Alex71

37 minutes ago, TrustyJ said:

Very good to hear.  We board tomorrow. Any other advice for excursions not done through Costa at any of the ports?

We did a tour through Get your Guide in Abu Dhabi that included the mosque, the Etihad Towers and the Palace. Overall good tour to get an overview and see the most important sights. On earlier trips to Dubai we did desert safaris also through GyG, which were great, especially if the quads are already included.

In Qatar, Uber is super cheap. I'd just take an Uber to Souq Waqif there.  

On 2/17/2023 at 7:41 AM, Edinburghgirl1 said:

On our cruise there was a “white Party” and Arabian Nights” party. There’s also a Silent Disco. The kids club is open 9.00am till 12.00pm. 

Just back from the Toscana as well. At least on our cruise, the suggested dress code was pretty much ignored by everyone, whether it was white, Arabian or elegant. 

Overall great cruise. Wadi Shab, which we had booked via Oman Sunshine Tours, was amazing. Best excursion of the cruise. 

2 hours ago, Wansbrough said:

The only ATM I remember seeing was midway along the corniche, I didn't spot one in the port area but then I wasn't really looking for one. Are you not able to get some before you leave or in Dubai?

Sorry I can't be of more assistance.

Thank you, yes, I guess I'll have to get some beforehand or I'll have to ask the driver to stop at an ATM. As I won't be back from a business trip in time to board in Dubai, I'll now fly to Qatar and board there. But it's probably better to exchange Euros for the Oman currency before leaving. 

Question regarding the port in Muscat: I booked a tour to Wadi Shab with a local company that requires cash payment in the local currency. Have you seen an ATM in port? I wasn't able to find anything online. Or does Costa offer money exchange on board at decent rates?

Doha also has a brand new metro system. A day pass apparently costs only 9 of the local currency, which is the equivalent of just over 2 EUR or USD. The Uber fare estimator also shows ridiculously low amounts although I'm not sure if this changes when a large ship is in port. We plan on using the metro on the day we have there before embarkation.

I can seccond that. My son injured himself playing soccer and had to spend the remainder of the cruise on the Toscana in a wheelchair. We were given the option of switching to a wheelchair cabin which was about three times the normal size. The bathroom was also larger. It was on the lowest deck, though. In the end we decided against it as we had already settled into the other cabin and he was doing ok jumping around on one leg. The crew was super nice and did everything they could to help him.

On 1/16/2023 at 11:22 PM, Edinburghgirl1 said:

We are on the cruise departing 3rd February. We were allocated a boarding time of 22.00hrs. I called them to ask if we would be able to drop off our luggage earlier than that as we will be checking out our hotel around mid day. The then asked if I wanted my time changed to the earliest check in time which I was told is 15.00hrs which  I agreed to. 
according to the Costa app the cruise returns to Dubai at 05.00an so should be plenty time to make the flight. We are also flying at 13.35pm. 

Thank you! Glad they were able to somewhat accommodate. 

I had to change my plans as I'll be coming back from a business trip on Thursday. Now getting on in Qatar where I was allocated a boarding time of 15:30.

Anyone else on the Feb 19th departure and interested in sharing a tour to Wadi Shab in Muscat? 

4 hours ago, Wansbrough said:

We were picked up at 8:00am from the cruise terminal for a 12:10pm flight so I would say easily. There were taxis outside the cruise terminal if that is your plan.

Perfect, thank you so much for your response. Yes our, disembarkation time in Savona was around 9 am so was hoping Dubai would be the same and we could be on the way to the airport around 9:30 and to then still have roughly three hours there before departure.

8 hours ago, Wansbrough said:

We were given a specific embarkation time but did arrive about an hour earlier because of the pre arranged car from the hotel. The cruise terminal was pretty much deserted. We embarked on the 2nd day in Dubai and I think most of those getting on in Dubai had done so the day before. I have just remembered something that was unusual for Costa, we were given our cruise cards in the terminal. 

Thank you ver much! And they let you on an hour earlier without problems? I remember AIDA once made us wait outside the terminal until our exact embarkation time.

Looking at a return flight leaving around 13:00 hrs. Do you think that would be easy enough to reach?

Just in the process of booking this for the Departure on February 24th. Were you given a specific embarkation time or were you able to check in at any time on that first day? Looking at a flight with which we'd be arriving shortly before midnight the day before, so assuming we won't be at the airport hotel before the eary moring and will likely want to sleep in a bit before getting a taxi to the port.   

It seams the package is cheaper when purchased upfront. If booked individually, they seem to be the same price.

On 6/27/2022 at 7:58 PM, inside cabin said:

Booked on the Toscana in November. Marseille to Dubai 20 nights ocean view cabin  with drinks package at a great price

we’ve done this same trip 8 years ago on Costa Fortuna and have also done Barcelona to Argentina on Costa Pacifica

always had good service and found the ships very nice. Much better than MSC and on a par with NCL

Sounds great! I'm also keeping an eye on that trip. I'm sure you'll have a fantastic time.

Thank you for sharing your experience, @Janet&Carl. Does sound very good. The Suez Canal would be one of the things I would most look forward to, alsong with the Stop in Israel.

Looking into a repositioning cruise from Valencia or Savona to Dubai. Can anyone share experiences with this type of cruise? Is the same weekly menu repeated every week or is the food more varied than usual? Are there any other differences compared to the usual one week cruises? 

Hope your are enjoying your trip. My son had injured his foot on board and could not walk. Everyone was wonderful to him. Crew members even helped push him around in a wheelchair. Medical facilities on board were also very good.

On 5/20/2022 at 11:57 AM, BVILady said:

Just checking, have not found any updates on that ridiculous rule. Last update I see is from Dec. 5th, 2021. If I did miss anything can you kindly provide a link? Thanks in advance.

My wife as an American had no problems at all to board the Toscana over Easter. She does have a German residence permit, though, so that might have made a difference.

On 5/17/2022 at 7:44 PM, talkone said:

Hi Alex……could you let me know the main dining rooms,I appear to have a choice of 5🤔

We had four to choose from. Food is the same in all of them, so not much of a difference. I had looked at Youtube videos before the cruise and picked the one I liked best from a design perspective, but in the end, we were given a different one anyway. Looks like one can pick the time, but there is little one can do to influence the location. 

When we boarded the Toscana 2 1/2 weeks ago, testing was done as part of the check-in process in the terminal free if charge. Results became available after about 10 minutes.

On 5/2/2022 at 3:14 PM, sarunas12344 said:

I must say that in the first days food felt fantastic and we wanted to try everything. However, after few days in the ship the food felt bland and everything tasted basically the same - the food in breakfast buffets and lunch/dinner was repeating. That is why we enjoyed the food on shore while visiting cities much more as Costa does not really include too many options for our taste

We felt exactly the same. Super impressed by the first few meals, but then variety was lacking a bit. The Osteria was a good alternative, but food there was not drastically different either. We ate at the Poke Bowl place once, which hat only a modest surcharge.

While I in principle like how they carry the Italian theme through, some other included options would have been good as well.

BTW, I'm writing a detailed trip report in German (hope it's allowed to post the link, if not, please delete): https://www.amerika-forum.de/t/pandemic-cruise-eine-woche-mit-der-costa-toscana-durch-das-westliche-mittelmeer.253963/

7 hours ago, Dancer Bob said:

I'm told the theatre has a somewhat unusual layout, it was described as sort of a theatre in the round. Did you find it works OK?

There is the lagre Colosseum in the middle of the ship. It is sourrounded by bars and a place where one can enjoy a drink and watch a bit of the shows in the background. It is definitely a different vibe than these large theaters where you stay for an entire show.

Then, there is the Frau Arena that is more separate, but it is important where you sit if you would like to have a decent view. It it's a popular show, it may make sense to be there 10 minutes befire the show.

5 minutes ago, jennjess said:

Sounds like you had a good time onboard.

The insurance thing worked out OK? Did you need to produce any test results before boarding or was testing done at the port?

Was definitely very nice, especially since it was not overcrowded due to capacity restrictions. 

The insurance documents were not even checked, so I suspect it only was an attempt to upsell their own insurance. It did cost me quite a bit of waiting time on the phone to get the documents issued. So not crazy about hem doing that.

There was no upfront Covid test required. They did a rapid test for free during check-in. Results were made available after about 10 minutes, so this did not cost us any time at all, as we received the results as we had already progressed to the next building.

The had talked about a mandatory test mid-cruise, but this was not done. The mandatory daly temprature checks were not enforced either. I only found out after a few days where the stations were.

3 hours ago, hammo said:

Hi Alex , 

Thinking of booking Toscana for 7 night Dubai cruise . We have never sailed with Costa - are Elite with Celebrity and RCCL and sailed NCL and Princess several times - just once with the doomed Crystal - and have just been reading many reviews of Costa and MSC who both sail the region in January . Sadly positive reviews are few and far between for both Costa and MSC . Can you put a positive light on anything ? Seems dining is not that good and we usually sail with a beverage package , so any info on those experiences would be helpful as you have just been onboard . Thanks for any advice .

The Toscana is a nice ship, would definitely cruise it again. I especially liked the very wide infinity walk area on deck 7 and 8 on which one could completely circle the ship. I've never on a ship before felt so connected to the sea.

The food in the MDR is the classic four course Italian meal sequence with one starter, two main courses and a desert. I found the food quite good and the portion sizes adequate. 

One of the main complaints is about the opening hours of the restaurants and buffets. This did not bother us at all. There is always a lunch restaurant open till 4 or so, so that there is the option to eat lunch when coming back from a shore excursion. 

I manage my weight by not snacking between meals, but a person who likes to eat all the time might be diappointed or might have to plan for a bit of extra budget to pay for food when the included restaurants are closed. I thin the burger place, where a burger costs just 2 EUR stays open until 2 am. The Heineken Pub also has food available for purchase until late.

I found the My Drinks package to be excellent value and service great. wine and water in the MDR was always refilled, when the glass was still half full, never a need to wait for anthing.

Drink service in all bars was also excellent and drinks good. 

Here are some examples of some of the meals:

Breakfast from the buffet:

Here are some example of some of the MDR meals:

Lunch:

Dinner:

900 g Tomahawk steak (22 EUR surcharge, anough for several people):

Osteria (included alternative restaurant):

We just disembarked the Costa Toscana today. Happy to answer any questions regarding this ship and current procedures on board.

On 4/19/2022 at 11:16 PM, dritan said:

Just back from Toscana (great cruise).  Have to say that if I had to do it again, I wouldn't have gone for the My Drinks Plus option.  One of the reasons we went for it was that it included the minibar but didn't realise that Toscana doesn't have minibars in their cabins.  The My Drinks is basically the Piu Gusto package, so most cocktails, wine options etc.  The Plus included a handful of better quality cocktails such as Melon Balls, Margheritas, as well as a few extra wine by the glass options.  But really not worth it for me.

 

The Heineken bar was great and included a lot of beers and beer cocktails - they also had a rock trio on most nights. 

Just got back from the Toscana today and agree. We had the basic My Drinks package, which was sufficient for our purposes. The included wines were from Sicily and not bad at all. especially the rosé and the red. Did not care for the white as much.

I was under the impression that "themed bars" like the Heineken Bar were not included and only on the last day found out that all of the beers had a yellow dot behind them, which means they were included in our package.

Basic Margheritas were included in our package as were Italian staples such as Aperol Spritz. The also make good Mojitos.  There was really not much we misses. Need a week of liver detox now.