jonad

Thanks so much for those.  We are about to board on Saturday, from Port Louis, Mauritius.  Last on her in 2012.  Hopefully we'll enjoy it just as much.  Did you enjoy the ship CASPALL?  

Hi Caspall. That is bad luck you can't post your pictures. I've noticed on some posts passengers are saying there is no water provided at the dining table and it must be purchased. Was it like that in your case? Though to be honest we normally buy a drinks package of 6 wines/7 waters and its more than enough. Any info on that or anything would be appreciated.

kremorlorraine, I agree as long as its clean and the food is good (my husband likes to eat!), then as for the rest, we'll make our own fun. Enjoy your cruise down from Savona.

Hello Dizzy....OMG its been a long time and yes we are 'still around' LOL. We've done a bit of cruising over the last few years, but the last Costa was Deliziosa in 2013. We are excited to be on Costa again after so long. We are both well, thank you.

Hi lul

You should perhaps post this on the Costa Roll Call as you'd possibly get more replies.

We almost meet up with you. We leave Mauritius on the 28th October, probably when you disembark.

We last sailed on Victoria in 2012, Singapore to Shanghai...probably same as you and we enjoyed it very much.

Was a bit worried with recent reviews about the ship looking old and tired, but your reviews seem very positive. Enjoy.

Thank you Caryl,

I like your heading 'fear not'......

We aren't fussy people so as long as its clean and we have good food, entertainment and good company, we'll be right.

:)

Thanks for you reply elle712. We used to be Gold/Pearl members and got a good discount on the drinks packages in the past, but we've now lost that privilege not having cruised Costa for a few years.

So you embark the day we disembark. I agree with your thoughts though. We tend to just look at the good points and ignore the not so good......as long as the food is good (which my husband enjoys) and the entertainment and the islands, we'll be happy. :)

We are cruising on the Victoria on the 28th October in the Indian Ocean (Maritius, Seychelles, Reuinion etc). Our last cruise on Costa Victoria was in Asia in May 2012.

I've read several reviews since our last booking, and most of them not so good....the ship is old and tired etc etc. I know its certainly not one of the newest glitzy Costa ships and the cabins are small etc. BUT can anybody who has recently been on her give me a review..eg the quality of the food, the entertainment, the service, the staff?

Do they still have the water and wine packages available?

With thanks.

Ah, that may be the problem as its only a 7 day cruise.....thanks for your help :)

Travel buggy, I called them and they insisted they don't offer any wine packages. All we can do is pre order the wines we want from their list...which is the same as ordering them one by one once on board. Just wondering...when you took your 10 bottles on board in Brisbane, you were able to consume them in the dining room?

Thanks for the replies, though I failed to mentioned we are actually cruising around Japan; Kobe to Kobe...so different rules may apply? I hadn't realised you could take your own on board and pay corkage, though probably not practical taking wine from Aus to Japan :)

Thanks again.

We are new to Princess cruises and wondering whether wine packages can be purchased either before or during cruise. I can see water/coffee packages, but not wine.

Thanks.

e roller....just wondering what category cabin you had, as you seem to have had more perks than we did.....

I believe it can. We didn't try it, but other cruisers did.

Great review Ernie and wonderful photos. Brought back many memories of our sailing on CnR in December, Indonesia back home to Australia. I must agree with pretty much all your comments, especially the fact that she should be advertised in a different category as a boutique ship. We loved the new ship and suited us perfectly, but probably not for all.

I can't believe that was your cruise number 99!! Whilst we have done many we have a l o n g way to go!!!

We've loved Costa since our first cruise with them in 2009; done 8 with them now. We know their 'ways' and what to expect so are never disappointed.....sometimes surprised though as with CnR. They have great itineraries and really good prices, which we always take into consideration when comparing ships.

Thanks again...:D

Hi all

Haven't looked at this site for a while as we aren't cruising at the moment:(. If hubby had his way we'd be cruising to Alaska right now. Just as well I didn't give in as we have illness in the family so are greatful we are here to help out. Our time will come again.:)

Good to see familiar names still around. Dizzy, Ron, Costasmurfette, Blondie etc.

Happy cruising all.

Scubabecky.

Costa has the European 2 prong style. We always take our own adaptors, even though some say they are provided. We've never had one in our cabin.

I too am enjoying your blog, as we did much the same cruise in reverse. I totally agree with everything you said about Halong Bay. The ship docked in Cai Lan is picture postcard stuff...much not much else once ashore. We too had the excursion boats, going slowly, trying to sell as much as possible, along with the ladies and children begging for money (many obliged throwing money down to them in empty plastic bottles). I agree its a poor country. We had a massage ashore in what looked reputable, paid our fee, then once finished the 'masseuse' wanted more for her services as the original fee went to the owners of the building..so we had to oblige. My husband was also asked if he wanted some 'boom boom'...going very cheap...he didn't understand but she soon made it clear. (he refused of course)....:o

sorry, not trying to take over your page!!! Just brought back memories.

Barante: do you think perhaps the Europeans just want to order bottled water, as that is what they do in their homeland?

We have never had any problems on any of our Costa cruises with water at the table. We too order bottled water as we get the wine package, but others have ordered jugs without problems....but from comments, it does seem to vary.

I also want to point out that on the newer Costa ships you only have the one card which is your I.D card. credit card and key. Its only the older ones which still have the perforated keycard.

We went through the same 'kerfuffle' as you when we disembarked in Shanghai....perhaps even more so, as it was Costa's first time in Shanghai so they went through all sorts of formalities before we could disembark. They even took our photo at Immigration......still we got off and all went well.

I think patience is the key and just remember a holiday is what you make it:)

Have fun. (We're off on the neoRomantica on the 21st...)

PS. You probably know by now that Obama won!!

Interesting about the kettle and tea in the cabin, as apparently they were removed from all Costa ships after some incident.

We were on the Victoria in May, from Singapore to Shanghai and didn't have a kettle.

Perhaps its to cater for the Asian market???

HI Ally

How awful for everyone on cruises. Thank goodness we did it last year!!

I also sailed on GG sister ship the Guglielmo Marconi in 1974 from Perth (Australia) to Genoa. We were two 19 year old girls and cruised for 2 months travelling East, across the Pacific Ocean, through the Panama Canal, all the way to Athens and back to Genoa. I think about 15 ports in all.

What a trip that was, 19 years old, carefree. What fun we had and so did the crew! They used to sneak us into their quarters!

We returned to Australia from Genoa, via Capetown, therefore circumnavigating the world.

We'll never forget that holiday.

Perhaps we should start a thread on the Marconi....

The Flavia was the first ship I cruised on, aged 8, in 1963 from Perth (Western Australia) to Genoa (Italy) through the Suez Canal.

Even at that age I had a ball and have loved cruising ever since.