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Costa Cruise Line

MS CostaVictoria

Your Rating:
Reviewed by: Gerardo (Jerry) Reyes
# previous cruises: 4
Date of Trip: December 26, 1999
Itinerary: Caribbean - Western

The ship is absolutely beautiful, immaculate and with a decoration completely different to any other cruise line. Very spacious, extremely stable, and never felt crowded nowhere. The atmosphere is international, you'll find people from all around the world, speaking from English and Italian, to Chinese. Activities are in multiple languages, as well as public announcements. The environment is definitely European, with a Latin flavor. Italians are noisy, cheerful and always trying to make new friends. And, overall, VERY modern and even avant-garde regarding the interior design of the vessel. Costa offers a GREAT value for the money you pay, but let's face it, it's not a premium line like Princess or Celebrity. I would say that it's right in the middle of the mass market.

The public areas are spacious, although somewhat windowless. They are tastefully designed with an absolutely European design and furniture. All around the ship are used bright, contrasting colors, some are light, others are dark. The Casino has a very good size, never felt crowded. The Festival Theater is located at the stern of the ship, not at the bow as usually, since this area is where the Concorde Plaza is located. The area is four-story high, with windows overlooking the bow of the ship. It's very impressive and airy, very like a small European village, although it's somewhat underused. The atrium is flooded with sunlight during day thanks to it's glass dome. And during night, it's light with small touches of purple and blue neon (but NOT like Carnival!!!). The sight from the four panoramic elevators is GREAT, and thanks to glass walls on two decks, you can even see the sea while going from deck to deck, so this is the precedent from the elevators aboard Celebrity's Millennium. The promenade deck is wraparound, BUT it's made of steel, not teak! And, there's not a single lounge chair. The pool area is very spacious, similar to most contemporary ships. The buffet area is great, spacious, airy and very pleasant. At the stern there's the Terrazza Cafe, covered by a canopy protecting from the sun and the rain, every loved it!!

Service on the main dining room is good, but due to passengers arriving after the stated hour, sometimes it was VERY slow. Our waiter and asst. waiter were VERY kind and went over themselves to make us feel at home and well served. In this way, Costa's crew is warmer and friendlier than other line's people. Food was, on the scale from 1 to 10, more or less a 7.5 - 8. Food on the buffet poolside was excellent, I would say a 9. And the pasta and pizza, deserve a 10, they're the best ones I have ever tried! In this way, I would say that you could prefer to have breakfast at the buffet, although I never had breakfast in the DR. The good thing is that must people had lunch poolside, so if you go to the DR, service is VERY fast and efficient! Midnight buffets were great, there was always something fabulous(well, A LOT) to eat.

It was QUIET as no other cabin! We were below the pool deck, and never had problems with noise. Decoration is rather austere, very Costa, but pleasant and easy lo like. This cabins are good for two people, but NEVER for four!! For God sake, DON'T squeeze four adults in them! The bathroom was small, and with those I-love-to-hug-you curtains, instead of a plexiglass door like in the Costa Allegra. Water pressure was fine, although the shower would be small for a full size person.

Shows aboard: two of them are really good, very Las Vegas. But, the rest of the nights really need something more entertaining! Singers are good, but somewhat monotonous. Activities are handle well, not outstanding, but considering the language barrier, it's just fine. I noticed them tired, maybe this was the reason. The cruise director was rarely seen, but his assistant was FABULOUS. What disappointed me a bit was New Year's celebration, I expected it to be more spectacular, more noisy, more cheerful. .

We stopped at Key West, Cozumel, Grand Cayman and Ocho Rios. Key West is very beautiful, clean and nice for walking around. Cozumel was full of people drinking alcohol and the town is not pretty; but if you rent a car and drive to the nearby beaches, it's great! Grand Cayman was just gorgeous, clean, with well educated people, beautiful beaches and dozens of duty free shopping places!!! Ocho Rios is dirty, people is very persistent for selling you stuff, but natural landscapes are great, as well as coffee and wooden art pieces. Tours like Dunn's River Falls, Martha Brae's rafting and horseback riding are the best ones. Activities aboard are multiple and for different tastes. The fitness center had a wonderful indoor pool with a fountain. The workout area was tiny, but anyway, not many people used it. And the sauna was also gorgeous!

Who goes?? People from all around the world, what can be good or not that good. I'm Latin, but I must admit that Latins are TERRIBLE tourists. They don't speak English, so they don't like to meet people that doesn't speak Spanish (that's why Costa attracts so many Latins). But, if you find one that speaks English, you'll find (most of the times) a cheerful and nice person. On a Costa ship you'll find people from EVERY age, singles, families, seniors.....so, you'll be able to choose from 2000 fellow passengers for making friends :o)