Costa Victoria Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Our cruise began in Venice, stopped in Ancona, 4 stops in Greece, one in Dubrovonik Croatia and then back to Venice. Rather than writing a full narrative, I'll just list the +s and -s Positives: Courteous Staff Good excursions (but they cost $$$ and you should really plan the cost of these ahead of time) Decent room (we thought it would be tiny but it was okay) Food was good, but not great Pool was spacious, but it was quite windy some days. There were enough chairs usually for everyone, but not always. A decent choice of activities, casino, etc. Negatives: You have to pay for Cokes... I hear this is normal, but it was unexpected to us many of the Italian people were rude and cut into line, invaded personal space a lot... if this bothers you, do not take this cruise line as it's an Italian line and most passengers are Italian The "shows' were not very good, in fact, they were bad in some cases, I didn't expect a ton but was still disapponted TV - not much on, and sometimes, it's nice to stay in the room, I would think they could add some more channels, especially English speaking for a minimal cost Stops were not long enough in some cases, I know that they could have given us much more time, the one stop that let us stay later in the day was great! Excursions - Greece was the Best! On Santorini, we did the "Oia Village" excursion and it was the one that gives you the amazing picturesque moments... we also heard that the "Black Beach" here was good. In Ancona - do the excursion that takes you to the caves, otherwise, there's NOTHING to do there (it takes you there on a Sunday, when everything is closed) The Athens "Acropolis" excursion was great... you get a lot of good stops and a bit of time for shopping. Other - Venice is great, but hard to get around, very expensive and not easy to carry bags around in... keep all this in mind, it's a water city, so there are NO ROADS... only water taxis, and oh, by the way, they're expensive as heck... the water bus is cramped and terribly hard to move around in with bags.

From MeetOnCruise iPhone App: I really enjoyed the cruise and the ship. Costa is really a part of Italy afloat and the crew is doing a nice job to keep passengers satisfied. The places we visited were outstanding with Venice at the top. Dubrovnik is also spectacular as Corfu and Santorini. I will cruise again with Costa.

we took a week long cruise from Rome to the Greek Isles on Costa and had a great time. The value was incredible, the food was fine, better at times than others but for the money the cruise was well worth more than we spent. The Crew was wonderful, always very helpful. We are taking another costa cruise next month this time for three weeks

The ship was nice. It is a small ship by comparison. I have sailed on Norweighen and others that were much larger, but the crew was friendly. It is an Italian Cruiseline that caters mostly to Italians, so on our cruise....out of 2300 guests only 126 spoke English. Needless to say, by weeks end, we knew lots of Italian! I must say, that at least the excursions did not sell out for the English speaking folks.

I have been on about 10 curises. This one would be on the bottom of the list. We did not get the feeling that anyone was concerned with their job or the satisfaction of the passengers. In some cases I found that rudeness was acceptable behavior. It was not a good experience and a total waste of money.

That are my first cruise vacation. What impressed me more are the kindness, happiness and customer delight oriented staff.

Love the on-board ambiance.

Will be back surely.

I CAN'T REALLY SAY MUCH, BEING MY FIRST CRUISE IT WAS JUST OUTSTANDING, AFTER THAT I'VE TAKEN 5 MORE CRUISES AND COSTA CRUISE TO CATALINA ISLAND DOMINICAN REP, OCHO RIO JAMAICA AND OTHER HAS BEEN THE BEST EVER. THE PLEASURE OF COMING TO MY COBIN AND FIND EVERYTHING IN PLACE AND SO CLEAN WITH A DIFFERENT TOWEL DESIGN ON MY BED. SEEING EVERYTHING READY ALL OVER THE SHIP ALL THE TIME WAS JUST AMAZING, NEVER SEING AN ANGRY OR UPSET FACE REGARLES OF THE WEATHER, TIME, HEAT ETC. I ALWAYS TALK ABOUT THIS EXPERIENCE..

Not a top brand and not a top experience. Language is largely Italian. Be warned.

You get what you get. Not the best brand. Language is largely Italian.

This was our first cruise with Costa. Embarkation was long but seemed to be well organized. The itinerary was great. Arrival in San Juan was late (5:00 PM) so we didn't get to stay there very long. After reading other reviews, I expected our cabin to be claustrophobic, but it was about the same size as other ships I have been on. The food was good. I have an allergy to MSG and the waiter and Maitre d' in the Sinfonia dining room made sure that I had MSG-free food and took good care of me and my whole family. I have heard that a lot of ships are getting away from extremely formal dinners and that was the experience on this ship. A lot of people didn't even show up for dinner (ate at the buffets?) and most didn't dress up much. Entertainment was good. Peter, the cruise director, was great, as was his staff. He was very funny. Disembarkation was very long as we were the last color called, but again, it seemed very well organized. The ship was not smokey, as some of the reviews have said. There was smoking allowed in only a few designated areas. The ship was very elegant and very clean. I would not hesitate to sail with Costa again.Theresa3/24/03

I HAVE TO SAY THAT ON OUR MARCH 16TH EASTERN CARIBBEAN CRUISE WE HAD THE BEST TIME THAN ON ANY OTHER CRUISE LINE. THE PRICE WAS SO REASONABLE, FOOD WAS FINE, CABINS FINE, BUT THE ANIMATION GROUP FOR ENTERTAINMENT AND ACTIVITIES WAS THE BEST. WE WOULD DEFINITELY GO ON ANOTHER COSTA CRUISE DESPITE ALL THE SMOKING GOING ON. YOU CAN'T HAVE EVERYTHING, BUT, ALMOST IS JUST GREAT!!!!!!!DEBBIE C.

Since there were two formal nights, we brought a tuxedo and 2 formal dresses.There was only one formal night during our cruise and most men wore dark suits, some not even jackets. Informal night appeared to be casual.There were fewer staff to be found than on a Celebrity cruise. We had no lights in the bathroom, which we called the desk about right away. They were fixed after 4 phone calls, and 2 days and one night without lights! We were sent champagne, though.There was no supervision near the glass elevators. It was hard to get an elevator--children without parents rode it for entertainment.A large sign said that no one under 16 allowed in whirlpools. Children were crowded into the whirlpools.Another sign said that no one under 16 was allowed in the Pompeii Spa. Again, a lot of screaming children.The gym was open from 9am to 8pm, so you could not use if if you were on a day tour, or if you wanted an early workout.Celebrity cruises are geared to a gym crowd.The pasta was great.

Our first family cruise on the Costa Victoria was a terrific experience. The ship is lovely. Was in great condition and kept immaculate. Childrens programs were well planned and the staff was great.The entertainment was good. Plenty of variety and seemed to be well received by most passengers.My only disappointment was the food seemed average (although my husband had no complaints) and the procedures used to disembark were very disorganized. Everything considered, would I sail Costa Victoria again? YES!

The embarkation was smooth and great. The food was top of the line (Filet Mignon). The service was very good the stewards being very helpful. Great entertainment. I personaly loved this cruise because it was laid back which enabled you to have an amazing time.

My 2 teenage sons and I went on the Costa Victoria's Eastern Caribbean April 8-15, 2001. I am a cruise travel agent and have cruised previously on Royal Caribbean, Carnival and Premier. I found Costa to be right up there with Royal Caribbean and Carnival as far as dining. As far as embarkation, debarkation, ambiance, and their own troupe of singers and dancers, I found Costa to excell. The Victoria is a very cozy ship. The many lounges and varioius relaxing areas throughout the ship are numerous and cozy. There are many private areas to be found. The cabin size is comparable to the other cruise lines. The pool area and whirlpools are roomy with lots of lounge chairs on 3 decks. The Pompei Spa is beautiful. The Concord Plaza and the atrium area is very pretty. The Casino is large, but the slots did not seem to pay well. The food in the buffets and the dining room is very diversified and very good, as well as prepared and presented nicely. I have read several reviews stating the the food on Costa ships is terrible. This is not the case. I think the people stating that the food is terrible would not be satisfied with the food on any cruise ship. The staff were all very polite, helpful and ready to do whatever they could to make our trip more enjoyable. The ship was extremely clean and very well taken care of. There was always somebody cleaning, polishing, etc. Victoria's own troupe of singers and dancers, the Peter Grey Terhune Singers & Dancers were awesome! The talent and the production materials and choreography were outstanding, Toga night and the Roman Bacchanal show was alot of fun and totally unique to Costa. I really can't think of anything that was bad or disappointing. I feel sure that I will cruise Costa again and hopefully in the near future. The Victoria is on it's last Caribbean sailing for the season at this time and will then reposition to Europe. Do yourself a favor and try cruising Italian style with Costa!

Embarkation was very good in Marseille.Food and service was poor especially the beef. Selections at the buffet was the same every day. Cruise staff arranged plenty of activities, but no steel drum band which was nice on other cruise lines.Rooms were extremely small. The food could have been poor to Americans because it was stocked in Europe and the dishes catered to Europeans, however there were 500 Americans aboard.The pasta dishes were excellent.Thank you!

Embarkation and debarkation were a nightmare. We have a two year old and she did not deal well with all the waiting around. They need to be more organized so that people can get on and off the ship faster. The staff in charge of embarkation and deparkation were extremely rude. I even got in an argument with one staff member because she didn't want to let my daughter have a seat on the bus with a seatbelt (for her carseat). The food was good (except dessert-which was bland). Dinner was hard once again on our two year old. It was at least a two hour affair for dinner. Two year olds do not like to sit that long and there were no other options (buffet) for dinner.The crew on the ship was very pleasant. They really paid a lot of attention to my daughter. She got sick the second day out to sea and they really went out of their way to help us. Overall, we liked most of the ports we visited. Inially, my husband did not want to go on the cruise. (He would rather sit at home.) However, despite everything that happened with my daughter getting sick,etc. he can't wait to go on another cruise!

Cruising is something that I would recommend to everyone that loves traveling. Cruising gives you everything you need plus you get to see more than one destination depending on how long your trip is. Everything that your cruise line has to give is extraordinary. The staff is great, the food is a lot more than what I imagined and if you love food, don't worry, there's plenty for everyone and it is so delicious.

This was one of the niceest ships I have been on. The Rooms were very nice expecially the Concorde Plaza. It was a three deck high room in the front of the ship with an elevator and a large dance floor. The dining rooms were very nice. The pool area is very large with two pools.

Embarkation was well organized and went smoothly. Our waitstaff was great and did a wonderful job of serving us. Food quality was nothing excellent - but above average. Pasta dishes were always wonderful. The breakfast and lunch buffet were always the same - little variety - but there was a pasta buffet on the rear deck that was always good and had a good variety of food. No one went hungry on the ship, although I did hear people complain about the food - how much do you really need to eat anyway?? Kids programs were not great - probably due to the language barrier. The kids kept busy with friends - otherwise this would have been a problem. Missed a port due to bad weather - which was disappointing, and time in port could have been longer. Disembarkation was a nightmare!! Good thing they feed you breakfast because we were supposed to get off the ship at 9:45 and didn't get off until noon!! Overall, the staff could be more organized in their activities - but was friendly. We had a great time anyway, and will be going on another cruise next year!!