Would I ever sail Costa again

[AmoMondo]

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.

 

Oh it's not just (some) Americans who expect English to be spoken everywhere despite being monolingual, there are loads of my fellow Brits (and dare say Aussies &Kiwis) who feel the same.

[Edward John Smith]

I will cruise Costa again, in a heartbeat!

Language barrier has never been an issue for me, I do speak English and 4 other European languages.

[Mad dogs and Englishmen]

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.

 

That was the point I was trying to make, I don't go out of my way to avoid Italians, just large groups of any nationality.;)

It was my Italian friend who advised me to avoid Italian companies, she does!! :D

 

Being European myself, I have spent many years travelling on the continent, mostly self drive and camping and there are some wonderful people out there, but there are also some very rude individuals, which is more noticeable in European countries as they do not adopt a queue system like the British. Equally there are a lot of very rude British people, which is why we avoid the tourist traps of Spain etc. I wouldn't dream of going to another country and asking for British food and drinks. I travel in order to experience different cultures.

 

And yes, I do research before booking or visiting anywhere, thats why we switched to Princess who were sailing from Seattle the same day as NCL (the holiday package was with NCL originally)

 

Moving on to the issues of languages, we can get by on holiday with French, German and Spanish, but i doubt that in an emergency such as the Concordia, that people would be able to take in the information anyway, due to all the confusion.

Sat here commenting from our safe houses, we can only imagine the terrifying ordeal that the passengers and crew went through, all because of one fatal error by an irresponsible individual :(

[sidari]

It really is amazing how many self centred people there are cruising who unless they can speak English All the time will not travel on the likes of MSC or Costa! the very same people who will call these Two lines having Never travelled with them and rely solely on hearsay and believe every written word that the media puts out about a certain incident!

 

For those of you here who have made complaints regarding pushy European passengers there are just as many if not more when we have been to the USA and on the ships we have sailed on so stop thinking its everyone else and not you.

 

For those of you who only want to sail on a mainly English speaking ship stop criticising the likes of Costa and MSC if you have never travelled with them.

 

Take a look at the videos that have been posted here on CC and Youtube of people waiting near the Lifeboats if you believe that is panic then you have no real idea of what panic really is!

[Boy Blue]

It really is amazing how many self centred people there are cruising who unless they can speak English All the time will not travel on the likes of MSC or Costa! the very same people who will call these Two lines having Never travelled with them and rely solely on hearsay and believe every written word that the media puts out about a certain incident!

 

For those of you here who have made complaints regarding pushy European passengers there are just as many if not more when we have been to the USA and on the ships we have sailed on so stop thinking its everyone else and not you.

 

For those of you who only want to sail on a mainly English speaking ship stop criticising the likes of Costa and MSC if you have never travelled with them.

 

Take a look at the videos that have been posted here on CC and Youtube of people waiting near the Lifeboats if you believe that is panic then you have no real idea of what panic really is!

 

 

I couldnt have said it better myself. Thank you

[MsTabbyKats]

I live in NYC...and only sail out of NYC because I don't have to fly!

 

I don't care about pushy people who don't speak English....because that's my husband's whole family.

 

But, if Costa started sailing out of NYC...NO....I would not sail on them.

 

There "captain selection process" isn't up to par.

[sylmack]

It really is amazing how many self centred people there are cruising who unless they can speak English All the time will not travel on the likes of MSC or Costa! the very same people who will call these Two lines having Never travelled with them and rely solely on hearsay and believe every written word that the media puts out about a certain incident!

 

For those of you here who have made complaints regarding pushy European passengers there are just as many if not more when we have been to the USA and on the ships we have sailed on so stop thinking its everyone else and not you.

 

For those of you who only want to sail on a mainly English speaking ship stop criticising the likes of Costa and MSC if you have never travelled with them.

 

Take a look at the videos that have been posted here on CC and Youtube of people waiting near the Lifeboats if you believe that is panic then you have no real idea of what panic really is!

 

Good points.

 

I've sailed a few times in Europe, and a few times in the Caribbean. I found the European ones different and refreshing.

 

There are just as many annoying people on North American cruises, just a different kind of annoying.

 

Just try waiting in line if you simply have to tender into port, on a bright sunny day, and all the idiots butting in...others complaining. Now imagine how

that would be in the case of an emergency at night with no power.

 

Until, heaven forbid, there is a similar accident/incident on a North American based cruise, it is hard to compare how language barriers would affect the outcome.

[ducklite]

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.

 

There's a difference between being bi-lingual and preferring to cruise with a cruise line where English is the primary language. And these days you have to take four years of foreign language in high school and two in college, so most people are bi-lingual at least to some degree.

[ducklite]

It really is amazing how many self centred people there are cruising who unless they can speak English All the time will not travel on the likes of MSC or Costa! the very same people who will call these Two lines having Never travelled with them and rely solely on hearsay and believe every written word that the media puts out about a certain incident!

 

For those of you here who have made complaints regarding pushy European passengers there are just as many if not more when we have been to the USA and on the ships we have sailed on so stop thinking its everyone else and not you.

 

For those of you who only want to sail on a mainly English speaking ship stop criticising the likes of Costa and MSC if you have never travelled with them.

 

Take a look at the videos that have been posted here on CC and Youtube of people waiting near the Lifeboats if you believe that is panic then you have no real idea of what panic really is!

 

So now those of us who choose to sail on lines where English is the primary language are self-centered? Wow. Just wow.

 

I think it's very fair for people to criticize much of what happened on the Concordia. Regardless of how you look at it, there was an absolute lack of leadership, bad information given that endangered the lives of passengers, poor corporate response, the list goes on.

 

There are other videos with people screaming as they try to reach lifeboats. Now there are reports that the latest body found was n't a registered passenger or crew member--yet another major breakdown in security if it's true. Don't try to whitewash what happened. The cheerleading for Costa is puzzling, and quite frightening as well.

[sidari]

ducklite ... The only cheerleeding i do is for my family, i nor my G/f do not cheerlead for any given cruiseline as you can see from who we have and will cruise with! it seems that the Majority of posters from the USA have become Judge Jury and in some posts Executioner which it appears is a commom traite in disasters such as this.

 

There really does seem to be an Inability to stand back and take in information and then wait for the outcome rather than shoot first and ask questions later.

 

what is frightening re your comment? ..... having stood for 30 minutes on the Outside deck of Costa Deliziosa on the 22nd December 2011 during what was a well taken lifeboat drill at least we can give comments that totaly disprove some of the nonsense that has been quoted here on CC.

[KatetheWanderer]

So now those of us who choose to sail on lines where English is the primary language are self-centered? Wow. Just wow.

 

I think it's very fair for people to criticize much of what happened on the Concordia. Regardless of how you look at it, there was an absolute lack of leadership, bad information given that endangered the lives of passengers, poor corporate response, the list goes on.

 

There are other videos with people screaming as they try to reach lifeboats. Now there are reports that the latest body found was n't a registered passenger or crew member--yet another major breakdown in security if it's true. Don't try to whitewash what happened. The cheerleading for Costa is puzzling, and quite frightening as well.

 

You say "Quite frightening? Puzzling? Many of the Costa cheerleaders have extensive experience with cruising in general and with Costa in particular. It is not about excusing the captain or everything that happened on the Concordia. It is about letting people know that the safety procedures on Costa are much on par with those found on other ships. We are very much entitled to give examples of chaos on other ships to demonstrate the fallacy in many of the fear based assumptions about Costa after this tragedy. All the ships will improve as a result of this one ship's experience. An RCCL ship hit a reef in the 1990's. One of their ships recently failed a surprise health safety inspection in Florida. You sailed with RCCL. This board is so full of brand devotees and attackers that it reminds me of sport team discussions. The RCCL versus Norwegian camps might be the most hilarious. The Carnival haters and lovers tickle me too. In one of your posts, you mentioned you have no interest in going on the Italian version of Carnival. You've never been on Carnival. Youre particular in what you like so you know you won't like it and you know you won't like Costa. Your choice. Nothing wrong with it. Some people aren't as restricted and might be here to read posts from people who have experienced Costa. Before I cruised Costa. I browsed this board. Had the Costa fans not been here to give their takes on the pros and cons, I might have just looked at Grumpy100's missiles and never experienced what I will remember as the trip of a lifetime. I couldn't find on the other lines a translatlantic crossing that combined a southern crossing with three continents and a full week of multiple stops in the Caribbean. Most of them either shoot straight across the Atlantic or with just a few stops. (I would also have ceased following the board and missed out on the touching evolution of the relationship between Ron (GMT) and Grumpy100. I like how Grumpy100 keeps coming back here like a moth to a flame or a lighthouse keeper... to warn off those who would might accidentally find themselves on a Costa cruise. And why not. He's actually cruised with Costa.)

 

No matter how much any of the lines' improve, there will be chaos and lapses in procedural order when 4000 or how about 8000 people think they are going to die unless they get off the ship immediately. I heard that some of the mega ships evacuate with chutes. Weeeeeeeee. For that reason alone, many people won't cruise at all. You're brave enough to cruise so don't be frightened by the Costa passengers who wish to provide a counterpoint to those who are so vigorously opposed to an experience that several of the posters have never had. You've been on three cruises with two lines. After you've cruised more, especially in Europe, I suspect that your concerns about language, etc. may be diminished. Maybe not. I always said I would never travel to Africa and I did. The more I travel, the more flexible I get in my demands and the lower my stress level. I tend to fear the unknown less and less. Except the shark thing.

[ducklite]

You say "Quite frightening? Puzzling? Many of the Costa cheerleaders have extensive experience with cruising in general and with Costa in particular. It is not about excusing the captain or everything that happened on the Concordia. It is about letting people know that the safety procedures on Costa are much on par with those found on other ships. We are very much entitled to give examples of chaos on other ships to demonstrate the fallacy in many of the fear based assumptions about Costa after this tragedy. All the ships will improve as a result of this one ship's experience. An RCCL ship hit a reef in the 1990's. One of their ships recently failed a surprise health safety inspection in Florida. You sailed with RCCL. This board is so full of brand devotees and attackers that it reminds me of sport team discussions. The RCCL versus Norwegian camps might be the most hilarious. The Carnival haters and lovers tickle me too. In one of your posts, you mentioned you have no interest in going on the Italian version of Carnival. You've never been on Carnival. Youre particular in what you like so you know you won't like it and you know you won't like Costa. Your choice. Nothing wrong with it. Some people aren't as restricted and might be here to read posts from people who have experienced Costa. Before I cruised Costa. I browsed this board. Had the Costa fans not been here to give their takes on the pros and cons, I might have just looked at Grumpy100's missiles and never experienced what I will remember as the trip of a lifetime. I couldn't find on the other lines a translatlantic crossing that combined a southern crossing with three continents and a full week of multiple stops in the Caribbean. Most of them either shoot straight across the Atlantic or with just a few stops. (I would also have ceased following the board and missed out on the touching evolution of the relationship between Ron (GMT) and Grumpy100. I like how Grumpy100 keeps coming back here like a moth to a flame or a lighthouse keeper... to warn off those who would might accidentally find themselves on a Costa cruise. And why not. He's actually cruised with Costa.)

 

No matter how much any of the lines' improve, there will be chaos and lapses in procedural order when 4000 or how about 8000 people think they are going to die unless they get off the ship immediately. I heard that some of the mega ships evacuate with chutes. Weeeeeeeee. For that reason alone, many people won't cruise at all. You're brave enough to cruise so don't be frightened by the Costa passengers who wish to provide a counterpoint to those who are so vigorously opposed to an experience that several of the posters have never had. You've been on three cruises with two lines. After you've cruised more, especially in Europe, I suspect that your concerns about language, etc. may be diminished. Maybe not. I always said I would never travel to Africa and I did. The more I travel, the more flexible I get in my demands and the lower my stress level. I tend to fear the unknown less and less. Except the shark thing.

 

One of the reasons we have no desire to cruise with the mega-liners. We recently were on the Disney Dream and realized it's too big for our tastes. 16 lifeboats for 4000 passengers and ~1500 crew didn't give me the warm fuzzies.

 

I look at the Oasis of the Seas with it's 18 life boats and wonder how on earth they plan on getting 6300 passengers and 2100 crew safely off the ship. The only thing I can come up with is that they don't.

 

Long before the Concordia we had decided to cruise on smaller ships, safety was just one of the reasons, but after this, we're happy with our decision.

 

By the way, we're cruising Europe for two weeks this summer on a line where English is the first language. It's not that hard to find a good line with an interesting itinerary that meets that desire.

 

And I don't blame you about the shark thing, I am reluctant to get in any body of water that isn't made out of concrete because of sharks (or alligators which in my opinion are sharks with legs).

[KatetheWanderer]

And I don't blame you about the shark thing, I am reluctant to get in any body of water that isn't made out of concrete because of sharks (or alligators which in my opinion are sharks with legs).

 

I saw your upcoming itneraries. Very jealous. It was the specific adventure of lots of stops crossing the Atlantic I was looking for when I shopped Europe. One way airfare was surprisingly affordable and the return was done over time so minimal jet lag for this west coaster who had to go to work the next day after a four week vacay.

 

I like the concrete too. In my irrationality, I've been known to check the International Shark Attack site with the University of Florida for worldwide statistics on attacks. I can't do much Key West swimming because I was informed while I was in the water snorkeling that they also have crocodiles in the Atlantic. If sharks can hone in on a floundering fish by changes in their stress level through heartbeat etc, I was chum in the sea until I managed to get to the boat. Not that I even saw a crocodile mind you. I hyperventilate in Hawaii, and the Great Barrier Reef might be sightseeing only from a boat if I ever have the pleasure.

Link to Shark Attack File.

http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/sharks/isaf/isafabout.htm

[Capricruiser]

I like how Grumpy100 keeps coming back here like a moth to a flame or a lighthouse keeper... to warn off those who would might accidentally find themselves on a Costa cruise. And why not. He's actually cruised with Costa.)

 

Actually Grumpy's a she. She has indeed cruised with Costa -once in 2005!:rolleyes:

[KatetheWanderer]

Actually Grumpy's a she. She has indeed cruised with Costa -once in 2005!:rolleyes:

 

Thanks! Oh my. My apologies Grumpy. I was picturing the dwarf.

[KatetheWanderer]

Thanks! Oh my. My apologies Grumpy. I was picturing the dwarf.

 

And so this also means no bromance. This is still something of a shock.

[firesail]

My first cruise was on the (Costa/Linea C) Federico C in 1968-69. This was during the time that transatlantic ships were losing ground to airlines and repositioning as total cruise vacations. I was a teenager, and we visited 14 ports in 17 days and I had a great time as I met some kids my own age. My father, a Navy vet, vowed to never set foot on a cruise ship again. The staff mostly spoke Italian, the ship was dirty and bug infested, and my mother and sister became sick as a number of other passengers did.

 

My father and mother eventually went on other cruises years later and stated they would never cruise on Costa again.

 

For me, it is unfair to compare that cruise in 1968 with cruises I have taken in the last 20 years. Ships have changed dramatically. But I realize that selection of a line, ship, location, and timing are all vitally important to the overall satisfaction of a vacation. Most of us have limited time for vacations and we don't want to be stuck on a bad cruise ever. That said, you are at a higher risk of having something major go wrong that you would at a land based all inclusive resort.

 

That is why I rely on Cruise Critic board to give me the information I need to avoid booking on a bad line or a bad ship. And over the years, Costa feedback, on this board has convinced me that I would not cruise the line. This has been mostly for service related issues, not safety. When Carnival bought them, I took more of a wait and see attitude.

 

The Costa Concordia disaster indicates to me that the line is not one that I would sail on at this time. I know that most of the blame is going to the Captain at this point. But a disaster of this magnitude indicates a few more individuals and processes should shoulder at least some the blame. For instance: what about the second and third in command on the ship? Were they communicating to the captain and crew? Why did they follow the orders of the captain when they must have known that the captain was not handling his duties correctly? And what about staffing and training at Costa? Who put this guy in charge of 4000+ souls and a nearly $600 Million dollar asset? As they say in the maritime: nearly anyone can sail a ship in calm waters (especially with all the electronics today), but only a good captain can sail a ship in a storm. What kind of training and assessment is being done for crisis management? Is this guy an anomaly as the cruise line seems to indicate, or are there other Costa captains out there with similar issues once a crisis occurs?

Are there any issues with the ship and its equipment? Was there a navigation error? What about the forward scanning sonar? Did watertight doors close automatically? Were water alarms working properly? Was the design of the ship adequate to survive a breach of this magnitude? Was communication between the crew and leadership possible or was there a technical failure. You can see there are many issues yet to come out. I would presently have the same questions for the rest of the ships in the Costa line. Carnival has agreed to review everything from top to bottom on all lines it owns, which is good, but late for the unfortunate souls lost on this cruise.

 

For me, I would consider Costa only after I have seen on this board that the service issues are in the past. But since the staffing and basic safety issues are ones that are difficult to evaluate, yet even more important, it is unlikely that I will put them high on a list to reconsider.

 

One thing that all cruise ship lines should consider: the frequent cruisers may not remember an average or better cruise, but they will long remember a bad cruise, and it will affect their willingness to go on that line in the future.

[Ratt]

We have been on the RCL several times and want to try something different this time on Costa.......................but HUGH MISTAKE!

 

I can understand the Captain's last name being used as a way of saying someone screwed up but I don't think it's right to use my first name to explain that you made a mistake. :cool:

[Grumpy100]

Grumpy,

 

Now you are even making light banter.

 

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

 

Ron

 

GMT. Your not so bad yourself. I actually love to banter. Oh and I am a girl.

I have been on one costa cruise.

keep it coming.

He He

[G.M.T.]

GMT. Your not so bad yourself. I actually love to banter. Oh and I am a girl.

I have been on one costa cruise.

keep it coming.

He He

 

Grumpy, so you are a girl, make life even more interesting.

 

A little banter here and a little banter there.

 

This is your third message where you haven't said anything negative.

 

I'll print this message out and put it under my pillow with the others.:D

 

Ron

[Grumpy100]

Grumpy, so you are a girl, make life even more interesting.

 

A little banter here and a little banter there.

 

This is your third message where you haven't said anything negative.

 

I'll print this message out and put it under my pillow with the others.:D

 

Ron

 

GMT: oh I bet you tell all your friends that.

[G.M.T.]

GMT: oh I bet you tell all your friends that.

 

Only to my girl friends.

 

Wait a minute are you now saying we are friends?

 

So goodnight my new found friend - spaek to you tomorrow, almost midnight here.

 

Ron

[Grumpy100]

Only to my girl friends.

 

Wait a minute are you now saying we are friends?

 

So goodnight my new found friend - spaek to you tomorrow, almost midnight here.

 

Ron

 

Until tomorrow my friend.....

[Flah]

Seriously, the quality on service and food on these 2 cruise lines sucks! I will never cruise with them as a paid passenger. I will recommended all others cruise lines except these two.

Flah

[G.M.T.]

Until tomorrow my friend.....

 

Grumpy my friend,

 

People are jealous of our relationship, even my friend KatetheWander said:

 

Thanks! Oh my. My apologies Grumpy. I was picturing the dwarf.

 

and

 

And so this also means no bromance. This is still something of a shock.

 

Why no romance, just because you are a gal and I'm a true bloody he-man (or is that e-mail these days)?

 

Maybe we should meet secretly on the HAL board (but only when we are over 80 :D - just wait until the HAL fans see that).

 

Ron