tomvet

I'm with this. Its not pleasant. We did similar but got a taxi, the attitude to woman was terrible. We made the mistake of going to a beach (beautiful), for a swim. Its what we do everywhere...swim in the sea in all locations. Within 10 minutes of arriving, we were surrounded by men. Deserted beach except for within 10 feet of us. It felt a little intimidating, so we left in a hurry. Won't be going back, if our chosen cruise stops around here, we shall stay on board.

I loved both Casablanca and Tangier.

Casablanca has more than the Hassan II Mosque - it has Note Dame de Lourdes, THe Souks, Mohammed V Square, Beaches, Rick's Place.

Tangier admittedly has not much to put in the news - though Asilah down the coast is very interesting.

As regards the attitude to women - there was a bit of leering alright - OH decided to take it as a compliment - sometimes we don't know whether to laugh or cry - in those cases isn't it always better to laugh!

Thank you for a great review Malnik and confirming the ice cream situation on board.

I am sorry to read about your daughters' anxieties and hope you can all overcome it in future cruises.

If you wish to get away from the built environment I highly recommend Krka NP which is a 1,5 hour drive from the port.

I would hazard a guess that Costa Mediterranea, at a tonnage of 85,700 would be classed smaller than Celebrity Eclipse at 121,870.

 

 

 

https://solentrichardscruiseblog.com/2013/06/19/celebrity-eclipse-classic-mediterannean-cruise/

 

That may indeed be true, but your original comment was ALL BUT THE SMALLEST SHIPs, at 87500t, hardly the smallest of ships!

Not many things annoy me!!!

But no Ice Cream for dessert on an Italian ship is annoying! Especially not on the kids menu. Kids dont want some exotic dessert......they want ice cream!

Just got back, its not there, asked and they said its gone. Have to buy it from a man with a trolley sat near the pool. But he isnt there at night.

I have no objection if they did what MSC do and have a proper Ice Cream shop......even though its included in the all inclusive. But it seems this is not very well thought out. I cant imagine the cost they save is very much......

 

Costa 2017 policies are changing many things.....lets hope they see sense with this.

There is a Lord!

No ice cream on Costa Mediterranea menus in MDR. I was being made to feel that I had dreamt it all. There was also a cart selling ice cream in the casino - funny thing is that kids are not allowed in the casino!!! Great marketing Costa!

What did you think of Mr Barbieri's Gala menu? We didn't think much!

Did you have the braised venison and polenta? Least said soonest mended!

Dying to read your review, where is it?

I live well within driving distance of Northern Europe's premier cruise port and took two of last years six cruises from Southampton.

Why would you take your cruises from Southampton if you live within driving distance of Northern Europe's premier cruise port? :p

It also depends on your definition of 'premier'. Might be No 1 in terms of cruise passengers but certainly not great in terms of accessibility and direct air links nor does it offer much as a tourist destination in itself. Most transiting passengers head to London or to Bath / Stonehenge. I have not passed through it yet, but what I gather Southampton is not noted for its swift embarkation processes either. On the other hand Hamburg is a destination in itself along with being close to the Baltic beaches and other historical cities such as Lubeck or Bremen to mention just two. The cruise terminal is extremely accessible with a subway station right by the terminal. Handing in the terminal in my experience is extremely efficient with short boarding times. Warnemunde and Kiel provided similar experiences. Could it be German efficiency or British inefficiency or a bit of both? Hamburg has air links to most major European airports with full service or low cost carriers.

Hamburg wins every time.

Blaue Bar in the Hotel Sacher, is like a waiting room in a Perian brothel. Biggest tourist trap in Vienna and the sickly mess of chocolate, fat, jam and cream that is called Sacher Torte (cake) is like swallowing a kilo of lead.

 

So many wonderful Vienese coffee houses to visit than the Sacher places, give me Linzer cake any day.

In fairness GMT, you are the only one that mentioned Sacher Torte.

How the hell do you know what swallowing a kilo of lead is like? Surely one would not live to tell the tale if one could even manage it.

I'll be having strudel.

And you are correct there are so many wonderful Viennese coffee houses - but there are three meals plus 2 coffee breaks to take - so plenty of opportunity to try some more.

Anyhow, our visit to Sacher is an invitation from dear Viennese friends, it would be rude to suggest an alternative dining venue.

For the sake of accuracy, may I correct you on the following

For all but the smallest cruise ships Split will, however, be a ‘tender’ port. The good news though is that the tender embarkation jetty is almost in the centre of the city..

I have recently visited Split on Costa Mediterranea. CM is by no means a small ship and she docked alongside.

But surely not a great price to pay when they have discounted the cruise price so much.

 

I always find it amazing when cruisers claim to have booked such advantageous rates and deals and then aren't prepared to spend some of their savings on a little treat.

 

It's a funny old world.

Nothing funny at all.

Thankfully we are all different. Indeed some folk do save here to allow them splurge there. One's idea of a treat is very personal, some folk may treat their partner to some naff clothing such as a coat with Norwegian Reindeer, Elk or the like trotting across it -others would run a mile from the same item

However, staying with culinary matters, I would prefer to spend any savings on the fare sampling culinary delights ashore rather than on the ship. Examples being afternoon tea at the Burj al Arab or the Sunborn Yacht Hotel in Gibraltar. In fact on our next cruise I am delighted to inform you that we already have a table reservation for at the Blaue Bar in the Hotel Sacher in Vienna for lunch - I know what I will be having for dessert!!! Now that is a treat!

I am sure in due course you will tune in to read all about it and no doubt have an opinion.

My husband and I stayed in Copenhagen for two nights prior to our cruise two weeks ago. I got Danish Kronor before we left and used it for cab fair and incidentals. Be sure to go to Tivoli Gardens while you are there. Beautiful place and plenty of restaurants. We took the guided walking tour from City Hall and also enjoyed the National Museum of Denmark. Any souvenirs from the museum gift shop can be mailed home at a reasonable cost. Our box arrived just the other day and it was packed beautifully, nothing broken. Be sure to walk in the walking lanes and not the bike lanes. Those guys ride fast and do not like to stop!:D

Danes are lovely people except when they are on bicycles.

We used the Free Walking Tour in Copenhagen by Sandemanns New Europe Tour and they were excellent

You will need DKK and NOK in their respective countries for incidentals - bus fares, small shop purchases, stamps

TAs are not allowed to rebate, or reduce cruise fares.

 

I am a huge supporter of local small business, therefore I will always use a TA for ALL of my travel bookings. Cruises or otherwise.

 

I also don't accept the OBC, unless it is from the cruise line as part of my booking - because I know otherwise the OBC is coming from the TA's hard earned paycheck, and I don't believe in it.

 

 

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I believe the every little helps so I do accept what they offer. The TA has decided to offer it as a means of attracting your attention so why not take it. They seem happy to offer it in the first instance.

I suppose we also have to consider other things, I am not lucky enough to live within driving distance from the cruise port and therefore cannot avail of last minutes much more readily than most. I would love to avail of last minute cruise offers but unfortunately last minute air fares no longer make the complete package a bargain.

In short if I had the same opportunity to avail of cheap cruises that those that live near the port have I might be more than willing to leave the OBC enticement with them too. I have no guilty conscience accepting OBC as I don't get last minute fares, therefore pay higher fares and thus my TA gets higher commission. In fact my TA may be better off selling a cruise at a 'regular' fare and forfeiting USD25 OBC than pocketing 100% of the commission from a last minute fare.

We have just been on the Pacifica and ate in the Pizzeria nearly every evening because we were allocated the late sitting and it was too late for us.

 

The pizzas were a decent size with thin crust. I thought they put too much cheese on but asked them to cut back and they were happy to do so.

 

We did not get salad but a large yummy bowl of mixed olives. There were a few dessert choices: Apple pie, lemon meringue, tiramisu and maybe one other.

 

That cost 6.50 Euros. I don't think that is too bad though lots of people feels late night pizza slices should be included.

 

They also had very expensive burgers available from something like 21h30. Never even looked though we would probably have paid for the variety.

 

I agree with regular Costa cruisers on the forum that the food is not great on Costa. I think the cruises from the UK are extremely reasonable and we usually plan some decent lunches ashore. For us being on the ship and eating is a little part only.

 

I am sad that the Magica is now a little tired. She was our first cruise and she was very new then(2005 I think).

The final dessert is a chocolatey mousse that is inedible!

Yes the 'gourmet' burger speciality section in the buffet in the evening cost €10 pp as a cover charge. Not sure what extras come like starters or desserts. On Meditteranea we never saw many using it.

In fact the best customers of the Pizzeria were the crew.

If you purchase before you board there are some discounts. For example the water package to prepurchase through your travel agent is approx. €31,00 where as on board it is approx €36.00 (don't have the exact euro and cents price) - the difference being the 15% service charge. AFAIK other beverage packages follow the same pricing model.

I haven't been on Spendida, but I suspect it's like any other ship. You will be able to get around with a stroller, and I definitely recommend bringing one. That said, you may find you'll need to detour at some points (ie. elevator or ramp instead of stairs), and you will want to avoid any really crowded areas. People who can't see the stroller are prone to tripping over it. Pretty much just as you do on land, except there are some natural congestion areas prior to dinner or the shows that can get very busy.

 

At 15 months, your baby will be toddling along quite nicely. At the same time, still relatively easy to carry. :D I would not bring the stroller to the dining room or the shows as there generally isn't a good place to stow them. We did take strollers when our kids were tiny, but would collapse them and put them up against a railing or column so they'd be out of the way. Even that can be tough and in the way of the staff.

 

You can bring the stroller to the buffet however, and it's a good idea if it has some carrying capacity for food items. ;)

 

Milk will likely only be freely available at breakfast, but can be requested at lunch and dinner. (This might be different in Europe however.) Nonetheless, you might consider bringing a thermos and take some back to the room with you after breakfast. Some ships have the small cartons, which can easily be brought back and stored in the refrigerator. However, some ships just have a dispenser.

Milk will be available free for kids at any bar. They will also give you boiling water for kids bottles. They will also deliver boiling water to your cabin to make up formula at no charge even if you are in a Bella cabin.

We have twins, so a double buggy. We parked it at the dining room entrance and the kids wobbled or toddled to our table. There will be no issue for you.

I think you will find it is the Eurovision Song Contest and the country is the United Kingdom - Royaume Uni and not Grande Bretagne!

With 5 winners to the UK as opposed to 2 for Germany - I think they may have been getting their fare share of 'douze points'.

This is really strange. I have used several times the room service in a premium cabin and it was included in the cruise fare. Look at this page http://www.costacruises.co.uk/gb/cruise-price-included.html

it says: "In-room service and breakfast (included in the price of the cruise for guests in the Premium, Suite and Samsara Cabins)"

Are you sure that you have booked a premum cabin? Because things like that are possible only if you have booked a classic or a guarantee cabin and you have been upgraded to a premium cabin

Yes I have been in both a classic and premium cabins. The website states in room service i.e. the service fee not the food. Free breakfast is basic continental, a cooked brekkie is €5.

Ho ho ho - right again.:D

 

Thank you Kajira, have a great cruise, how is the drinks package going, hopefully it is paying for it's self.:rolleyes:

Fine, you can have the last word, that is a very German thing!

I have often used the room service in a premium cabin and it is totally complimentary, both the service and the food.

What you have described is onboard MSC in the Fantastica experience

I am now looking at a Costa bill where we stayed in an premium cabin where we were charged €3,50 for cake and coffee plus €2 tray charge.

You can report me to ever you want, including my MIL. But this does not change the facts the you give out false information, this was confirmed yesterday in another thread about Room Service.

The response in English arrived today

Coming to the specific points of your complaint please note that ice creams are no more available for free on board of our ship and in fact are no more available in the dessert menu of the dining room.

This is from Costa's Guest Relations and Quality Assurance Department, UK and Emerging Markets. I think they confirm what I experienced, no ice cream available as a dessert in the MDR.

So I stand by my information being true an accurate. Now if it is all the same to you, I would prefer if you would not respond to my posts and I yours going forward - to this end, there is no need to apologise to me for suggesting my information is inaccurate when it is founded on personal experience and verified by Costa. Happy cruising.

Hi all,

Booked on this, our first river cruise and first with Phoenix Reisen. It is a five nighter (dis)embarking in Passau and calling Esztergom, Budapest, Vienna, Bratislava and Durnstein on the M/S Sofia

Anyone been on this ship or cruised with Phoenix Reisen before. As non German speakers, what should we look out for?

Talk anon!

T

Haven't been on Magica, but generally:

OBC- you must check the terms and conditions. Do not trust what a travel agent tells you over the phone. Shareholder and some promotional OBC cannot, some others can.

Water- you should be getting "waterusa" if you book with Costa USA- it does NOT depend on citizenship as some posters claim. Other countries have different offers. The drink packages are worth considering.

Pizza- Yes, expect a charge. This is one thing that really, really annoys me, because I skip the MDR, a couple of slices of pizza cannot possibly cost more than an MDR meal. There's no charge for room service in a premium cabin but I don't like room service.

Music. Costa's musicians are traditionally very accommodating to requests when it's not busy. Quality varies, some groups are outstanding, if you ask for strict tempo you'll get strict tempo, some are just OK.

Children- do not travel on Costa during school vacations but my experience with longer trips low-season, it's just like going to dances at home.

In a premium cabin the tray charge is gratis but the food you purchase carries a charge.

First of four Costa cruises taken in 2014 on the Pacifica. Lovely ship and great itinerary as she repositioned from Kiel to Savona.

We are considering booking the Magica for October in the Med. Booking from Canada, I was told that they have included in the booking info that we will get free water at the dining room, whereas others might have to pay. I also read that in late evening, say we want to have something to eat at about 11:30pm, the only thing we can get is pizza from somewhere, and you have to pay for it? I am not referring to room service, but just to go to pizza place yourself to pick it up you have to pay? Can anyone who have sailed on the Magica recently verify that information?

 

We have sailed on MSC before, and Costa, but a long time ago. I am familiar with listening to different languages during the announcements etc. I am interested to know more about the service, the attitude of the crew, and the manners of fellow passengers. What about the food quality, and the entertainments? Are there tons of kids on the dance floor with the adults, (as seen as some ships), do the bands play good tempo dancing music? We are fond of doing some dancing after dinner so the music genre and dancing venues are of particular interest to us. The booking would come with some onboard credit, so we plan to book some shore excursions with the ship, although usually we just share taxi tours with other passengers. Would you get enough decent quality shore excursions conducted in English from the ship? Any other info on the Magica would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Not sailed on Magica but have on 4 other ships. We have 3 kids and never seen kids on the dance floor. Food is 3* and entertainment in the theatre is very good.

Pizza is available in the Pizzeria in the evening - it is a speciality type place costing €6,50 for pizza, salad and dessert.

Never have done a Costa tour but many English tours get cancelled if there are few takers or else may have to double up with a French or German tour.

Can you not use your OBC to pay the compulsory service charge?

So being on a high horse you get your information straight from the horse's mouth.

 

I see you had to climb down on another thread after another cruiser confirmed ice cream in MDR on Pacifica. Must have hurt knowing your infallability has great holes in it.

You just posted here to denigrate rather than add to the discussion - therefore I have reported your post. The tone of your response was unnecessary and uncalled for.

However to progress the discussion and in an attempt to clarify whether Icecream is freely available and for free in the MDR, I received an email on 30th May from Costa DE.

I don't speak German but I assume you do. Below is a response from Customer Service in Costa DE [Why they responded to me in German and not in English is anyone's guess, a quick email to Costa VP for Guest Relations now has some one drafting an English response to me]

Sie uns auf Bereiche hin, welche Ihrer Meinung nach verbesserungswürdig sind. So teilen Sie uns mit, dass Ihren Kindern am Tag der Einschiffung kein Eis als Nachtisch zur Verfügung stand. Nach einer Umfrage an Bord unserer Schiffe hat sich unsere Firmenzentrale in Genua daher entschlossen, ein neues Konzept – das „Italy Finest“ (zurück zu den Wurzeln Italiens) – einzuführen. Im Zuge dessen wurden auch die Menüs während des Abendessens angepasst. Bei langfristigen Trends und entsprechenden Befragungsergebnissen stehen wir Produktveränderungen sehr positiv gegenüber. Dass dies nicht Ihren Wünschen entspricht, tut uns sehr leid. Wir möchten unseren Kunden eine Vielfalt an Möglichkeiten bieten und anscheinend ist es uns nicht gelungen, Sie von unserem neuen Produkt, dem „Italy’s Finest“, zu überzeugen. Ergänzend sei erwähnt, dass wir unseren Gästen selbstverständlich Eis anbieten. Dieser Service steht Ihnen gegen Bezahlung zur Verfügung.

Google translate offers some sort of meaningful translation where the last sentence is the operative sentence - Ice cream is available on board but at a charge. Is that not what I said on day 1. I can only assume it is not yet rolled out across the fleet as it still appears on some ships.

You are what we highlighted areas of your opinion of improvement. To let us know that your children was no ice on the day of embarkation and dessert available . According to a survey on board our ships , our headquarters has therefore decided in Genoa , a new concept - the " Italy 's Finest " ( back to the roots of Italy ) - introduce . In the course of the menus have been adjusted during dinner . For long-term trends and corresponding survey results we are product changes very positive about . That this does not meet your needs , We are sorry . We want to offer a variety of options to our customers , and apparently there were not able to convince you of our new product , the " Italy 's Finest " . it should be mentioned that we offer our guests of course ice . This service is available for a fee .

I cannot be any clearer than that unless I get the English response to my query.

Hi, except for the short Nile cruise 6 year ago (lucky to go there before becoming too dangerous) we are the first time cruisers (husband and myself).

Coming from Balkans, Costa sounded as a good enough choice. I read a lot of negative comments about Costa and believe it is all about managing expectations;).

I have some basic basic questions so pls feel free to instruct me where to look for those- if already answered. I tried to find it by myself- no luck.

 

The ship is Costa Fascinosa, starting from Savona

1. How early can we check-in? We will be staying for 2-3 days in Pisa and will arrive to Savona around 12/01 pm. The official start of the cruise is at 5pm. Can we check-in at 1pm (or even earlier)? Noon to 1300 is probably peak check in time. I would aim for 14 - 1430 to be after the rush. You must be onboard by 1530 as the compulsory drill will be 1600 or 1630.

2. Drinking packages- can they be bought just for some days and not for the whole period? Are there water only packages? Can you bring a bottle of water with yourself (unofficially) Water dispensers are available while the buffet is open. I have never had an issue of bring a bottle of water on board - single bottles that you are currently consuming would be ok. I don't think bringing on 2 -3 L unopened to get you through the next 24 hours till you are in port again would be acceptable and they may be taken from you at the gang way. Yes there are water packages - €35 approx. for 13 bottles - cheaper at about €27 if you purchase preboarding. As regards the drinks package - not only everyone in your cabin must purchase one for the entire cruise length - everyone on a booking must do so. So if you are a group in 4 cabins - then all 4 cabin occupants must have the drinks package - it is to prevent one cabin occupant purchasing drinks for everyone else. Additionally if you are on a package, you can only obtain water by the glass and not the bottle.

3. Where can I find prices of drinks so I can estimate if packages are the right solution for us? Especially having in mind that most of the time we are on the shore. We are not drinkers and rarely use a package preferring to purchase coffees on an as you go basis on board. If you look at 5€a5cann€r you can see the prices if you make a dummy booking.

4. We have premium outside cabin- I understand it gives us some benefits for dinner- but what exactly and how it works? All it means is that you can chose your dining time and that you can have free room service - by that I mean the service charge is waived - you still must pay for the food. It is free continental breakfast if you want a cooked breakfast it is €5pp

5. Can you wear highills aboard (I know, I know- but for me it is important;))? As an man, these things don't bother me, but yes I am sure they can be as high as you wish notwithstanding the ceiling height :p

6. I understood that if we are late to ship, they will leave us in the port where we stopped. But how early shall we be back? If it says that we are in one of the ports till 8pm- is it enough to return at 7:45pm? No!!!! all aboard time is 30 mins before sail time - so be back at 1930 at the latest - preferably 1900

7. Are the ships always on time- I'd like to buy some sightseeing tickets in advance (Sagrada Familia) ans have to choose the exact timing. Can I count that we will be arriving at the time it is planned? How much time is needed to leave the ship when stopping in a port? Any tips/ tricks to speed it up? Generally yes but some ports do get cancelled and you may not get there at all. There can be delays to disembark the ship and those on tours get priority. As you give Sagrada Familia as an example, I suggest booking a time 1,5 to 2 hours after scheduled docking time. You have to factor in things like, how soon the ship is cleared, shuttles to / from the port gates, queues for same, frequency of same, finding public transport, frequency of public transport etc etc8.

How much internet costs? Never use it. It is slow at sea at the best of times

And finaly, if there are some blogs- texts outside of this website you woild advise me to read? We have done 4 Costa cruises - see here

 

http://www.cruisingmates.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=266&t=11399

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

http://www.cruisingmates.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=266&t=9610

http://www.cruisingmates.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=266&t=8937

 

Many many thanks

See responses above!