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Note - this page contains multiple reviews.
Name: Frank Oblak
Email: oblak@ct.picker.com
Age: 61
Occupation: Electrical Engineer
NumberOfCruises: 0
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Costa-Victoria
SailingDate: 2/15/98
Itinerary: Eastern Carb.
FoodDiningRoom: 25
CruiseDirector: 0
CabinComfort: 95
FoodRoomService: 95
CruiseStaff: 85
CabinAmenities: 90
FoodLidoDeck: 79
DiningRoomService: 85
CabinQuietness: 90
FoodMidnightBuffets: 75
CabinSteward: 95
ShoreExcVariety: 90
FoodVariety: 65
DeckService: 85
ShoreExcValue: 90
GoodForHoneymoon: 50
CasinoStaff: 75
PrivateIsland: 90
GoodForFamilies: 50
LoungeService: 85
TenderService: 90
GoodForSeniors: 50
BeautySalonStaff: 90
EntertainmentLounges: 90
WheelchairAccess: 85
ExerciseFacilities: 75
EntertShowLounge: 85
OverallPortsofCall: 95
BeautySalon: 90
EntertainmentPoolside: 85
CruiseActivities: 50
Casino: 90
AirSeaProgram: 75
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 90
EmbarkDisembark: 95
DiscoNightclubs: 75
DeckSpace: 75
Stabilization: 90
ShopsOnBoard: 85
SpaceRatio: 75
OverallCruiseValue: 70
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 26 Feb 1998
Time: 18:00:36
Remote Name: 144.54.3.10
Remote User:
Comments
The ship was clean. Our cabin stewardess was very attentive to keeping the cabin clean and
in order. The Embark/Disembark was handled very well.
We injoyed the port of calls
The real downer was our disappointment in the food serve in the main dining room. No peice
of beef was prepared correctly. Passengers at my table
usually did not finish the beef. The portions were very small. I elected to eat sea food
which usually smelled, a small portion and did not taste good.
The lobster was mushy and could not be eaten. Butter would be spooned on if asked for.
People wanted to be served the salad before the pasta
but could not get that service. It took 4 baked potatoes before one was found that was
founded cooked.
The on-board activity equipment was in poor to unusable condition. The shuffle board pucks
and paddles were broken. All of the ping pong paddles
and tables were damaged. I ask for a deck of palying cards for the card room and was
handed a much used deck held together with a rubber band.
I had to ngive them my ship ID card as security that I would return them.
On board security was poor. Children were observed by us playing in the casino and even
playing the slots.
This was our first cruise, because of the problems with the food etc. we feel we did not
get our money's worth and would not recommend the Costa
Cruise Lines.
Name: Lucille D'Orazio
Email: YLZJ02A@prodigy.com
Age: 61
Occupation: Special Events & P.R. Specialist
NumberOfCruises: 15
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Costa-Victoria
SailingDate: November 22, 1998
Itinerary: Eastern Caribbean
FoodDiningRoom: 50
CruiseDirector: 80
CabinComfort: 90
FoodRoomService: 50
CruiseStaff: 80
CabinAmenities: 85
FoodLidoDeck: 50
DiningRoomService: 100
CabinQuietness: 90
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 100
ShoreExcVariety:
FoodVariety: 80
DeckService:
ShoreExcValue:
GoodForHoneymoon: 75
CasinoStaff: 80
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 75
LoungeService:
TenderService:
GoodForSeniors: 75
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 90
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 80
OverallPortsofCall: 80
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside:
CruiseActivities: 70
Casino: 0
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 95
EmbarkDisembark: 85
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace: 90
Stabilization: 90
ShopsOnBoard: 75
SpaceRatio: 90
OverallCruiseValue: 69
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 02 Dec 1998
Time: 16:50:04
Remote Name: 207.115.59.48
Remote User:
Comments
After happy anticipation for several months, my husband and I have never been on a more
disappointing cruise in our lives. We were not alone with
this opinion. I cannot stress enough how awful it was to feel entrapped for a week with
nearly 2,000 disappointed guests. We tried to get off the ship in
Puerto Rico, but were discouraged and promised, by the top honcho, Erica D'Agostino,
things would improve. Sadly, the didn't. The food was the
worst! Many items were inedible.
Being Italian, I couldn't wait to sample their delicacies and never expected such
horrible offerings. At breakfast, eggs
were sent back 9 times. My husband couldn't get a second cup of coffee. One night, they
grilled swordfish and it was tough as a board. Everyone sent
it back or just left it sitting. Every meal brought more disappointment On a positive
note, the waiters couldn't do enough for us after we complained to
the top brass. They even went into the kitchen and made some special dishes for our table.
They were aware the chef was a failure and they tried their
best to help out. The shows were not what we expected or enjoyed on other cruises.
They were low energy and not very stimulating or entertaining.
That was in the Show Room. In the lounge, there was a fabulous jazz pianist named Gabriel.
He was really terrific. Our cabin stewardess was very
attentive and made our stay in those small cabins quite pleasant. Although they were tiny
in comparison to other ships, they were well appointed and
came equipped with a mini-bar and hair dryer. The casino was the worst! It turned what
could've been happy cruisers into a ship of fools, loosing night
after night. At table games, the dealers never brought out new cards for the entire week.
When my husband became suspicious and asked to see the
cards, he was refused. If somebody was lucky enough to hit a slot machine, the next day
there was a whole where that machine was. They had the
nerve to remove it! However, the dealers stayed friendly even though they were dealing
with hostile players who became increasingly hostile as the
week wore on. Why keep playing? There was nothing much else to do. The activities were
totally boring consisting of arts and crafts and other inane
events. Finally, the ports of call. We could understand their changing the itinerary
because of damage from Hurricane Mitch so we accepted not being
able to go to Casa de Campo.
However, to have been switched from Nassau to Freeport, a very depressed island by
comparison, made no sense at
all. Their explanation was that the harbor in Nassau was too crowded. So, why did we get
the short straw? The last day, the dining room captain asked
if we would be returning. When we answered in the negative and told him there were too
many things wrong with the ship, he agreed! On debarkation
day, everyone we spoke to swore they would never again go on another Costa Cruise. That
certainly includes us! What a shame because the ship itself
was a beauty with lots of marble and mosaic tile appointments and it was really well
stablized. They just need to get a good chef and get their act
together if they expect repeat customers.
Name: Tracy Johannesen
Email: petroleum@commonlink.net
Age: 32
Occupation: Office Manager
NumberOfCruises: 0
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Costa-Victoria
SailingDate: 1/10/99
Itinerary: Western Caribbean
FoodDiningRoom: 99
CruiseDirector:
CabinComfort: 90
FoodRoomService: 90
CruiseStaff: 90
CabinAmenities: 90
FoodLidoDeck:
DiningRoomService: 99
CabinQuietness: 99
FoodMidnightBuffets: 90
CabinSteward: 99
ShoreExcVariety: 80
FoodVariety: 90
DeckService: 80
ShoreExcValue: 80
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService: 99
TenderService: 99
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff: 99
EntertainmentLounges: 99
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge:
OverallPortsofCall: 70
BeautySalon: 90
EntertainmentPoolside: 90
CruiseActivities:
Casino:
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 90
EmbarkDisembark: 80
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace:
Stabilization: 90
ShopsOnBoard: 80
SpaceRatio:
OverallCruiseValue: 90
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 25 Jan 1999
Time: 11:27:49
Remote Name: 208.132.64.32
Remote User:
Comments
This was my first cruise and it was most enjoyable. Everyone was friendly and more than
happy to help. Ship was clean and staff and
crew were excellent. Food was great! I will definately travel with Costa Victoria again.
Our wait staff was Ketu and Alex. They were fun
and entertaining. Our tablemates were the best. Meal times were very enjoyable. I spent a
lot of time in the spa and it was delightful. All
were friendly and informative. Claire gave me such a good facial that I had two. In the
lounge, Nester was a fun and interesting bar
tender. He found a drink for me that I loved. It was called a Rainbow Warrior. I drank
those for the remainder of the cruise. Someone
who I was traveling with had sore feet and took off her shoes. We walked several decks and
there was not a spot of dirt on the bottom
of her brand new socks when we were done. Impressive! I wasn't thrilled with Ocho Rios,
Jamacia. Our tour, plantation and Dunn's
River Falls with shopping was 2 hours too long and I almost missed a spa appointment
because of this. Everyone on the bus was
crabby and hungry by the time we were done with our excursion. Plantation was interesting.
Falls were beautiful. Could have used a
snack on the bus and better shopping. Shops were all the same and sales people were all
over you the minute you stepped inside. I
didn't feel safe there. Others at our dinner table saw islanders with guns walking around.
Grand Cayman was the best. It was beautiful
and clean. Shops keepers were polite and helpful. I would have preferred to have had more
time there. Overall, it was a great vacation.
The ultimate!
Name: Michael Roberts
Email: MPR121@AOL.COM
Age: 28
Occupation: IT Company Director
NumberOfCruises: 1
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Costa-Victoria
SailingDate: 1998
Itinerary: Venice, Bari, Kusadassi, Ephesus etc..
FoodDiningRoom: 95
CruiseDirector: 80
CabinComfort: 80
FoodRoomService: 85
CruiseStaff: 85
CabinAmenities: 85
FoodLidoDeck: 80
DiningRoomService: 90
CabinQuietness: 87
FoodMidnightBuffets: 82
CabinSteward: 92
ShoreExcVariety: 70
FoodVariety: 75
DeckService: 70
ShoreExcValue: 65
GoodForHoneymoon: 70
CasinoStaff: 70
PrivateIsland: 70
GoodForFamilies: 80
LoungeService: 80
TenderService: 80
GoodForSeniors: 90
BeautySalonStaff: 75
EntertainmentLounges: 85
WheelchairAccess: 85
ExerciseFacilities: 60
EntertShowLounge: 75
OverallPortsofCall: 80
BeautySalon: 70
EntertainmentPoolside: 85
CruiseActivities: 80
Casino: 70
AirSeaProgram: 75
MedicalFacilities: 95
ShipCleanliness: 95
EmbarkDisembark: 75
DiscoNightclubs: 75
DeckSpace: 85
Stabilization: 80
ShopsOnBoard: 70
SpaceRatio: 65
OverallCruiseValue: 60
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 18 Feb 1999
Time: 10:43:19
Remote Name: 40.33.1.13
Remote User:
Comments
My Wife and I went on the Costa Victoria from Venice as our first cruise. This was a 6 day
cruise. 2 stops in Itally
(Venice & Bari - for a planned technical stop) several of the Greece islands and
visited one of the Acropolises
(yes there are more than one) went to the olympic village (ruins) where the games were
first enacted. Also went
to Ephesus in Turkey (this has now changed to Istanbul).
Our cabin was on the Norma deck and we were privileged to have a cabin with a nice big
port hole (window)
looking out centrally at the back of the ship. My wife thought that the decor in the
hallways was very cold (It is all
dark blue) The cabin we had was quite small but we found it acceptable, it was very clean
and had good facilities
including a safe to put our valuables in, a plug socket, television (linked up to the
ships cameras) and a nice
small shower / toilet. The cabin boy (from india) was very polite and he visited twice a
day making sure that all
our needs in the cabin were taken care of and the cabin was always very tidy after he had
been in. Having only
one person who looks after the cabin makes the whole experience feel a lot safer for
security reasons.
It was nice that we did not have to tip anyone throughout the whole cruise and we liked
the idea of a suggested
amount to give to different members of staff in an envelope at the end of the cruise, we
think that is a really good
idea and we followed the recommendations which were fair and not very expensive.
We went to several of the performances on board and they were all very entertaining. The
man who did a solo
performance in numerouse languages at once was particularly good, although his use of
English was not
excellent. Their was also a juggler / balancer whos act was exceptionaly good and the
place was packed to see
him perform. Very good.
Generaly the food on board was good quality and most always at hand in help yourself
quantities, if you like
Italian type foods (pasta, Noccie etc...) you will be very pleased with the quisine
offered.
When we were in Venice waiting to board the ship we did not like the dock and the large
custom building where
we felt we were being hearded aboard and spent several hours in a smoke filled atmosphere
(we are non
smokers - but got to do so passively here).
The representative who was assigned to our language group was very good. She was regularly
on hand and
very knowledgeable about everything people asked.
Beware of going on the carpet tour in Turkey (it is interesting but then you are presented
with a problem! - they
dont want to let you go until you have parted with over five hundered pounds by purchasing
one of their ruggs)
even though we must confess these rugs are good value.
On board ship again - I visited the indoor swimming pool once (the only indoor pool) I
jumped in with my eyes
open as I always do and had to jump out again due to burning eyes - way to much chlorine I
think !. I am a keen
user of a gym back home and so relished the thought of using a good gymnasium onboard ship
but I was
dissapointed as they had almost no free weights and the machines they had were minimal and
of little physical
use. (as a qualified sports coach I would like to see this gym re-fitted)
We really enjoyed spending a lot of time on the top decks of the ship around the 2
swimming pools and four whirl
poole baths. They only seem to play Reggaie music unfortunately, I didnt mind that so much
but my wife would
have liked some variation.
On the whole we were very pleased with the cruise and standard of the ships service and as
a result we are
going on our second cruise on the Costa Victoria this month (Feb 99) from Florida to
Mexico, Jamaica, Grand
Cayman, Key West, Bahamas, Puerto Rico, etc.... We will let you know our cruise review
when we come back.
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