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The sweet suite life on the Costa Fascinosa November 2016


alicat58
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I have been threatening to write a review about our upgrade experience on the Fascinosa and time has flown by since we have been on her.

 

There was a bit of a discussion going prior to us going. This was not our first upgrade on Costa. We were upgraded from inside to oceanview on the NeoRomantica a few years ago and in 2015 we had an upgrade to a Samsara suite with a jacuzzi on the balcony.We did not have any suite perks on the Diadema but I really enjoyed that jacuzzi. The room was enormous.

 

We have become addicted to cruising since our first cruise on the Cosat Magica in April 2005. We started and returned to Savona but visited,amonst other ports, Alexandria.

 

Now back to the Fascinosa. We booked a balcony but I knew we should have an upgrade because of Costa club. We cruised three times last year and this was out fourth this year. We had to ask for it. We did not expect any of the perks but was very pleased when the drinks package was added to our baskets with zeros attached. We asked for a table for two in "Otto en Mezzo".Suite guests have the additional perk of eating in the Club restaurant and according to the boards we will not have that thrown in as well. It sounded as if the "Otto" was the nicer of the two MDR and we were quite happy with that.

 

Our cruise starts on the Wednesday before we leave when I put flea/worm drops on the three cats. They then become immediately suspicious because they know what is coming. There is Baz( blue point Devon Rex) who is wonky in the head after he was run over in our little dead end, Kip(per) who is a large ginger tom and Nutmeg(also known as Ratty). She is the old lady of the house and a rescue tabby. By the way they hate one another. They have been going to the same Cat hotel since Nutmeg joined the family 15 years ago and get a special tariff because the parents cruise soo much.

 

Alas I have run out of time and will have to continue on the weekend. Hopefully I can figure out how to attach photos. I am not keen on photobucket because they started spamming me from the moment I downloaded the app. Any suggestions will be helpgul I don't have lots of photos because I just use my phone and hubby uses one of those fancy Canon things and the photos are huge and need cropping or something.

 

I will continue.

 

Alicat

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Hi all

 

This is a trial to see if the photo attaches. Baz is the Devon Rex with the Siamese colouring and Kipper is the ginger and white cat. They are both neutered toms.

 

Well part 2 then.

 

After dropping the cats at the cat hotel I was able to finally get the suitcases out to start the packing. We were flying Ryan Air and had one case in the hold so I could get 15 kg in that plus another carry-on with 10 kg. Should be enough for a week I think.

 

We were collected bright and early by our friendly taxi person and taken to Stansted Airport which is only 40 minutes drive from home. He ferries us on a regular basis.

 

Stansted was the usual hustle and bustle and in next to now time we were on our way to Barcelona El Prat Airport.

 

Here is my rough plan for the holiday:

 

Fascinosa

6/11/16(Sunday): Barcelona departs 19h30. Flight arrives in BCN 11h30. Taxi by 12h00, drop bags off at port and get taxi to Somorrosto(opens at 13h00. ? get tickets for cable car to Montjuic before. Cable car to Montjuic. Wander around, photos . Then ? cable car down and taxi back or taxi back from top. Check sundown/dusk time.

7/11/16(Monday):Valencia 09h00-19h00. ? use taxi-expensive-to get to science park. Wander around. Lunch. Afternoon inside cathedral, walk in Turia park.

8/11/16(Tuesday): Palma 08h00-18h00 ? taxi to castle, visit cathedral inside. ? village visit. Lunch at Forn

9/11/16(Wednesday): At sea

10/11/16(Thursday): Palermo 09h00-18h00.Taxi to Capuchin catacombs and then walk back towards centre exploring. Lunch around central area. More churches etc.

11/11/16(Friday): Naples 07h30-14h00.Taxi to Herculaneum 50E ONE WAY!!!! Herculaneum tickets E11. Opens at 08h30. Alternative Archeological museum. Need taxi to get there. Opens 9am. 12E per person. Good write ups on Tripadvisor

12/11/16(Saturday): Savona 09h00-17h00.God knows.

13/11/16(Sunday): Barcelona arrives 14h30.Visit dali art gallery

14/11/16Monday:Barcelona.Flight at 10h50

 

We did not book a taxi from El Prat this time but arranged a transfer. This meant walking out of the airport , you turn right and walk along to the end of the buildings, cross over and diagonally to your right you will find some mini bus vans. I think it was about €12 pp. He first dropped other passengers in town and then dropped us outside the port building.

 

The Fascinosa was only arriving at 14h00 but we were able to drop our luggage outside the building and go upstairs to check in. There were only two Costa people serving but only one group of people ahead of us. We booked in quickly and was given a number one ticket for boarding.Boarding was from 16h00 onwards. We could actually see her in the distance when we left the building.

 

We got a taxi as planned to go and have lunch at Sommorosto.We had some tapas and a nice bottle of wine. Unfortunately I don't seem to have photos of the food.

 

Then the plan went a little wrong. We took the easy walk to the cable car station and got there at about 14h30. There was a 90 minute wait.Quick calculation. Mmm, that meant we will not board till very late. Also we would only get to the top of Montjuic after 16h00 when it will be getting darker already and the whole point was to enjoy views. We should have pre-booked the cable car but wanted to make sure the weather was favourable. This will have to wait for another time.

 

We then decided to get back to port. We were very excited because we got entry to the VIP lounge because of the suite. Another perk we did not expect.

 

We were wandering around aimlessly looking for a taxi and was unable to see one. There was one of these bicycle ricksaw stations and hubby said he was not going on one because they looked too dangerous. Deary me! So we walked away with this scrawny young guy following us trying to convince us that he would take us the Columbus Colom for €15.

 

Now just to mention we are both on the larger side.

 

I explained to hubby they cycled on the sidewalks rather than on the roads and he agreed we could take the chap up on his offer. I rather think the chap was hoping we would continue to decline:D

 

So we set off with the poor man developing his calves to enormous size.

 

Cruisers might be aware of the "Blue port bus".If I recall correctly the tariff used to be €1.50 single and €2.00 return. This has increased to €3.50 single and €4.00 return per person. We waited for a short while and got the bus to the port building.

 

The VIP lounge is upstairs and what a disappointment that was. No coffee, warm soft drinks and a few tea bags to make your own. At least there were clean loos. We hoped to start our cruise experience before boarding.

 

At four we took ourself off the embark and we were on the ship in next to now time. We went straight to our cabin and got our Costa cards and checked the time for muster. It was at 18h00 and fortunately not out on deck but in one of the rooms on deck 4. We noted on our cards that it said Club for dining.

 

This confused us a little. Did this mean that we are eating our meals in the Club restaurant as per a suite booking? We went to customer service and they confirmed that we will have all out meals in the Club restaurant. Woohoo! In my discussions on CC regular Costa cruisers did not think that we would get that perk. I don't know whether we stuck lucky or not. Maybe people can comment on that. We promptly took ourselves off for a drink. Yes, I know it was early but we were back on board and extremely chuffed with ourselves.

 

We had to get to the muster drill and sat through the safety video and was then taken to our muster station. Quite painless in comparison to those muster drills where you are lines up on deck next to the life boats and have to listen to the whole story in multiple languages with the French and Italian cousins chatting loadly when it is done in English.

 

This chapter is getting a little long and rambling. I will hopefully attach some menus later and I hope that the photo is going to show.

 

Bye for now

 

Alicat

20161103_073905.jpg.072f8b07e1cea6a8e2d1347d261b0635.jpg

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Looking forward to the rest.. Photo worked but only as a thumbnail.. I got around this by simply copying my entire blog posts but there must be other ways as I have seen people manage it without a blog probably by hosting the photos and using the insert img button.

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I am going to have another try at adding some photos. I found a post ***** CC how to do it. I think it is far too complicated. Why can it not be changed to right click add photo or something simple like that I don't know.

 

The bed:

AF1QipMHG97RHRy9i3jmnaJRCZ6jQlVeBE_6EMXOoAD6

 

This is the one cupboard and TV:

AF1QipO66RSf-vUzJClEXDSiNIrdUltY2Ky3VZVK1f3_

 

The long narrow balcony:

AF1QipMXh16NXQF0u9cR44IGiQfjnTL8wMiEhDO-uedp

 

The sitting room(!)and desk with coffee machine, minibar(included:D):

AF1QipPidI5PKrcJfJEc1HsaV8Mh0xIm-r8u7jTwWWCN

 

Toiletries in the bathroom:

AF1QipN6g-vTcVY03aQ9HD5d9BjBIza4RojlrjANVtXl

 

 

I think I am only supposed to add 6 photos at a time and I have no idea whether this will work. So I'll post and have a look before I add more. I hope the photos are not too big either.

 

Alicat

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Now that I finally managed the photographs I would like to tell you a little about the club restaurant.

 

It is on deck 10 aft. Handy as you can have a pre-dinner drink in the piano bar and then go straight up to ther restaurant.

 

The service was very friendly and we had no issues with the time it took to have supper. The last night was much more hectic because of the amount of passengers who embarked at Savona.

 

I am not sure whether the menu was any different from the MDR because we never checked.The any time available options were fillet and prawns. I will attach 2 of the menus.Menu2_zpson3bm8co.jpg

Menu1_zpsupfylot4.jpg

 

It was also rather nice to order a variety of wines off the wine list. All wines less than €9 were included. There were some lovely white and red Italian wines.

 

We had all our meals ,except for one, in the club restaurant. Breakfast was the same as MDR but they came around with pastries if you requested and there was a table with cereals , cold meats and fruit. Lunch was also the same as MDR but there were some extras available on the same tables including a rather good cheese board where you could cut cheese to your liking.

 

I am now so exhausted fiddling with attaching photos that I will have to give up till Wednesday when I will have a little free time.

 

Alicat

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Thank you all for your comments.

 

Nice to see you Bazbov-glad to see you are willing to give Costa another try. We like the Diadema. I hope you are going to have a lovely time despite some of the negative remarks made.

 

I am not great with the photography and only use my Samsung S6. It takes reasonable photos for what I want.

 

Obviously I am going to post some food photos today and it will be really clear what I like. Obviously desserts and the odd cocktail! I don't have them at home soo I make up for it when I am on holiday.

 

20161109_203537_zpshfqxlkys.jpg

 

OK, this is supposed to be a swan. It is bascically a choux puff on custard.

 

20161109_140507_zps67bkuhlj.jpg

 

This was a really delicious chocolate cake. I scraped the cream off.

 

20161108_211111_zpscnlvar8i.jpg

 

Frozen Margarita!

 

http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u421/rbdupreez/20161107_083332_zpsdseofi1b.jpg

 

This is not a dessert or a cocktail and it is not a latte either. It's a Cappucino.

 

20161111_135237_zps05kvamhg.jpg

 

This a sugar free dessert. Nobody mentions cream and calories. It was actually rather nice but not what I expected.

 

I will do a few more foodie photos on the weekend and then get down to port information.

 

Till the weekend.

 

Alicat

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Hi everyone

 

By now you probably saw that I botched up the photos and linked the album. It is not very large. I have no idea how I managed that because I followed the same procedure attaching.

 

I will give a brief description of what we did in the different ports and re-attach(try to) the photos and explaine what they were about.

 

Valencia:

This was our second visit. The previous time was very short and we only strolled around the cathedral area.

 

We got a taxi in port and asked him to drop us off at the Science Park. It was not as expensive as I thought it would be and we had some commentary from the driver. He pointed out the different buildings and told us that a race was finishing there soon hence a platform being built over the central water feature.

 

It was a cool but sunny day and we spent an hour or so strolling about looking at the buildings and taking photos. We did not enter any of them. The IMAX was expensive and did not appeal.

 

There was a little black cat stalking birds in the one building that contained the gardens. We also saw some brightly coloured and very noisey parrots or parakeets in this building.

 

We managed to get another taxi back to the area just outside the cathedral. Unfortunately I do not have any photos of the inside.

 

There are loads of restaurants around this area and we stopped to have a beer. Be careful! you will be served the largest one they have available unless you specify what you want. Caught out and left lots of it.

 

We strolled around a little more and had a fairly mediocre lunch before we returned to the ship.

 

20161107_101439_zpsnzrmewez.jpg

 

I took this from the opera house end. The building towards the end of the photo is the Aquarium I think. You can just make out the platform they were building in the distance.

 

20161107_095743_zpslan5x5zr.jpg

 

This is the opera house with one of the sculptures along a walk way.

 

20161107_100444_zpshtzsddsh.jpg

 

Some good stuff on this season.

 

It appears that Photobucket is only allowing me to copy about 3 photos consecutively.

 

I will post thses and see whether it worked properly this time.

 

Alicat

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Next stop Palma de Mallorca:

 

It was a rather dreary start to the day. We did not mind too much because our main reason for wanting to visit Palma was another visit to Forn de Sant Joan. We found this amazing restaurant 2 years ago when we were on the Diadema and when we visit last year they were closed and we were very disappointed.

 

The plan was to get to Belver Castle because of the views. We got a taxi outside the port entrance and he dropped us at the ticket office at the castle. It was a rip off but far too far to walk. By the time we entered the castle it was pouring with rain and we wandered through the rooms. Not hugely entertaining. Eventually the rain stopped and the sun broke through and we were rewarded with amazing views towards the harbour, city and mountains.

 

It was quite difficult to find a way down. Once again too far too walk and the taxis at the top were all pre-booked. One of the friendly taxi guys gave us a ride down to a taxi waiting area for €5. We managed to then get a taxi to the area next to the cathedral.

 

It is worth visiting the cathedral. The stained glass windows are beautiful and look out for the modern mural on the right of building.

 

Unfortunately I do not have photos of any of these.

 

Next stop Forn. They have a good value lunch menu but we came for their tapas. This is tapas with a difference and so delicious.

 

They first off serve some amazing dips and crispy bread and amazing olives.

 

We ordered a few plates:

20161108_133732_zps6ndcqz5x.jpg

 

Calamari and large prawns with parmasan. Both superb.

 

20161108_135051_zpsjtamvx4n.jpg

 

Jambon croquetas and pork with orange and ginger.

 

http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u421/rbdupreez/20161108_142125_zps8exgttou.jpg

 

This was the most amazing pudding ever , mainly because those gold balls were popping candy! I was deprived of popping candy as a child(just did not get it then) and I love the stuff.

 

We enjoyed our lunch a lot but found the service rather rushed this time. We strolled back to the area where we were previously dropped off and went back to the ship.

 

20161108_180351_zpsxzqmdfqd.jpg

 

One of the photos taken when we sailed from Palma.

 

Once again I find Photobucket a nightmare. It seems to selectively decide which photos it will upload and it is unbelievably slow.

 

I am afraid I am going to let the rest of this ramble be because it is just far too frustrating.

 

We were very happy with our upgrade. Our cabin steward Jordan kept the place spick and span. We cannot really see the point of the butler. Han dropped menus off and made sure that out fruit bowl was full. Not that we ate much of it.

 

The drinks package included some premium brands which were nice to have and it was a bonus to have more wines to choose from and we were pleasantly surprised by how good some of them were. We have no issues with the standard of the wine on Piu Gusto though a disgruntled CC person called them "rock gut". Not sure whether it was a typo but I thought poor quality wine is called "rot gut" and the Piu gusto wines are not.

 

I'll try and find an alternative to photobucket to post photos and will take lots when we are on the NeoClassica in India. 34 days to go.

 

Thanks for following and happy cruising to all.

 

Alicat

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If your usinf a free version of photobucket.. just upload them one at a time.. A tip is to leave that running on a tab as you write and then fit it in, then let the next upload sort of help/inspire you write the next section whilst it uploads.

 

A workaround if you have a google account is to open a blog (doesnt matter if you dont want to blog or have anyone see it)

 

Just write it on the blog, - insert the pics (easy peasy) publish and then copy and paste the published result into the forum

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Hi Ighten

 

I think I might have to try the Blogging. I think I am too impatient for Photobucket. I looked at your blog and it is great.

 

I hope you like the Diadema. We have been on her twice and are thinking of going again in a few months. It really does not matter to us that we go to the same places yet again! We'll just try and do something different and still go to our favourite restaurants in Palma and Savona.

 

I was going to tell people about a place in Savona and post some photos. Let me have a try.

 

Emanuella's Tiramisu:IMG_20161112_133234%20-%20Copy%20-%20Copy%20-%20Copy_zpsxtewwsjg.jpg

 

Amazing pizza and cheap wine by the carafe:

20161112_123705_zpshuuldcik.jpg

 

The restaurant is called Solo because you can only have pizza. Emanuella is the owner's wife and she makes a few desserts. The meal was dirt cheap. I think about €20. It's tiny and usually full of locals and Costa staff. We have never been when it was warm enough to sit outside but it looks as if the might use an area opposite in summer.

 

Have you been given a table in Corona Blu? It is any time dining but the same as the main dining room. Lots of tables for two at the back of the buffet restaurant that is closed off in the eveings. It is really nice and you can try and get the same table every night or if you like your servers at least in the same area.

 

The only thing about the ship that I did not like was that the sound engineer must be deaf or a teenager thinking that if you crank the volume up the music sounds better. We thought both times it was just too loud and impossible to enjoy in the theatre. The bars were OK except for the one at the back( I think Theodora). By the way if it is warm enough it is great to sit outside in this bar. You might be lucky in some ports. We had 18 or 19 degrees in Barcelona in February last year.

 

Less than 4 weeks to our India cruise now. Can't wait.

 

Happy cruising.

 

Alicat

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Next stop Palma de Mallorca:

 

It was a rather dreary start to the day. We did not mind too much because our main reason for wanting to visit Palma was another visit to Forn de Sant Joan. We found this amazing restaurant 2 years ago when we were on the Diadema and when we visit last year they were closed and we were very disappointed.

 

The plan was to get to Belver Castle because of the views. We got a taxi outside the port entrance and he dropped us at the ticket office at the castle. It was a rip off but far too far to walk. By the time we entered the castle it was pouring with rain and we wandered through the rooms. Not hugely entertaining. Eventually the rain stopped and the sun broke through and we were rewarded with amazing views towards the harbour, city and mountains.

 

It was quite difficult to find a way down. Once again too far too walk and the taxis at the top were all pre-booked. One of the friendly taxi guys gave us a ride down to a taxi waiting area for €5. We managed to then get a taxi to the area next to the cathedral.

 

It is worth visiting the cathedral. The stained glass windows are beautiful and look out for the modern mural on the right of building.

 

Unfortunately I do not have photos of any of these.

 

Next stop Forn. They have a good value lunch menu but we came for their tapas. This is tapas with a difference and so delicious.

 

They first off serve some amazing dips and crispy bread and amazing olives.

 

We ordered a few plates:

20161108_133732_zps6ndcqz5x.jpg

 

Calamari and large prawns with parmasan. Both superb.

 

20161108_135051_zpsjtamvx4n.jpg

 

Jambon croquetas and pork with orange and ginger.

 

http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u421/rbdupreez/20161108_142125_zps8exgttou.jpg

 

This was the most amazing pudding ever , mainly because those gold balls were popping candy! I was deprived of popping candy as a child(just did not get it then) and I love the stuff.

 

We enjoyed our lunch a lot but found the service rather rushed this time. We strolled back to the area where we were previously dropped off and went back to the ship.

 

20161108_180351_zpsxzqmdfqd.jpg

 

One of the photos taken when we sailed from Palma.

 

Once again I find Photobucket a nightmare. It seems to selectively decide which photos it will upload and it is unbelievably slow.

 

I am afraid I am going to let the rest of this ramble be because it is just far too frustrating.

 

We were very happy with our upgrade. Our cabin steward Jordan kept the place spick and span. We cannot really see the point of the butler. Han dropped menus off and made sure that out fruit bowl was full. Not that we ate much of it.

 

The drinks package included some premium brands which were nice to have and it was a bonus to have more wines to choose from and we were pleasantly surprised by how good some of them were. We have no issues with the standard of the wine on Piu Gusto though a disgruntled CC person called them "rock gut". Not sure whether it was a typo but I thought poor quality wine is called "rot gut" and the Piu gusto wines are not.

I'll try and find an alternative to photobucket to post photos and will take lots when we are on the NeoClassica in India. 34 days to go.

 

Thanks for following and happy cruising to all.

 

Alicat

 

Yes, it was a typo, should have said rotgut.

Interestingly, my main point was that Costa was conveniently "out of stock" of all but the cheapest wines by the glass, so our upgraded drink package (Intenditore) was useless for wines. We live in the major wine growing region of California and do not bother with poor quality wines.

Disgruntled-no. Cultivated-yes.

Edited by tnt10
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Hi TNT10

 

You really made me laugh out loud.

 

I stopped drinking box wine after I left university and could afford something decent. I lived in Cape Town for 16 years and had access to amazing wines. Europe is on my doorstep and we do driving holidays in France on a regular basis. I love Italian wines. At home we drink mostly NZ sauvigon and Italian reds though I have a friend who lives in the Dordoigne and he brings me the odd bottle from his local Chateau.

 

I have no issues with the cheap wines on Costa and find them quite palatable.

 

As for the booze package which is part of the deal when you book a suite:

1)I won't pay the extra for it. We stick to Piu gusto.

2)We had an upgrade to a suite so we are cheap skates.

 

I do find it quite offensive that you think because some of us like Costa and put up with what you think makes us uncultivated or worse.

 

Enjoy your Californian wines and an alternative cruise line.

 

Another Costa cheer leader!

 

Alicat58

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And the uncultivatedones shall inherit the Piu Gusto

 

and the wine snobs shall inherit the rot gut stuff.

 

Anyone looking for a beer war?:eek:

 

We live in the one of major brewing regions of Bavaria and do not bother with poor quality cruise forum wine snobbery.

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