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Costa Serena - It's a Building Site


moonglum
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Just returned from the 7 day middle east tour with very mixed comments.

 

We arrived and stayed overnight in Dubai before venturing down to the terminal about 3pm. Embarkation was relatively straight forward but at least we knew no cabin until 8pm which really is not acceptable. Our cabin was forward facing on deck 7 and was adequate, clean, tidy and had a comfy bed.

 

We were unaware that the atrium area on deck 5 and into the main lounge was actually a building site. Costa only told us about this in a letter to the cabin and stated that noise and disruption would be minimal - at that they were kidding. Drills, jack hammers, stihl saws and welding equipment was used daily until early evening. Had they sent a letter out to guests prior to the cruise I think they would have found a lot of people would have cancelled. The bad news for anyone joining her soon is this work will continue to at least Shanghai.

 

You were struggling to sit and enjoy a pre-dinner drink in the Atrium bar because of the noise. (reasons for not moving to another bar will be apparent later) It was so bad one night that numerous people made a complaint to Customer relations. They were basically useless as they just looked at you and said there was nothing they could do.

 

The following night it was quieter but then an electric saw started up while the duo were performing in the Atrium bar and Costa's answer to this was to turn up their volume and make conversation difficult.

 

Repeated requests to have a meeting with the Hotel director were ignored. Repeated requests were made over a 9 hour period but it was evident that no meeting was forthcoming. I informed Customer Relations that it was unacceptable but again they just looked at you. I told them not to bother as I would make my comments known on various sites. Somewhat unsurprisingly a meeting was magically arranged for the next night but this was going to clash when I was having dinner so I cancelled it.

 

On the Abu Dhabi port day the noise and smell from the work was really bad early in the evening. When challenged officers would agree it was unacceptable but when asked what they were going to do about it they just shrugged their shoulders.

 

We could not move bars because we had bought the AI package and after a day or so they had apparently depleted their supply of Bacardi. Staff would tell you it was Bacardi but it was actually dark rum - no difference is there? This situation also happened last year on the same ship so you have to question their methods. We questioned the head barman in the Atrium bar as to when supplies would be back onboard and he magically found some but only for that bar.

 

We ate mainly in the buffet for breakfast and lunch and dined in Vesta at night. Food in the buffet was adequate but repetitive. I thought the food a dinner in Vesta was off a good standard and had no complaints. The first morning we had breakfast in Ceres but due to the lifeboat drill the crew seem rushed and they were serving badly undercooked fried eggs. The waiters did not seem to understand that this was a health issue and insisted they were cooked properly!

 

Entertainment is subjective. The duo in the Atrium were good, some of the shows in the main theatre were good and the magician was terrible.

 

There was the usual issue with sunloungers. Towels would lie on them all day and staff would not remove them. My wife found a lounger without a towel and lay down on it only to be accused later by an irate German of stealing her daughter's lounger. The fact that mother and daughter had been no where to be seen for over an hour and that the daughter had her towel with her seemed irrelevant.

 

At the ports of call we, and our friends, would hire a local taxi for 3 or 4 hours and they took you round all the sites you wished to see at a fraction of the ship's tours. We had booked to go up the Burj Khalib tower in Dubai but there was a sandstorm and you saw nothing from the top which was unfortunate.

 

Apart from the construction work and hassle with the AI package it was an enjoyable enough cruise but as to whether or not I would travel with Costa again is very much open to debate. With the exception of the Customer Relation staff the majority of the crew were good but issues with no Bacardi 2 years running raises questions as to whether the AI package is worthwhile and why they do not have stocks onboard.

 

Anyone joining the ship in the next few weeks may wish to asked their travel agent about the extent of the building work.

 

While being a good deal it appears that the AI package may not be all it seems as other people also complained of them running out of their popular drink - Costa cost saving method?

 

It may well be a long time before I consider Costa again.

Edited by moonglum
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