American on Costa - Differences

Hello!

I am stumbled across a good deal on a 7 night roundtrip from Stockholm on Luminosa to Helsinki, 2 days in St.Petersburg, and Tallinn. I have wanted to visit a friend in Stockholm for a while, and St.Petersburg and Helsinki have been on my bucket list for a while. I could combine it with a pre-cruise in Oslo as well, and possibly meet up with some other friends. This cruise seems to work out nicely.

I am wondering this. As an American, I am obviously not going to be what Costa usually caters to. And leaving from Sweden and not the USA, things will certainly be different. I am 110% all for culture, every time I travel and go anywhere, I make sure I do something culture/place-oriented so I can get the true experience, whether it be trying food, talking to a local, watching dances, viewing art, etc. I loved my trip to Italy a few months ago, and have loved Europe in general, so I will not mind the dialects and diverse food choices. However, I am wondering about language onboard. Will announcements be in English as well? Will cabin stewards speak English?

Also, what are the main ship-board differences? What will stand out compared to an American cruise ship cruising through the Caribbean? Yes, please include destination-oriented facts as well.

Thanks so much in advance for the help! :D

Hello!

 

 

 

I am stumbled across a good deal on a 7 night roundtrip from Stockholm on Luminosa to Helsinki, 2 days in St.Petersburg, and Tallinn. I have wanted to visit a friend in Stockholm for a while, and St.Petersburg and Helsinki have been on my bucket list for a while. I could combine it with a pre-cruise in Oslo as well, and possibly meet up with some other friends. This cruise seems to work out nicely.

 

 

 

I am wondering this. As an American, I am obviously not going to be what Costa usually caters to. And leaving from Sweden and not the USA, things will certainly be different. I am 110% all for culture, every time I travel and go anywhere, I make sure I do something culture/place-oriented so I can get the true experience, whether it be trying food, talking to a local, watching dances, viewing art, etc. I loved my trip to Italy a few months ago, and have loved Europe in general, so I will not mind the dialects and diverse food choices. However, I am wondering about language onboard. Will announcements be in English as well? Will cabin stewards speak English?

 

 

 

Also, what are the main ship-board differences? What will stand out compared to an American cruise ship cruising through the Caribbean? Yes, please include destination-oriented facts as well.

 

 

 

Thanks so much in advance for the help! :D

Do it. I'm an American that has traveled on Costa many times. English is the main communication language of the staff and many guests. All announcements will also be in English. Usually last.

Guests dress much nicer than on America cruise ships. You will also feel like you have less "personal space"

Travel with an open mind and you will have a great time.

I agree with the above. My wife and I love experiencing European culture, food, and most of all, Europeans! Caveat: I speak 7 languages fluently, so I'm never at a loss for something to say. My wife speaks Spanish, English, and understands Italian and some German and French. We love Costa. The vast majority of the staff we encountered were Filipino, Indonesian and Indian, all of whom had excellent English. Just be prepared (as it sounds like you already are) for things to be different than America. Just know that you're going overseas and you'll have a great time. Some Americans (and even more British, it seems) expect everything to be just like "back home" and take to this forum to vent their anger and disappointment. What a shame, Costa is fantastic and we loved trying to guess which languages people were speaking. You'll have a great time, enjoy!

We have just sailed on the Luminosa in October and it was fantastic. We have also sailed with NCL. There are a few differences between the two, meal times are different, Costa had the usual choices at breakfast in the buffet but if you want a cooked breakfast you are best off eating in MDR, lunch again really good choices in the buffet, afternoon tea in the buffet served from 4.30pm which was the usual cookies, cakes and tea/coffee. The buffet then closes! 1st sitting for dinner was 6.30pm and 2nd sitting 8.30pm, this is a 5 course meal and portions I think just right for 5 courses, there is no coffee served with this, you have to go to bar afterwards but we found there was 1 machine in the buffet which was open in the evening for water, tea and coffee. There is no buffet option for meals in the evening. We had no language problems at all. There is usually a formal night which means elegant dress code but there were a few men who just wore a smart shirt with no tie so it's up to you how smart you want to dress. We had a white night and an Italian night. There is lots of dancing which was really good fun to watch! The main theatre shows were more visual, acrobats and the like. There were very few British and Americans on our cruise but that didn't bother us at all, most of the passengers were really nice but they have no idea how to queue so you just have to be like them and go with the flow! Hope this helps but we loved it.

"I am stumbled across a good deal on a 7 night roundtrip from Stockholm on Luminosa to Helsinki, 2 days in St.Petersburg, and Tallinn. I have wanted to visit a friend in Stockholm for a while, and St.Petersburg and Helsinki have been on my bucket list for a while. I could combine it with a pre-cruise in Oslo as well, and possibly meet up with some other friends. This cruise seems to work out nicely."

If this is the sailing that leaves Stockholm on May 28th, my husband and I will be on it. We too have never done a Costa cruise before, but we are both very excited and are looking forward to it.

I agree with the above. My wife and I love experiencing European culture, food, and most of all, Europeans! Caveat: I speak 7 languages fluently, so I'm never at a loss for something to say. My wife speaks Spanish, English, and understands Italian and some German and French. We love Costa. The vast majority of the staff we encountered were Filipino, Indonesian and Indian, all of whom had excellent English. Just be prepared (as it sounds like you already are) for things to be different than America. Just know that you're going overseas and you'll have a great time. Some Americans (and even more British, it seems) expect everything to be just like "back home" and take to this forum to vent their anger and disappointment. What a shame, Costa is fantastic and we loved trying to guess which languages people were speaking. You'll have a great time, enjoy!

My Wife and I are British and certainly do not expect things to be just like "back home". We have cruised with Costa, MSC and 9 other Cruiselines and enjoyed them all.

I've taken many Costa cruises and love them -- especially for dancing and all the fun from the animation team. My only problem when cruising in Europe is that it is often hard to find an English speaking tour. We have signed up for the advertised English tours often to be told the day before that the tour is cancelled, and no other tours (that we want to go on) are available in English. If you can get by in another language, you're a step ahead of the game. Good luck and have a great time!!!!

I've taken many Costa cruises and love them -- especially for dancing and all the fun from the animation team. My only problem when cruising in Europe is that it is often hard to find an English speaking tour. We have signed up for the advertised English tours often to be told the day before that the tour is cancelled, and no other tours (that we want to go on) are available in English. If you can get by in another language, you're a step ahead of the game. Good luck and have a great time!!!!

We like Costa for the same reasons.

We used to book English only tours and then have them cancelled on us too. Then we started to book with the Italians and never had one cancelled. What we do now is sit near the tour guide on the bus and walk close to them on the tour. Every tour guide we have done this speaks English.

We like Costa for the same reasons.

 

 

 

We used to book English only tours and then have them cancelled on us too. Then we started to book with the Italians and never had one cancelled. What we do now is sit near the tour guide on the bus and walk close to them on the tour. Every tour guide we have done this speaks English.

I speak fluent Italian, German, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Norwegian, so chances are I'll understand. Now if the tour is in Russian or Hungarian, I'm in trouble, LOL.

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cruisex hasn't interacted again, so not sure if paying attention.

But I'll add that I've never seen so much cappuccino or espresso being served on a cruiseship! It seemed every bar had a machine. I did this same itinerary and had no English tours cancelled. Many non-Italians joined the English tour and didn't pay attention to the tour guide. (So stay near the guide and avoid conversations.)

The entertainment is different each night and the different production shows are, let's say, a bit more sexy than Royal C. Even the interactions with the passengers was very flirtatious, aka Italian. Most of the singing and verbal entertainment was in English.

The cruise staff spoke about four languages aloud at events.

Definitely take the line dancing classes as they are the dances at the White Party.

The food was mostly Italian and delicious in the regular dining room, but I missed having the buffet (snacks) available after a night of entertainment.

The early dining seating interfered with many sailaways and sunsets. I would book 8:30 instead.

cruisex hasn't interacted again, so not sure if paying attention.

 

 

 

But I'll add that I've never seen so much cappuccino or espresso being served on a cruiseship! It seemed every bar had a machine. I did this same itinerary and had no English tours cancelled. Many non-Italians joined the English tour and didn't pay attention to the tour guide. (So stay near the guide and avoid conversations.)

 

The entertainment is different each night and the different production shows are, let's say, a bit more sexy than Royal C. Even the interactions with the passengers was very flirtatious, aka Italian. Most of the singing and verbal entertainment was in English.

 

The cruise staff spoke about four languages aloud at events.

 

Definitely take the line dancing classes as they are the dances at the White Party.

 

The food was mostly Italian and delicious in the regular dining room, but I missed having the buffet (snacks) available after a night of entertainment.

 

The early dining seating interfered with many sailaways and sunsets. I would book 8:30 instead.

The cappuccino and espresso are two of the reasons I most love Italian ships! We also booked the later dining time, mostly because we can stay onshore later and have time to change/relax/have cocktails before dinner.

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