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New to Costa is it really worth it?


Velvetwater
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I am having a time deciding on cruises at the moment, one of which is the Costa Magica to Morocco and Spain this summer. We are a young married couple with no kids who enjoy active lines with activities like Trivia and good eats but we sail for ports.

 

The positives seem to be: the Carnivalesque decor Italian style which would make us feel at home, the slightly different ports to usual fare, the very cheap drinks package and Italian/med food choices.

 

The negatives seem to be: People say passengers are rude on Med routes, no eating options apart from MDR and you have to sit with others, the nickel n dime of charging for everything (water/room service), staff that do not care and the tips you have to pay (so if I got bad servcie there would be nothing I could do).

 

 

Are these opinions from others unfounded or am I worrying about things more than I should?

 

Thanks.

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So let's take your points one by one:

 

1.Decor. For many passengers the decor on Costa ships is way over the top.

 

2. Different ports. Costa has always offered interesting ports, it was the fiorst cruise line sailing out of Dubai, Indian Ocean and Far East.

 

3. Most activities could be in 5 languages, with Italian being the most predominant.

 

4. The All Inclusive Drinks Package is excellent value for money.

 

5. What is being rude? Costa is multinational / multicultural, different countries - different traditions and cultures. The Med. is no different than other cruising regions.

 

6. For breakfast there is room service, MDR or buffet, lunch - MDR, buffet & grill, dinner MDR or speciality restaurant or Samsara Restaurant (latter pair are chargeable).

 

7. You can always request a table for 2 in MDR.

 

8. All cruise lines are trimming what they offer in order to stay competive.

 

9. There always was a charge for room service on Costa, but now if you book a Premium Category cabin the room service is free.

 

10. Costa staff are the best, well informed and helpful of any cruise line that I have been on.

 

11. The Service Charge is automatic and must be paid, this is so that passengers cannot nickle and dime. So if you got bad service (you would cancel the service charge - if you could and therefor penalise ALL of the crew) you cann always compalin to the person in question's superior or at the Guest Relations Desk.

 

12. Cruising is done on a ship not on a therapist desk.

 

Don't worry, be cruising.

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I've never cruised on Costa, but I'll admit I'm Costa-curious. (It may be in my future, at some point).

The following isn't directed at the OP (or anyone in particular), so please don't take offence. Simply an observation about what I've seen/heard in general...

 

I have to say, I'm always amused when people put lots of stock in the decor of one ship or cruise line over another. IMHO, unless I were actually buying the ship, to me the decor, whether it be beautiful, cringe-worthy or actually laughable (seriously, pink zebra wallpaper in the elevator banks?), wouldn't factor into my selection process at all.

 

Carry on...

 

Oh, yeah. The pink zebra was on Carnival Splendor. :)

Edited by srlafleur
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Some thoughts, in no particular order:

There was a recent poll on CC, 2/3 of replies picked the answer that translated as "Pretend to sell me a cheap cruise, then nickle-and-dime me on board". Hypocrisy gets no sympathy from me.

I firmly believe there are two Costas- one is European vacation, kids-travel-free promotion. Stay away from those, be suspicious of reviews that don't specify. The longer, more expensive cruises, which includes Miami into the Caribbean, will have a much older mix.

If your travel agent can't explain the waterusa and hotel service charge, they better have the cheapest price, because they're ignorant of the product and are doing nothing to justify their commission,

If your idea of "good" food is "just like the local truck stop" or "Florida buffet restaurant", then Costa is not for you. Again, a competent travel agent will explain the food options. I rate the restaurant service on my recent trip as at least as good as Holland America and Princess last fall.

Bar prices are about the same as I'm paying right now in France.

English is the working language for the hotel staff, all safety announcements are in English, English-speakers may be only 5-10% in the Med, but English-speakers are seated together.

When it comes to music and dancing on a cruise ship- after 60+ cruises, I say no other cruise line comes anywhere close to Costa.

Edited by Dancer Bob
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Thanks for the replies! :)

 

Decor isn't crazy important to me but It would be kind of sweet to step on another 'Farcused' creation to remind us of our first time. If we sailed on the Mediterrania/Atlantica we would also be sailing on our beloved Spirit class.

 

Very happy to cruise with anyone/any nationality but I read all these reviews where people were saying Italians pushed in lines and pushed them out of events and the nightclubs on Med cruises so we hope this isn't true. We have been to Italy a lot though as we love it and have a certain comfort with Italian manners as they are not the hospitality capital of Europe but nice enough.

 

As for food we fly somewhere between being Gourmet and Gourmand after having eating in many places around the world. We like the good stuff but do quite like to chow down on lots of more relaxed fare too.

 

We don't use travel agents but understand the tipping policy in America but it does seem after looking at the other cruise lines (Inc main competitor MSC) that charging for water in the dining room, split premium pricing, room service charges if you are not premium and limited dining options in the evening etc feel a little more 'cruise cut' than most but the drinks package is certainly a bargain with the Euro exchange at the moment and a sweetener for sure. I also read a post on Costa cutting corners and staff having more of a workload so they are depressed...not sure how true that is either.

 

I really really want to like Costa as its Ports are so great and the ships would be familiar for us.

 

Is there a wide range of ages on board? We love it when we meet cruisers our age on ships (we are 28).

Edited by Velvetwater
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Hi!

 

Just coming back to say its kind of almost looking like a Costa cruise is a gogo...although we are likely opting for a 7 day cruise out of Trieste. I felt a little better after getting some responses that weren't crazy reviewers

 

We are a little confuzzled though with booking. I did a mock booking on Costa and it would not let me pick my own cabin. Whats more the Premium outsides on the ship are less desirable than the classic ones (theres a certain type of cabin I have had on her sister) and I want Premium so I can choose dining options/have room service but I dont want the premium cabin location...I want the classic location!Will Costa let me do this?

 

Thanks again.

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Hi!

 

 

 

Just coming back to say its kind of almost looking like a Costa cruise is a gogo...although we are likely opting for a 7 day cruise out of Trieste. I felt a little better after getting some responses that weren't crazy reviewers

 

 

 

We are a little confuzzled though with booking. I did a mock booking on Costa and it would not let me pick my own cabin. Whats more the Premium outsides on the ship are less desirable than the classic ones (theres a certain type of cabin I have had on her sister) and I want Premium so I can choose dining options/have room service but I dont want the premium cabin location...I want the classic location!Will Costa let me do this?

 

 

 

Thanks again.

 

 

Sounds like you were on the Fortuna in the past.

 

Doubtful Costa will let you book a Premium in a Classic location but I have wondered if they would do that as well.

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Have sailed with Costa twice and would have to think seriously about using them again. (See review of Costa Serena Building Site).

 

Much of the choice is pro's and cons

 

They are cheap and visit some interesting places.

 

Food in MDR is okay but not 5*

 

Entertainment is subjective.

 

Buffet food okay but repetitive. Beware they cannot cook fried eggs.

 

Cabins are okay.

 

Reception staff are ignorant and could not care less.

 

AI drinks - depends what you drink as they may "run out" as has happened twice. Drinks at times struggling to have alcohol in them.

 

If you do not take AI drinks it will cost you a fortune for water etc.

 

Basically you get what you pay for - there are better cruise liens and there are worse. If you think you are getting a good deal take it.

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can someone please explain to me the meaning of "waterusa - mineral water by the glass " ?

 

 

Water USA is a package that is included free with bookings made in the USA. It is "tradition" to receive water free with most meals in the U.S.

 

It only works for lunch or dinner in the main dining room

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I cruised with Costa once and it was a very great experience!

Altough i have only cruised with Costa once ( i would love to do more cruises ) my family still cruises with Costa very often, actually my aunt and grandma are currently on a cruise with Favolosa!

And they always come back very excited!

 

I have only read negative reviews about the Diadema so i am not sure about that ship but i think that on all the other ships you will have a blast for sure!

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  • 6 months later...

My wife and I are going on our 4th cruise together in February on the Diadema. Yes, I've read the reviews and a lot of them are negative. However, having cruised with Costa before and parsing through the reviews, I'd say it's a great cruise line. We enjoy meeting Europeans, as well as Americans, British, Canadians, etc who appreciate the European feel aboard Costa's ships. The ports of call are very interesting (I mean, who doesn't want to visit Spain, France, and Italy in one week?), the food is excellent, and being a coffee fiend, I can't wait for the espresso! As a contrast, the cappuccino and espresso on the 2 Carnival ships we've been on were not good at all. And then there's the AI beverage package. Carnival's version was almost 2x as expensive as Costa, didn't include coffee (not that it was that good to begin with, see above), and didn't include the 15% service charge, so we decided not to opt for that. I understand that some people object to paying for water and room service (not an issue for us, with the beverage package, Water USA and booking a premium cabin), and I'm personally not a fan of the cattle call buffets. I prefer to dine in the MDR for breakfast and dinner, and we'll be on shore for lunch, anyway. Lastly, like all cruises, they are what you make of them. I don't gamble and the shows are okay, but I'm always worn out from excursions most nights and prefer going to bed after the (late) dinner. The one thing I can't decide is whether to upgrade to a balcony. We'll be cruising from Feb 13-20, and it's not exactly balmy in the Western Mediterranean that time of year.

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I would book an outside premium and hope for an upgrade DCGuy64 :)

 

 

We already did-yesterday our TA got us a great deal on a Premium Balcony. We're really looking forward to it!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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