alicat58

Hi Ighten

What did you do in Savona?

Did you see the vitriol on the rollcall about the Diadema?

Alicat

Jain temple:

You can enter the court yard but not the temple. There were some interesting rules listed. I better not go into them!

Dhobi Ghat:

These guys know how to sort washing by colour.

Jain temple:

You can enter the court yard but not the temple. There were some interesting rules listed. I better not go into them!

Dhobi Ghat:

These guys know how to sort washing by colour.

We returned to the ship. Very happy to have survived the journey. The taxi had no breaks to speak of and the driver mainly used second gear. We did not run any of the kids playing cricket in the road over and we did nit hit the cow that was leisurely strolling in the middle of a busy street.

Muster was at 5 pm and took ages as I mentioned before. Our next day was a sea day. I will hopefully get too New Mangalore sometime during the week.

Bye for now and safe cruising.

Alicat

Boohoo, just lost a whole post as I was distracted.

Mumbai day2:

Please note that you will go through lots of security on arrival on day one. First at the gate and again at the cruise terminal. Costa will take your passport here and will give you copies as well as port passes.

I hope you have your multiple entry visa!

Once you leave the ship on day 2 you will go through security again, TWICE. As you leave the green gate you will be accosted by taxis. The blue and silver ones are more expensive and have air con, the black and yellow ones are cheaper and you wind the windows down. You can also decide whether you want to pay more for a "tour" or pay as you go with the yellow and black taxis. We opted for a "tour" as we were still quite insecure. I think we paid $40 for about 3 hours.

The driver will have a plan where he wants to go so if you want to see something specific have a printout ( I copied off the Costa excursions and researched from there).

We started at the station.

Outside:

Inside at the ticket hall:

The local and country connections go off here:

Some detail on one of the pillars:

From here we went to the old court building:

Turrets:

Mumbai's Big Ben:

It was creawling with security around this area because there was an election the next day.

We also visited the Hanging gardens and Ghandi's house. I did not take photos.

Some more Mumbai with photos on the next page.

Morning All

Thanks Mrs.Ighten for your comments. I just had a look at your blog and photos of Rome. I am going to have a look at your "Not Rome" later to get some idease for our cruise in May.

The NeoClassica is dinky in comparison to the Diadema and the decor is much more quiet. There are no blingy lit up signs to tell you which way to go. You just have to figure it out for yourself. We got used to the "upside down layout" after a while.

We booked an inside cabin for ths cruise but Costa kindly upgraded us to an ocean view. There are 10 suites with balconies(too expensive) and no other balcony cabins. I think the suites were attached during the refurb. She is an old lady after all.

Here are some pictures of the cabin.

Not the greatest photos but it gives you an idea of the layout and colours. The queen sized bed had a small shelf only on either side. There was no seating area other than the "desk". There was also a big shelf under the porthole.The cupboards had sufficient hanging space and drawers for some excessive amounts of clothing.There was safe and a minibar. We did not use it as it is too expensive and not included in the Piu Gusto.

I put one suitcase under the bed and the other on the little fold out stool to use as a laundry basket.

The bathroom was small. There was a shower with a curtain. No washing line in this one. There were no shelves above the basin which was a bummer because I have lots of lotions and potions. There were cupboards below the basin. There was also no shaving mirror or power point in the bathroom. Electric toothbrush needed to be charged on the desk. There was only one power point at the desk and another on the floor next to it but it was not the usual European connection so we were unable to use it. They have the same ones on the NeoRomantica and we had to borrow an adaptor from our cabin chap.

The aircon was OK. We set it at the coldest temperature.

Some more later.

Alicat

Hi Frank

Thanks for following.

I am unable to help you with the evening buffet as we never went there.

The pool deck was HOT. No shade around the adults only pool but the other pool had shade in the smoking area and on the opposite side next to the entrance to the Squok club. All on deck11. It is still very hot out there and will probably be hotter when you sail. Late afternoon in this area is good because there is more shade and the chairs and umbrellas on the one side of the pool will be in shade. It is cooler there when there is a breeze. We had a few days when it was actually quite windy and not so pleasant.

We loved New Mangalore. Negotiate with a taxi. They are really small and I would not advise more than 3 people to be comfy. Check whether the taxi has air con. They will negotiate on how many people they take. We paid $30 each for 3 people and thought it was reasonable. Our driver was not pushy about taking us to shops at all(the only place on the cruise!) as we told him , NO SHOPS.

I copied from the Costa excursions and gave it to the driver. Some of the places are far from New Mangalore and they will want to charge a lot more, just skip those. Like the temple with many pillars etc.He took us to Kudroli temple which was amazing, another much older one and I don't have the name at the moment which was also good. You have to take your shoes off but is free to wander about. He also took us to the artisinal village. There was a small charge but it was actually quite good, if extremely hot. I would not try and walk from place to place. The traffic is diabolical and you're bound to get lost. I had no feeling for distances. I will be posting some photos but will be too late for you I think. I am working so I really only have weekends and maybe a Wednesday to add to the tjread.

Ask if you have other questions. We would have liked more advice before we went but it was not really available.

Regards

Alicat

Hi Norris and Carol

I love reading your reviews too. Started last year when we were looking at a Baltic cruise on the Silly(?i). Never happened on her but went on our usual Costa instead. I know , they're not for everyone but we look past the decor and cruise for the ports which for us is mainly the Med.

We are just back from and amazing 2 weeks cruising in India.

Looking forward to reading about your next cruise and drooling over your amazing photos. I just use my phone and hubby is the one with the fancy Canon which he lugs about like you. Too much effort for me and I just managed today to master posting on CC.

Best wishes

Alicat

We hoped that there would be curry and there was! There were 2 options, in the buffet they had curry/indian dishes or most days there were curries buffet style in the MDR. These were better. There were poppadoms, raita and chutneys and roti on request as well. I don't have any photos of these but they were really good. I spoke to fellow cruisers who found them too hot. We like them hot. They had a chicken curry as well as a variety of vegetarian curry dishes. There were Indian options at breakfast as well. We did not try these.

The burgers at the grill was the best we have ever had on a cruise(only been on Costa). They were made at the grill and packaged like Macdonalds. I think this puts some people off but I am happy with this. You get your burger wrapped and a box of really good chips. I had to wait for chips on occasion so they were freshly made. Yum!

The MDR was our only gripe on the cruise. It is anytime dining and we like that. However, if you did not get there by latest 7.15pm some eveings you had to queue. Timing for theatre exit made no difference. We gave up on a few occasions and went for a pizza. It costs 6.50 euro for a starter of olives, a freshly made, very good pizza(I make my own at home from scratch dow and all and these are better) and a dessert. The desserts have also improved from previous cruises and there are now 5 options: Tiramisu(not good), apple tart(good), lemon tart(good), chocolate muosse with pear(good but large portion) and a fruit plate(come on! I did not try that)

We did not try those 10 Euro burgers because they only serve them from 9.30pm omwards. I will be up alll night if I ate that late.

This was a starter in the MDR and very good. It was a very spicey salami type meat with a pitta pocket and some ricotta.

This one was totally misguided. It had a fancy name like carpaccio of melon with prawns. It was basically flavourless prawns on melon. What did the chef think!

I think this wa chicken or something similar with a tomato and black olive jus. I do remember it was very good.

This was also a starter and to my embarrasment I forgot what it was called.

Mushroom pie with a gorgonzola sauce. Totally devine and as you have noticed we're not vegetarian.

A good enough reason to pay for the Piu gusto.

I have posted so much today and I am extremely pleased with myself that Ii have now mastered getting photos posted.

Maybe more tomorrow.

Bye everybody

Alicat

My favourite breakfast:

I know very unhealthy. Those little fruit tarts are amazing. The cinnamon buns are also very good.

More puddings to come. I don't usually make them at home, so I make up for it when we cruise.

Some sort of chocolate tart in the buffet lunch time.

One of the evening desserts. I cannot remember what it was called. Maybe it should be "death by chocolate"

Hubby had this one. I think it was called Nougat parfait with an almond crisp. He said it was good.

Yes folks! There was ice cream on the menu every night. Always three different flavours. Every night vanilla, but also pistachio, choc chip(amazing) , strawberry and hazelnut.

A few photos of actual food next.

Food on the ship:

La Prima Colazione

Breakfast in cabin: 7-10 am

Breakfast in buffet:6.30-9.30 am

Breakfast for late risers: 9.30-10.30 am

Omelette corner:7-10am

Il Pranzo

Lunch in buffet:12-3pm

Grill: 12-3pm

Lunch in MDR:12.30-1.45 pm

La Merenda

Afternoon tea: 4-6pm

La Cena

Supper MDR: 7-9.30 pm Open seating

Buffet:7.30-9.30pm

We had most of our breakfasts in the Buffet or Omelette corner.

This is omellete corner breakfast time and grill lunch time.

This is the open area behind the buffet were the grill area is. The bar is on the right in the photo. This is aft deck 10.

A lunch time menu from the MDR:

Yes! there was sorbet every lunch time.

Hurray! Posted with spelling mistakes and all! That photo is from the stage end of the grand bar Piazza Navona.

There were some great bar servers in this bar. Very friendly and chatty. Jefferson and Gandhi were two of the chaps.

There were lots of bronze sculptures dotted about. I like cats, this was my favourite:

Despite the NeoClassica being a small ship we found it quite hard to remember the layout. Unlike the other Costa ships the restaurants, bars and casino are on the upper decks rather than deck 3-5. The pool deck is on deck 11 and split in an adults only aft with 2 jacuzzis and then the main smaller pool more central. There is a pool bar and this was also a smokers area. The only place on the ship were you actually smelt smoke. Unlike other ships there is no smoking in the casino. There was a lot of animation team activity next to this pool and though we don't partake it was actually fun too watch. It was also nice that they had tables and chairs on both sides of this pool and a few unbrellas to give a little shade. It was extremely hot. I walked barefoot on deck one day and was jumping about like one of those little lizards you see in desert programmes.

A little food porn next.

Alicat

Hi All

Just tried to post and CC decided that I was a robot! Whole entry lost. Lets try again.

Thanks for those who are following. Ighten it looks as if you are having a great time on the Diadema. We have booked her for 20/5/17. Had to wait a week to book! I agree with you about the noise levels in the bars and the theatre. I think the sound engineers are all deaf. I thought the sound distorted it was so loud.

OK, lets try again.

Wednesdays ramble:Hi All

Work is getting in the way of telling you about ouradventures, sorry. We all know that is how we pay for cruises.

Today a little about the entertainment on the ship.

She's small and was not full when we sailed. No complaintsabout that. She has no atrium, so no atrium bar. There is a grand bar calledPiazza Navona(deck 8), Puccini Ballroom(deck 9), a foyer bar outside thetheatre(deck 8), Positano bar on the pool deck(deck 11), the Alfresco bar aftoutside the buffet(deck 10) and a wine bar(deck 9).

There was a lot of live music on the ship and minimalcanned! In the grand bar there was Duo Charlie and Gianni(keyboards andsingers) and Duo Los Paraguayos(2 guitars). Music started at 18h00 and went ontill 01h00. Duo Charlie played sort of general stuff and a lot of Sting/Police.Los Paraguayos played more Latin type stuff and were fantastic. They alsoplayed on the pool deck early evenings.

Ferenc played the piano in the foyer but the poor guy didnot really have an audience. Costa would do better having him elsewhere becausehe was also quite good.

In the Puccini Ballroom was a 4/5 piece band and they werealso good. They started varying times, some evenings from 20h30 to 01h00. Theyliked Abba.

We only went to 2 shows in the theatre. The one was thesingers and dancers and the other a folk show. We enjoyed both. The shows wereat 19h45 and 21h15/21h30.

So another URL unlike the test site. Lets see if it actually posts

Alicat

Glad to see you are enjoying yourselves. The new CC format is a real pain. I could not click and open your block, had to enter on google.

I am also battling with the photos but that's not new for me:D.

Have you noticed that you are unable to enter something where it says message at the top of the reply to thread. So you cannot put a heading to your entry. If someone has figured this out can they post please.

Hope you had a good day in Palma.

Alicat

Hi All

We are back from our cruise and I am going to have another go at writing about it .I have looked at doing a blog instead, but as I mentioned in my previous attempt, I am a bit technically challenged and that also seemed a bridge too far as well.

We have never been to India and thought this would be a good way to experience the subcontinent and then "escape" back to the ship.

In Blighty (UK), it was pretty chilly before we left. The weekend before sailing we had a little bit of snow. We were bracing ourselves for the higher temperatures on this holiday. Fortunately we missed "Doris Day"(the storm that hit the UK for our friends in the US and elsewhere), and the house is still standing on our return. Was she really that bad?

We left on Friday 17 February and it took us nearly 2h30m to get to Heathrow thanks to Friday afternoon rush hour. We flew BA. It took 8h45m to get to Mumbai. It was an elderly 777 and though the seats were somewhat bigger than Ryanair and the food and booze included, it was not that much better. The breakfast in particular was diabolical.

Mumbai airport was a breeze despite the warnings about immigration. As you walk out after collecting your luggage you will find Currency exchange where you can exchange some of your money to Rupees (which quickly became Ruperts thanks to hubby). To be honest you can use Dollars almost everywhere. My suggestion will be to take plenty of those, you will need them:D.

To the left of the exchange is a counter where you can get a prepaid taxi to get you to port. My suggestion is this is the way to go. They are bigger than the taxis around the city and they have aircon. Unfortunately I cannot remember how much it cost, but they wanted Rupees. Somewhere in my mind it stuck as around 2000. Once you leave the counter with your little sheet of paper you will be grabbed by a man who will hand you over to a weedy little man who will race off with your suit cases. Word of advice. He will want a tip. We only had VERY large denomination notes. Ask them at the Exchange counter to give you some smaller notes as well. It is impossible to pay the other taxis when you have only 500 rupee notes. They "never have change". Yeah, pull the other one.

Once you leave the International airport and hit the streets you will realise you are not in Europe or the USA now.

I have mentioned in the past that I was born in South Africa. I know about shanty towns and informal settlements but it did not prepare me for the slums we drove past and through.You will see little shops, goats, cattle, dogs, kids, corrugate iron homes and make shift tents. This is the biggest city in India, they have a space programme and most of the people from call centres calling us in the UK, call from here. I expected a modern city with some shanty towns on the outskirts, wrong!

Back to getting to port! Your driver needs to know to drop you off at the Green Gate. Your luggage will be taken from you on the pavement. I thought it looked very dodgy but we had our luggage delivered to our cabin intact. You will then go past more uniformed men who will want to look at your Costa booking forms and passport. After that you get onto a local shuttle that will take you to the ship where they will take your photo as usual. Be prepared to look quite dreadful in it because by now you will be very hot and sweaty in your winter clothing. BUT you can just about immediately head for the bar to start using your drinks package. We did actually go to our cabin first to pick up our Costa cards.

Well folks, that is all for today. Hopefully I will make friends with either Flikr or Photobucket soon and get some photos to wet your appetites.

Happy cruising

Alicat

Hi Bazbov

It is good to see all these happy comments about Costa don't you think.

Boarding the NeoClassica in Mumbai tomorrow. I like some of those non-alcoholic cocktails too. Specially the Pasionfruit Caipirinha.

Back in 17 days and I will have another go at doing a trip blog.

Happy cruising.

Alicat

Hi

We did not eat in the Samsara when we were on the Fascinosa. The previous times(two) the menus were unchanged and the best thing was the ginger pudding with ginger ice cream. There I go again with desserts!

We never have room service breakfast so I cannot help with that one. It's quite difficult to get a decent coffee or capuccino in the MDR but if you have breakfast in the buffet or pool deck it's easy to get a proper pot of tea(sort of) or decent coffee. They don't have an Americano on the menu but just ask and they will make one. I guess a shot of espresso with extra water in a bigger cup. Infinitely better than the swill they serve in the MDR. If you are in a suite and eat your meals in the club you can get any of the drinks on the AI.

19 days to go!

Alicat

"Butlins is a chain of large holiday camps in the United Kingdom. Butlins was founded by Billy Butlin to provide affordable holidays for ordinary British families." (a long time ago in 1936! and still going)

I think the reason why hubby calls the entertainment "Butlins at sea" is because it's a bit cheesy. Costa does not seem quite as bad as some in my opinion. Why would one want to look at a "hairy chest competition" or for that matter belly flop etc.

Hopefully CCers won't think this is snobbery. It was meant to be tongue in cheek. Just not our cup of tea.:o

"Butlins is a chain of large holiday camps in the United Kingdom. Butlins was founded by Billy Butlin to provide affordable holidays for ordinary British families." (a long time ago in 1936! and still going)

I think the reason why hubby calls the entertainment "Butlins at sea" is because it's a bit cheesy. Costa does not seem quite as bad as some in my opinion. Why would one want to look at a "hairy chest competition" or for that matter belly flop etc.

Hopefully CCers won't think this is snobbery. It was meant to be tongue in cheek. Just not our cup of tea.:o

Hi Bob

Thanks for your comments. I am probably too impatient and too technically challenged for Photobucket.

We will be in Mumbai on the NeoClassica in 3w. I am hoping to do a better job on that trip. Look out for it sometime in March.

We have only been on Costa and really like them.

Here is my list:

Fascinosa Nov 2016: Western Med

Luminosa July 2016: Baltic

Pacifica May 2016: Barcelona to Hamburg

Diadema Febr 2016: Western Med

Deliziosa Nov 2015: Eastern Med

Diadema May 2015: Western Med

NeoRomatica Jan 2015: Western/Eastern Med

Serena Jan/Febr 2014:Western Med

Deliziosa March 2011: Persian Gulf

Fortuna April 2009:Eastern Med

Magica April 2005: Wester/Easten Med

It is quite clear when we became a child free zone!

There are lots of moaning about Costa and the cost. I think they are very reasonable compared to the other lines when I compare the prices. Their service charge is not excessive, their drinks package(Piu gusto) is much cheaper than the other lines and other that the service desk and our recrnt issue with the cruise consultant , the staff do an amazing job.

We don't partake in what hubby calls "Butlins at sea" (he's by the way never been to anything like Butlins) and we are honestly not that keen on sea days. The animation team is a hoot though. They like to shout "Applauso" a lot and when I hear them I suddenly feel really at home.

We are just disappointed that Costa does not do North America and the Far East. It seems that the Far East cruises are purely aimed at the local market and does not even come up on the UK Costa site. We are not overly keen on the Caribbean but might try one of the South America ones at some stage.

Give them a try.

Alicat

Hi all

Thank you so much for all the info.

We have only booked a morning with Costa in Mumbai for the moment. I sent Mumbaimagic 2 emails and never heard back. The I sent an email to someone else and got a response from a different company. Ii looked them up and they looked great but it was $150 per person for 5hrs and I thought that was excessive. It was basically a private tour though because it would have been the two of us. I said we would be happy to share but she did not quote me other prices. Considering we paid $250 pp for 2 very full days in St.Petersburg last year I decided we'll give it a miss. Hubby is still keen to try and do some DIY and it looks possible but I am a little worried to try. However Tarpave has given so much info that it looks an option.

GMT, I'll work hard at keeping those mozzies happy!

Alicat

Hi Tarpave and LizaLaLiz

We are flying to Mumbai 3w today. Very excited.

Were the passengers predominantly European like in the Med on Costa and was the food the same Italian or did they serve some Indian food in the MDR?

Can you give me a brief idea what you did in the ports? Specially Male! What are the hotel scams you mention?

One last question: Did you use a fair amount of foreign currency or were credit cards accepted?

Thanks for any info.

Alicat

GMT you crack me up. Went to sleep with a smile on my face. Happy days.

Alicat

Hi TNT10

You really made me laugh out loud.

I stopped drinking box wine after I left university and could afford something decent. I lived in Cape Town for 16 years and had access to amazing wines. Europe is on my doorstep and we do driving holidays in France on a regular basis. I love Italian wines. At home we drink mostly NZ sauvigon and Italian reds though I have a friend who lives in the Dordoigne and he brings me the odd bottle from his local Chateau.

I have no issues with the cheap wines on Costa and find them quite palatable.

As for the booze package which is part of the deal when you book a suite:

1)I won't pay the extra for it. We stick to Piu gusto.

2)We had an upgrade to a suite so we are cheap skates.

I do find it quite offensive that you think because some of us like Costa and put up with what you think makes us uncultivated or worse.

Enjoy your Californian wines and an alternative cruise line.

Another Costa cheer leader!

Alicat58

Hi Ighten

I think I might have to try the Blogging. I think I am too impatient for Photobucket. I looked at your blog and it is great.

I hope you like the Diadema. We have been on her twice and are thinking of going again in a few months. It really does not matter to us that we go to the same places yet again! We'll just try and do something different and still go to our favourite restaurants in Palma and Savona.

I was going to tell people about a place in Savona and post some photos. Let me have a try.

Emanuella's Tiramisu:

Amazing pizza and cheap wine by the carafe:

The restaurant is called Solo because you can only have pizza. Emanuella is the owner's wife and she makes a few desserts. The meal was dirt cheap. I think about €20. It's tiny and usually full of locals and Costa staff. We have never been when it was warm enough to sit outside but it looks as if the might use an area opposite in summer.

Have you been given a table in Corona Blu? It is any time dining but the same as the main dining room. Lots of tables for two at the back of the buffet restaurant that is closed off in the eveings. It is really nice and you can try and get the same table every night or if you like your servers at least in the same area.

The only thing about the ship that I did not like was that the sound engineer must be deaf or a teenager thinking that if you crank the volume up the music sounds better. We thought both times it was just too loud and impossible to enjoy in the theatre. The bars were OK except for the one at the back( I think Theodora). By the way if it is warm enough it is great to sit outside in this bar. You might be lucky in some ports. We had 18 or 19 degrees in Barcelona in February last year.

Less than 4 weeks to our India cruise now. Can't wait.

Happy cruising.

Alicat

Next stop Palma de Mallorca:

It was a rather dreary start to the day. We did not mind too much because our main reason for wanting to visit Palma was another visit to Forn de Sant Joan. We found this amazing restaurant 2 years ago when we were on the Diadema and when we visit last year they were closed and we were very disappointed.

The plan was to get to Belver Castle because of the views. We got a taxi outside the port entrance and he dropped us at the ticket office at the castle. It was a rip off but far too far to walk. By the time we entered the castle it was pouring with rain and we wandered through the rooms. Not hugely entertaining. Eventually the rain stopped and the sun broke through and we were rewarded with amazing views towards the harbour, city and mountains.

It was quite difficult to find a way down. Once again too far too walk and the taxis at the top were all pre-booked. One of the friendly taxi guys gave us a ride down to a taxi waiting area for €5. We managed to then get a taxi to the area next to the cathedral.

It is worth visiting the cathedral. The stained glass windows are beautiful and look out for the modern mural on the right of building.

Unfortunately I do not have photos of any of these.

Next stop Forn. They have a good value lunch menu but we came for their tapas. This is tapas with a difference and so delicious.

They first off serve some amazing dips and crispy bread and amazing olives.

We ordered a few plates:

Calamari and large prawns with parmasan. Both superb.

Jambon croquetas and pork with orange and ginger.

http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u421/rbdupreez/20161108_142125_zps8exgttou.jpg

This was the most amazing pudding ever , mainly because those gold balls were popping candy! I was deprived of popping candy as a child(just did not get it then) and I love the stuff.

We enjoyed our lunch a lot but found the service rather rushed this time. We strolled back to the area where we were previously dropped off and went back to the ship.

One of the photos taken when we sailed from Palma.

Once again I find Photobucket a nightmare. It seems to selectively decide which photos it will upload and it is unbelievably slow.

I am afraid I am going to let the rest of this ramble be because it is just far too frustrating.

We were very happy with our upgrade. Our cabin steward Jordan kept the place spick and span. We cannot really see the point of the butler. Han dropped menus off and made sure that out fruit bowl was full. Not that we ate much of it.

The drinks package included some premium brands which were nice to have and it was a bonus to have more wines to choose from and we were pleasantly surprised by how good some of them were. We have no issues with the standard of the wine on Piu Gusto though a disgruntled CC person called them "rock gut". Not sure whether it was a typo but I thought poor quality wine is called "rot gut" and the Piu gusto wines are not.

I'll try and find an alternative to photobucket to post photos and will take lots when we are on the NeoClassica in India. 34 days to go.

Thanks for following and happy cruising to all.

Alicat