Kota Kinabalu, Puerto Princesa, Boracay, Manila? Can you please share some of your experiences and local contacts?

Hi, this is roughly what we did:

Brunei - caught a local bus to see the Mosque, wandered about town, watched the monkeys stealing fruit in the market. (Bus stop is roughly 15 mins walk from port), very friendly locals will point you in the right direction). Iced coffee and cake stop. Really wouldn't bother returning here although nice people who seemed pleased that a cruise ship had stopped off.

Kota Kinabalu - previously visited on land trip so this time just walked around town, market, etc. Stopped for iced coffees and cake :) Very disappointed that Kuching was cancelled with no reason given.

Puerto Princesa - Costa supplied a free bus to shopping area, mainly souvenirs here so wandered off and found a shop selling cigarettes (very cheap). Had iced coffee.

Boracay - Jumped on an autorickshaw to the beach (didn't want to leave and hope to return). Lovely iced coffees here:)

Manila - Due to it being a festival day and road closures the ship was unable to "park" in the usual place so took us a little further round the bay. Walked to the Coconut Palace, (around 5 minutes). Then walked about for a while before getting an autorickshaw to Intramuros. Visited some of the churches and poked about the narrow streets - virtually traffic free. Really enjoyed this and went by horse & carriage to a shopping mall where Costa was dropping and picking up. Had another iced coffee and cakes :)

Would also like to return here too so maybe a few days would be good before heading to Boracay on my next visit.

Thank you so much for the info. Did Costa have excursions in Brunei? Currently they don't have excursions listed on their web site in Brunei. It seems difficult to get around in Brunei as bus runs not often and there is rarely taxi available.

How much was the chartered boat in KK? Do you have the contact? How did you find it?

BBSQuest, In Brunei I rented a van and a group of us drove into town. The port is about 30 mins (from memory)away from the city. We went into one of the mosques, walked around the water village, went to the Sultans palace. There really isn't a lot to do there. On the way back we went to Murara Beach which is a 5 min drive from the port and spent a couple of hours swimming.

 

Kota Kinabalu was lovely. I chartered a boat for the day. They took us to a few snorkelling destinations and provided lunch. Beautiful clear water, reefs and fish...it's just a shame the locals throw all their rubbish into their waterways. It won't be beautiful in a few more years.

 

In Puerto Princesa, we docked at 1pm which made going anywhere interesting almost impossible unless you were on a ships excursion. I hope this year, they have changed that. There are many interesting places to see and you can organise them yourself, however you need to arrive in the morning as most require travelling fair distances. In the end we chose to just go for a wander in town. We looked at the local wet market, ate some street food and visited the local dept store. We had the most amazing welcome at all the Philipino ports and the concert they put on for us in Puerto Princesa was an event to remember!

 

I loved Boracay and am hoping to go back there next year for a week of just relaxing on the beach. That is really all there is to do there but it had a really good atmosphere. Just get off the ship, get in a tuk tuk and ask them to take you to Boat Station 2. Lots of good food and drink options. Shopping if you want it. We just lazed on the beach all afternoon, drank lots of cocktails and ate some great mussels and calamari.

 

Manila was always going to be about food and shopping for us. We were supposed to do a food walking tour through Chinatown (Big Binondo Wok) but due to a huge religious festival that was going on that day near the port, we would never have made it in time. That was very disappointing. We went to a huge mall and while there was an amazing array of shops, it wasn't good for bargains. We did however have an amazing meal. Great local food! If only I could remember the name of the restaurant:confused:

 

I hope thats some help to you.

How far is the shopping mall where Costa drops and picks up from Cathedral of Manila? What's the name of the shopping mall?

Hi, this is roughly what we did:

 

Brunei - caught a local bus to see the Mosque, wandered about town, watched the monkeys stealing fruit in the market. (Bus stop is roughly 15 mins walk from port), very friendly locals will point you in the right direction). Iced coffee and cake stop. Really wouldn't bother returning here although nice people who seemed pleased that a cruise ship had stopped off.

 

Kota Kinabalu - previously visited on land trip so this time just walked around town, market, etc. Stopped for iced coffees and cake :) Very disappointed that Kuching was cancelled with no reason given.

 

Puerto Princesa - Costa supplied a free bus to shopping area, mainly souvenirs here so wandered off and found a shop selling cigarettes (very cheap). Had iced coffee.

 

Boracay - Jumped on an autorickshaw to the beach (didn't want to leave and hope to return). Lovely iced coffees here:)

 

Manila - Due to it being a festival day and road closures the ship was unable to "park" in the usual place so took us a little further round the bay. Walked to the Coconut Palace, (around 5 minutes). Then walked about for a while before getting an autorickshaw to Intramuros. Visited some of the churches and poked about the narrow streets - virtually traffic free. Really enjoyed this and went by horse & carriage to a shopping mall where Costa was dropping and picking up. Had another iced coffee and cakes :)

 

Would also like to return here too so maybe a few days would be good before heading to Boracay on my next visit.

A 6 hour charter for 7 people was RM1605.

The website with prices - http://www.borneoboatsandbeaches.com/

I never do ship excursions but they definitely had them for every port. I'm sure they'll list them eventually.

The Mall Of Asia is the shopping centre. Only 10 - 15 mins by cab.

Thanks for your review.