All aboard the Costa Victoria cruise ship

Yours truly here was blessed to have won a free cruise aboard the lovely Costa Victoria ship a couple of months back. It was a cause for celebration as I have never ever gotten on a ship before, despite being pretty reasonably traveled and it was one of my bucket list to really go on a cruise- desperately. 

And now that dream has became a realization, from years of anticipation... errmm... ok.. ok, I am not trying a comping contest here or anything like that.

Let me tell you  a little bit about the Costa Victoria...Costa Victoria is a Victoria-class cruise ship owned and operated by Costa Crociere. She debuted in 1996 and was designed to reflect the spirit of Italy. Her beautiful features include the panoramic Concorde Plaza, an indoor pool, the ultramodern Pompei Spa, and the seven deck Planetarium Atrium

In 2004 the ship underwent an extensive rebuild during which a total of 246 balconies were added to the accommodations on decks 9, 10 and 11. She was also fitted with an extension of the buffet terrace and adding promenades on Deck 11. 

Costa Victoria has undergone a refit on November 11th 2013 which will see modernization to her public rooms and staterooms to more "Italian" design

964 cabins in total, including:242 with private balcony and 20 suites, 4 with private balcony.

I was blessed to get to enjoy an Ocean View Balcony cabin with my little girl.

There was a lovely queen size bed, seats, table like any hotel room would have but the cabin is small, just about 19 square meters. The balcony is lovely as I get to see the world go by in a different point of view, and watch enchanting sunrises and sunsets while on the cruise.

The bathroom is cramped and is only meant for one person at any one time.

COST VICTORIA Stats:

• GRT: 75,000 t
• Lenght: 253 m
• Width: 32 m
• Cruising speed: 22 knots
• Max speed: 24 knots
• Passenger Capacity: 2,394

When you step into the Costa Victoria, your passport will be taken by the staff and kept in a safe place. You will be given your cabin number before boarding, and when you are on board the ship, you can go and search for your cabin which will be unlocked. 

When inside the cabin, your cabin key card will be laid out on the bed with your name printed on it. There is an emergency drill card which you have to surrender during the boring, tedious but very necessary emergency drill which will be on the first night you are on the ship. 

We had to rush back to our cabin after dinner, grab our lift jackets in the cupboard and headed to our Muster Station as indicated also on the emergency drill card and the cabin key card. 

Once the drill is over and so that you know what you need to do or go in case something happens on the ship, you are free to do whatever you want. 

But for parents on board the ship with kids, you might like to check out the Squok Club orientation which will be held at the Concorde Plaza- just so you know how you can leave your kids behind for some alone time or when going for your excursions and tours.

There will be a daily news letter for all passengers every night. The room stewards will be placing it there about 8-9pm... just so you know what activities and going ons are happening and if you should like to join them or not...

My view from my balcony. I had a view here because the ship was still anchored to the Singapore Port and the view is of Resort World Sentosa...

This here is the outdoor deck pool on Deck 11 Rigoletto. Each of the decks are given Italian names. My cabin was on Deck 9 Tosca 

There is 2 lovely medium sized pool here and 6 jacuzzis to choose from.

For passengers who love shopping for duty free goods, there is a wide range of pretty reasonably priced Duty Free branded stuff on board at the Montmartre Gallery.

The Concorde Plaza

Don't forget to check out the indoor pool for those who are worried about getting sun burnt or facing the elements outside. There is a pretty indoor pool with pretty murals that can make you imagine you are on some island somewhere...

My daughter loved the Squok Club as she got to mingle with other kids . The kids need to be signed in and signed out unless they are above 8 and the parents give them the permission to sign themselves in and out like my little girl. They can also have lunch at the club, though it's not exactly lunch there but rather the staff bringing them to the buffet counter to eat....

There are 5 meals per day served free of charge and we had a selection of about 2 fine dining restaurants and two other buffet style restaurants where we could have our meal. My little girl's and my favourite was lunch /dinner at Fantasia restaurant on Deck 5 Boheme.

Other then that, do not forget to catch awesome LIVE shows at the Festival theatre on Deck 6 Traviata. The shows are pretty awesome and on your last night, there is even a staff performance from the restaurants, housekeeping, securities etc, so you can enjoy how talented some of the staff on board are!!

It was definitely fun going on a cruise, and both my little girl and I had a lot of fun, but for those who tend to get giddy or sea sick, do not forget your medications.