aliceatsea

maybe it's different with other passports....... I have a South AFrican passport.... just got our visas on Friday. Fortunately they were cheap, although dealing with the agency added a bunch more grey hairs......

We have booked an inside classic cabin for the repo feb '18 cruise..... can anyone tell me, is there space under the bed to store suitcases? apparently some cruise line beds are too low to store anything...?

Also.... can anyone verify

1) do they still have old chunky TV's? Can I plug in a usb to the tvs to watch my own movies?

2) is there a kettle in the cabin?

tx

Hello. we are on the same cruise.... we are from South Africa. we also had the email from costa which stated that if we do not have a regular visa we could not take this cruise. So I think that you have to have the visa to even be in Indian territorial waters.

I am surprised that your visas are so expensive.... for us it is only R167 per person, which is $12.69. Its nothing compared to the Shengen we also have to have, which is R1200 ($88) per person!

we are playing it safe and getting the full visa.... thankfully there are 4 indian consulates in SA, with us having the largest Indian population outside of India. We have to travel 45 mins to the closest, as they want biometrics.....

see you on Victoria :-)

I have just returned from a cruise with Costa Victoria a few weeks ago. If you are looking for food outside of the main dining hours, visit Deck12 Butterfly. I have visited Deck 12 at 5am for sandwiches and coffee. If you do want coffee from the espresso machine, consider their USD18 for 6 cuppa. .

That's not too bad, but I don't think those prices will apply to our cruise, as all the excursions and packages are quote on the website in Euros.... But just in case.... is that package available to buy onboard at that price, or did you pre-book?

The longest interval without food happened on the last day between my last meal onboard 1pm and disembarkation 4pm. I couldn't find any water cooler.

 

Pizzeria, also on Deck 12, is Pay Table Service. But they also do have Noodles service between 11pm and 2am..

not sure what pay table service is .... are pizzas included in your ticket if you get from the counter? And the noodle bar? Included or extra?

The sweetest surprise was finding an electric kettle in my Inside Cabin.....and free room service breakfast..

YAAAAY. that wd be awesome, as I have bought one of these

https://www.wish.com/search/wacaco%20minipresso#cid=59aa548805be3f502f2732c1

I am not sure of the menu on other cruise days, outside of my trip. Half of the passengers were from India, so there was always a special counter serving a full range of Indian food at the buffet deck.Those were good. So were the cakes and danish. .

That is great news. I come from the largest Indian city outside of India, (Durban) and I love curry. and a Danish and coffee is all I need for breakfast :-)

Strangely, their intercontinental and Asian cuisine on Deck 11 weren't that fantastic. I had soggy and cold pasta at the buffet deck on the first day. And I never try it again. Breakfast spread is as described by alicat58. But on hindsight, the chef and his team didn't do a very good job planning the menu. I found 'recycled' sausages( cooked, stored in the fridge and re-cooked again ---hard and dry) On the last day, there was a tray of parboiled kale and another tray of baked sliced yellow capsicum for breakfast spread. That's expensive food mishandled. At one meal, they ran out of milk for the coffee and tea (the Indians, Singaporeans and Malaysians have the habit of adding milk to their tea/coffee) .

there are bound to be some dishes that don't work out. On our MSC cruises I noticed a lot of recycling of food ... the roast meats would resurface the following day in a sauce.... I guess its better than wastage.

There isn't a food theme associated to the port they are visiting. If you are really keen to try out Malaysian food,Try befriending groups who are from Singapore.Tag along with them when they disembark in Malaysia.They know where the real deals are.

 

Rest assured, all the staff can speak English.

Good idea, I notice that very few of the excursions come with a meal included. We definitely want to try local food / street food while on shore, so getting to know some Asian passengers is a great idea.

Thanks for your feedback, its all very useful!

Hi again

 

I see in your other thread that you are South Africa. Where do you live? I was born there and moved to the UK nearly 18 years ago.

 

Your exchange rates are diabolical I agree. I thought that things are much more expensive in South Africa these days. I was in Kimberley earlier this year and was shocked at the prices. Broke my heart to pay R100 for about 200g of biltong for my vegetarian daughter!:D

 

The drinks packages are cheaper on Costa than on other lines. Very few cabins have coffee making facilities. We have been in a couple of suites(upgrades) and they had coffee pod machines. They were not free. I think they were 1.50 euro each. I have yet to see a kettle in a cabin.

 

Alicat

We are in Pietermaritzburg, or just outside of - we farm here. Hubby is ex-Zim. Yep, things have gotten expensive here, and continue to go up and up.... Somehow we just keep "making a plan" ..... Your biltong was a rip off though..... it's usually R150 - R200/kg! How did your vegetarian daughter like it?? :o:')

I'm going to take my Minipresso.... what can they do? I just cant pay R100 for a coffee ... or R10k each for a Brindisi :eek:

Cheeky comment about South Africans and their drinking habits coming from someone who lives in Bavaria and needs to attend lots of Beer fests to get ready for the cold winter;p.

 

Oh Yes, another cruise! I only work so I can go on cruises and holidays. Can see the point of it otherwise.

 

Alicat

LOL. Unfortunately he is quite right..... Saffas can easily drink a ship dry:rolleyes:

we are fairly new to cruising, butr I could get used to this lifestyle ... so far it's 3 in 3 years. Hubby is the one who has to work..... he says he only works to keep my horses, but how he can add cruising to the list of necessities:')

Hi Aliceatsea

.......

 

Once again cannot comment on breakfast on the Victoria. On the other ships you will have the option to go to MDR for breakfast. They have "breakfasts of the world" or something of the sort. So you could have an English(bacon , sausage, eggs , beans) , American (pancakes with blueberry), Belgian (waffles) etc. You can also have eggs benedict, omelettes, scrambled egg. They also usually have buffet items in the MDR.

 

The breakfast buffet is continental style on most of the ships. No hot food but amazing pastries, fresh fruit, cheese and cold meats. On the NeoClassica it was possible to get fried eggs, omelettes and a few other bits from the grilling area where they did hamburgers lunch times. We really enjoyed these.

 

 

We are off again this Sunday and I cannot wait!

 

Alicat

Hi Alice! :D

thanks, this food sounds awesome to me... and very similar to what is served on MSC. I'm not sure why ppl have complained so much about food on Costa, what you described seems perfect.

Have an awesome cruise..... let us know how it went!

2. The open times of MDR, buffet and grill will be stated in the daily program, rough idea of opening times:

Breakfast MDR 08:00 - 09:30

Breakfast buffet: 06:30 - 07:30 early risers

07:30 - 10:00 normal breakfast

10:00 - 11.00 late risers

Lunch MDR 12:00 - 13:30

Lunch buffet: 12:00 - 14:30

High Tea: 16:00 - 17:00

Dinner MDR: two sittings 18:00 and 20:30

Dinner buffet: 18:00 - 21:00

Pool Grill 1200 - 20:00

Pizzeria: Don't know if Victoria has one or if it is free or chargeable.

 

 

3. Several years ago the food on Costa took a dive for the worst, but opver the last couple of years it has improved vastly.

 

I have aquestion for you. On the MSC forum, they often comment on the fact that All Inclusive Drinks Packages are not availale on SA cruises (including repo), the reason being South Africans used to drink the ships dry. True.;p

well, that's sounds quite reasonable. I was just wondering, on the At Sea days, if you sleep until 10am..... do you miss out on breakfast and have to wait until lunch? :o Or, if you get back to the ship late afternoon after an excursion, and you've missed lunbch and are starving ..... do you have to wait til 6pm when the buffet opens? :eek: But .... it sounds like there is something open somewhere for most of the time.

Re the South African drinks packages...... I have never done a local cruise. Both times we did a repo cruise starting in Italy, so it was classed as a "European cruise" with the same packages available as in the Med. I really don't know about the local cruises, but it wouldn't surprise me. I have heard stories about passengers embarking to find nothing left in the bars from the previous cruise...... Many of our locals will drink the ship dry and then behave very badly :(:mad::rolleyes:

thank you. we have booked a classic inside cabin, so no frills :p I don't really care about breakfast in the cabin.... and what is available sounds about the same as on MSC. We have done 2 x 25 day cruises without any drinks package .... and survived! - so I'm sure we will manage again, as long as I can get a caffeine fix and water throughout the day. My husband says he likes me much more after a glass (or three) of wine though..... ;)

thank you, very helpful :-)

we are first time Costa cruisers for the Singapore Saverno repo cruise on the Victoria in Feb 2018. We have previously cruised on MSC Sinfonia, and that is all we have to make comparisons with. I've read a lot of reviews that trash Costa on their food.... but then I have also read many reviews trashing Sinfonia, and we thought it was the height of luxury and the food was amazing!!! I guess we are not very discerning!:'):'):')

Anyhow...... some practical questions:

1. does Costa do local-inspired menus.... eg when in Malaysia will we get Malaysian dishes, in India will we get curries, etc. I do understand that it is an Italian line, and the food will have an overall Italian theme.

2. Is food available 24 hrs? On MSC you could find SOMETHING to eat almost around the clock. I have heard that dining times in the buffet are less on Costa.

3. I've read several complaints about breakfasts on Costa. Can someone tell me, roughly, what is actually served in the buffet for breakfast?

thanks! we are pretty easy going and I'm sure we will have an awesome time whatever, but would just like to have realistic expectations....

I'll try and help with some answers:

 

1. Glass of wine €5.99 plus 15% service charge.

 

2. Bottles of wine start from about €22.00, there will be recommended wines on the dinner menu. All bottles of wine will also incur the 15% service charge.

 

3. Costa has various wine packages that can be bought onboard, e.g. „Pacchetto Classico“ with 3 red, 3 whand7 bottles of mineral water for €124.99 plus 15 % service charge. Once onboard check to see if there are any special offers on wine packages.

 

4. Costa's policy is no food / drink allowed onboard, either during embarcation of port visits., so no corkage fee. Some people do smuggel, if caught the drinks will be returned at the end of the cruise.

 

PS. Prices can vary a little depending on the ship, season and region.

 

PPS. Some ships and a wine and cheese bar with their own sommelier.

Thanks for this advice.....

1. Yikes, that's R100 for us .... I can buy 2 bottles of good local (South African) red wine for that! Or 3 bottles of plonk. :eek: Tough having such a weak currency :(

4. when you say "if caught, drinks will be returned"... how actively do they look for smuggled drinks at excursion ports? I ask because on the MSC Sinfonia, we saw bottles of wine/spirits clearly shown on the luggage scanner in other people's bags after excursions, but nothing was ever confiscated. They turned a blind eye. It made me feel like it was a rule that they didn't really enforce, but I was too scared to try myself!

PS. are Costa ships always charged in Euros? Does a repositioning cruise use the currency of the country of embarkation? The Costa ships in Asia Pacific.... what is the onboard currency? We are doing Singapore - Saverno, so will that be Euros or an Asian currency?

We have booked the repo cruise Singapore to Saverno on Costa Victoria for Feb 2018.

We have cruised on MSC before, but not Costa. We are South African, with an appalling exchange rate, and a drinks package was not included in the "deal" we bought. An all inclusive package is just ridiculously expensive for us when you x by 14 :eek: and consider that both cabin occupants have to buy it.

so...... what drinks/beverages are available at the buffet and MDR that are included? Can we get water and ice all day? Can we fill water bottles? Tea? Coffee? Hot water? Juice at breakfast?

Also, the coffee package still works out really expensive for us. An espresso or cappuccino is 4x what we'd pay here. I have a small hand held espresso maker that I use for camping (Wacaco Minipresso) - you just add hot water. Is there access to hot water in the cabins so I can get my morning fix?

We just booked her for Singapore - Savona: February 24th - March 17th.

we just booked this trip as well. We only have the MSC Sinfonia to campare with .... so surely Victoria should be nicer than that......

are you allowed to take a hair iron (ghd) on board? does it count as an "appliance"?