Would I ever sail Costa again

[KatetheWanderer]

I usually scope out the life jackets on ferries and small boats but rarely have I ever been on a ship excursion or tender where the crew explains them. For all my bravado, I have a nephew who calls me Aunt Worst Case Scenario. It is incumbent on the sea going passenger to take some measures for their own protection. Last month, the ferry to Virgin Gorda from Tortola wasn't short. Many of the various lines' excursions take it. We were at least a mile or two from shore. I'm a decent swimmer and if it were at the end of a cruise, I would probably be carrying a bit more personal floatability on my hips. Hopefully, I could make it to shore without a life jacket. But the sea was really rough. A capsized small boat without time to get the jackets is a possibility yet I've never been socially brave enough to don a jacket once I board. I would like to wear one but efficiency and statistical probabilities trumps safety in most travel scenarios.

[cruisnfool]

I imagine its possible for a Captain and crew to spend their entire career having never had an abandon ship event. You can practice all you want but when the time comes you may not know how you will react. Don't you imagine the crew was just a fearfull for their own lives.

 

I will continue to cruise, I have sailed with Costa twice before and they were great and likely would again.

 

I will be more aware of safety in the future and imagine all cruiselines willl as well. While tragic we alwaya learn from mistakes.

[mcrcruiser]

Whether it be a ocean cruisline or a river cruise boat we vie for predominatly English speaking passenger cruises ;):D.

 

We simply stay away from cruises that require 5 or 6 languages to explain things:o . However ,we do want English as their first language of explanation announcements :D

[chrispb]

Exactly. I wouldn't sail on a ship where I couldn't quickly and effectively communicate in a life or death situation.

 

So you never travel, except within your own country?

[Grumpy100]

I Have said this previously on here...I WILL NEVER SAIL WITH COSTA AGAIN NOT EVEN IF IT WAS FREE :mad:.

 

I tottally agree. Not even if it was free.......

[KatetheWanderer]

I don't mind the announcements in five language a as long as the first is in ENGLISH.

 

Grumpy,

Given your bolded position on language, I am surprised you ever sailed Costa in the first place. Must have been quite the shock when you got onboard. No wonder everything went downhill from there. I hope you had a word with your travel agent when you got back.

[AmoMondo]

Whether it be a ocean cruisline or a river cruise boat we vie for predominatly English speaking passenger cruises ;):D.

 

We simply stay away from cruises that require 5 or 6 languages to explain things:o . However ,we do want English as their first language of explanation announcements :D

 

So if you avoid cruises that cater for multiple languages why on earth do you want English to be the first language spoken on them? Surely the first language used should equate with the first language spoken by the majority.

 

I've been on cruises where English speaking passengers accounted for less than 1%. I certainly did not expect to hear English first, just glad to hear it at all, although I'd usually got the gist of what they were saying from the others as I speak reasonable French and Spanish and a bit of German, Italian and Portuguese.

 

Were I monolingual, I may prefer to sail on British or American lines, admittedly, but still would not expect Italian, German, Spanish lines etc to speak English first

[ducklite]

So you never travel, except within your own country?

 

I said ON A SHIP. Big difference between being on a sinking ship and in a burning hotel.

[KatetheWanderer]

It's no different than any other cruise line. Many of the crew with a US/UK/Aussie language pin speak such broken or heavily accented versions of the language that they might as well speak Mandarin--especially in an emergency. I'd rather take my chances on a ship where English was the primary language. I can see where people from other countries would prefer a ship where their native language was the primary.

 

 

 

About the hotel analogy: quite true depending on your floor and your routes of escape. However, if the lifeboats are operational and the captain is not a lunatic, I might pick a ship disaster versus the prospect of being overcome by smoke or burned in a hotel fire. Especially in those outrageously ancient hotels in Europe. They might be exceedingly charming but let's face it, many are a fire trap. The question about travel abroad was not just addressed to a hotel. What of subways, buses, planes, airports, etc. ? You'll be taking big chances. It is better that you are cruising to the destinations on an English priority ship rather than trying to do inter/intra country travel on land. The accents in Europe might be a problem even on an English first ship.

 

As you noted above, most cruises have an international staff who frequently speak with a heavily accented English. On my trip to Alaska on Norwegian last year, our Aussie cruise director, bless her heart, was sometimes hard for us to understand, especially on the speaker system. I had to think for a moment about what she had said. I know I didn't get it all. We cracked each other up imitating her in our cabin.

[chrispb]

I said ON A SHIP. Big difference between being on a sinking ship and in a burning hotel.

 

So what if you were in Europe/Asia/wherever and you got knocked down on the road outside your hotel? Or you suddenly developed appendicitis? :cool:

Judging by your previous comments you'd be way outside your comfort zone.

[colkeena]

Absolutely NO!!!They handled the tragedy poorly and I would not want to be on any Costa ship to see if they learned from this horrific experience.If I were aboard I am sure I would be constantly remembering those that did not make it and would be feeling sad the entire time.Never Costa.Ever.

[ducklite]

So what if you were in Europe/Asia/wherever and you got knocked down on the road outside your hotel? Or you suddenly developed appendicitis? :cool:

Judging by your previous comments you'd be way outside your comfort zone.

 

It's highly doubtful I'll be in Asia anytime soon, maybe Japan or Hong Kong some day, where there are plenty of English speakers.

 

Most hospitals in major European cities have at least some English speaking staff. I'd expect to get fixed up and return to the US for further treatment as needed.

[ducklite]

About the hotel analogy: quite true depending on your floor and your routes of escape. However, if the lifeboats are operational and the captain is not a lunatic, I might pick a ship disaster versus the prospect of being overcome by smoke or burned in a hotel fire. Especially in those outrageously ancient hotels in Europe. They might be exceedingly charming but let's face it, many are a fire trap. The question about travel abroad was not just addressed to a hotel. What of subways, buses, planes, airports, etc. ? You'll be taking big chances. It is better that you are cruising to the destinations on an English priority ship rather than trying to do inter/intra country travel on land. The accents in Europe might be a problem even on an English first ship.

 

As you noted above, most cruises have an international staff who frequently speak with a heavily accented English. On my trip to Alaska on Norwegian last year, our Aussie cruise director, bless her heart, was sometimes hard for us to understand, especially on the speaker system. I had to think for a moment about what she had said. I know I didn't get it all. We cracked each other up imitating her in our cabin.

 

Call me provincial, but we tend to stick with the American branded or Leading Hotels of the World types. Haven't found one yet that was a deathtrap. We don't do "tourist" type hotels but prefer business class or luxury properties.

[mcrcruiser]

Call me provincial, but we tend to stick with the American branded or Leading Hotels of the World types. Haven't found one yet that was a deathtrap. We don't do "tourist" type hotels but prefer business class or luxury properties.

 

We prefer Hilton Hotel or Other Hilton properties world wide.We won't consider another hotel /motel property unless we checked www.tripadvisor.com:) .

 

when it comes to safety it is our personal responsibility to check every thing before hand should there be a fire ,earthquake ,ie emergencies

[mcrcruiser]

Absolutely NO!!!They handled the tragedy poorly and I would not want to be on any Costa ship to see if they learned from this horrific experience.If I were aboard I am sure I would be constantly remembering those that did not make it and would be feeling sad the entire time.Never Costa.Ever.

 

Agree . We just phoned Costa cruise lines . Even their phone message places you on hold saying that they are super busy .Then they constantly repeat the message & you can't stand it any longer & hang up in frustration :o

 

Just curious if Costa was droping prices to support their sales ;however ,with their current Captain types represented by the Capt of the Costa Concordia .we wouldn't place our lives in their hands .

 

Like Dr Phil said at the end of his show Jan 20th , WHO HIRED THIS PERSON (Capt)

[Grumpy100]

Grumpy,

Given your bolded position on language, I am surprised you ever sailed Costa in the first place. Must have been quite the shock when you got onboard. No wonder everything went downhill from there. I hope you had a word with your travel agent when you got back.

 

You are correct. I was very surprised that on our particular cruise that there was only 100 English speaking passengers. I had not done my research. I was looking for the destination which was Norway and I was not disappointed in that at all. In fact it is the most beautiful place we have ever been and I would definitely go back. Just not on Costa. The ship was beautiful, the staff very pleasant. It was the rude people on board and pushy European passengers. The food was the worst ever possible. I never thought in my life that people could possibly be that rude until I got on this ship. That was the dissapointment. Happy cruising just not on Costa.

[G.M.T.]

You are correct. I was very surprised that on our particular cruise that there was only 100 English speaking passengers. I had not done my research. I was looking for the destination which was Norway and I was not disappointed in that at all. In fact it is the most beautiful place we have ever been and I would definitely go back. Just not on Costa. The ship was beautiful, the staff very pleasant. It was the rude people on board and pushy European passengers. The food was the worst ever possible. I never thought in my life that people could possibly be that rude until I got on this ship. That was the dissapointment. Happy cruising just not on Costa.

 

Grumpy,

 

With each new message, you are becoming more personable, you are even describing now why you are unhappy with Cotsa.

 

I'm beginning to like you.;)

 

Ron

[Grumpy100]

Grumpy,

 

With each new message, you are becoming more personable, you are even describing now why you are unhappy with Cotsa.

 

I'm beginning to like you.;)

 

Ron

 

I am really not that bad. He He:eek:

[KatetheWanderer]

We prefer Hilton Hotel or Other Hilton properties world wide.We won't consider another hotel /motel property unless we checked www.tripadvisor.com:) .

 

when it comes to safety it is our personal responsibility to check every thing before hand should there be a fire ,earthquake ,ie emergencies

 

Trip Advisor is fantastic. I recently used it to select a gorgeous hotel in Sanremo Italy called the Hotel de Paris which is ranked #2 on Trip Advisor. Magnifico! Highly recommend it. Typically, the highest rankings on Trip Advisor in Europe are not given to American hotel franchises. This is especially true in gems like Siena, Florence, Sevilla and the like. The smaller villages and towns are my preference. No big box chains but much magic and mystery to be found. The Hotel des Armoiries in Valbonne is also high on my list. A couple of centuries old. Nothing like a Hilton though. It's a miracle but I am still alive. If you want the American experience when you are abroad, then Hilton is your chain. I guess my comments are mostly directed at those who are checking this board for thoughts from people who have actually sailed on Costa and not those who are so American centric that they wouldn't have even considered it before the Concordia disaster.

 

And BTW, I fully realize that I have exceeded my lifetime quota of posts on the subject. Hopefully the monitor will stop me soon.

[LucyR.]

My cousin and I cruised a few years ago on a Costa ship. We found it to be a boring ship because lack of fun activities, lousy food, and it took

two hours to finish eating a late seating dinning.

 

The crew workers were wonderful and super nice. I loved the workers and the ship was beautiful.

 

But we both said we would never cruise on a Costa ship even if it was free. Not my cup of tea.

 

I do like all of the other cruiselines.

[PGcruiser]

Can we just say people with different languages. I live next door to USA and don't think that there are to many American people. We are all people and I don't think I have ever singled out any culture or country on our many cruises.

[oceanwavegirl]

No.

 

Reasons: 1) There is obviously something very wrong with the way they choose and train their captains.

 

and

 

2) Due to the many, many reports of the appalling way Costa treated the surviviors. One pax reported that they arrived home tuesday in the same clothes they wore during the sinking - Costa had refused to even arrange for them to get a change of clothing. Shameful. :mad:

 

 

crummy isnt it...I also agree why go with them with this fear now everyone has of the behaviour of certain Costa managerial people, oh sorry and that one of their Captains sank their ship ?? ...there are so many other good companies cruising Europe for those who have said they will go..you cant tell me there isnt a small amount of hesitation there, if you step foot on one of their ships again.....sheesh good luck !! :cool:

[G.M.T.]

I am really not that bad. He He:eek:

 

Grumpy,

 

Now you are even making light banter.

 

Our's is turning from a hate to a almost love relationship.;)

 

Ron

[Nicatravels]

tsk tsk tsk most Europeans can speak several languages. Why is it that Americans think everyone should speak English yet most of us won't bother with learning another language?! I wish I was bilingual and only know a bit of Spanish and a few phrases in several other languages that I taught myself when visiting other countries. Geez stay home if you want English only vacations.

[Omega1]

rude people on board and pushy European passengers.(Grumpy100)

 

Hey -slow down. Not all Europeans are rude and pushy - this European certainly isn't! :rolleyes: