LisaLaLiz

Yes there are several duos. They are all placed on the ships by the same management, just like all Latin Dancers belong to the same network in Budapest and most Afro Arimba Dancers are administrated from South Africa

On neoClassica, there were still some musicians: A band, a keyboard duo, a solo keyboarder/singer, a pianist. And los Paraguayos, by far the best, I hope they never cut them down!!!

The mix was ok, althouh the playlists were definitely made by non-ballroom dancers and often didn't really fit my expectations. On my last cruise, the Latin Dancers danced to DJ Ipod with their own music, which was fine.

By the way, the Latin Dancers told me they will only continue on 3 ships, because they are too expensive and Costa tries to safe money to buy a new ship. OH NO :( They were so great. Please mention also to the president that we love and need the Latin Dancers and los Paraguayos, will you please, Bob? ;) They can eliminate Peppa Pig or whatever instead.

Hi Alicat, hi Tarpave,

yes, I was just about to say the same. Perhaps 10-15% Indian People on board, some russians, and the well known Costa mix.

Dollars were accepted nearly everywhere, Ruppees were useful to get a better price sometimes. Credit Cards and Euros don't help. Atms available everywhere, in Cochin you can change at the port exit.

For the Maldives we had preebooked a private guesthouse on Dhiffushi for 2 nights and loved it. Male has a not too bad beach but is sooo overcrowded and busy. Better take a speedboat or a public ferry to a holiday island with a bikini beach.

In all other towns we took a taxi or a tuktuk for a City tour. We always talked to more than one driver and took the nicer/cheaper one. In Mangalore, we also saw a cashew factory from inside, we liked that. In Cochin, the backwater tour was one of our Highlights. 1000 rupees per Person/4 persons on boat/2 hours. Later City tour open end, 15 Dollars per Person. In Goa, we first went to the Basilica and church in Old Town where we met the whole ship and later went to a beach. 60Dollars, taxi for 4 persons, 5hours. The tourist shops are a plague everywhere.

In Colombo we had a really bad tuktuk driver who tried to get much more Money than we had said before. He nearly became agressive. So sad, because Sri Lanka is usually great. Our friends went to Pinnawela with Costa and were happy.

Enjoy your trip, Alicat! The hungarian dancers are great, and so are the Paraguayos. If you have a cabin on Deck 5 even, let me know if you also get love messages and gifts from the cabin steward ;) Have fun!

I also did this cruise the last two weeks and loved it a lot. So for any more questions, just ask.

1) Having booked from Germany, i had to pay the 10 Euros per day and because of the really good service, it was really ok for me. For example, we had a question for our room at the service desk and later they called us to check if the Cabin Steward has brought what we had asked for.

2) 3) Well I liked he Shows, and compared to other Costa ships, i would say the Afro Arimba Dance Crew and the Solo artists were the best i have seen so far in 4 Cruises with Costa (Emerald Princess still was a little bit higher level). But Grand Shows? No. The shows are all played twice a day (19.30 and 21.30, 45 minutes) and the Afro Arimba Crew is on stage on 8 or 9 different production shows in 14 days, so better not expect Broadway level.

4) There are games at the pool and in the evening. A lot of live Music. Some parties. Latin Dancers with lessons, shows and social dancing. Bingo, Food and spa presentations, lotteries. On the Neo ships less than on other ships, but enough after all the sightseeing in India.

5) The choice is great. Even if you really like only 1/3 of it, it's enough to eat five big meals a day ;)

I think the best deals are available from italy. My impression is that it might be more expensive for Costa to administrate and entertain people from other nations and with other languages.

I can confirm that I used bus 7 and it worked fine. I don't remember the name of the station where I left, but you can see the the big cruiseships in about 400m distance, so you can't miss. It costs 2,30€ when you buy the ticket in the bus. When you exit, you have to cross the bridge to the port island and then just walk left side along the water, pretty easy.

By the way, on the way back from port to the main station, I just walked. It took 30 minutes from disembarkation to the platform (with a short break to look at googlemaps). Enjoy!

I sailed the Costa Mediterranea out of Miami earlier this year and can only compare it to the Emerald Princess which I sailed in 2014 from Ft Lauderdale.

Costa had about 600 Italians, 700 French, 200 Germans, 200 British, 300 Americans and Canadians and some Asians and Brazilians on board. It will be different on Deliziosa, because the Mediterranea let also people embark in Gouadeloupe, where all the french passengers came. If i get it right, Deliziosa will only have the american homeport.

There were a lot of children, as there were french winter holidays, but they were busy in the kids clubs and most had good manners. Costa security tried hard to remind them that the hot tubs are only for grown ups.

The atmosphere was as great as on Princess, and i think you have similar possibilities to find calm or crowded areas. People were younger on Costa, many honeymooners. The main difference is that when you start a conversation, you never know in which language your neighbour will answer ;). Animation is kept simple, very music biased and explained in 3-5 languages (of course in english).

The only european special I can think of were some Italian tenors in the theater. And of course the action in the main dining room at formal nights, dancing waiters and the presentation of the F&B officers. I love it!

Crew and staff are as fantastic as everywhere. If you wanna be pampered, Princess is the better choice, like they give you some cloth to wash your hands after the land trip etc, Costa would never do that. I didn't notice any differences in the bar and restaurant service or the cabin and cleaning service. I never needed the front desk, so no chance to compare.

A for the cabin, i am ok with classic cabins. With a premium cabin, you can chose your seating, but it is also possible to ask for a change if you are classic and unhappy with your table. The fruit basket is nice, but well, it's just fruits. If you decide to be loyal to Costa, you get a discount on your next premium booking, then it's worth calculating.

All in all, i paid much! less for Costa, and preferred a little the quality of the Princess product. So the overall experience is different and also depends on your expectations and priorities.

No real chocolate bar, but on Trieste day, they had a chocolate special all night in one lounge. I have no details as I didn't do there, satisfied with normal dinner ;) . Other fantastic ways to gain sweet calories:

- in Split they have some great local food specialty stores, including chocolates

- selfmade tartes and cookies for teatime at the buffet

- midnight buffet during the pool party

Hello,

I've done that cruise in June and would love to go there again! The ports were so nice, all of them, and I am addicted to Costa anyway ;). There is already a list of my port activities in a roll call (Aug 28). For more details, please don't hesitate to ask.

I was fine with the extra all in drink package, but they also sell bottled water in packages and soft drink packages ("boys and girls") on board, something like 12 for 10).

Enjoy!