Photo review of a 7-day cruise in the Baltic Sea with Costa Mediterranea

On July 29th my family –consisting of my husband, my son (aged 6) and daughter (aged 4) –travelled with Costa Mediterranea from Stockholm to the Baltic,making stops in Helsinki, St Petersburg and Tallinn. When doing research for this trip I did not find many reviews on Costa Mediterranea, and quite limited information at all about Costa, so I decided to make a review myself in the hope of being able to help somebody else planing a similar trip. English is not my first language, so please forgive any linguistic mistakes I might make.

My plan is not to make a day to day review of our trip, but to write about different topics that I find important when planning for a cruise.

First some background information: This was my and my family´s 4th cruise. We have previously travelled with Norwegian in the Caribbean and through the Panama Canal, and with Carnival in the Caribbean. Hence this was our first cruise both with Costa, and in Europe. My intention is to make some comparison between these three cruise lines.

Check-in and embarkation

For the first time, we were actually able to drive directly from home to the cruise port. We got up early in the morning with the goal of arriving in Stockholm around 1 p.m. Embarkation was supposed to be 2-8 p.m, with an actual departure 6 a.m. the following morning. In reality embarkation started before 1 p.m. We had printed out a map from the Port Authorities´ website with parking lots in the area where it was possible to park for a week. This map turned out to be very misleading. In the first parking lot we tried (Magasin 5) the machine to pay was broken, in the second one (Magasin 7) it was only possible to pay for 24 hours. For the third one we tried (Frihamnsterminalen)the map stated that it was only possible to park for 5 days, but we tried and it worked out perfectly fine to pay for a week. It was a gated parking lot that felt quite safe. We happily unloaded the car and headed towards the terminal, somewhat later than planned.

I am not sure if I missed something, but I could not possibly find any information from Costa stating where the cruise was actually leaving from. The website of the Port of Stockholm stated it was Frihamnsterminalen, so that is where we headed, and once we got close we could see the ship and finally found out that the right place was “Magasin 9”. The walk from the parking lot (or from a bus stop, for that matter), was a few hundred meters. However, there was a wide blue line printed on the ground for arriving passengers with the text “this way to the citycenter”, so it was easy to find.

Magasin 9 was the cruise terminal used at Frihamnen.

We dropped off our check-in luggage on the outside of the building, got an embarkation number (number 1 since we had children with us, even though number 12 was already boarding at that time), and health declaration forms.Inside the building there were quite a few people, but the lines seemed to move quickly. For us, there was no line at all since we got to use the priority line with the children. The check-in procedure was the quickest we have ever experienced. It took about 2 minutes,and we were off to board the ship.

Will be following along on your comparison.

General impressions of Costa

There were a few things that we really liked with Costa: As mentioned above, the check-in and embarkation process was the fastest we have ever experienced. The same was true in all ports of call: Never once was there a line to get on or off the ship, which was a first for us.And neither was there a line for disembarkation on the last day.

Another big plus was their free app, MyCosta Mobile, which makes it possible to chat and call other people on board free of charge.Other cruise lines provide similar services for a charge. We seldom experienced problems with this app (when it got stuck we soon learnt to restart the app and it would work again) and we were always able to contact each other when needed. The only thing to watch out for is that you need to download the app through WiFi, which means you should either do it before the cruise, or you need to pay for WiFi service on the ship.

One of the main pools. It was almost always empty, due to the chilly weather.

Guests and languages

The biggest difference between cruising with NCL and Carnival in the Caribbean,and with Costa in the Baltic, is of course the mix of guests. Since we traveled during summer vacation, we expected to see quite a lot of Scandinavian families with children. This was not the case at all.Most guests were Italian, followed by Spanish and French. There were also smaller groups of many other nationalities: Americans, Turks,Germans, Russians, and of course some Swedes and Norwegians. There were some children on board, but surprisingly few considering the time of the year. For example, we never saw more than 15 kids at the time in the kids´ club.

The great mix of languages did cause some challenge for Costa. Menus, the daily programs, guided tours, etc. were available in a number of languages.However, the translations were far from perfect. Speaking several languages, we easily discovered discrepancies in the information given in different languages. For example, a tour which was clearly a walking tour in Italian, was in reality a bus tour, so called brownies in the buffet was a chocolate cake with walnuts, etc. If Costa would hire somebody with good language skills to go through and check all these translations, it would help.

Another thing which would help is if staff had pins indicating which languages they knew. It is impossible to guess if a staff from the Philippines or India would prefer to speak English, Italian, Spanish or German.Instead you needed to guess and communication was often limited.

Thanks for your honest observations about the Mediterranea. Curious to hear about your impressions about the food, drink, entertainment and kids program if you used it.

No need to apologize about your English. I don't think anyone would guess it wasn't your first language!

All reception staff have language badges, never met anyone on board 23 Costa cruises who could not speak English, even down to cabin stewards along the passageways in the mornings.

Although I certainly agree with you about menu's and tours, even with the English host being English she did not translate well.

All reception staff have language badges, never met anyone on board 23 Costa cruises who could not speak English

Well, this was not our experience. Especially in the buffet there was staff we had problems communicating with. On the first day we asked for the closest location of a bathroom, and we happened to approach a member of staff who couldn´t understand either English, Italian or German. But yes, this was the exception. Most of the time communication was not a problem.

Information from Costa – or lack thereof

One drawback with Costa, which should be quite easy for them to fix, is the lack of information, or even misleading information. Open hours of the pools, jacuzzis, the stores, etc., were nowhere to be found. Not in the daily program, and not by the pools, the stores, etc. Instead you had to go there and hope to be lucky, which caused some frustration.

After trying to goon the slide several times but always finding it closed, we finally asked at Customer Service, and got the response that they kept it closed the full season in Scandinavia. A couple of hours later we passed by and found it open, so that information was completely wrong. At another occasion we asked at the Customer Information desk what time our tour in St Petersburg would be. The answer was that they did not know, but that we should ask at the shore excursion desk a few hours later when they would open. Well, once we got to the shore excursion desk they said that they did not know, but that we needed to wait and read the daily program that would arrive later in the evening.

I know these are not big issues, but they did cause frustration.

If you are having a hard time finding the bathrooms, it might be because these are the signs that are used for the ladies´ room...

...and this is the sign for the men´s room.

Food and restaurants

I must admit that I was a bit hesitant about the food before this trip, since I had read several negative reviews here on CruiseCritics. However,according to me the food was at par with NCL and Carnival. According to my husband the food on Costa was much better, but I believe thatis due to the fact that he is Italian and the majority of the food served on Costa is Italian. We agreed though that Costa´s strengths were the breakfasts and the seafood. Also the food on the kids´menus were good. Much better quality than on NCL and Carnival.

After a few days,however, it became apparent that there was very little variation.Even though the food was good, we soon got tired of the same sallads,cold cuts and desserts. Some of the deserts were served for breakfast, lunch and dinner, several days in a row.

Breakfast

Breakfast can either be had in the main restaurant, Argentieri, in the buffet, or in the Club Medusa Restaurant. The last one is for a fee and we did not try it out. The main restaurant was our favorite by far. Costa calls it “open seating” both for breakfast and for lunch (the latter on sea days), but when you get to the restaurant they show you to your seat, which is in the same part of the restaurant as everybody else arriving about the same time (which means even if there are only 100 people in the restaurant, you would all be crammed in one corner), and unless you were a big group, you would most likely have to share a table with other people.

For breakfast you were then served tea, coffee, or hot chocolate, and could then pick freely from the buffet in the middle of the restaurant. The buffet was extensive (it had at least as much things as the main buffet)with both hot and cold items, even though no items made on the spot.There were also a menu sitting on the table from which is was possible to order different set international menus, e.g. Belgian breakfast with Belgian waffles, American breakfast with pancakes,Mexican breakfast with tortilla and fried beans, etc. You needed to actively approach the staff in order to order though, since they did not promote this menu at all. We tried the Belgian waffles and the American pancakes. The pancakes were fine, whereas the waffles were way too dry for my taste.

Lunch

Lunch could always be had in the buffet, and on some days also in the main restaurant.The buffet food was good, but the selection was much smaller than on NCL and Carnival. There were always a few warm dishes, and a standard set of sallad ingredients (you needed to mix them yourself), cold cuts and cheeses.

We soon learnt that the different buffet stations spread throughout the buffet to 90% had the same food, but there were always some items, usually the more luxury ones like swordfish or octopus salad, that were only served in one of them. To be sure to get the best selection it was therefore necessary to go through the full restaurant and figure out what was available at which serving station. Deserts were served at separate locations, and the same rule went for them – they didn´t have exactly the same selection at all of them.

One thing that was great with the Costa buffet is that we never once had to look for an available table. There were always plenty. You could also choose to bring the food with you to sit in the open in the back of the boat(under a ceiling), or by the pools.

There was one food station outside the main buffet, by the pool area, where hamburgers,hot dogs and french fries were served during buffet hours. At this location they also had “late breakfast” in the morning, with pre-packaged plates of breakfast to bring with you.

For breakfast coffee, tea, juices and milk were available to drink in the buffet. During the rest of the day there was just water.

The buffet always had plenty of seating...

...either indoors...

...in the open air on the back of the boat...

...or beside the pools.

Dinner

There are two seatings for dinner. On our cruise the first sitting was 7 p.m. and the late one 9.30 p.m. Depending on the kind of ticket you get, you might be able to wish seating, and also if you would prefer to be seated upstairs or downstairs in the restaurant. Most tables in the Argentieri are big, and according to us the layout was not ideal.Many tables were round with space for 10 people. Since it was quite noisy in the restaurant with several hundred people eating, it was very hard to hear what people across such a big table was saying. We asked to be moved to a squared table, but were told it was not possible.

Dinner was up to six courses: appetizer, priomo piatto, secondo piatto, sallad,cheeses, and desert. However, many people choose not to order all the courses. Even though each course was small, it was quite a lot of food. Many people had a drinking package. If you do not, be aware that no drinks at all are for free in the restaurants (except in the buffet and for breakfast). You have to pay even for water. We bought a water package before the cruise, but came to the conclusion it would have been better to just pay buy the bottle on the ship. The saving for buying a package was 17% for 13 bottles, which is only areal saving if you actually use all the bottles.

Please note, that if I am correctly informed, all guests who bought their tickets from Costa´s US website (or possibly if you have an American home address), automatically had a drinking package included, and hence did not need to pay extra for water. It is only us Europeans who are stuck with this system.

The pools and slide

Costa Mediterranea has two main pools (one of them under a retractable roof), one small pool (in the very back of the ship), and four jacuzzis (one of them under the retractable roof, and one in the gym). The water was quite warm in the pool under the retractable roof and in the jacuzzis, but the other ones were too cold to use in the Scandinavian weather. It made the area under the retractable roof quite crowded during sea days. This was the first cruise, however, where we never had problems finding empty recliner seats.

The main outdoor pool

The heated pool under a retractable roof

And the pool in the back of the boat

The open hours of the pools were somewhat shorter than we are used to. We usually try to avoid crowds, which means we try to use the pools and jacuzzis in the early morning, or after dinner when everybody else are busy watching the shows, or are at the bars. Costa, however, opened the pools and jacuzzis around 8 a.m. and closed them by 9 p.m., which limited this possibility.

By each pool there is a sign with the rules of using the pools. They are printed quite small and sometimes you needed to go into the water in order to read them. If you do read the rules, you will learn that children under 16 are not allowed in one single of the pools or jacuzzis on the boat! Of course this is not reasonable, and the result is that children are found in all pools. Also, there are no rule that you cannot jump into the water and at times there were several children and adults doing this repetitively, to the point that people who did not want to get splashed could not swim. Never once did I see a member of staff saying anything about this.

There is a big slide on the back of the ship, that looks quite fun. As mentioned before, it had limited open hours. You need to be taller than 120 cm in order to use it and there is a person there checking. A small warning for this slide: Both my husband and son got several large wounds on their backs after using the slide two and three times respectively.

I should also mention that on top of the boat there is a small splash pool for toddlers with a Peppa Pig theme. Because of its location it is very windy, and it is only advice-able to use when the ship is in port.

The splash pool with the water slide in the background

Fantastic review. Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. I've picked up some useful information already in advance of out trip in 3 weeks time

Fantastic review. Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. I've picked up some useful information already in advance of out trip in 3 weeks time

I am happy you are finding the review useful! That is why I am writing it. :D

The gym and the kids´ club

The gym on Costa Mediterranea was the best one we have encountered on a cruise ship. It is covering several floors in the front of the boat,which means a great view and there is a jacuzzi in the middle of it.The first half of the cruise the gym was close to empty, and even though it got more crowded towards the end, there were always machines available.

The gym

There is a running track, but it is only 100 meters, so I preferred running on deck 3 where you can go around almost the full ship on the outside. Due to the location of the theater, it was necessary to cut through at one spot though.

The kid´s club, called Squok club, is also located in the very front of the ship, but on floor 5. The open hours were quite generous and on most days it was possible to leave your kids for lunch and sometimes also for dinner. You needed to sign up ahead of time though. The kids were also given a snack at around 4.30 p.m (at "tea time"). As mentioned before, the kids´ club was seldom crowded. Most of the time there were 10-15 kids there, with 2-3 members of staff. The staff was multilingual,but as far as I could hear most instructions were given only in Italian and English.

Kids are allowed to be in the kids´ club from 3 years of age, if the child is potty trained. However, most activities were targeting an older age and my 4 year old was often confused, or left out, since she did not understand the rules of the games, or she was simply not mature enough for the activity. Soccer table tournaments or Uno, were example of activities that she could not join. To the defense of Costa, however, I must also mention that there were not many kids 3 or 4 years old in the kids´ club, so maybe they just tried to target the majority of the group.

Our 6 year old loved the kids´ club and spent a lot of time there. He liked the fact that there were many competitions where the kids could win “squok money”. On the last day of the cruise the kids could“buy” gifts with that money.

Even though Costa has a great app for keeping in touch, the Squok club did not use this system, and neither did they have phones to lend. The only place they would call if your child was upset and wanted to leave, was the stateroom. And needless to say, we were seldom there... Actually, the one time our 4 year old was crying and wanted to leave, they did not try to reach us at all. We didn´t learn until afterwards.

Staff

As on most cruise lines, the majority of the staff come from Asia: the Philippines, India, etc. Our steward did a good job, he always greeted us, and he made us towel animals most nights. In general, the stewards and stewardesses had been taught to greet the passengers,and often this was done in Italian. On the rest of the ship, however, there were very little greetings and personal attention. I always go running early in the morning and am used from NCL and Carnival to always hear “Good morning” from the staff I meet, since I am pretty much the only passenger around. But not on Costa. I was passing plenty of staff, but they were all busy smoking and looking at their cell phones, and nobody said a greeting. Once again, this isa small thing, but it does make a difference.

Also in the restaurants the service was not on the same level as on NCL or Carnival. One example is that when we requested a kid´s menu for lunch, we got the answer that “It is the same as usual”. We ordered a dish that we knew was on the kid´s menu in the evening,and half an hour later the waiter returned with a completely different dish, since the one we ordered was not available for lunch. Wouldn´t it have been easier to provide us with a menu to start with? Or ask which replacement dish our kids wanted when the one were quested wasn´t available?

The ports

This cruise went to Helsinki, St Petersburg and Tallinn, and spent a full day in the port of Stockholm besides the day of departure and arrival.Both Helsinki, Tallinn and Stockholm are safe cities which are easy to get around on your own. I am not sure about St Petersburg, since we chose to join a Costa tour there.

Helsiki

In Helsinki we docked at Herensaari, which is 3,5 kilometers from downtown. Costa was selling tickets for a shuttle for 13 Euro per person, but we decided to go by public transportation instead, which I can highly recommend. It was easy to find the bus stop (just cross the pier and look to the left). Bus number 14 leaves about four times an hour and goes directly downtown and tickets can be bought with cash (no credit cards) from the bus driver. Tickets are 3.20 euro per adult. Children under 7 are free, and so is any adult pushing a stroller with a child. This meant that our family of four paid 3.20 euro, instead of 52 euro with Costa´s shuttle! The bus driver spoke English and was happy to tell us when we reached Kamppi, which is the stop closest to downtown.

The bus stop

The Finish busses are modern and clean

There is a tourist information office on the pier, where they will be happy to tell you (in a number of

different languages) anything you might want to know about Helsinki and provide you with maps, brochures etc.

Helsinki is a modern city with lots of stores, restaurants, and cafés where it is easy to spend a full day. Prices were somewhat higher than in the other ports of this cruise. I can particularly recommend the open market at Kauppatori (the main square) and the Gamla Saluhallen (an indoor food market) which is nearby.

If you do not feel like venturing far from the ship, there is a nice park not far from the pier, or actually it is a number of parks that are linked together. Here you can take a stroll along the water, watching boats in the marina, enjoying a small beach, or just take a coffee in one of the cafés. There is also a mini golf course, a skateboard rink and tennis courts.

St Petersburg

You need a visa in order to enter Russia, which a travel agency can help you with. Since we bought this cruise in the last minute, we decided it was easiest to go on a tour organized by Costa, so that they would organize the visa for us. The only thing you can see in St Petersburg without a visa is one overpriced tourist shop which is on the pier,before the security checkpoint.

The view from the cruise pier

The excursion we chose was called Walking tour & metro ride. It was supposed to be a 3,5 hour tour, which cost 45 euro per person, but in reality it ended up being quite a bit longer. We were 25 people in the group and the Russian guide was great and his English was easy to understand. The tour was divided into three parts: First we walked along the Neva river, where we got to see many old, important buildings and monuments such as the Bronze Horseman, the Palace Square, and the Winter Palace. The next part of the tour was along the main shopping street of St Petersburg. There was no time for shopping, but just a walk through the area to get a feeling for the city. The last part of the tour was underground, in what the Russians calls the “Metro”. We went with several different trains back and forth under the city and stopped to study the architecture and decorations of different stations. Some of the stations were magnificent, more like palaces than undergroundstations.

No, it´s not a castle, it´s an underground station :confused:

Tallinn

In Tallinn we chose to once again do our own thing and we walked the two kilometers into town. It is very easy to find the way. However, if you are bringing a stroller or a wheelchair, be aware that many streets in the old part of the city have cobblestone, and are quite tough to maneuver with small wheels. It is also a hilly city, so be prepared for up and downs. With that being said, Tallinn was our favorite stop during the cruise. The city is very easy to get around and there are plenty of monuments, beautiful buildings, and small shops selling handicrafts. There is also a craft market on the pier(before the security checkpoint), with a nice selection and the prices were not much higher than in the city.

The craft market at the pier

Wooden items, as well as things made of amber and wool were frequently for sale

In Tallinn I can particularly recommend two spots that can easily be missed:

-The Patkuli Viewpoint (off Rahukohtu Street) has the most beautiful view of the city with several old towers and churches in the foreground, and the cruise ships and the ocean in the background.

The view from Patkuli viewpoint

-The Balti Jaama Turg, a market just behind the train station, has both a food market, a covered marked with ordinary stores selling handicrafts, clothing and antiques, and there is a grocery store in the basement (with a great bakery!). The market is mainly aimed at the local population, and prices are lower here than in the old city.If you want to experience an old style Russian market, be sure to visit the building called Depoo behind the market. You are not likely to find anything here you would like to buy, but it is an interesting experience.

The Balti Jaama Turg

The market by the Depoo

Stockholm

Since I have lived in Stockholm for several years, we did not do any touristy things in this port. I would, however, like to give a few pieces of advice for first time visitors.

The cruise center is quite small, but has a tourist information office, bathrooms and a souvenir shop. There is free wifi, see photo below for password.

The tourist information office

Wifi is free at the port

As in all other ports, the cruise line tries to sell you pricey shuttle bus tickets. You should know that it is very easy to get into the city on your own. If you like to walk, you can even get to Östermalm (the fancy, pricier,part of town) in 30 minutes, or to the Old Town in an hour.

If you would like to go by public transportation, just follow the blue line which is drawn on the street from the cruise terminal, about 400 meters, to the bus stop. Tickets can either be bought at the Tourist Information office inside the Cruise Terminal (they only accept credit card, no cash), or from a vending machine at the bus stop(once again it only accepts credit cards and no cash). It is not possible to buy tickets on the bus. The cost is 43 SEK per adult.

Just follow the blue line to the bus stop

The ticket booth at the bus stop

Prices for public transportation

I would recommend taking bus number 1 and getting off at Hötorget. The ride takes 20 minutes and leaves every 6-10 minutes during the day, and every 15 minutes early in the morning and late in the evening. A ticket is valid for 75 minutes, so you can go on as many buses, trams, undergrounds and boats (yes, there are boats that are part of the public transportation system) as you would like within that time.

Buses leave every 6-10 minutes most of the day during weekdays and somewhat more seldom during weekends.

At Hötorget you can watch the fruit and flower market and the concert hall. From there I would recommend taking Drottninggatan (one of the main shopping streets) south to Gamla Stan, the old part of the city where also the royal castle is located. This part of the city is very touristy, but well worth seeing. If you want you can make a detour to the Town Hall, which is where the Nobel Price dinner is held every year.

If you do not feel like venturing as far away from the ship, another alternative is to go to the Kaknästornet, a high tower you can see from the ship. It should take about half an hour to walk there. From the top of the tower you get a great view of Stockholm, and there is a restaurant there from where you can enjoy the view. The elevator costs 70 SEK per adult, but it used to be free if you had booked a table at the restaurant.

Before rounding up this review there are a few more photos of the ship that I would like to post:

The small theatre Isolabella on deck 1

The stair cases

And elevators

There were many areas of the ship that were "wasted" where very few people were found

Another "wasted" area where you could find silence and solitude

The card room

Salone Talia, outside the main restaurant

The casino was never crowded

The main theatre, Teatro Osiris

The "Mondo Virtuale" - The virtual world

The atrium from above...

...and from below

Decorations of the atrium

The corridors of the staterooms were somewhat boring, but also a welcome break from the visual impressions on the rest of the ship.

Summary

To summarize, we had a good cruise. Food was great (although repetitive), there were no lines at all to get on or off the ship inports which was a first for us, and Costa had a great app for being able to contact each other on board. Compared to NCL and Carnival however, I would most likely rank it last. The main areas of improvement are the attitude of the staff, the charging for things like water, and the lack of information – or misleading information. Given the right price and itinerary though, I would be quite willing to cruise with Costa again.

This was everything I can think of to include in this review. Just let me know if you have any questions and I will do my best to answer them.

Summary

To summarize, we had a good cruise. Food was great (although repetitive), there were no lines at all to get on or off the ship in ports which was a first for us, and Costa had a great app for being able to contact each other on board. Compared to NCL and Carnival however, I would most likely rank it last. The main areas of improvement are the attitude of the staff, the charging for things like water, and the lack of information – or misleading information. Given the right price and itinerary though, I would be quite willing to cruise with Costa again.

This was everything I can think of to include in this review. Just let me know if you have any questions and I will do my best to answer them.

Thank you for the nice review. I love those with pictures.