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Costa Cruises

Costa Romantica

Costa Romantica Cruise In The Indian Ocean

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costa romantica cruise in the indian ocean	3 of 3 people found this review informative

Reviewed By: hanlon, bristol on 19th Mar 2010
Cruise Line: Costa Cruises	Times cruised before: 6-10
Cruise Ship: Costa Romantica	Sailed: February, 2010
Destination: Indian Ocean	Age: 46-55
Cabin: Outside

I was very worried after i booked this cruise as i could'nt find many reviews about the cruise or the ship. We flew to Mauritius with Virgin. It was a 12 hour flight and Virgin was ok. Embarkation was very quick 15 minutes and we were in our cabin, which was an outside cabin, quite big and very clean. We were on second sitting 8.45pm on a table of eight people, 2 english couples, a german lady and her friend(a man) a Dutch man and his friend a man from Norway. We quickly became firends and went out on tours together which was lots of fun. The Romantica is quite a small ship, very easy to get around, the staff on the main desk were a breed of thier own, i thought they were quite rude. The drinks on board are very very expensive, the bars and lounges are quite nice and they staff are good, we did'nt take the drinks packages but quite a lot of people did. The food on board was good, the dining room was very pleasant(apart from the wall lights)the evening meals were varied with quite a good menu, you could always find something to eat. The courses are not large but you can have as many couses as you like. You can have breakfast and lunch in the dining room which is what i would advise as the self serve cafe is like a battle ground. There are lots of different nationalities on board far more than i expected and they certainly dont know how to wait for thier turn in line. My husband gave up waiting for pizza. everyone kept pushing in. We didnt see much of Mauritius, we booked an excursion with the ship to the Botanical Gardens, the gardens were ok but we could have done it much cheaper ourselves. The next stop was the Seychelles,we hired a taxi for the day which cost about £80 for the two of us, it sounds a lot but it was a full day and our driver was very good. We asked him to pick us up the next day to take us to the beach for the morning, the other english couple said they would share a taxi with us which was great so off we went the next morning to a beautiful beach(all the beaches are fantastic) for £60 for the four of us and we had a lovely morning, left the beach about 1pm as the boat was sailing at 3pm. I would have liked to stay in the Seychells longer. Next stop Nosy Be, we joined up with Piere and Morgan for this trip and what an amazing place this was. We had to tender ashore, it was like going back one hundred years. The people gather around you trying to sell trips and thier wares which may bother some people but i find people so interesting and the differnt cultures just amaze me. We hired a taxi for £50 for the day and we packed so much into that day, the island is beautifull and we ended our tour with a trip to Ramona beach. we went into Yvonnes bar and had a few drinks and what fun we had with Yvonne and her friends, a day i will remember forever. We gave the children books crayons pencils etc and balloons, the children played with the ballons all afternoon, i have never seen such contented children. We went for a stroll along the beach and watched a fishing boat unload thier catch for the day. This island is amazing and somwhere i'm glad i had the chance to visit. Madagascar was the next stop and we went with Piere and Morgan for the day again sharing the taxi £50 for the day, did the usual things sightseeing, markets etc we ended this tour with the beach as usual and what a beach this was we pulled into a lane and walked down to the beach where there was a beach bar, of course we had to stop for refreshment and there were people selling thier wares, and a band playing which was very nice and then we decided to go for a swim we came out of the beach bar and we all stopped and was totally gobsmacked at the sight that we saw, the only description i could give is this is what i always thought paradise would look like. The beach was beautiful and the sea was so warm and clear. We went back to the ship very happy people. Timatave was the next stop and off we went with our two usuall companions to the Nature reserve and park, yes we hired a taxi £50 for the day.The reserve is about 40 minutes away from the dock but the scenery is magnificent so sit back and enjoy the view. The park is well worth a visit lots of Lemurs wandering around, lizards,tortoise etc. We hired a guide for £5 which was good because the park is huge and we would still be wandering around now if we had'nt had a guide. After the park we went to the markets etc usuall stuff, and yes another brilliant day. Reunion was our next stop and i would say was my least favourite place. the eight of us hired a mini bus for the day £80 a couple, there is no bartering the prices are fixed in Reunion. The port is nowhere near anywhere of any interest so you have to travel 40 minutes before you get anywhere. We went to the volcano which was very interesting and then we went to the waterfalls which was amazing the rest of the day was spent travelling back to the ship with a short stop at the beach for a drink. The next day was a cruise day and then we were back to Mauritus to get our flight home. This was an amazing cruise and i was delighted with the whole holiday, the places we visited were fantastic and the memories will live with me forever.
Quality of Food
restaurant evening meals, breakfast and luch a few times
Entertainment
the shows on board are not very good and only last about 40 minutes
Shore Excursions
do your own, the ships excursions are very expensive and we did hear a few moans from some people about being herded around.
Staff
the restaurant staff are very good as are the bar staff
Children's Facilities	n/a

Onboard Activities
not much napkin folding fan painting not really my thing
Cabins

Overall Rating

3 of 3 people found this review informative

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Comment by johnstone, Juniper Green (10 May 10 21:09) about this REVIEW

Thanks so much for your review. i will be doing the same cruise in january and found this very useful, particularly all the information you gave on ports. I will be travelling on my own, so hope I'm as lucky as you were with your table companions, so that I too can share taxis and have as much fun as you appeared to heve in port. Thanks again - much appreciated.

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Opinion: Agree Comment by Fowler, Birkenhead (03 Apr 10 10:03) about this REVIEW

We enjoyed this cruise with a couple of provisos - yes, most of the staff were marvellous and the food good (possibly some fruit soups at lunchtime might have improved the calorie intake, but you can't have everything!). Some of our best memories are of taxi days with other people from our table, and the only excursion that we could afford cost as much for one person as the taxi for a whole (rather than half a day) had cost for the rest of the couples on our table - it went to the same place as I had booked for but then our tour bus passengers were only led across a corner of the busy market at Nosy Be and then taken to an unscheduled overpriced tourists mecca leaving what I really wanted to see - what life is really like for the people who live there and their market produce - behind. The less good memories are of, on our first trip over the equator, spending three hot and sweaty nights in our outside cabin before discovering that other people were not suffering so much and learning the air conditioning inn our cabin (which had been turned up to maximum by staff on more than one occasion) was not working properly and even then having to spend another night there before - after yet more moaning - being transferred to one that was fine. Our other gripe was about

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Comment by Patel, Ruislip (30 Mar 10 16:08) about this REVIEW

We have just been on this cruise.Our first cruise ever.Agree with the review completely.We were virtually robbed(in hind sight) because we took the exhorbitantly priced excursions.Food was overall very good.Staff were excellent.Entertainment ok.Cabin(outside on level 7)was very good.Room service was excellent.But wont use Costa again

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