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27N Maritius - Venice March 16, 2019 Costa Victoria


JosieVent
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Hello Josie.

I am doing the Costa Fortuna Singapore to Rome on March 5th 2019.

Just saw that Stefan has started a review. What a coincidence seeing both of you on the same day.

Hopefully you'll have someone joining you on the roll call. Nobody yet on mine.

 

This is the link to the roll call section.

Costa Cruises Roll Calls - Cruise Critic Message Board Forums

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  • 7 months later...

Hi Lindy

 

I see you are based in Johannesburg.  Very long story short we are coming through Johannesburg and onward flight to Mauritius a few days on the beach and then onto the ship. What an itinerary! I think I counted 9 currencies at least.  I have a spreadsheet for my packing list now it is so complicated! I will be taking advantage of the laundry offers for sure.

Edited by jerseylily
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  • 2 weeks later...

I’ve booked the ships Petra tour, I think it was 220 euro, only because I am slightly disabled and that one said moderately difficult.

Salalah I don’t know what to choose.

Santorini, Rick Steves recommends an organized tour just because transport is difficult..

Kataklon, Olympia only opens at12.30 on a Monday.

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We have plans for all destinations but we are a bit odd so itinerary may not suit everyone.  Salalah my nephew lived there for a while.  He recommended the hills but we may just chill at the club near the port who are happy to take cruise passengers.

 

Re Santorini we have been a couple of times before to the caldera and akrotiri and we loved them both. This time we will probably go up the cable car after the rush, enjoy view, do one of the great museum up at top then walk down the donkey track.

 

Olympia was on the list by local train which is often more frequent, we understand, on days cruise ships are in port. Thanks for the information regarding opening time on Mondays.  We will factor that into plans but the websites I am looking at have opening at 8 am so will definitely check this out.

 

Re Petra we tried to book a cheaper non ship tour but they wanted too much secure information and there were other issues. In short I was not comfortable so we are doing a ship tour circa 150 euro on this one occasion for these reasons.

 

Re visas we are doing the ship tour in Jordan so hope they are dealing with this.  In Oman we think they changed system last year. Last we heard and according to the Oman police site it was " as previously" for cruise passengers. We understood that was you could enter if you were only there for less than 24 hours but PLEASE DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH we have sent email to the Oman visa site and are awaiting their reply. 

 

 

Edited by jerseylily
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Thanks - that's really helpful. Think we may end up on the ship tour for Petra but we will see...Eilat I'm a bit stuck on what is best to do. We wanted to fit in both Wadi Rum and Petra so thought we could do one from Eilat, maybe, and the other from Aqaba, but it seems difficult to get across the border to Jordan? And in that case not sure what to do in Eilat - what are your plans? We love history, nature, and cramming as much into a day (i.e. avoiding leisurely lunches and too many organised excursions). Once you hear back on Oman visas would you be able to post on here? It would be very helpful to know.
It looks like there's no actual roll call for our ship though?? Have either of you been on Costa before? We usually do P+O or Celebrity or Royal Caribbean, but the itinerary on this was too wonderful to miss!

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HI glad to see a few posts, it was hard to get this started. My sister and I are booked with the ship for Petra, didn't want to miss it and a bit skeptical to try other local tour operators. We also booked Jerusalem because of the historical and cultural aspects. Has anyone else decided to go there ?  There are other ports of call that I can cheap out on so these I felt important.

I have been on Costa quite a few times , different ships never the Victoria and love it. I have no problem with them, but it is not a North American ship , different languages over the PA are the norm.

I started the post but am totally not experienced in the Cruise critic protocol, so I'll let you who are more experienced lead the way. Happy to hopefully meet new people , this is the longest cruise I have been on , so any useful information would be welcomed. 

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Sparkle I think you are based in UK?  Costa are a European style cruise company. I like them, the vibe is good for me but cruising style is a personal thing. This is not American style cruising like NCL.  I love celebrity for its feel but don't enjoy RCL so much but again it is a personal thing.  Costa highlights include the hot chocolate in the cafe where it is so thick you can stand your spoon up in it!

 

Regards Jerusalem I didn't see a tour from the ship so would be interested in more detail on that.

 

In Eliat we may go to Coral Beach just north of cruise boat as they have a coral reserve there. You can visit informational area then snorkel so I understand.

 

We are missing information about cruise ship shuttle availability at each port. Some ports are easily walkable some will have compulsory shuttle to port gate some will have payable shuttle to town so until we are on ship I am a bit flexible.

 

Lindy, for port info I use the port information section of cruise critic but others also. If you pm me I am happy to share websites, etc. I haven't seen mention of a HOHO in Eliat but you would have to research.

 

Regards protocol on cruise critic. It seems to me that Costa section is not as formal and ordered as say celebrity or carnival where roll calls are ordered in a separate section.

 

Hopefully others will see your thread and join and share in the discussion informally.

 

 

 

Edited by jerseyflyer
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Last time we cruised I stumbled upon a site that gave wonderful port information with maps and walking instructions. I can’t remember its name and searching hasn’t brought up anything. I haven’t a clue how to pm but will give it a go.

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13 minutes ago, Lindybb said:

Last time we cruised I stumbled upon a site that gave wonderful port information with maps and walking instructions. I can’t remember its name and searching hasn’t brought up anything. I haven’t a clue how to pm but will give it a go.

Do you mean Tom's port guides?

 

Toms Port Guides, Mediterranean | SAVE MONEY on cruise port shore excursions

 

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I did a similar itinerary last year from Mauritius to Savona.

 

In Petra I did the ship tour. I did the premier one which included lunch and wished I had just done the basic one as we actually had less time in Petra.

There is a long walk when you get off the coach to the site. There are horse carriages to take you but very very bumpy. I did take one back as it was uphill. Think that was 10 euros each way.

 

In Eilat some people took the ship tour to Jerusalem which involved a flight back. I had already been to Jerusalem so took the ship tour to Masada Fortress. Israeli Immigration came on board at some port so we were processed on board so able to walk straight off in Eilat.

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17 hours ago, JosieVent said:

HI glad to see a few posts, it was hard to get this started. My sister and I are booked with the ship for Petra, didn't want to miss it and a bit skeptical to try other local tour operators. We also booked Jerusalem because of the historical and cultural aspects. Has anyone else decided to go there ?  There are other ports of call that I can cheap out on so these I felt important.

I have been on Costa quite a few times , different ships never the Victoria and love it. I have no problem with them, but it is not a North American ship , different languages over the PA are the norm.

I started the post but am totally not experienced in the Cruise critic protocol, so I'll let you who are more experienced lead the way. Happy to hopefully meet new people , this is the longest cruise I have been on , so any useful information would be welcomed. 

Hello Josie.  This is a fabulous itinerary and looks like you have some fellow cruisers to meet up with.

Have a great time.

 

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45 minutes ago, Lindybb said:

Last time we cruised I stumbled upon a site that gave wonderful port information with maps and walking instructions. I can’t remember its name and searching hasn’t brought up anything. I haven’t a clue how to pm but will give it a go.

Only suggested pm as I assumed they block posts to other communities.  I use ....whats in port... All one word with the post name eg whats in port Salalah they are v good. Also  "the telegraph" with "cruise port xxx" 

Edited by jerseyflyer
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On ‎2‎/‎2‎/‎2019 at 7:53 PM, jerseylily said:

We have plans for all destinations but we are a bit odd so itinerary may not suit everyone.  Salalah my nephew lived there for a while.  He recommended the hills but we may just chill at the club near the port who are happy to take cruise passengers.

 

Re Santorini we have been a couple of times before to the caldera and akrotiri and we loved them both. This time we will probably go up the cable car after the rush, enjoy view, do one of the great museum up at top then walk down the donkey track.

 

Olympia was on the list by local train which is often more frequent, we understand, on days cruise ships are in port. Thanks for the information regarding opening time on Mondays.  We will factor that into plans but the websites I am looking at have opening at 8 am so will definitely check this out.

 

Re Petra we tried to book a cheaper non ship tour but they wanted too much secure information and there were other issues. In short I was not comfortable so we are doing a ship tour circa 150 euro on this one occasion for these reasons.

 

Re visas we are doing the ship tour in Jordan so hope they are dealing with this.  In Oman we think they changed system last year. Last we heard and according to the Oman police site it was " as previously" for cruise passengers. We understood that was you could enter if you were only there for less than 24 hours but PLEASE DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH we have sent email to the Oman visa site and are awaiting their reply. 

 

 

Looking for a bit of advice for Salalah that I am not sure if your nephew may be able to help with...we'd really like to go into the nature reserve area / mountains of Jabal Samhan, and were looking for cheap transport up there e.g. buses...I can't find any info at all other than hiring a car as to how to get there though. Would your nephew know?? A wild shot I know but I thought it was worth asking in case. Thank you :-)

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Sparkle he was there some time ago so his transport information would not be current. He used to drive to the mountain areas. Trip..advisor seems to be offering East of Salalah tours on their lists of things to do in Salalah they look reasonable and do mention Jabal Samhan but you would need to check the itinerary was actually going there.

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Hi all as a holder of a UK passport this is the reply I got from Costa UK regarding visas. I share for information but this may vary depending on your passport origin.

 

Dear Sirs
Thank you for the email.
This is the answer to your questions
Oman in tranist

Visa NOT required within 48 hours stay. On arrival each pax/crew will be issued a shore landing ID card. Ship to submit pax list in advance. Landing card is to be returned after being back onboar

Jordan

Landing permit to guests who do not need visa will be issued on arrival. Vessel has to submit the passenger list in advance to the Port Agent.

Nothing required for Israel
Thanks
Best regards xxxxx

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  • 3 weeks later...
On ‎2‎/‎3‎/‎2019 at 11:22 PM, jerseyflyer said:

Sparkle he was there some time ago so his transport information would not be current. He used to drive to the mountain areas. Trip..advisor seems to be offering East of Salalah tours on their lists of things to do in Salalah they look reasonable and do mention Jabal Samhan but you would need to check the itinerary was actually going there.

Thanks for the info :) Sorry for the delay in replying. Other question is do you - or does anyone - know if you can get a local bus to the Mughsail blowholes and beach down from Salalah? Can't seem to find this info anywhere :(

 

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