Just returned from Far east on Costa Allegra ... any questions ?

[DolceVita57]

BRUNEI

We docked in the port of Bandar Seri Begawan at 8am.

We were told that the local bus stop was too far to walk from the ship ,so we took a taxi into Brunei City.We paid 20 US dollars (ie 10 per person) .

However if we went again I would walk outside the dock gates , turn left towards Muara port and there you can catch a local bus into Brunei City for 2 Brunei Dollars (1 euro). We did this for the return back to the ship and the bus driver stopped at the dockgates to let us all off ! I think you can hail a bus too , but we didnt try.I think the bus numbers are 35 and 36 but you can ask when you get on if the bus is going to the bus station in Brunei City.It takes about 45 minutes.

We visited Kampong Ayer , the worlds largest water village..We hired a water taxi (locally known as flying coffins - take a ride and you'll find out why !!) and he took us on a two hour trip for 15 BRD ( approx 7 euros). He was related to the mayor of the village ,which was great for us as he took us to visit the mayor who invited us in for drinks !!

From here we walked to the shopping mall , the Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque, The Royal Regalia building and the Wet Market.I would advise you to do the wet market in the morning before the water village, as it closes down after lunch.

Everything is close by and the bus station is bang in the middle of Brunei City .

I really loved Brunei and its people.

[DolceVita57]

Singapore and HK were so easy to do alone because the underground systems are fantastic.If anyone wants any guidance on what we saw and did ,let me know.

 

Have a great time Sheba , I wish I was coming with you .:o

Five feet two let us know how you got on.;)

Paul and Kathy not long to wait now.

 

Have I answered everyone's questions ? Somebody asked me if there are dancing lessons ... the answer is yes, but not from professional dancers , only from the entertainments crew. We joined in the dancing lessons, the fancy dress parade,the trivia quiz, the detox and good health lectures and Chinese lessons.

We used the hair salon and the gym.

The shop is a disappointment as there are relatively few things for the average passenger to buy.They really could do with a shop where inexpensive items were on sale.

We didnt use the casino or the Amalfi a la carte restaurant.

 

I do hope you all enjoy your cruises as much as we did ours.

 

Dolce Vita x

[Hawks11]

We are not going on the cruise until next February and I was not going to start doing my homework until January but I took a peek at the CC board today and am glad I did. We will have a look through and see if we can come up with any more questions. :)

 

Hawks11

[Thirsty1]

Yo Dolce Vita57.

 

We are going on same cruise leaving Singapore on 8 March, 2008, for 14 days. As a matter of interest can you tell us what the approximate Nationality mix was on the cruise and what were the predominant languages spoken???

 

Thanks.

[fivefoot4]

Just got back today from our cruise from Singapore to Hong Kong. In our opinion we were a little disappointed with the cruise on a few levels. We embarked by just walking on to the ship and was taken to our cabin where our costa cards and room card were waiting, that was a bit different but I suppose there were only about 30 of us I think joining at Singapore. The outside cabins were a bit small but liveable and in spite of Brians warning we didnt get any noise on deck 3. The ports were good although we can only comment on 3 of them, Ho Chi Minh, Da Nang and Sanya. The ship itself though was a bit basic compared to the other ships we have been on, ie for me - Carnival and HAL and my partner - P&O. We knew it was smaller than we are used to and had been converted from a cargo ship but still expected it to be a little more glamorous and it didnt seem to have any stabilizers or they werent working. The food was ok to good (we ate lunch and dinner at the Montmarte Restaurant), the staff overall was friendly except for the Cruise Director who we only ever sighted at the show at night and the Captain who I didnt see all cruise (maybe he ate at second sitting and didnt visit the Restaurant otherwise). We took the ship city tour of Ho chi Minh city and we found this a good trip expecially the peddle car ride. We had medium to rough seas from there to Da Nang and found that our Hoi Ann trip was cancelled due to the recent typhoon so we got the shuttle bus in and did some shopping and got a taxi to take us around to China Beach and Marble Mountain. At Sanya the next day we got the shuttle again and did shopping and just took a taxi around to a resort to have a walk around and then went back to the shuttle pick up. Shorter day at this port. That night at dinner we were told the sea would be very rough as soon as we pulled out of port and we didnt dock at Hong Kong until 2.45 pm, a little later than usual. We got off and did our own thing for a few hours and debarked the next morning at 10 am. A lot of people were sea sick on this cruise. On our cruise the majority of cruisers were English speakers with Italian, French and Spanish speakers making up the difference. There were only a few Asians on this particular cruise. Overall the cruise experience was pleasant, we liked the ports, and we are sure that on a newer bigger ship and if we criuised not at the beginning of typhoon season, we probably would have enjoyed it better. On a positive note it was the best debark we have ever done by just walking off the ship with no queueing and by collecting our bags and leaving the terminal building. I will post some pics when I download them on my computer. As we were leaving the ship the news had the story of a typhoon heading towards Manilla so Im not sure how Allegra fared as they were going there next.

Hey does anyone know why I cant paragraph this text it would make it easier to read?

[Paul&Kathy]

Thank you for the report, 5foot4, and I am so sorry you had bad weather. Rough seas has been my worst fear for our cruise in December as, like you, we have sailed much larger ships in recent years and I don't do well in rough seas. What a shame about your Hoi An trip. We are hoping to go there by taxi and I hope for the sake of the local people that the area has not been too badly damaged.

 

One question for anyone who has done or is planning this trip, we went to our medical centre today to check our travel vaccines and to our surprise they recommended malaria tablets - one sort for the Philippines and a different one for Vietnam. Has anybody else taken/ been advised to take malaria tablets for this trip ?

[Kangaroo Sailer]

Fivefoot 4

Sorry to hear you experienced bad weather.

How much did the visa for Sanya end up costing. Could you also give a cost for the taxi trips, Da Nang to China Beach & Marble Moutain and Sanya to the resort. Also the cost of shuttle bus transfers.

Did you hear any reports on the Costa shore excursion " Luhitou Park and Yalong Bay" as we have been considering it

[Misstulip]

Paul & Kathy,

 

We haven't been recommended malaria tablets. We were told we didn't need them as long as we didn't go into the Mekong. We are not going into the jungle and we are not on land during the evening or night. We should take insect repellent with approx. 30% deet. That should be sufficient.

 

Our DTP vaccinations were still valid and we got new ones against Hepatitis A.

 

We went to a specialised travel clinic that is considered the best in Holland (and it is close to where we live) so I hope their info is correct.

 

Wanda

[Paul&Kathy]

Thanks, Wanda, I think we will go with your clinic's recommendation as I am sure it is right. We got a new nurse at our health centre and I think she was over-keen to sell us malaria tablets for about £90 even though I could see on her computer screen that they are only recommended if, as you say, you are going off the beaten track.

 

Not long to wait now, we are so ready for some warm weather.

[Hawks11]

DolceVita57 thanks for your posts.

I would like to take you up on your offer of what you saw and how you got about in HK and Singapore. There is loads I know and some idea of locations would be helpful.

I know Raffles is always associated with Singapore and I wondered if you tried that as well as everything else.

Will be starting our cruise in Hong Kong.:)

[seabourndt]

i have just seen these great cruises she is doing i am hoping to do one nextr march. have been on costa a fewq times all on the victoria. how is the allegra? singles?

dave

[Misstulip]

Hi,

 

Does anybody know what kind of amenities we can find in the bathroom? Is there showergel and body lotion? And a hairdryer?

 

Wanda

[G.M.T.]

Hi,

 

Does anybody know what kind of amenities we can find in the bathroom? Is there showergel and body lotion? And a hairdryer?

 

Wanda

 

Wanda,

 

Bathroom Amenties include:

 

Shower

Shower Curtain

Shower Gel in Dispenser

Small Dryline in Shower

Wash Basin

Bars of Soap

Flat Area for Toiletaries either side of Wash Basin

Very Large Mirror

Electical Socket

Trash Bin

Two Glasses (changed daily)

Hand / Shower Towels

Clothes Hooks on the Door

KleenexTissues

Toilet Paper

WC Brush

Multi-purpose Seat (Flap Up = WC, Flap Down = Dry your Feet)

 

Your Cabin Steward will supply body lotion, shower cap etc when asked.

 

The Hair Dryer is normally found (already connect) in the top drawer and in front of the mirror in the cabin.

 

Ron

[CelticFire]

DV 57

 

Can I ask...........from your posts are all onboard charges (Excursions etc)in Euros and

 

Was it US dollars you used once ashore or a a combination of US and local currency.

 

Finally, If local currency did you get this before travelling or at local ATMs.

 

Many thanks once again.

[fivefoot4]

Sorry for the delay Kangaroo. The cost of the ships shuttle bus for Sanya was 5 euro each and the visas 15 euro each. As we are both Australian citizens it should be the same for you. I didnt hear about that excursion you mentioned sorry. We got a taxi from the drop off spot (after doing some shopping) with another couple and went to a resort with a long beach (I cant remember the name of the resort but it was in Yulin Bay) where we stopped for awhile and then we came back through the town past the harbour beach and the corridor of palm trees and back to the drop off spot, for a total of about 1.5 hours that cost us $20 US.Oh and the hairdryer is one of those bulky hose type connected to the wall in the bathroom. Soap in basin, tissue and shower gel only extra items provided. Make sure you check your bill carefully at the end as we were charged 36 euro for laundry we didnt do and had to have it taken off.Paul&Kathy we had already had vacinnations when we went to china a few years ago and made sure we always wore inspect repellent especially in Vietnam. We were not advised that we needed malaria tablets.

[Kangaroo Sailer]

Thanks FiveFoot 4 for your answer re visa for Sanya. You have confirmed what our travel agent assured us was the case. So much confusion from previous messages on this site. Thanks again as this will leave it more open to us to make up our minds whether to do a Costa shore excursion or our own thing from our reseach. Was there a language problem in the negotiation with the taxi as from what we have read drivers dont speak or understand any English.

 

Geoff

[fivefoot4]

Yes we did have problems with English with the taxi driver as he knew very little. It was difficult to let him know where we wanted to go even with showing him the map. I have attached a pic of our outside cabin.

[Kangaroo Sailer]

Does any one know if there is a Toga night on Allegra as on other Costa cruises ?

Thanks Dolce Vita for your very informative postings

We will be leaving tomorrow for our cruise stating 8th Dec.

[fivefoot4]

Not on the cruise we were on to the Far East.

[fivefoot4]

I meant to post another pic of the ship. Heres two more. If the pics dont appear Ill try again tomorrow.

[sheba5]

Hi all; We just returned from the 14 day cruise. I agree with fivefoot4's report; we were disappointed as well. It was really very basic, no extra's unless you asked for it. The food was not very good, often overcooked. At least I didn't gain any weight on this cruise! We had very rough seas; a lot of people were seasick. We did get to go to Hoi Ann; they just recovered from a heavy flood and everything was still very muddy.

There were mostly English speaking people on board.

The embarkation in Hong Kong was very confusing. You had to go through the shopping mall with your luggage and it was very hard to find the luggage drop-off. There didn't seem to be anyone from Costa to direct the passengers. However, disembarkation was great! You could leave your hand-luggage in the casino, so you could go in town. When you were ready to leave you just picked up your luggage at your convenience.

We did this cruise for the itinary and it certainly was worth it. We took most of the ship's excursions, except in Singapore and Hong Kong.

[Paul&Kathy]

I am typing this at Hong Kong airport waiting for our delayed flight home from the Allegra. We had a good cruise but the ship is indeed basic, although the staff are lovely. We were on deck 2 (2009) and did not hear any engine noise but did hear our neighbour's early wake-up calls, television programmes and regular midnight arguments and every movement in the corridor. Some soundproofing is defiinitely needed.

 

I will post a fuller report later

[Paul&Kathy]

In spite of my above comments, and bearing in mind that I love the big new ships, for this wonderful Far East itinerary itinerary a smaller ship like the Allegra is ideal. We docked right in the heart of Hong Kong & Singapore and only a short walk from Kota Kinabalu. In Manila & Sanya there was a shuttle bus for the relatively short distances to the town centres.

 

We had a wonderful day in Brunei where we had pre-arranged a car, driver and guide which at a cost of $150US we shared between 6 of us - if anybody would like the details of the tour company by all means ask or email me k@justinheritance.co.uk and I will be happy to pass it on.

 

We did have a very sad experience in that my handbag was taken from the back of my husband's wheelchair on Sentosa Island (Singapore) - yes, I know i was stupid to leave it there but it was literally 2 minutes while I ran into a shop for a bottle of water - and as it contained our passports we had to leave the ship and catch up with in it Da Nang. So it was a very costly mistake - we missed Ho Chi Minh and had to stay 2 nights in Singapore then 2 in Hoi An while waiting for the ship to get to Da Nang. Costa staff did all they could and Frau Wolfgang was exceptionally helpful, but at the end of the day it was not their fault or their problem. The ship's agent in Singapore was supposed to help us but only interested in charging rediculous amounts of money (like $50 US for a taxi from the port to Orchard Road) so in the end we made our own arrangements. Please, everyone, learn from my mistake and guard your passports with your lives !!!!

 

Do ask any specific questions about the ship, itinerary etc and I will do my best to answer. I won't bore everyone with wheelchair accessibility info but if this is of use to anyone do let me know.

[G.M.T.]

I personally do not think you will bore anyone with regards to providing info on wheelchair accessibility. I am sure this info would be a great asset to other wheel chair bound persons who might be thinking about such a trip also this info would also give a good or bad indication as to hoe Costa and the ship cares about it's passengers.

 

Ron

[Brian Raine]

DolceVita 57 Glad Frau Wolfgang is still aboard , we could have done with her on the Marina. Here the front desk staff were a waste of time. One French passengers said "In France the customer is NEVER right" , that was the motto of the Marina front desk crew.