Big difference in prices

Hello,

We have only cruised with Celebrity and Royal in the past and only in the carribean, we are looking for a cruise in September or October in Europe, so many possibilities under $1000 with Costa comparing to many other companies.

For those who have some experience with other cruise lines and can compare is there something we need to know?

Thank you

Josée

There are quite a few differences, some of which may or may not be important to you. For one thing, Costa is multilingual- if you prefer French, it's readily available.

I've been on both Celebrity qnd RCCL- I much prefer Costa. A quick summary- much more European in feel (there is considerable variation between cruises, depending whether you pick European school holidays). Passengers are generally less focused on food, more on entertainment, much more of a party (and not as a euphemism for drinking) atmosphere.

Hello,

 

We have only cruised with Celebrity and Royal in the past and only in the carribean, we are looking for a cruise in September or October in Europe, so many possibilities under $1000 with Costa comparing to many other companies.

For those who have some experience with other cruise lines and can compare is there something we need to know?

Thank you

Josée

After 22 cruises on US cruise companies NCL und RCI I did my first Costa cruise earlier this month on the Diadema in Europe. It depends on what you expect from a cruise. I thought the port times were pretty reasonable and good organised. The complains about lack of communication and especially information about anything that Costa doesn't make money with is true. If you research the ports before especially for free or cheaper shuttle buses it won't affect you as much.

I was most positively surprised by the food. MDR was good and exceptionally fast with a regular dinner in less than 45 and the gala dinner in 60 minutes. Cold food in the buffet for breakfast and lunch very good, just keeping hot food warm for lunch and dinner in the buffet didn't work at all.

Theater entertainment was a bit like 10 years ago, not impressive for a cruise lines flagship. Especially compared to shows like Cats, Rock of Ages or Burn the Floor on other cruise lines. Music in the bars though was pretty good, especially the piano bar and the country and rock club. A big positive were their parties on the pool deck and atrium with really good DJ sets and a cruise director team that really got the people in the mood.

Other cruise director staff organised activities suffered a lot because of the different languages and the length of the whole process.

Their drinks package for around 25€ is a damn good deal if you don't mind sticking with a very limited amount of choices and basic brands.

The Diadema with their embarkation and disembarkation every port has more a hop on hop off ferry feeling than a traditional cruise ship but imho can't be beat for the price.

Dancer Bob and Micm, thanks for your quick reply.

Language is not an issue we are french speaking and ok with the english.

Now, my only concern would be the food.

In Europe, port of calls, food, good wines and comfortable staterooms would be our priorities, we are usually to tired in the evening to attend parties.

Thank you again,

Josée

Hi, I'll compare to NCL, the only other cruise line I've taken in Europe.

On Costa, pasta and appetizers were great, but we were unhappy with the proteins at dinner. Fish seemed "fishy", filet in the Club restaurant had an off taste, but we really liked the Hamburger restaurant in the evening for 5 Euro extra. Breakfast buffet was basically a very good continental breakfast--nice cheese and cold cuts. Dinner buffet (if you choose that) or lunch buffet, the highlight was salads.

We purchased the Piu Gusto drinks package for 28 Euro per day per person. That's a great value that includes coffees, sodas, sparking water, certain cocktails and wine by the glass. You mentioned wine was important, the wines in this package are not outstanding, but are certainly a decent accompaniment to meals. If wines are extremely important to you, you might look at a package of wines by the bottle instead--just ask your TA or Costa directly which package would work the best for you.

We really liked our rear-facing balcony room on the Mediterranea. A bit larger and more storage space than on NCL. The stateroom was kept immaculate by our room steward.

Of course, you know the ports and times up front when you book. I must say the Mediterranea was always punctual and we were usually able to disembark a little earlier than the scheduled time to make the most of our day.

I hope you enjoy whatever you end up with!

The food is comparable to 4-star resorts on the Costa Brava in Spain I have stayed at. If you're looking for food rather than nightlife, I would stick to the cruise lines you know.

Dancer Bob and Micm, thanks for your quick reply.

Language is not an issue we are french speaking and ok with the english.

Now, my only concern would be the food.

In Europe, port of calls, food, good wines and comfortable staterooms would be our priorities, we are usually to tired in the evening to attend parties.

Thank you again,

Josée

I would say it is all about the price and what you are willing to pay. If I had either more money or less vacation days I would take a different cruise line. But as it is I switched from NCL to Costa as my regular cruise line and after my first seven days finished I booked 44 additional days. Not because I think they offer a better product than NCL, not at all, but because of the price tag.

If I had the free choice during your timeframe I would take the Norwegian Spirit back to back 11+10 days

Food is so important to us that we are not going to take the chance and be disappointed, at least until my DH is retired and we can plan more days at sea.

Really appreciate your input, thanks to you three.

Josée