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Costa Favolosa -- Land of the Vikings (Norwegian Fjords) -- June 2015


tomvet
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  • 4 weeks later...

Tom-- great report and photos, Nice Family.

 

I hope to take the Baltic cruise in May. I don't drink. What beverages are complimentary? I am interested in orange or apple juice in the AM and iced tea for lunch and dinner. Are they complimentary? Thanks.

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  • 1 year later...
Link to review of our recent Costa Favolosa review.

 

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

 

Dear Tomvet, I read your awesome review of the Costa Favolosa. My best friend and I (from the US) are boarding the Favolosa on September 8 in Warnemunde for a 13 day cruise ending in Rome (Civitavecchia) on September 21. I've only been in Europe once so am rather lost regarding hotels, trains etc. I take it from your review that we can take the train in Berlin to the cruise terminal, do you recommend we stay in Berlin the night before or another city? We want to fly round trip (the cost is half) so plan on flying or taking the train from Rome after our cruise back to Berlin or wherever we fly to originally.

 

Any advice would be appreciated, or should I instead post it on the Costa board itself?

Jackie

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shocked at the level of cutting back CoSTA are resorting too :confused:

 

My last cruise on CoSTA was late 2014 Savona to Istanbul, via Athens and Ismir and back via Rome... on the same ship. (The itinerary was bang on and just before the refugee crisis really became a problem) I noticed things were being cut back, we still had brekkie in the buffet on my cruise but noticed late night meals were not as plentiful as before.

 

TBH if they continue to offer this type of cruise food (NON) service I won't be with CoSTA again. Yes, low prices but no longer acceptable food standards.

 

In Rome they used to have a shuttle bus that dropped you off at the Civitavecchia train station. But when I was last there 2014, the bus stopped off in Civitavecchia town. Which was a 15 min walk to the train station, which if you don't get lost is actually a nice stroll along a few roads then finally down the sea front). Remember if using the train it is pleasant (but can get sweaty) and if you get the one day ticket it included use of Romes Metro too.

Edited by waney
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Read your detailed review. From a very different point of view (single traveller – seen the costs at Costa even positive as for families) I made exactly this trip on the Fortuna in 2014. I flew to Berlin and stayed the night before in Warnemünde at Stolteraa, a classic seaside hotel I really can recommend. Before boarding I explored both the city of Rostock and the connected seaside resort Warnemünde.

 

Yes, I also was aboard without any real waiting. Some fast handling here and there and without any feeling to wait after others. Boarding any plane takes much more time and effort.

 

Copenhagen I did with the hop-on-hop-off bus, seen two castles (Rosenborg and Amalienborg), went through town by boat and even had a look at the most important pieces in the National Museum. Everything has been very clean for such a big city, but there hadn’t been any festival before my arrival.

 

The service of Fjordservice in Geiranger is really great, as I also experienced delays getting ashore.

 

In Bergen I got onto the Floyen first (no delays at all), really great views, later I went on a tour with Bryggens Museum. I highly recommend this tour, one of the best I ever did and for almost no money (120 Crowns, about 15 € for 2 hours guided tour and entrance to 3 museums during all the day and no risk of cancelling – I’ve been the only participant!). Walked along sea outwards to Old Bergen Open Air Museum, very different kind of history and back by public bus (horrible price!)

 

I totally agree with your view of Kristiansand while planning. When doing my cruise there were several Costa excursions for sale, but don’t know whether they were cancelled or not. Anyway I did the hop-on-hop-off and visited an old manor and another Open Air Museum, here not so much town history as in Bergen but about rural life. In the end Kristiansand was way better than expected.

 

Oslo is great, but way more time needed. An entire day would be way better than spending a lot of time in Warnemünde – but this is “Berlin Port” for Costa. I remember a lot of coaches racing back to the Fortuna when we already should have been sailing.

 

Whatever to be said about the ports of call and time spent there: I knew in advance what I was booking.

 

Generally about Costa: things are not always happening perfectly, but they are doing the best in solving problems when occurred. Your experience with your cabin stewardess is in this way comparable with a rude waiter I was confronted with. Wherever people work mistakes happen and when these mistakes are solved by others within the organisation the organisation is doing its best and this I count on the positive side.

 

I can understand that Costa is trying to cut back waste of food, seen the huge packed plates with not eaten meals of fellow cruisers it is even more than understandable. I am very often staying in hotels for my job and see what happens at breakfast. I am able to stand up and took a couple of times for getting whatever I want to eat – and I eat it. But general sense seems to be “pack it all once” and as a result half the meal will be thrown away. I really dislike such behaviour and appreciate every try to reduce it. If not offering no bananas any more is the right way I don’t know (at least if eaten ashore I see it way less problematic than being thrown away), but I hope that Costa is finding an adequate answer.

 

Anyway next month I’ll sail on the Favolosa through the Caribbean and back to Europe and hope I am sure also having a good time again.

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  • 4 weeks later...
shocked at the level of cutting back CoSTA are resorting too :confused:

 

My last cruise on CoSTA was late 2014 Savona to Istanbul, via Athens and Ismir and back via Rome... on the same ship. (The itinerary was bang on and just before the refugee crisis really became a problem) I noticed things were being cut back, we still had brekkie in the buffet on my cruise but noticed late night meals were not as plentiful as before.

 

TBH if they continue to offer this type of cruise food (NON) service I won't be with CoSTA again. Yes, low prices but no longer acceptable food standards.

 

In Rome they used to have a shuttle bus that dropped you off at the Civitavecchia train station. But when I was last there 2014, the bus stopped off in Civitavecchia town. Which was a 15 min walk to the train station, which if you don't get lost is actually a nice stroll along a few roads then finally down the sea front). Remember if using the train it is pleasant (but can get sweaty) and if you get the one day ticket it included use of Romes Metro too.

 

 

 

Thank you :)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Tom-- great report and photos, Nice Family.

 

I hope to take the Baltic cruise in May. I don't drink. What beverages are complimentary? I am interested in orange or apple juice in the AM and iced tea for lunch and dinner. Are they complimentary? Thanks.

 

 

At breakfast very watered down orange and very sugary apple juice is served along with grapefruit and cranberry.

 

You are out of luck at lunch only free drink served is water - not even tea / coffee. Tea / coffee only available at breakfast and for La Merenda - Italian afternoon tea from 1600 - 1730.

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Dear Tomvet, I read your awesome review of the Costa Favolosa. My best friend and I (from the US) are boarding the Favolosa on September 8 in Warnemunde for a 13 day cruise ending in Rome (Civitavecchia) on September 21. I've only been in Europe once so am rather lost regarding hotels, trains etc. I take it from your review that we can take the train in Berlin to the cruise terminal, do you recommend we stay in Berlin the night before or another city? We want to fly round trip (the cost is half) so plan on flying or taking the train from Rome after our cruise back to Berlin or wherever we fly to originally.

 

Any advice would be appreciated, or should I instead post it on the Costa board itself?

Jackie

 

 

why not fly open jaw into Berlin and home from Rome - most airlines will allow this. I would spend a few days before embarkation in Berlin. Then take train to the port. If you must backtrack to Berlin there are loads of low cost airlines that will get you there from Rome - Google Ryanair.

 

You could also fly to Hamburg - another city worth visiting - we flew to there and took the train to Rostock and stayed o/night there. We did a post cruise stay in Hamburg.

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why not fly open jaw into Berlin and home from Rome - most airlines will allow this. I would spend a few days before embarkation in Berlin. Then take train to the port. If you must backtrack to Berlin there are loads of low cost airlines that will get you there from Rome - Google Ryanair.

 

You could also fly to Hamburg - another city worth visiting - we flew to there and took the train to Rostock and stayed o/night there. We did a post cruise stay in Hamburg.

 

 

 

Thank you

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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