henry hound

Having cruised several times on Costa , and have met the English speaking host I can only offer praise . The host Eve was approachable , helpful, knowledgeable and I observed her going out of her way for guests. 

Unfortunately due to the pandemic that was very prolific in Italy and other parts of Europe at the time many thousands had their travel plans thrown into chaos. Many flights cancelled and routings closed. 

I cant begin to imagine the workload the staff on board ships, airlines , travel agents, hotels , airports and call centres had to deal with . 

Yep....Just like staying in a JS. 😊

But not JS pricing !

Indy next year ex Sou has VP suite priced for example June 1st / 14 night

JS £3541 pp

GS £4081 pp

VP £5611 pp

OS £5701 pp

So you can clearly see the pricing for this VP suite is pitched between GS and OS , therefore should be receiving all full Suite benefits. Not just double points. It should get access to Suite lounge / gold card etc

Ok...I was pretty skeptical about this post (Poster didn't say how everything turned out) so I just called RC myself and asked about this room (1854). We have it booked on the Liberty. The guy put me on hold for about 5 minutes so he could get me the CORRECT answer. I told him I was glad to wait because I needed to know FOR SURE if I would get DOUBLE POINTS for that room. He said ABSOLUTELY YES. I'm a happy camper!!! :hearteyes::hearteyes::hearteyes:

You get the double points but no other benefits. Blue card etc.....however marketing are looking into this for the VP suites and VT suites.

Have you received double points?

Today double points posted. GRM replied as well still waiting to hear from marketing over status of this suite and prices paid compared to benefits received.

Well, that totally sucks! Were you successful getting JR suite status? When did you cruise?

 

 

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We cruised may 28 th from Southampton. Never got JS status , however can confirm today that double points were awarded for C and A status.

Having returned from the cruise in 1854 I can confirm it has no suite benefits at all. We were issued with blue sea pass cards, not even JS silver ones. Front desk staff indifferent, claiming it’s an ocean view, tried explaining it was newly re categorised as an Ocean view Panoramic suite.

Had to escalate to guest relation manager who has taken this up with Miami. He along with us checked many sailings and this VP suite was more expensive than GS and on occasion OS. We were lucky as had DP so could use the concierge lounge. Be warned, if you have no status and pay top dollar for this “suite” that actually is a suite by name only you will get no suite benefits at all.

Regarding the cabin itself , the views are great, however on Indy it’s below the golf course, somebody decided to screw BOSE speakers to the deck , the music was left on all night which came thru to the cabin, loud base music. Again, we had to chase management to get this turned off at night.

It is also above the gym, one night , around 11pm, boom boom boom music , this time from the gym. I went down and of course closed to guests so went in the back way to see the staff working out. Spoke with the gym guy and pointed out to him that now there were cabins above and to ask the staff to use headphones ,tbh totally oblivious.

Despite speaking with the GRM on a few issues no contact from the hotel director which in my opinion is poor customer service. Would not book these cabins again

Ok , I emailed the concierge on Independence which is just out of dry dock and has had 1804/1854 added as Panoramic Suites and asked if had Suite benefits , gold card , lounge etc . The reply is as follows.

"I regret to inform you that this room has no access in Suite Lounge/ Gold Card or other Suite Amenities"

It will be treated as a JS grade.

We are in 1854 on independence end of May so will update. When booking it was more expensive than both J4 / GS and OS .....we lucked out and got in on a WS guarantee. Will post details of what you get and what you don't on our return .

We have travelled on Costa on many occasions. The med cruises do attract a lot of the home Italian Market. However there will be a fair few Germans, French, Spanish and British on board. We have never had an issue with being English only speaking. A lot of the restaurant staff are Indian and speak perfect English ( they struggle thru the Italian!)

The announcements are done in all languages. It is a different product to Royal/ Celebrity etc , we are Diamondplus/Eliteplus with them, but still enjoy going on Costa now and again.

The ships are pretty much the same as Carnival Cruises, the interior design is from the same guy. Food wise, the Pasta is the best! Meat dishes can be a little on the rustic side.

Costa is an old Italian cruise line, with an interesting heritage,

Have a good time

I was looking at Costa Serena ex marseille cruise only in November . On the costa French website a samsara cabin is half the cost of the uk website. Does anyone know the rulings ? Is it possible for a uk resident to book through the costa French website?

Thanks