At7Seas

No doubt that Costa listed prices are not cheap, but they are a kind of upper limit. A policy to show that one got a great deal by paying less. By recent EU rules advertisement of price reductions must be based on factually advertised prices, not on listed prices any more. Before special sales the list prices have to be advertised for at least 30 days for being allowed to use them as reference. This Costa has to apply, as being an Italian company, while MSC as being Swiss doesn‘t need to. I for my part have booked for 2022 and 2023 two repositioning cruises connecting the same parts of the world, same number of nights, just visiting different ports, two times the same tariff and I booked during the same time of the year before. Price increase was roughly 9%, which remains slightly below the general inflation. With an 85% increase I definitely wouldn‘t have booked - perhaps I‘d waited for a better price. Again a clear sign that a general statement about prices is very difficult. Costa‘s prices are also related to demand, just as with many hotels or airlines. If demand is higher than expected the listed prices won‘t fall, this is another non-predictable part of pricing. Further comparing prices for repositioning cruises with a round in the Med is just impossible. Since there seems to be much more demand for cruises that start and end at the same point these are generally more expensive, while repositioning is not so much for earning money, but covering costs. This is typical for Costa, but definitely not limited to Costa. Who has the time to go on a longer cruise and doesn‘t mind to end in a port on another continent than departed pays way lesser amounts per night. Before the tariffs have been changed these cruises also were massively offered at Basic tariff with the least things included. Nevertheless worth the money. Normally advertised were prices at Classic and Premium rates. This has been changed. Main tariffs are now My Cruise and All Inclusive. My Cruise generally translates in old Classic, while All Inclusive is old Premium plus My Drinks (formerly Piu Gusto, which was their second largest package before the smaller packages were abolished). Generally one pays a 30 € difference between the two tariffs per night, but it happens to be less or even a free upgrade during a sale. And MSC has thrown the tiny Easy package out the last regular tariffs recently. They generally charge 32 € for this, if available. So one shouldn‘t allow to be fooled by generalising special offers and tariffs that were abolished in the meanwhile. Of course there are differences in the areas where these lines sail. Who wants to visit Saudi Arabia simply can‘t do that with Costa. What I do miss with Costa are the Islands in the Indian Ocean, where Costa was sailing intensively pre covid winters. Why they don‘t do this part of the world any more is beyond my knowledge. But taking fast growth for quality is at least a surprising idea, not really sustained by any economic experience. Indeed, since the owners of a container shipping company bought the remains of infamous Lauro Lines and renamed the company into MSC Cruises a huge player was formed. New ships entering service for MSC did not result in phasing out the old ones. For about a decade now MSC did not sell any ships, so there are also older ships in the MSC fleet than in that of Costa. Sales contract of Costa neoClassica was conducted in 2017, not really covid related. Phasing out older ships is not negative and mentioning vessels that are or should be transferred to an own branch (neoRiviera to Aida) or a new joint venture (Atlantica and Mediterranea) doesn’t mean loss of quality. In the last couple of years Costa increased their capacity significantly, that of MSC virtually exploded. No wonder they try to sell with an aggressive price policy to fill ships. Costa is working on several markets and in Europe with two brands and is part of a large group with several companies and even more brands. Carnival Cruises (the company that operates the Carnival branded ships) is serving a very different segment of the market than the companies with the common parent company Carnival Corporation & Plc. As another daughter Carnival UK runs for example the brand Cunard, while Costa is again another sister company. The Carnival Cruises “funship concept” doesn’t appeal to me at all, Cunard’s appearance is very British, Costa (now I am talking about the brand with the same name as the company) tipico italiano…

How impressive! If MSC would match my status it wouldn‘t help MSC to gain an advantage above Costa, since I have already a good level on Costa and it doesn’t help at all in the many points MSC lies behind. But you really need a high status with MSC, just to pick one example: the birthday cake everybody gets regardless of status on Costa requires at least gold status on MSC. You forgot to mention that this only works one time. Who is disappointed of the bad quality and doesn’t sail with MSC often enough is soon back to zero points and the beautiful free status is gone - a second match a couple of years later is not allowed. Believe it or not, I often skipped the club cocktail, I don‘t need to take everything, just because it is for free. I hate it being ripped-off, when I find a good deal I am happy, but I am not cheap and go for free goodies only. Anyway, the central question remains what would be my choice if Costa and MSC would offer the same cruise. As I explained above by giving a lot of detailed reasons it definitely would be Costa, since the quality is so much better and I deserve the better holiday. Even if Costa might be more expensive in this example I‘d still go for quality. Of course Costa is not the top of the market cruise line, but compared to others I sailed with the price value ratio of Costa works better for me. The question is whether the points where Costa has space for improvement are important enough to pay often significantly more to get them solved. My answer is no, because these points definitely haven’t such an impact. The much more expensive lines are for itineraries Costa doesn‘t offer but I really want to do. MSC of course is even further away from the quality we are talking about now. No status match would ever make MSC that good that it would get close to the level of Costa or other cruise lines.

I am so sorry - for you that you didn’t get what I wrote. No entertainment at all most of the days changed into only “singers” and “acrobatic shows” and now acrobatic shows would be generally inferior, since for you everything is bad without dancing and singing in fabulous costumes. You don’t need to convince me, the shows you do like are really well performed and I like them. Just I am open to much more than a single type of entertainment. And I also can say “well performed, just not interesting to me” or “happened, but I didn’t visit, because it didn’t appeal to me”. Costa in my opinion (!) topped everything in summer with engaging Appassionante, absolutely the best voices I (!) was allowed to listen to since many years, definitely the best evening show I personally experienced (!) aboard of what ship ever, for me (!) an unbelievable great event. Just for you non-existent as the trio are “just singers”. Someone’s preference for a single genre is fine, everybody is entitled to love what he likes. Making this single preference the only benchmark for quality, or worse even for the existence of shows, misleads everybody who reads such a statement, because it is just not true.

I far as I can see on the EU site of Costa the Firenze can be booked for cruises until January 7th, 2024, at that time sailing from the Mediterranean Sea to the Canary Islands. The first Serena cruise leaves on December 22nd, 2023. So both will be only for a short time together in service for Costa Europe. This is why I stated that Serena will return to the European fleet, when the Firenze leaves as co-branded ship to Carnival. That matches the officially announced plans of the Firenze entering service in America as well, from the press information regarding Costa by Carnival: “Costa Venezia will be followed by Costa Firenze arriving in the spring of 2024.” That winter Diadema, Fascinosa, and Favolosa will sail in South America, the Fortuna is right now there.

I understand! A classic violin concert deserves a bad review, because there was no dance… Personal preferences have absolute nothing to do with quality. The statement “only three shows” is completely misleading. I for my part have seen Costa music-only shows with absolute first class singers. Definitely quality entertainment, not non-existent.

I have no recent information about the Magica, which hasn’t been in use since covid. Carnival indeed claimed her, but this was cancelled later. In opposite to the Magica the Fortuna can be booked. Just let’s have a look on some facts: A third of the Costa fleet used to be in East Asia, two of their new vessels were built for the Chinese market and should have replaced older, smaller ships, the neoRomantica (sold) and the Fortuna (returned to Europe). China is still not open for cruising and no end of the ban in sight. Not to forget the joint venture closed with a Chinese state-owned company to sail on China-only routes. Based on Costa’s experience of the Chinese market two Costa ships, the Atlantica (transferred to the joint venture) and Mediterranea (transfer to the joint venture not completed), should be used additionally to Venezia, Firenze, Serena and perhaps another European ship sailing at least temporarily in the Far East. It is easy to understand that just waiting for China is economically the worst option. The new Costa by Carnival is obviously a solution to replace Costa’s Chinese market partially. Costa is an established brand in Europe and China, but not so much in the US, where Carnival has its home market, while Carnival is rarely seen in Europe, according to their sales office in Munich they have for 2023 one ship based in the UK for a few cruises. If demand in America is high it is a just a good economic decision to use that market as an alternative for the Costa ships originally planned to sail on the Chinese market. There is no sign at all that the brand Costa should be replaced in Europe, since the only the Costa ships sailing on the American market are announced to be co-branded. Besides this co-branding is not promoted here in Europe at all, while Costa is increasingly promoting their product in Europe, completely without using the expressions Carnival or Funship. Pictures show the Venezia on the Carnival website in a combined layout showing both names Carnival and Costa and with the big blue C on the yellow chimney. The blue bow reminds to Carnival design. It would have been very easy to use full Carnival design instead for easy acceptance in the USA. If all this would have happened on the European market it would be a sign that the name Costa could disappear. Doing this in America it looks like introduction of Costa as something new to that market. Obviously the Serena, another exclusively in China bookable Costa ship, will undergo a refit to return to the European market when the Firenze will leave for the US market. To make it worse Costa lost the Russian cruisers. Although Russians are allowed to enter Turkey visa free the EU ports are closed for them - if they don’t get visa under restrictive rules, a lot of EU countries don’t even hand out tourist visa to Russians at all. I am not surprised that the cruises from Istanbul have been cancelled. And this in times the renewed fleet resulted in a massive growth in capacity. That there could occur confusions about Magic and Magica is logical of course. But there is no reason not to rename the Magica. The neoRiviera was, when replaced in the Costa branded fleet and before being phased out used for Aida, while also new Aida vessels were built. She was repainted and sailed as AIDAmira, although through covid she was laid-up most of that time. And this wasn’t the first vessel with another name after a transfer from one brand or Carnival owned company to the other. So I can’t see any signs of Costa being taken from the European market, the opposite is true, the brand Costa is brought closer to the American market by combining it with Carnival.

Oh, it is not that surprising that a ship is waiting for delayed charter flights or transfer busses. Once aboard this is no problem at all, since the holiday has started! Following this logic it would mean a planned departure at midnight would destroy the embarkation day completely. Embarkation I calculate from arrival at the terminal (within the given time of course) until leaving the terminal again for boarding. In Venice these days you even board a bus, because the ship mustn‘t sail to the terminal any more. Reason to blame Costa or MSC? External problems as a ship arriving in port long after embarkation time, because the port authorities didn‘t allow entering the port during a storm can‘t be blamed on a cruise line. Didn‘t make me happy, but quality can be measured even in this case by the extra service offered during this unavoidable waiting time. In this sense my longest ever embarkation with Costa was a little below two hours - including taking the samples for a corona test and waiting for results. MSC never succeeded in being that fast - completely without testing. With ship arriving early morning, all in time, no strike, no restrictions imposed by authorities, in MSC‘s own base Genoa, next port also in Italy, the easiest kind of embarkation one can imagine - and it took me close to five hours from dropping luggage to putting first step aboard. And no, I didn‘t go to visit the city in-between, but proceeded to embarkation. Fastest embarkation ever was 15 minutes - Costa in Warnemünde. Of course this can only be based on personal observations, there are no official statistics as for railway delays. Also this is relevant: my arrival in the port was with MSC solely, with Costa mostly with transport I arranged on my own. Repeatedly finding dirty plates and cutlery is in my eyes a hygienic problem. If everybody - including backoffice - ignores I am upset. Yacht club guests deserve their “special” cabin, their butler, all extras they have paid for. On Costa comparable to suite guests. So far everything is okay. But they don‘t deserve that others are treated worse, especially not outside of their gated community! Here MSC is doing wrong by unfair treatment of the vast majority of their guests. First class train tickets also offer much more space, but don’t give me priority over 2nd class travellers when I want to use the toilet. You‘re not up to date with the regular fares, while Costa replaced the system and introduced besides the My Cruise the All Inclusive tariff this year, MSC has scrapped drinks from their last regular price model very recently. Special sales could result in inclusive rates of course, I myself sailed with Costa All Inclusive at My Cruise rate in spring. Cheaper than for free you can’t get My Drinks, but it is senseless to compare this special fare with regular fares of MSC. As long as we compare regular prices with regular prices it remains that Costa offers so much more for about the same price (the 6% Costa asks less is really not relevant when their offer is three times larger). Being lucky in finding a cheap promotional offer doesn’t constitute quality of a cruise line, generally offering value for money does. Leaving out excursions from when comparing is possible, as we could leave out every detail of a cruise working against MSC. I myself decide from port to port what I want to do - and how. Besides, we had now quite a while where only ship excursions were allowed. But more important: for judging about the quality of a cruise line it is relevant whether the guests are massively overcharged with items for sale aboard. Another time the question of fair treatment, there is a difference between conducting a business and ripping off somebody. We shouldn‘t forget that the cruise lines don‘t do their own excursions, but buy from what is available locally. This results in the same excursions offered by several cruise lines in one port - often accompanied by the same guides. Significant differences in price show, which cruise line overcharges. And as I said earlier, I never experienced a single evening on Costa where the theatre wasn‘t used for performing a show. Not even on the small vessels that are sold since long, ships where the ratio between artists and guests was so much worse Costa cut on entertainment. This year, even the sailing I did under strict covid rules still in force, there was a show every single evening. The same this summer rules became less strict: every evening! And on the Firenze, which belongs to the second largest class of ships Costa ever owned the place of main entertainment remained closed most of the evenings? I can’t believe it, but I will test it next year myself!

Okay, I see you decided not to discuss your claims I questioned above, although these claims are pretty unreal. And this while with Costa and MSC two European companies (Italian and Swiss) aiming on an international public and are regarding this similarity pretty easy to compare. I‘ll do in the following exactly this exclusively for these two lines from +++ to - - -, strong of weak points of other cruise lines I leave out, if at all I compare to general experiences. For essential things I don‘t give positive points (having enough lifeboats is not + but o, Titanic would have scored --- in this case). When booking both websites prove that they are bad. Regarding information Costa has an advantage, but in total both have the least working systems I‘ve seen on the cruise market. Costa - -, MSC - - - Customer care of both is slow and not really well informed, while Costa recently improved a lot. Difference is that Costa always was service orientated and friendly, while I have too many mails from MSC following a blame-the-customer policy. Costa - (could change to positive if tendencies go on), MSC - - - Embarkation. Costa was in the most cases not overly time consuming and relatively well organised, I can‘t blame a cruise line for emigration officers having not working computers during passport control or for bad weather. Delays caused by waiting times connected to covid testing during embarkation I exclude as well. The honour of performing my longest and most chaotic embarkation ever belongs to MSC. Costa +, MSC - - - Both lines have very thoughtfully designed ships, Costa +++, MSC +++ Service aboard is performed in both cases very well by the staff you are serviced from. Hard working, friendly people. Costa +++, MSC +++ If you need the back office Costa can be a bit confusing, but staff is interested in sorting out things and to have a happy customer, MSC has also here a culture of blocking everything. Costa +, MSC - - - Food can lead to enormous discussions about personal taste. What a person doesn‘t eat or loves has no impact on quality. That everybody can get a meal that fits to personal tastes is a factor of quality of course. And not to repeat the complete menu during a cruise that doesn‘t exceed a couple of weeks. So I reduce this part to the quality of preparation and selection of meals in the MDR. In this limited meaning food has a huge plus on the side of Costa. Deliciously prepared meals with a huge variety I value much higher than junk food and flat tasting, uninspired meals with the intention to fit every course with average food the average taste of all nationalities aboard. Costa +++, MSC o Cleanliness is definitely a weak point of MSC, while Costa fulfils all expectations completely. Here I don‘t give a + as I regard this as being essential. Costa o, MSC - - - Another negative point of MSC is that they treat a part of the guests as super special, because they booked in a separate part of the ship. If one feels the need having a butler and is willing to pay for it‘s fine, also Costa offers this service. But MSC makes the ordinary guest feel being 2nd class human already at the moment you are not allowed to enter one of the reserved elevators. Costa sells additional services, but a guest is a guest. Normal behaviour towards guests is not positive so no + given. Costa o, MSC - - - Add ons are hard to compare, since both offer different things included in the fare or at additional price. At least the drink packages with not too much differing prices (my last Costa booking at 30 € higher price a day for My Drinks compared to the cruise only price, MSC Easy according to their website 32 €) gives Costa a plus again for offering much more choice. Not to forget that MSC excludes a lot of cruises from this offer, while always available on Costa cruises. Costa ++, MSC o While Costa excursions are sometimes overpriced and sometimes at about the same rates as local companies offer MSC‘s prices can cause heart attacks. Costa o, MSC - - Entertainment is about the same quality level, but much more varied on Costa. Costa ++, MSC + Some cruises both Costa and MSC offer more or less identically, on other routes only one of them sails. Even if Costa offers a cruise with the same itinerary at a higher price, I‘d choose value for my money and go with Costa! While the Swiss with chocolate or watches are unbeatable, MSC however performs way worse than Italian Costa. The problem is that you have expectations that are not connected at all to quality. Aren‘t you aware that quantity, personal preferences, or price aren‘t the same as quality? You claim that ice cream for free twice a day would be quality, your preferred language must be used first for offering quality, what you want to watch in the theatre (which ends in the claim that things you don‘t want to see wouldn‘t exist at all) would be quality. All this is not the same as quality! You are entitled to be happy if a language is spoken by a minority of guests is the one used fist. You are free to be happy with MSC for serving free ice cream. There are people happy with Mc Donalds, but this fact doesn‘t result in Mc Donalds being a gourmet restaurant. Like this calling Costa‘s desserts fat, just because they don‘t serve fat ice cream for free. It doesn‘t make sense.

So many questions! Cream desserts and ice cream are both made from pretty much the same basic things. Why are cream desserts so cheap, while ice cream isn’t? There is a lot of whipping cream in ice cream, why it isn’t fat in ice cream? Timarisu is a cream dessert with cookies. Why is timarisu good, pastries with a cream bad? Didn’t you know that Costa does not allow “Dutch truffels” aboard? Ask aunt Google what this very special kind of mushrooms is used for. And in case you wanted to write Belgian truffels instead, since when these aren’t full of fat? Besides, is it really a sign of superior quality of MSC to offer the same dessert 14 times a week? Why should Costa use English as first language, while only a tiny minority of the guests speaks English? Makes it sense that Costa asks every time, whether participants from the different languages are in a crowd? And is it difficult indeed to say YES, if someone asks whether there are English speakers? Why were on all my cruises I had with Costa shows in the theatre every single evening, on yours this happened only on a few times? Does it result in a better quality if artists perform a show three times a day instead of two times only? Could it be that you are just angry that Costa sells ice cream at a small fee? And that you feel entitled to determine that your preferred language has to be used first? Or to define what a show is and you declare a broader entertainment program being not existent?

The themes are only published on daily basis. And the Fascinosa has a sliding roof in the middle, here in May 2022 in Savona:

Now I‘ve to add my experiences as well. I did cruises both with strict and with hardly any covid measures left. I hadn‘t been on that very cruise, but lately I was on a sister of the Favolosa. Costa is an Italian product and everybody should know. This includes Italian kitchen and Italian lifestyle as well. Who is surprised that pasta in all variations is in the offer has no idea about Italian food. Costa has alternatives to pasta, although the full Italian four-course dinner has a pasta course - which includes also risotto, gnocchi or soups. It is also possible to order something else, two antipasti or two items from the second main course (the fish or meat course) are possible. Generally the food is really good, compared to the standards in land based restaurants and other cruise lines Costa does a good job, in my personal experience much better than the above mentioned NCL, where you need to pay a fee for a restaurant having a similar quality as Costa has in the MDR. Having a look at the prices you pay at NCL additionally the extra fees of Costa are not only next to nothing, in fact I less often have on a Costa the desire to buy something extra. Of course an Italian dinner is celebrated in a restaurant. There had been times that Costa had completely closed the buffet in the evening, but it is open again (already before covid they reopened). A few indeed want a buffet in the evening, I won‘t judge about them. On my holiday I would always take a good dinner in a restaurant instead of grabbing something from a buffet. And with the new electronic ordering system every plate (or drink) arrives at the right table. Waiters speak fluently Italian and English, of the other languages they need to know some basics only. Once the correct order is in the system it is fool proof. Indeed, a buffet means queuing during the rush hour. Who wants exactly at 12 lunch has to wait a little, which means perhaps two or three minutes until first things are on the plate. This queue happens at that moment in front of the door of the MDR as well. At other times this ranges more within seconds than minutes. When taking things from five places in the line every single item is served by a different waiter, this results in more time actually being served than waiting. Queuing at the buffet always has been a fact and didn‘t change by serving the guests from behind the counter. Just the same way of serving as it used to be before covid with the freshly prepared breakfast items. Although cost intensive this prevents guests from touching everything, I would like it very much, when this would remain. And the many waiters behind the counter did a really fast service, the only thing I experienced that they gave too much, so I had to stop them in time. My order of one piece of butter too fast became three. But indeed, when you ordered butter at the wrong place, you didn‘t get it - there. The same is valid for bacon at breakfast, one doesn‘t get it where only cold breakfast is available, but where the hot items are prepared. Honestly, I prefer waiting for a fresh omelette rather than taking one that is already drying out and still I never had to wait anything close to 15 minutes when fresh things were prepared for me. That orientation might be a problem the first day I understand, but at the end of the cruise this should be clear where what is offered where and which way. Waiters for example have now sugar in dispensers on their trays. This means without cup it is difficult to get sugar into the coffee! Could the ketchup problem have the same reason? It remains beyond my understanding that the possibilities to eat aren‘t enough for some guests. I can‘t eat so much or so often as food is offered. Just to be fair, the opening times of the main restaurants are long enough for getting regularly and enough (if not too much) food. The buffet is open during the day even longer, the burger non-stop until the next morning short before breakfast time. I also don‘t understand why Costa shouldn‘t call the Pizzeria a restaurant. It is fully a serviced Pizzeria, no self-service. And there is nothing wrong with using space for the guests that otherwise wouldn‘t be used at all. The drink package rules are easy: by the glass everything is free as long as in the menu the coloured dot is next to the item matching the package and only one drink may be ordered at a time. So a Baileys and thereafter a coffee is fine, but not at the same time. Is it surprising that Costa wants to prohibit guests to cheat with drinks? Adults only My Drinks additionally has one small bottle water per person a day, adding this is the only change when from Piu Gusto became My Drinks. In the children‘s package is as much mineral water included as fits into the kids, just not per bottle, but per glass. Nearly everything without alcohol sold by the glass is included in this package, only some coffees and juices, for example the freshly squeezed orange juice, are not. And reading is always a good idea: in the Oggi a Bordo is announced where the kids program should happen, inside or outside. Including the remark of being weather depending when planned outside. Be happy if during your cruise it is outside, because this also means great weather as well! Hygienic problems I never experienced on Costa ships (elsewhere I did). Besides regular service staff was fast cleaning when incidents occurred - these one can‘t provide where humans eat, drink, or just live. If there are kinds of problems I never experienced and adequate reactions aren‘t taken one could phone the responsible department, the phone numbers are published every day on the Oggi a Bordo. There is no cruise line without faults or fitting into the taste of everybody. Costa ships are Italian islands sailing the seas with an international crowd and still Italians are on the most cruises the largest group aboard. There is Italian lifestyle and Italian food. If someone expects a typical American, British, German, or French approach or food or having only one language spoken Costa might be the wrong choice. But if someone wants to enjoy an Italian holiday - even in the Caribbean or in Norway - and who feels well cruising together with people from all over the world Costa has a lot to offer.