Teens on Costa?

My family is considering a Norway/Northern Europe cruise on Costa, a line we have not sailed before. We will be traveling with our teens, ages 14 and soon to be 18. They are very fond of Carnival's teen program but absolutely HATED Royal Caribbean's. I am curious as to how Costa's compares (or if they even have a program for teens). Can anyone share their experiences?

Thanks!

Our kids are not yet teens but Costa does have a teen programme. I don't rate their kids programme - unless you speak German or Italian, you do appear to be at a loss! While all the staff speak English very well, they don't tend to use it that much when interacting with the kids!

If I was to guess, as Anglophones, your kids will hate it!

Our kids are not yet teens but Costa does have a teen programme. I don't rate their kids programme - unless you speak German or Italian, you do appear to be at a loss! While all the staff speak English very well, they don't tend to use it that much when interacting with the kids!

 

If I was to guess, as Anglophones, your kids will hate it!

Thanks, tomvet. Uh oh! Well, we took the plunge and booked this cruise. This cruise was massively discounted and we found a really great airfare from Air Canada, so it was the proverbial "offer we couldn't refuse." This will be our first trip across the Atlantic, so we are all very excited.

I'm not going to tell them they will hate it, but I will tell them that they are not known for their Teen club. :p

My kids are 14 and soon to be 18, so while they don't spend a ton of time in the teen club in the past doing club activities they have sort of used it as a meeting place for kids they've met. After four years of high school honors Spanish my daughter speaks Spanish pretty fluently (and will be a Spanish major in college) so hopefully that will help her out and allow her the opportunity to use her Spanish skills (and possibly help her decipher Italian while on the cruise).

My son is very athletic, so he will be quite at home on the sports court. I'm sure he'll find some other teens to play soccer/football or basketball with, whether or not they speak English.

Thanks, tomvet. Uh oh! Well, we took the plunge and booked this cruise. This cruise was massively discounted and we found a really great airfare from Air Canada, so it was the proverbial "offer we couldn't refuse." This will be our first trip across the Atlantic, so we are all very excited.

 

I'm not going to tell them they will hate it, but I will tell them that they are not known for their Teen club. :p

 

My kids are 14 and soon to be 18, so while they don't spend a ton of time in the teen club in the past doing club activities they have sort of used it as a meeting place for kids they've met. After four years of high school honors Spanish my daughter speaks Spanish pretty fluently (and will be a Spanish major in college) so hopefully that will help her out and allow her the opportunity to use her Spanish skills (and possibly help her decipher Italian while on the cruise).

 

My son is very athletic, so he will be quite at home on the sports court. I'm sure he'll find some other teens to play soccer/football or basketball with, whether or not they speak English.

We have done two Costa northern European / Norway cruises. There is loads to do in the ports and I find you don't spend as much in Northern Europe ports (particularly Norway funnily enough - the scenery is free :) ) as you do elsewhere. You can see my reviews here:

Costa Pacifica

http://www.cruisingmates.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=266&t=8937

Costa Favolosa

http://www.cruisingmates.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=266&t=10245

We have done two Costa northern European / Norway cruises. There is loads to do in the ports and I find you don't spend as much in Northern Europe ports (particularly Norway funnily enough - the scenery is free :) ) as you do elsewhere. You can see my reviews here:

 

Costa Pacifica

http://www.cruisingmates.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=266&t=8937

 

Costa Favolosa

http://www.cruisingmates.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=266&t=10245

Thanks for posting your reviews, tomvet. We are booked on the Favolosa, so I read and enjoyed your review. Very helpful!

P.S. -- Your kids are adorable!

Thanks for posting your reviews, tomvet. We are booked on the Favolosa, so I read and enjoyed your review. Very helpful!

 

P.S. -- Your kids are adorable!

Thanks Laurin. We loved Favolosa.

We are off on MSC Opera to the Canary Isl next week. Just hope those kids are still adorably - they are almost at the terrible two right now and its tough going! :):):)

Best not tell them......

Just back from Favolosa, great ship, staff good and the food was the best we have had on a Costa.

We had 2 17 yr olds, a 10 yr old and a 7 yr old. They never went to the clubs once this time, we have been on Costa before and they have been but as mentioned, its mainly for the Italians and Germans. My kids didnt hate it, in fact we left them in the clubs one day when we went off. Its just if we asked them, they said they would rather stay with us. Fine with me, we werent night owls or heavy drinkers. We had first sitting, then picked up a cocktail on the way to the theatre lounge, watched the show, didnt rush out, picked up another drink as walked to the rear bar for some music.....by now its 10:30!!!! Up on deck to look at the stars and see any lights......walk about a bit....suddenly its 11:45 and we are up for the next port at 8 so its bed time.

Pick up a cocktail on the way down......(there is a theme forning here), and by the time we have had a hand of Uno...(kids idea not mine but i win everyone), its bed.

Costa seem to have less sea days in the Med, so kids were off with us.

Like I said, there is a club, if they are a little shy they wont enjoy it too much due to language, the teens club seemed to do stuff I wouldn't really want my kids to do......those Europeans are a bit ahead than us brits!

Best not tell them......

Just back from Favolosa, great ship, staff good and the food was the best we have had on a Costa.

We had 2 17 yr olds, a 10 yr old and a 7 yr old. They never went to the clubs once this time, we have been on Costa before and they have been but as mentioned, its mainly for the Italians and Germans. My kids didnt hate it, in fact we left them in the clubs one day when we went off. Its just if we asked them, they said they would rather stay with us. Fine with me, we werent night owls or heavy drinkers. We had first sitting, then picked up a cocktail on the way to the theatre lounge, watched the show, didnt rush out, picked up another drink as walked to the rear bar for some music.....by now its 10:30!!!! Up on deck to look at the stars and see any lights......walk about a bit....suddenly its 11:45 and we are up for the next port at 8 so its bed time.

Pick up a cocktail on the way down......(there is a theme forning here), and by the time we have had a hand of Uno...(kids idea not mine but i win everyone), its bed.

Costa seem to have less sea days in the Med, so kids were off with us.

Like I said, there is a club, if they are a little shy they wont enjoy it too much due to language, the teens club seemed to do stuff I wouldn't really want my kids to do......those Europeans are a bit ahead than us brits!

Thanks for the info, malnik. Sorry for the delayed reply! Glad to hear that your kids didn't hate the kids club! My kids are not shy--they are pretty outgoing and are looking forward to expanding their horizons and enjoy the idea of meeting people from other countries.

I have to say, you've made me curious about what exactly the Teen Club is doing that you don't want your kids to do! It makes me wonder where we (as liberal leaning Americans) would fit in between Brits and Europeans on a permissiveness level. :confused:

As it is, my daughter will be turning 18 about 10 days before our cruise. My husband and I are planning to purchase the beverage package for us and the children's beverage package for the kids--but our travel agent informed us that we will now HAVE to purchase the ADULT beverage package for our newly 18 year old daughter if we are purchasing it for ourselves. Considering the drinking age in the U.S. is 21, this should prove...interesting. :eek:

I have to say, you've made me curious about what exactly the Teen Club is doing that you don't want your kids to do! It makes me wonder where we (as liberal leaning Americans) would fit in between Brits and Europeans on a permissiveness level. :confused:

On my last Costa cruise, one game involved the boys standing up as a pole and the girls performing a lap dance on them. :rolleyes: I can tell you because the casino was divided from the teen disco by glass panels, so adults could see everything they were doing (including the interesting "Miss Costa" parade :p). As an Italian, I know that we are much more permissive with teens that English speaking countries, anyway the teen Club program seemed very good to me... the activities lasted way past midnight every night.

About the drinking package, well here in Italy teenagers often drink more than their parents, so an 18 years old who doesn't drink is definitly unusual for us.

On my last Costa cruise, one game involved the boys standing up as a pole and the girls performing a lap dance on them. :rolleyes: I can tell you because the casino was divided from the teen disco by glass panels, so adults could see everything they were doing (including the interesting "Miss Costa" parade :p). As an Italian, I know that we are much more permissive with teens that English speaking countries, anyway the teen Club program seemed very good to me... the activities lasted way past midnight every night.

About the drinking package, well here in Italy teenagers often drink more than their parents, so an 18 years old who doesn't drink is definitly unusual for us.

Ha! Interesting. I read your post to my daughter and she also rolled her eyes about the lapdancing thing. That definitely wouldn't happen on Carnival or Royal Caribbean!

Re my daughter, I don't mean to give the impression that she has never had an alcoholic beverage. She has--she is just not really into drinking. When I was 17...well, that was a different story. ;)

Ha! Interesting. I read your post to my daughter and she also rolled her eyes about the lapdancing thing. That definitely wouldn't happen on Carnival or Royal Caribbean!

The two finalists of the "Miss Costa" game had to kiss as many guys as they could in order to win the competition. Of course, french kisses were not required, but the 15-years-old from Sardinia who won took the game pretty seriously :p.

Another difference is that the teen club moves to the disco at night and the disco is the same used by adults... I don't think there are "adult only" venues or shows on Costa ships (besides the Casino). In general, in Italy almost nothing is considered inappropriate for kids over 14 unless it is explicit pornography or gambling (not even getting drunk in public places).

As for the language, it shouldn't be a problem, because on Costa ships the staff repeats everything in 4 or 5 languages. It may get boring, but at least everybody understands. Italian teens also speak English much better than adults on average.

The two finalists of the "Miss Costa" game had to kiss as many guys as they could in order to win the competition. Of course, french kisses were not required, but the 15-years-old from Sardinia who won took the game pretty seriously :p.

 

Another difference is that the teen club moves to the disco at night and the disco is the same used by adults... I don't think there are "adult only" venues or shows on Costa ships (besides the Casino). In general, in Italy almost nothing is considered inappropriate for kids over 14 unless it is explicit pornography or gambling (not even getting drunk in public places).

 

As for the language, it shouldn't be a problem, because on Costa ships the staff repeats everything in 4 or 5 languages. It may get boring, but at least everybody understands. Italian teens also speak English much better than adults on average.

Thanks for the info. I'm sure we'll all have a great time, my teens in particular!

You will have a great time. LeoEdre is correct, the disco has a glass wall up to the entertainment deck so you can see all that goes on. He is also right about the teen entertainment! We saw similar.

My 17 yr old boy wasnt keen on going.....I think our sensibilities have rubbed off on him. Didnt stop him trying to get an alcoholic cocktail or 3 though!

With regard to the drinks.....have you thought about getting prepaid soft drinks and wine packages instead of the all inclusive? I think i mentioned, for us as low to medium drinkers, its borderline. We did keep all the receipts a few years ago and on a cold winter day added them all up! We purchased almost exactly the same cost either buying individually or all inclusive.

Im not sure what id do if my lad had turned 18.......!!!! I do however think girls are a lot more sensible....and if your family is like mine, we like to spend time on ship together!

And if you buy the vouchers or all inc on board, it goes towards your Costa Club spend total.

Mediteranea in May......leaving him at home!!!! If anyone spots a Facebook page about a party at my place...please let me know!!!!

You will have a great time. LeoEdre is correct, the disco has a glass wall up to the entertainment deck so you can see all that goes on. He is also right about the teen entertainment! We saw similar.

My 17 yr old boy wasnt keen on going.....I think our sensibilities have rubbed off on him. Didnt stop him trying to get an alcoholic cocktail or 3 though!

With regard to the drinks.....have you thought about getting prepaid soft drinks and wine packages instead of the all inclusive? I think i mentioned, for us as low to medium drinkers, its borderline. We did keep all the receipts a few years ago and on a cold winter day added them all up! We purchased almost exactly the same cost either buying individually or all inclusive.

Im not sure what id do if my lad had turned 18.......!!!! I do however think girls are a lot more sensible....and if your family is like mine, we like to spend time on ship together!

And if you buy the vouchers or all inc on board, it goes towards your Costa Club spend total.

Mediteranea in May......leaving him at home!!!! If anyone spots a Facebook page about a party at my place...please let me know!!!!

Thanks for the note, malnik.

It will be interesting to see how my teens react to the Teen Club activities. I will be sure to report back in July. :)

As far as alcoholic beverages go, my husband mostly drinks beer and I'm not a big wine drinker (I'm more of a pina colada, margarita or daiquiri girl) so the soda and wine package probably wouldn't be a good choice for us. We thought the package that costs 27.95 Euros a day sounded like a great deal, especially since Carnival charges something like US $55 per day for a similar plan. We did not buy the all-inclusive package on Carnival at that price, but the all-inclusive on Costa is much more attractively priced.

We thought about buying the packages ahead of time--are you saying that if we don't buy them onboard they don't count towards onboard Costa Club spend?

In the old Costa Club, we found prepaid drinks didnt get added to our spend for the Costa Club points, but i see on some posts the new Costa Club does count any prepaid services into the onboard spend.

So you can do it either way.

Just dont but any package in the arrivals hall as you wait to be called to board, its not all inclusive, (its the wine and soda packages), and its a strait credit card purchase, no link to your cabin card.

How is the cabin configured for sleeping 4? Is it comfortable?

How is the cabin configured for sleeping 4? Is it comfortable?

I have not cruised on Costa before, but with the exception of our honeymoon cruise in 1994, we have always cruised with our two kids and so have always gotten a quad room.

With the exception of our cruise on the Dawn Princess, which was set up like a dorm room (2 sets of bunk beds!), the rooms have been set up with two twin beds that can be put together into a queen/king and then a couch that gets turned into a bed with a pullman upper that comes out of the ceiling (so it looks like bunk beds where the kids are sleeping).

I hope that helps!

In the old Costa Club, we found prepaid drinks didnt get added to our spend for the Costa Club points, but i see on some posts the new Costa Club does count any prepaid services into the onboard spend.

So you can do it either way.

Just dont but any package in the arrivals hall as you wait to be called to board, its not all inclusive, (its the wine and soda packages), and its a strait credit card purchase, no link to your cabin card.

Thanks for the info/warning! :)

Yws, Laurin is correct. Costa cabins are all as she describes (except inside which are both extra beds in the ceiling).

The adult bed is huge when used together, my wife wants to buy the mattress as its very comfortable! You can get both sides, i.e. its not against a wall on the side.

We always put the youngest in the pullman bed, its a full size single so no problems there, very stable.

The couch under is quite comfy im told!

As for space...well its a cabin! Once the cases are away under the bed, (plenty of space), there are 2 wardrobes, take extra hangers! The third wardrobe hides shelving, we allocate a shelf a person, seems to work for me!

And the free to use safe is in there too.

The pic shows our cabin before we lived in it!!!! You can see the bed on the side still as a couch, the life jackets are on it, the pullman isn't down in this one. Once the sofa bed is made up it stays made up for the week and the pullman bed is lowered as well. On the internal cabins the pullman beds were put away each day.

Yws, Laurin is correct. Costa cabins are all as she describes (except inside which are both extra beds in the ceiling).

The adult bed is huge when used together, my wife wants to buy the mattress as its very comfortable! You can get both sides, i.e. its not against a wall on the side.

We always put the youngest in the pullman bed, its a full size single so no problems there, very stable.

The couch under is quite comfy im told!

As for space...well its a cabin! Once the cases are away under the bed, (plenty of space), there are 2 wardrobes, take extra hangers! The third wardrobe hides shelving, we allocate a shelf a person, seems to work for me!

And the free to use safe is in there too.

The pic shows our cabin before we lived in it!!!! You can see the bed on the side still as a couch, the life jackets are on it, the pullman isn't down in this one. Once the sofa bed is made up it stays made up for the week and the pullman bed is lowered as well. On the internal cabins the pullman beds were put away each day.

Thanks for the info!