Indian Ocean - Information needed - Mauritius, Seychelles, Madagasgar and La Reunion

Indian Ocean - Information needed - Mauritius, Seychelles, Madagasgar and La Reunion

I justed booked a cruise with Costa's NeoRomantica next January 9th, 2016 with the above ports of call;

we will stay 2 nights at the Seychelles (Mahé), arriving at the first day at

9am and departing on day 3 at 1 pm, so we might be able to do two trips on the first two days and on day 3 maybe another stroll around Mahé.

and in Madagascar we have three ports of call; Nosy Be, Antisranana(Diego Suarez) and Toamasina (Tamatave).

Any information about private tours or also reviews of bord tours are highly welcome, as it will our first time in the Indian ocean.

We visited The Seychelles, Mauritius and La Reunion in April 2014 while on a cruise from Sydney to Cape Town.

I'm sure you will probably receive lots of information on The Seychelles and Mauritius so I will concentrate on La Reunion as this was one of the highlights of our cruise.

This is one port where to make the most of the visit it's best to do a ship's tour.

Prior to our cruise I had tried to arrange a private tour but couldn't get a reply to queries. I found out later that other passengers also had this problem. I had also read that taxis were very expensive.

As a result, we booked a ship's tour to Piton de Fournaise. As it turned out, we were very glad we had as on arrival at the port there were no taxis to be seen and the only other option was a shuttle into St Denis.

We had a wonderful tour and the scenery en route to the volcano and the area surrounding Piton de Fournaise was amazing.

Perhaps you will be able to find a private tour operator who can arrange a tour for you but if not make sure you visit the volcano area. While I can't comment on tours run by Costa, everyone on our ship's tour were very happy with our day.

Indian Ocean - Information needed - Mauritius, Seychelles, Madagasgar and La Reunion

I justed booked a cruise with Costa's NeoRomantica next January 9th, 2016 with the above ports of call;

we will stay 2 nights at the Seychelles (Mahé), arriving at the first day at

9am and departing on day 3 at 1 pm, so we might be able to do two trips on the first two days and on day 3 maybe another stroll around Mahé.

and in Madagascar we have three ports of call; Nosy Be, Antisranana(Diego Suarez) and Toamasina (Tamatave).

Any information about private tours or also reviews of bord tours are highly welcome, as it will our first time in the Indian ocean.

Hi Onyx007,

We did a cruise on Costa NeoRomantica in 2013 which called at the destinations you are visiting although only Diego Suarez in Madagascar...... We had a wonderful time and loved all the ports.

Below are extracts from my review which might be of use to you. As we are British some of the comments are possibly more relevant to people from the UK.

I’m going to try to include a few photos but I’m only just learning so if they don’t appear, please forgive me.

The ship

Costa NeoRomantica was gutted, a new section with balconies inserted and then completely refurbished in 2012. I found the decor to be pleasant but the ship’s layout was quite confusing and you had to pass through the Grand Bar to get to other areas on deck 8 and the show lounge to get to the disco on deck 9

Costa added some new options which did not appear to be too well supported. The wine and cheese lounge was empty every time I went through it and the chocolate and coffee shop seemed to be poorly attended as was the Pizzeria. I think these spaces could be better utilised.

I did like the situation of the buffet at the aft of the ship which afforded a good viewing position when docked.

Ship’s Information.

This is where the experience differed in many ways from the American/British style ....some better and some worse in my opinion

Boarding

· Your key card is in your cabin when you arrive and not given to you before you board.

· You need to register your credit card on one of the machines that are located in the different public areas.

· The on board currency is Euros.

Announcements

There were 1,600 passengers. The largest contingent was German followed by Italian, French, Spanish and then the 200 English speakers of which 100ish were British, US, Canadian, Australian and New Zealander citizens. The dreaded ‘announcements in 10 languages never materialised. In fact I only heard 2 ‘whole ship’ announcements during the whole 21 days and those were to warn about refuelling and requesting attendance at the muster drill. It was definitely the quietest ship we have been on for announcements. Of course that changed in the show lounges when there were activities and shows but we were prepared for that.

There was an English hostess who was available to help with problems and who organised quizzes and social meetings for the English speakers. I found this service particularly reassuring and believe that Elizabeth dealt promptly and efficiently with problems that arose.

Dining

· Traditional dining was at 6.30p.m. and 9p.m.

· There is an ‘open’ dining option in the buffet restaurant from 6.30 to 9.00 but you must either opt for this when booking your cruise or make a booking while on board. It is called ‘Dimmi Quando’. The menu is the same as in the traditional dining room and the tables are set with table cloths, cutlery and flowers. We did this option and it was wonderful. We were never hurried and it was never crowded and noisy.

· We found the food to be generally very good. We used the buffet for breakfast and lunch and there were quite a wide range of different types of food available. I particularly liked the variety of breads and the change of theme each lunch time (Chinese, Mexican, Indian etc) along with delicious pasta dishes at every meal.

· The dinner menu had 3 choices of appetiser, a soup, 2 pasta dishes, 4 main courses, salad, cheese board and 8 desserts (I loved the lemon, orange and pineapple sorbets and the coffee ice-cream). There were however no ‘always available’ options.

· Complementary iced water, tea and coffee were only available at breakfast and afternoon tea sessions in the buffet. Iced tap water had to be requested at dinner.

· The pizza restaurant charges €7.50 for all you can eat pizza + a dessert.

· The main dining room is open seating for breakfast and lunch.

· The sun deck buffet grill is open for lunch and dinner.

· The buffet is open for breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea.

Entertainment.

I found the entertainment to be generally low key. There is no theatre on this ship. Apparently it was removed during the renovations. There were, however, two large lounge areas which were used for shows, dancing and activities.

· The Grand Bar Piazza on deck 8 is used mainly for dancing before 10.30. There are 2 groups who play a variety of ‘middle of the road music’ type music with lyrics in different languages. A lot of people danced ballroom or line dance style dances. There was ‘game show’ type entertainment at 10.30p.m. but I never managed to stay awake long enough to see it!

· The Cabaret Room Vienna on deck 9 was the show lounge. It has quite a large oblong dance floor that is used for the nightly main entertainment. This consisted, usually, of a show at 7.30 and a repeat at 9.00. There were a variety of entertainers over the 3 weeks including magicians, jugglers, singers (both classical and pop) and musicians. The resident dance group did several high energy, multi-discipline shows which I thought were very good.

· There were dance lessons most days which were well attended and of good quality.

· There were port lectures and international quiz sessions too.

· There was very little entertainment round the pools .......thank goodness.

· The casino has a selection of slot machines and gaming tables.

Spa and Gym

There is a large spa and fairly well equipped Gym. As I didn’t use either, I can’t comment on the facilities.

Ship’s Excursions

We booked ship’s excursions in all ports except Dubai. We did this because I have some mobility problems so my husband and I did several tours separately and I particularly felt more secure in a group of familiar people. There were pros and cons for using the Costa tours:

PROS:

· a relatively safe environment.

· The ship delayed departure for an hour in Madagascar when the Amber Mountain tour, including my DH, was caught in a torrential rainstorm that turned the clay road into a muddy ice rink and halted the return journey.

· Generally knowledgeable guides.

· Mostly good quality transport.

· Mostly English speakers on my bus.

· It was difficult to find information about the availability, quality and proximity of local taxis pre cruise.

CONS

· Relatively expensive.

· Some tours were cancelled as there were not enough English speakers. We rebooked on the Italian/Spanish/French speakers tours and found the guides generally spoke English so would include an English commentary too.

· Sites got a bit crowded.

· Hardly anybody except the English speakers understood the concept of queuing for tickets, seats etc.!!!!! I know it’s a ‘cultural’ thing but it did get annoying.

Children’s club

There is a designated area for children but there were very few on board and we rarely saw them. I know you can leave your children at the club if you are on a ship’s excursion but don’t know if there is a charge for this.

Library

There is a small library with books in various languages.

Internet

There is a small internet area. I was told the connection was slow but I didn’t use this facility so have no firsthand experience of the cost or speed.

Room service

This is available but once again, we didn’t use it so I can’t comment. I believe there is a charge for this service.

Deck space.

There are 3 deck areas, 2 of which have small salt water pools. The aft deck has a variety of hammocks, bed chairs, cushioned loungers and a hot tub. There always seemed to be plenty of loungers available.

Captain’s cocktail party

There was a welcome and a farewell party for all passengers with separate times for the 1st and 2nd dinner seating people. We went to the early party as we were ‘open seating’ so could choose. There was champagne and fruit punch and glasses were refilled as often as you wanted. There was also a ‘past passenger’ party which was by invitation only.

The crew

I can only speak as I found but I though almost all the crew members with whom we came in contact were friendly, polite and very helpful. Everyone spoke English to some degree. I thought the tour office team were delightful and efficient under somewhat difficult circumstances and the dining area supervisors were charming and thoughtful.

Disembarkation.

· Passengers are supplied with coloured luggage tags that correspond with your disembarkation time.

· Meeting times and venues are printed in the ‘today’ paper.

· Luggage needs to be outside your room by 1a.m. on the day of departure.

· People departing from the ship after 5.pm. were allowed to keep their cabin until 3p.m. and use the ship’s facilities until their departure time.

· There was a secure storage area for ‘carry-on’ luggage in the Disco Lounge on deck 9.

Cabin Information

We were in a standard outside cabin on deck 6 and thought it was pleasantly decorated and fairly spacious.

· There was a porthole window.

· The bed was a large double with quite a thick duvet. I found it to be comfortable.

· There were 2 bed side tables; each had a lamp and a drawer.

· There was a small round table and a padded bucket chair.

· The dressing table had a large mirror, overhead light and stool but no drawers.

· There was a large interactive TV on which you could check your account, order room service, book excursions etc. It also had a selection of ‘pay movies’ (€8.95 each) as well as TV programmes....mostly news...and the stations depended on our location. We had Aljazeera, Macau, Hong Kong and eventually BBC and CNN.

· There is an espresso coffee machine which uses coffee pods at €1.75 a time. We found that, by following the instructions, we could boil the water without putting in the pod so we brought mugs, coffee sachets and tea bags from the buffet and made drinks in the cabin. Loved our morning cuppa in bed!!!

· The ice bucket was replenished twice daily.

· Storage space is quite good. There are 2 wardrobes, each with some coat hangers, 2 sets of drawers (1 drawer next to the dressing table has the hair drier which is fairly powerful), 3 largish cupboards, a fridge and a safe.

· We were provided with bath robes and slippers.

· The bathroom was spacious with a good sized counter top and an efficient shower (it does have a clingy curtain though!)

· Soap and body wash were provided and you could request body lotion and shampoo.

· The plugs were the round pin European style so I needed an adapter. I also used a 4 plug extension cable.

· There were 2 yellow Costa towels in the room for taking off the ship. There is a charge for not returning them.

Ports of call

Mauritius

The ship was in Mauritius overnight as it was one of the main passenger change-over ports. We arrived mid afternoon after 18 hours of travelling so we did not do any exploring other than the ship that day. We did confirm our pre-booked tours and found that 4 of them were under subscribed so had been cancelled. The tour desk manager, Andrea, was extremely helpful and we managed to rearrange tours to our satisfaction.

Mauritius is a large and beautiful island with a vast diversity of landscape, flora and fauna. We were there at the height of summer and it was very hot and humid with short lived but heavy showers. I did the ‘Beautiful Mauritius’ tour which included a trip to the market, a colonial plantation house, the botanical gardens and some viewing points. My husband did the ‘Enchanting landscape of Southern Mauritius’ and he has some wonderful photos of the volcanic scenery, waterfalls, the 7coloured rocks and the Black River Gorge.

· The international airport is in the south of the island and ships dock in the north at Port Louis, the capital city. It is, approximately, a 90minutes journey across the centre of the island from one to the other.

· The dock was just outside city and appears to be a new enterprise as the terminal building was a temporary marquee on the edge of a large field. There was some building work going on in the area so I’m assuming that this area will eventually become a proper terminal.

· The city seemed to be about 1½miles from the dock and not an easy walk as the land was quite rough and muddy.

· There were taxis available at the terminal.

· Port Louis has a pleasant waterfront with cafes and restaurants. There is also a vibrant local market where you bargain for souvenirs.

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La Reunion

La Reunion is a relatively unknown destination for many of us. It is a smallish volcanic island to the south west of Mauritius and is officially part of France so it has a very French feel to it. The road system is modern and the area of the island that we visited seemed very prosperous compared to the mixed fortunes of the people on Mauritius.

We did the ship’s tour to the one of the 3 volcanic calderas: Cirque de Mafate. It was a 4½ hour trip that took us from the port along the coast and then up into the mountains through some picturesque villages and forested areas before reaching the caldera rim. The views were truly spectacular.......what a gem of an island.

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· The ship docked at the industrial port called La Port. This is, at a guess, 20km from the island’s capital St Denis.

· There was a compulsory shuttle bus from the ship to the port entrance and then a free shuttle to the nearest town. I don’t know what there was to see at the town as we didn’t go but it was a very long walk from the dock exit through deserted scrub land..

· The currency is Euros.

· The tour buses were modern, clean and comfortable.

· There were taxis available outside the port gate.

Madagascar

We were so excited to be going to Madagascar as it always sounds so exotic. We went to the most northerly point of this very large island and docked in Diego Suarez. The sail in was lovely as the town is at the heart of a large bay and the sun was just peeping over the hills as we got to the bay. I think everyone was amazed to see the huge crowd of local people sitting on the hill just outside the port watching our approach. I believe there are very few cruise ships that visit this area so we were obviously a great attraction!

There were only 3 tours offered by the cruise line as, actually, there is not a lot to see.

I did the ‘Highlights of Diego Suarez’ and came back to the ship realising that, in our terms, this is a desperately poor area but the people we met were charming, happy to see us and really pleased to show us what they had. We were taken to a beach, a local craft market, the town market and a small souvenir shop.

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My husband did the ‘Amber Mountain’ tour and had a wonderful adventure when the late afternoon torrential downpour turned the dirt road to a skating rink for the 4x4 vehicles. The vehicles were skidding all over the place and many got stuck. The local people were very helpful and used ropes and brute force to get the vehicles out of the situation. The ship’s laundry cleaned my husband’s dirty clothes as a goodwill gesture. The group got back to the ship over 1 hour after the designated sailing time. Thank goodness it was a ship’s tour or he might still be there!!!

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· It was approximately a 30 minute walk up hill into the town centre.

· There were a few bars and cafes as you got near the centre. There was also a small supermarket set back from the main road.

· Tuctucs and taxis were available from outside the port but the condition of these was generally very poor.

· The condition of the tour mini-buses also left a lot to be desired but I’m sure we had the best of what was available.

· Most roads were unpaved dirt tracks.

· The souvenir shop and craft market took Euros and US dollars.

Seychelles

For me, these islands were the highlight of the cruise and I’m so glad that we had an overnight stay there. They are so clean with the most lush and colourful vegetation and glorious beaches. The people seemed relatively prosperous and were smiling and helpful.

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I did the ‘Discovering Mahe’ tour which took us to the Botanical Gardens (beautiful), a walking tour of the Mahe town (small but picturesque), a drive up into the central highlands with a couple of stops at viewing points (glorious scenery), a Creole lunch at a beach side restaurant (delicious), and free time on the beach (picture postcard perfect) before returning to the ship.

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My husband (the adventurous and fit one!) did the ‘Robinson Crusoe Island’ tour which took him to Praslin and then to Curieuse Island. He said the snorkelling was amazing and the beaches were stunning. His photographs are mirror images of the postcard views that you get of the Seychelles.

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· Taxis were available immediately outside the dock gates.....a brisk 5 minute walk from the ship.

· Taxis accepted Euros and $US but you need to negotiate. We paid $5 to the town centre. It is walkable but quite a long way and it was very hot and humid.

· We arrived on a Sunday and most shops were closed.

· There was a small craft and souvenir market on the dock side.

· There is a nice market in Mahe centre with vanilla pods, essence, magnets, postcards etc, etc as well as the fish, fruit, flower and textile stalls.

· The Botanical Gardens (30 mins walk from the dock) were worth a visit to see the huge tortoises, fruit bats and the ‘Coco-de-Mer’ palm trees as well as the beautiful trees and flowers. Admission was 100 Seychelles Rupees (approx $8pp) There are toilets and a cafe.

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Great information, thanks, it was very helpful for planning my trip there next year....

regards Roscoe

Yeah, thanks also from me. Great job and great review. I'm looking really forward as it will be the first time for me in the indian ocean (not the first Costa Cruise as I will turn on this cruise to the "Gold Pearl" status)