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Our first Costa cruise trip Luminosa 1st July


spideygirl
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I have just submitted this but not everyone reads them so thought some of this stuff maybe useful to others. :)

 

Cruise Costa Luminosa 1st –8th July 2017

We have just returned from our first cruiseon Costa. After reading lots of negativereports I did go with some trepidation. However the whole cruise exceeded my expectations and wonder if I was onthe same cruise line as the people complaining.

The whole package was booked throughan online travel agent far cheaper than booking direct. There was four of us me, hubby, two daughtersage 23 and 16. We chose a premierbalcony cabin with drinks package. Wehad cabin 6339 in the middle of the ship.

We left home very early to catch theflight with Ryan air to Venice Marco Polo airport. The flight was fine I was a bit nervous if itwas delayed or cancelled then not sure how we would get there. But booking as a package I knew we wereprotected. I had pre booked 4 singletickets for the express coach to VeneziaP.zzale Roma this was booked direct with their website for 1 eurocheaper than paying on the day. I paid 7euros per person, if I had booked a return then it would have been cheaper thanthat. However I wanted to return from Mestrestation so booked singles. This workedvery well but a bit pushy getting onto the coach. The suitcases are loaded by yourself onto thecoach and then showing the ticket you get on. We got to Roma bus station within 25 mins without any stops. I know that ACTV do a bus for the same pricebut it is a local bus and stops everywhere. We then debated walking from there to the ship but the people mover wasthere for a reason. I think even thoughit was walkable it would not have been easy with suitcases. Don’t be put off by the queues at the peoplemover it is only for the automated ticket machines that take notes andcards. It will cost 1.5 euros each but worthit. From the people mover it was a 10min walk to the ship luckily we had wheeled cases. There is a shuttle that takes you there ifyou can’t manage. Wechecked in all our luggage and went through to the hall to wait to becalled. We were given ‘9’ so knew itwouldn’t be too long. I did find thatpeople with much higher numbers kept trying to get through but were turnedaway. However they did just stand thereblocking the entrance a bit. Why? They are not getting on any quicker. The check-in process was quick and we skirtedaround the photographer as we were all grubby and didn’t want our phototaken. We then got on board and immediatelywent to our cabin to drop off our carryons and pick up our cards. First impressionof the ship was how beautiful it was. Ifmay be a bit over the top but very glitzy and why not.

Cabin 6339Premium balcony

We reallyliked our cabin the room was made up for 4 sleeping and was left that way thewhole cruise. This was perfect for us asif we all wanted a nap we all had somewhere to sleep. There was loads of storage two big wardrobesand one shelving unit. There was also asmall chest of drawers, a cupboard and two small bedside cupboards. We could fit two of the cases under the bedbut the others we stacked in the corner of the room. If we weren’t using both wardrobes then Iassume we could have put them there. Thecabin was very clean and kept that way the whole cruise. There was a fridge which we used for some snackitems. However be aware that on the lastnight they lock the fridge and not sure what happened to the cake I had in there! I didn’t want it but wondered if there wassomething else then would it be lost. The balcony was a great size but with 4in the cabin could do with 4 chairs. However every cruise line we have been on only gives 2 chairs.

Dinning

We chosethe early seating 6:45 pm and wanted a table for 4, which we got. We did debate long and hard about whether wewanted the early or late seating. Inhind sight we maybe should have chosen the late seating for some days we wereback on board and had missed dinner, but there are pros and cons. The late seating is very late and dinner is along process. You are not rushed and it would take a couple of hours to havedinner. We loved the slow pace and itfelt like an event more than just food. Our server just had 3 or 4 tables to look after so we were very wellcatered for. He remembered andanticipated our requirements each night. We always had a bottle of wine ready for us and some sprite for our 16year old. Very polite and courteousyoung man. The singing and dancingwaiters one night was excellent they really put everything into it and got tremendousapplause at the end. One night they hadto dance with each of the female guests in turn. The quality of the food exceeded myexpectations (after reading reviews!). It was perfect for us we love the Mediterranean diet, with the smallerportions and more courses. Some we likedmore than others but they were all cooked and presented really well.

We triedthe breakfast/lunch in the buffet and in the restaurant. It wascalmer and more relaxed in the sit down restaurant. We could all eat together and there wasn’tthe long queues of the buffet. I likedthe breakfast style continental where you could order hot food if you wanted inthe restaurant. There was also hot foodin the help your self-section of the restaurant. The lunch was all served at the table and wasnice to eat in a calm and ordered manor. We did find queuing in the buffet a bit stressful and by the time youhave done it and found a table it was cold. Everyone queued nicely but one women insisted on holding up the wholequeue as there was no chips left and wanted to wait for them! Why didn’t she stand back and let peoplethrough but her plate was not moving from the section! I find buffet stressful in very cruise linethough not just Costa. I was disappointedthere was no pizza but I knew there wouldn’t be but hoped. You could buy it in the evening but you didn’tsee many people doing that.

Drinks

We boughtthe drinks package Brindi which turned out to be an excellent buy. Drinks are not cheap on board and being ableto get what we liked was great. We arenot huge drinkers but it soon adds up, coffee, wine, prosecco, beer etc. Definitely worth it and made it so easy. The waiters were great very courteous andquick we rarely had to wait around very long. I prepaid via my travel agent and it worked out loads cheaper thanpaying on board or direct with costa. Ipaid about £450 for 3 adults and 1 child for a 7 night cruise.

Excursions

This isthe only criticism of the whole cruise. I ordered a trip to Olympia via the website and paid for 4 adults aschildren price is only up to 13. Howeverthe Olympia monument does not charge for children under 18. I queried this with costa prior to going onthe cruise, they couldn’t explain apart from saying it’s their policy. Also 5 days before you cannot cancel orchange your excursions. When we arrivedon the ship it turned out that we could have just got transfers for 15 euroseach paying for our own entry. This wasan official transfer by costa so no worries about missing the ship. Since it is only docked as a tender for about5 hours we didn’t want to take the chance with a private tour. Also ship tours got priority with the tenderboats. We did the tour which was goodand the tour guide spoke in English and German. We got to Olympia and she said make sure to only take a paid for ticketif you are not a child! So I queriedthis with the ship tour desk when we returned and again they didn’t knowanything! I know it is petty but I wouldrather Olympia had the entry fee than Costa or the tour company used. Where has the entrance fee gone?

My tipwould be unless absolutely desperate to do a particular ship tour wait untilyou are on board there are deals and cheaper options once boarded.

Triest

This waslovely little town and since the shipped docked at the town was easy to walkaround yourself. We walked up to thecastle and views were fantastic. We didn’treally do much else in the this port just enjoyed our first cruise port.

Corfu

I haddone my homework and knew that there would be a local bus to take us into townor we could walk. Since it was only a 4hour stop we elected to catch the bus there and look to see the walk wasok. Costa claimed 4K to town centre, nottrue it is about 2.5 km and a nice easy 25 min walk. The local bus charges 1.7 euros each to thecentre. Costa wanted something like 11euros return! There is a free shuttlebus from the ship to the coach / bus area or you can walk. We tend to walk where ever we can as it ismuch nicer. Corfu doesn’t need anexcursion at all you can wander around the town and enjoy the atmosphere. Since we arrived after 4pm into Corfu all themuseums etc. were shutting so if you are interested in the forts then you willbe disappointed in the timings. We justwandered bought a couple for nik naks and then stopped for a drink and mixedstarter platter. We don’t normally eatoff ship but we knew that we would miss dinner (early sitting L ) and thought itmade up for it. We had a snack when wegot back on in the buffet. Lovely portbut could have done with coming earlier and staying a little longer.

Katakolon (Olympia)

If youdon’t want to do an excursion to Olympia then you can just wander around thelittle port that has shops and bars etc. If I did this itinerary again I wouldn’t bother with the Olympia touronce you have seen it then no need to again. Olympia monument was lovely and very interesting it was good that it wasa morning tour as the heat would have spoilt it later. We then had a trip to Olympia town that wasn’treally needed. We wandered around andgot back on the bus about an hour later. It is a very busy place and the coaches find it really difficult to stopanywhere. So when you are asked to bethere for pick up they really mean it as they have to block the whole road toload up.

Mykonos

This wasour only whole day stop and the seas were too rough to use a tender. So we couldn’t stop, they then sailed around announcingthey would let us know where we could stop. It turned into a sea day with an extra half day and overnight aDubrovnik the next day.

Dubrovnik

Since wehad an overnight stop arriving at midday we decided to walk into Dubrovnik. Now on google maps it said 45 mins, and yesit is a long walk up hill! Reallyregretted doing it as it was so hot. Wewalked back as well in the eve but it was downhill and much cooler. Thenext day we took the local bus at 12 Kuna single ride each person. We bought the tickets at the bus station asit was 3 Kuna cheaper than buying on the bus.

Dubrovnikis a great city but on hot days it seems hotter. We explored the town the first afternoonstopping for a drink at the harbour side. Quite expensive in the city for drinks and food. The next day we paid to walk around the wallsand it was 150 Kuna per adult and 50 Kuna for under 18s. Well worth doing and is about 1hr towalk. We then explored the city somemore and found off a main square a little supermarket. Bought cold drinks and ice creams in therefor vastly reduced prices. You are notfrowned upon sitting on the steps drinking. There was a little market on and I bought some lovely lavender oils andRose oil from a stall.

Glad wehad the extra time as the ship wasn’t originally set to dock until themorning.

Venice

Well Itotally fell in love with Venice, even in the heat of July. It exceeded my expectations in everyway. Yes it was crowded in the very touristyspots but a few streets away you could find yourself in an empty square or ally. We bought the Rick Steves guide book and didthe walking tours that took us to areas that we never would have found. Well worth buying lots of tips. The food was not as expensive as I had imaginedwe used trip advisor to find out of the way restaurants and wine bars. We atewhere the locals ate and it was fabulous. We added 3 nights onto our cruise to do Venice which allowed us to dothe islands of Murano and Burano. Both well worth the boat trip. We bought 3 day travel cards which wereneeded as our hotel was outside the city. We decided to stay in a 3 star hotel in Mestre a lovely old Italiantown. This proved really good as we gotoff the ship onto the people mover off on the number 2 bus right outside ourhotel door. If we had chosen to stay inVenice it would have involved quite a lengthy walk with cases. From Mestre station we took the coach back toMarco Polo airport.

Summary

Enjoyedour cruise and would not hesitate to take another costa cruise J

 

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Glad you enjoyed your cruise! It seems you came to a similar conclusion as we did from our voyage on the Mediterranea. Costa offers good cruises at a good price, and is in fact very similar to other cruise lines that charge more.

 

The only excursion we booked through Costa was cancelled (in all languages), so that was disappointing, but not surprising. I agree with you that you are best off doing your own thing or booking your own excursion through another source. We had wonderful walking tours booked outside of Costa in Naples and Palermo.

 

Its a shame you had to skip Mykonos, it really is a beautiful island. When I was there with another cruise line a couple of years ago, we walked the old town in the morning and then rented a car to go to Panorma beach which was relaxing and beautiful. We then drove around the island a bit which made for a nice memorable day.

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As someone who has 25 Costa cruises under my belt, so pleased that you enjoyed this cruise line.

 

Value for money nice ships & a few moaning Brits makes my cruise. ( too many Italians on board; really?) Perhaps if everyone went with an open mind Costa would not get so many unfounded preconceived ideas that they would not enjoy them.

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Thank you for a most refreshing review, fits very nicely in with my ideal of Costa.

 

Pity you didn't have any negative points so that the Costa haters could get their teeth (or their dentures as most of them grumble about everything and their teeth just fall out).;p

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As someone who has 25 Costa cruises under my belt, so pleased that you enjoyed this cruise line.

 

Value for money nice ships & a few moaning Brits makes my cruise. ( too many Italians on board; really?) Perhaps if everyone went with an open mind Costa would not get so many unfounded preconceived ideas that they would not enjoy them.

 

I loved the cruise and will return to Costa. I don't look for negatives when on holiday and tbh would have been hard to find anyway. I also liked the fact that there was loads of Italians, Germans, Dutch etc on the ship and didn't rarely heard and English voice.

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Thank you for a most refreshing review, fits very nicely in with my ideal of Costa.

 

Pity you didn't have any negative points so that the Costa haters could get their teeth (or their dentures as most of them grumble about everything and their teeth just fall out).;p

 

Thank you. :') yes I thought the excursion comment might get some but that isn't a Costa issue really. Not sure what happened to my spacing in the text, that's what I get for cutting and pasting from word :rolleyes:

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Thanks for the review! I've been looking at booking my first Costa cruise soon, but have been hesitant due to the plethora of awful reviews on the review page. :eek: I know to take them with a grain of salt, but there were just so many! The balanced reviews like yours here on the Costa forum are more in line with my expectations. Looking forward to trying a new cruise line. Thanks again!

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