Costa Cruises *possibly controversial*

[Purrfect]

Hi Everyone,

 

I booked a Costa cruise yesterday for the Spring. I have read very mixed opinions on Costa and wondering if someone could give me an unbiased opinion? It seems like a lot of the negative reviews focus on the fact that it is geared towards European pax and not Americans. I am completely fine with this, I've traveled the world and not offended if I am in the minority or can't understand all languages aboard.

 

How's the food? Is there topless tanning allowed since it's a European ship? Passenger age group?

 

The reason for the "possibly controversial" disclaimer is because I do not want to offend people. I would just like real opinions with out rhetoric.

[Mary Ellen]

Welcome to the CC! However, this question would probably be better asked on a different forum here. I would suggest asking again on the one for Costa.

[Purrfect]

Thanks Mary Ellen. I didn't see a board for Costa :)

[Garyorient]

I posted this yesterday in response to another thread.

Don't know if it will be of much help to you

 

Without wishing to split hairs, Costa purports to be a European line because many of its itineraries are out of the Med, but they are actually owned by the Carnival Corporation.

 

For me, I think the only possible appeal that Costa would have is if I was doing some of their imaginative itineraries in places like the Indian Ocean or the Far East, for the traditional Med or Caribbean itineraries I do notthink I would touch them with a barge pole.

 

Even the Dubai itinerary that they have traditionally had the monopoly on, I would now go on the Brilliance rather than the Costa ships. Arrogant customer service, ships not wonderful and bar prices seem to me to be rather expensive for drinks etc

[CapeCodCruiser]

I posted this yesterday in response to another thread.

Don't know if it will be of much help to you

 

Without wishing to split hairs, Costa purports to be a European line because many of its itineraries are out of the Med, but they are actually owned by the Carnival Corporation.

 

For me, I think the only possible appeal that Costa would have is if I was doing some of their imaginative itineraries in places like the Indian Ocean or the Far East, for the traditional Med or Caribbean itineraries I do notthink I would touch them with a barge pole.

 

Even the Dubai itinerary that they have traditionally had the monopoly on, I would now go on the Brilliance rather than the Costa ships. Arrogant customer service, ships not wonderful and bar prices seem to me to be rather expensive for drinks etc

 

When were on Costa last?

[curtains]

Too many smokers

[cruiseco]

Hi wondering if someone could give me an unbiased opinion?].

 

No such thing.

 

If it's a fact such as how long as ship is you probably won't find any biases. Everyting else that you read here or elsewhere will be filled with biases -- whether acknowledged or not. That's why 10 people can rate a cruise at "5 star" and someone else can rate it "1 star" and they can all be 100% truthful. Relying on anyone's opinions will always be a crap shoot.

 

Read as many opinions/reviews as you can then dig further. I try to find other posts that person has made. If that person is never happy and is always complaining about something then I'll be able to put his/er poor review of a ship in some sort of perspective. It that person seems to be one of those "everything is always wonderful, turn lemons into lemonade" types then I'll know to take that 5-star review with a grain of salt.

[Purrfect]

Very true cruiseco. A lot of the negative reviews I read were complaining about Americans/English speakers being the minority, which I find pretty ignorant since there are other people in the world. I'm just trying to figure out if these "nightmare" stories have any truth to them or if it's just a misunderstanding between cultures.

[cruisemom42]

Here are my thoughts, for what they are worth. I haven't cruised on Costa, but my parents have cruised on them twice in the last few years, once on a transatlantic from Europe that stopped at a number of ports down the eastern seaboard of the US and ended in Fort Lauderdale. The second was a Med cruise. In short, they did not have a great experience the first time but gave Costa a second try -- no better. They have said they won't cruise with Costa again. For reference, they are experienced and frequent cruisers who mostly cruise on HAL or Princess.

 

They found the public areas on both ships to be nicely decorated; however, cabins in general were VERY small. The food was sub-par. Believe me, it wasn't the fact that the menus are heavily Italian-based (they love Italian), it's that the food was just not very good.

 

They also were prepared for a mixed passenger base and announcements in many languages, so that didn't bother them. However, they found (especially on the Med cruise) that port times were often shorter than on most other trips. Rightly or wrongly, they felt that this was due to Costa trying to keep people from going off on their own and instead corral them into doing ship's tours due to the tight time schedules and people worrying that they'd get left behind if not on a ship-sponsored excursion. Along the same vein, they booked a couple of (English language) shore excursions that were cancelled due to too few English-speaking passengers signing up for them -- so they were left high and dry. Be aware that shore excursions in English may or may not actually run if few English speakers are aboard.

 

Regarding the smoking issue, it's no longer true that Costa ships are more smoker-friendly. Europeans have made great efforts in just the last couple of years in terms of smoking regulations. My parents found Costa to be about as smoker-friendly (or unfriendly) as Princess or HAL.

[janina]

Costa definately has a European ambiance to them. All announcements were in 4 or 5 languages, and this did get tired some. The staff was super nice and shows were pretty good, cruise wise. The cabins are a little more basic than say Princess, Holland, Rccl. And I found the cabins to be pretty small. I would much rather get a little more pampered and go on Princess than Costa. Just my opinion.:eek:

[Purrfect]

Thanks Janina! I picked Costa because it's so cheap and they have single rooms. I'm ok with confined spaces and as long as I have a bed and a TV with CNN I'm fine. Do you remember if they have a power plug in the room and if it was American or European?

[pg.]

Costa definately has a European ambiance to them. All announcements were in 4 or 5 languages, and this did get tired some. The staff was super nice and shows were pretty good, cruise wise. The cabins are a little more basic than say Princess, Holland, Rccl. And I found the cabins to be pretty small. I would much rather get a little more pampered and go on Princess than Costa. Just my opinion.:eek:

 

I was looking at Costa,, the prices were definately alot cheaper then Princess,( and RCCL) ( I love Princess) so I expect that one gets what one pays for,, cheaper cruise, less luxuries. If one goes with realistic expectations that helps.

 

I second the advice to look on the Costa board,, obviously most people there will have actually cruised the line,, but as noted by others, getting unbiased opinions is impossible.. I just go with the majority gut feeling on alot of things

[Essiesmom]

There is an online newspaper called CruiseNewsDaily and tha author cruises a lot on new ships and reviews them extensively. He mostly concentrates his reports on ships that will be sailing the American market, but he was on an MSC inaugural recently. His take on European ports is that Europeans cruise more for the ship and relaxation than the ports. They tend to stay aboard and use the ship's amenities rather than go ashore for tours. That might explain why fewer tours are offered and port times are shorter. His experience with customer service in all areas of the ship was that their English was much more limited than on ships that cater more to Americans, so when you ask a question, they don't fully understand what you are asking...when they recognize one word, they sieze on it and go from there, and may completely miss your point...EM

[arlodog]

We sailed on Costa 2 years ago--family of 4 with two late teens. I found the crew to be nice, but there were not as many activities on board as I was used to on the RCCL or Carnival line that caught our interest. We found it interesting to hear all the languages aboard the ship and lovely to talk to a couple from England at our table.

 

Because the price was so low, we were able to afford our first balcony and have the kids across the hall. Big plus! The food was okay, but not fantastic. Yes it is very European in taste, but there was plenty to keep you happy if you are willing to try new tastes and flavors that may not be what you are used to. Shows were typical for what you find at sea, but of course the announcements were in multiple languages which did not bother us a bit.

 

We loved the ports and were able to see 4 on a 7 day which is perfect for us. After the cruise I asked if offered would you sail Costa again and the whole family agreed that if possible we would choose another line, but if it were going to ports I was interested in I would sail it again....but would look at all other lines first! Just my humble biased opinion!

[Mydnite]

One thing worth noting is the much more liberal smoking policy, which smokers may like, but non smokers do not. I know of some that sail that line as they can smoke almost anywhere they want on board.

[TrentS]

If you look hard enough you'll find "nightmare stories" about ANY line or ship. Some people, when they have something go wrong hate anything and everything about that cruise.

 

I've been on all the major lines many times, including Costa. It's FINE. It's not my favorite, quite frankly none of the Carnival owned lines are, but it's fine and the price is certainly right much of the time. On the newer Costa ships I honestly can't tell the difference between Costa and Carnival. The ships/crew/food/passengers/etc. etc. are all the same to me. The only difference being on Costa the announcements are in more languages, the funnel is different, and the ships are more yellow than red. I don't smoke, and don't particularly care to be around smoke, but I never found it to be an issue.

 

I'm a big fan of experiencing all the ships/lines, and finding out for yourself. Don't get hung up on reviews. Costa's ships are clean, the food is edible, the crew is as nice as on any other line, etc. etc. It's not a luxury line, but they don't claim to be... It's the same as Carnival to me.

[emdia43]

A complaint I have read is about the smoking, I believe they allow smoking in the dining rooms.

[cruisemom42]

A complaint I have read is about the smoking, I believe they allow smoking in the dining rooms.

 

They do not allow smoking in the dining rooms. My parents are smokers; believe me, they would've been all over this if it were true.

 

Here is a link to CC's wrap-up of smoking policies by cruise line. As you can see Costa is similar to many other lines in that smoking is not allowed in restaurants or show lounges.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=225

[Cruise Girl Forever]

I was on a Costa Cruise in the Caribbean. I booked even after reading all the negative reviews. I really enjoyed it.

 

Did not see anyone topless either at the pool or upper decks.

 

Smoking is the same as it was on other lines before the policy change.

One side of the pool only. A area in all lounges. In staterooms. But not the dining room or the theater.

 

Along with the normal food found at the buffet, there is a pasta station and a different country is represented every day at one station. Germany, Mexico, England ect.

 

The dining room has themed nights. Circus night lots of activity before you go in mask making, face painting, bocco ball, flower making, even staff dressed in animal costumes. Italian night conga line waitstaff singing and dancing. The food and service were wonderful. I did not have a bad meal. Plenty of selection.

 

A alot of activities at the pool non stop. dance lessons, exercise classes, games,

bingo,

 

Yes they did all announcements in 5 languages, The crew seemed to speak all of them which amazed me.

 

Cabins were the same as any other ship I have been on. They leave cookies instead of chocolate once and a while.

 

Cappuccinos are free with room service in the morning.

 

They have a toga night on the last night of the cruise. Alot of fun.

 

The shows are different as lots of singers rather then broadway.

 

Saw more ballroom dancing then on other ships.

 

Ship is beautiful...loved the art work and marino glass.

 

They did not have an art auction.

 

They do offer a few packages for beer and wine and one for speciality

coffees.

 

Thats about all I can think of at the moment. But go ... I went for a different experience. And loved it. I will do Costa Again.

[Donray]

Hi Everyone,

 

I booked a Costa cruise yesterday for the Spring. I have read very mixed opinions on Costa and wondering if someone could give me an unbiased opinion? It seems like a lot of the negative reviews focus on the fact that it is geared towards European pax and not Americans. I am completely fine with this, I've traveled the world and not offended if I am in the minority or can't understand all languages aboard.

 

How's the food? Is there topless tanning allowed since it's a European ship? Passenger age group?

 

The reason for the "possibly controversial" disclaimer is because I do not want to offend people. I would just like real opinions with out rhetoric.

 

If you doing the Caribbean then no topless and most passengers American.

So, are you doing just the Caribbean or Europe??????

[Cruzaholic41]

My complaint about Costa has nothing to do with language; it has everything to do with the way people act.

 

Where is your Costa cruise? If it is in the Med, you will likely encounter an extreme amount of rudeness on board. I'm sure someone will quote me and say they never experienced this, but nonetheless, don't say I didn't warn you. I'm just speaking from my own experiences.

[Cruzman]

We sailed on the Mediterannea in her inaugural season in the Caribbean. It was a different experience in many ways, but quite enjoyable nonetheless. We were in a balcony cabin that was the same size as those on the Spirit Class Carnival ships. The ship was beautifully decorated and we thought the food was quite good. We wouldn't hesitate to cruise Costa again.

[Purrfect]

Thank You everyone,

 

I ended up canceling the Costa cruise this morning because their website and call center agent peed me off.

[cabincop]

I have been on Costa twice once on Fortona and once on Concordia newer ship, I loved them went to Greek isles and Med. I found the staff was great rooms were nice and food amazing they don't cater to American and I didn't care it seemed so much more of a European cruise would do them again

[Bonnie J.]

We did a B2B on Costa Fortuna last February. Yes there were a lot of Europeans but a lot more Americans. When we were on Costa's Magica the year before there were a lot fewer Europeans.I understand Costa is #1 in the Med. Did we enjoy it? Yes! They had more things going on for passengers than any other ship we've been on, all fun things. We did a lot of laughing on this cruise. And I took the sheet they give you the last morning and was one of a LOT of pasengers who made a toga to wear that night! And my husband who can smell ANYTHING could not smell smoke in the casino on either ship. We've been on 50-60 cruises and this was the unsmellest casino of any other ship!

Food was standard cruise food with pasta added to the menu every night.

We won't hesitate to go on Costa again.