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Americans sailing Costa, you've been warned!

STLPilot

By STLPilot,
in Costa Cruises

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STLPilot

STLPilot

Posted
Posted

Just sailed Serena, Med cruise Civi - Malaga via Italy, Spain, Morocco, Canary Islands. It was the first Costa ship to leave Civi after Concordia.

 

And although I could write a book on how bad the experience was, I can just say in every category except the room steward, it was unbelievably horrible, beyond words. It was SOOOOOOOOO bad I just don't know where to start.

 

Any believe me when I say this ... nothing has changed since Concordia, the disorganization is beyond belief. And as an American who speaks almost fluent Italian, the translation was not the barrier, it was the utter and complete lack organization and respect for their passengers. It was like a horrible horrible nightmare.

 

So go ahead and ask away ... the food ... Grade F dogfood. The excursions, they had no problem cancelling and not letting you know about it. Try to get on another excursion instead? Well that's logistically IMPOSSIBLE by their standards.

 

When leaving the ship with an empty coffee cup asking where I can put this with dozens of stewards around, please put that in your room. I asked if he was joking ... his answer no. Please put in room or you can't leave the ship. The word "NO" is the only word they know how to respond. No to EVERYTHING!

 

Everything ... I could go on for pages and pages. I'm booking a Princess cruise TODAY and sailing ASAP, just to wash away the TERRIBLE TERRIBLE experience that EVERYONE I spoke to had. They SUCK!!!!

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sidari

sidari

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STL .... Sorry to hear your Costa cruise was as bad as you say! strange that the Americans on our Deliziosa cruise saw if different. I think the trouble is that many people Americans especially(this is not meant in a derogatory way but based on cc posts and reviews) seem to think that Costa will be the same as the likes of Princess or Celebrity and when they realise that they are not then for them their whole cruise is ruined. We accepted that the way Costa work is different and enjoyed our cruise as much as the others we have been on.

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STLPilot

STLPilot

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STL .... Sorry to hear your Costa cruise was as bad as you say! strange that the Americans on our Deliziosa cruise saw if different. I think the trouble is that many people Americans especially(this is not meant in a derogatory way but based on cc posts and reviews) seem to think that Costa will be the same as the likes of Princess or Celebrity and when they realise that they are not then for them their whole cruise is ruined. We accepted that the way Costa work is different and enjoyed our cruise as much as the others we have been on.
If having staff telling you "no" to everything that most american based ships would say "yes" too makes the difference in what constitutes as "different" between the lines, then I guess your right. I'm not kidding though ... it was no ... or can't be done ... or we can't do that. Or things like "all aboard" at 6 pm with ship sailing at 5 pm on your Today schedule was all completely normal. It was bad ... really bad. At least 20 American and Canadian were all completely dishearted with the treatment we received and didn't receive.

 

Bottom line ... Costa sucks at everything ... even navigation.

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STLPilot

STLPilot

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Bottom line ... Costa sucks at everything ... even navigation

 

STL .... I think there will be many some of whom who are not members of cc who will disagree with you on that point .... :D

Look ... I'm not looking to disagree or agree about anything. I'm just stating facts, no more no less.

 

Oh and another thing. Constantly being told by everyone how little money they make and to give them good marks on the 150 question survey so they can make a "tiny bit more".

 

I'm a business owner myself and I would FIRE my employees if they would be telling my customers how much money they did get paid or didn't get paid, it's proprietary information and shouldn't be used as a tool to gain customer sympathy. It was RIDICULOUS!!!!

 

The best way to learn about the success of your company is simply measure if your customers come back ... or don't come back. Not one of us is going back.

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mellowrose

mellowrose

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Thanks for the honest views and heads up. Sidari. I was going to book Costa for the first time just before the Concordia disaster but will go back to Royal Caribbean. Our Princess and Celebrity trips were wonderful too. I have never experienced any of the things you described! Perhaps with less passengers booking, they will seriously overhaul their policies.

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mcrcruiser

mcrcruiser

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Part of the problem for us Americans is that Europeans do many things that we do not do here in the states .We found that out when we traveled to Europe in 2008 & 2009 :rolleyes:.

 

Our TA told me that on Costa ships you don't get a glass of water poured in the MDR unless you request it & you don't get coffee unless you request it . There probably is a lot of things that are different than a US based cruise line:rolleyes: . Thus ,we can see how things on a Euopean cruise line could upset Americans;) .It is not done to upset us ;but ,the Euopeans are use to these differences & accept them:) .

 

Just my 2 cents

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dmwnc1959

dmwnc1959

Posted
Posted
Just sailed Serena, Med cruise Civi - Malaga via Italy, Spain, Morocco, Canary Islands. It was the first Costa ship to leave Civi after Concordia.

 

And although I could write a book on how bad the experience was...

 

... the food ... Grade F dogfood.

 

What did you eat for the whole 12 days you were on her? How much weight did you lose?

 

Was there absolutely NO good food on the entire ship?

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Crusing Nut

Crusing Nut

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Some people will chase a dollar bill across a busy Interstate. That doesn't mean it's a smart thing to do.

 

 

OK that is a given but is it wise to condemn an entire cruiseline because the captain screwed up? No need to answer, been down this road before.

 

I still stand by the post you responded to. There will be some cruisers off the Concordia that will sail Costa again.

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sidari

sidari

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Fishin .... As i have said earlier Costa appear to be a Love or Hate them company and as mcrcruiser says you have to be ready to accept that things are done in Europe that may not be done the same in America! as we have to accept things are done different when we visit America to how they are in the UK.

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fishin' musician

fishin' musician

Posted
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Fishin .... As i have said earlier Costa appear to be a Love or Hate them company and as mcrcruiser says you have to be ready to accept that things are done in Europe that may not be done the same in America! as we have to accept things are done different when we visit America to how they are in the UK.

 

Aside from the multi-lingual announcements and the occasional topless sunbather there was really no marked difference between Costa and the other half-dozen or so mainstream cruiselines I've experienced.

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KatetheWanderer

KatetheWanderer

Posted
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Just sailed Serena, Med cruise Civi - Malaga via Italy, Spain, Morocco, Canary Islands. It was the first Costa ship to leave Civi after Concordia.

 

And although I could write a book on how bad the experience was, I can just say in every category except the room steward, it was unbelievably horrible, beyond words. It was SOOOOOOOOO bad I just don't know where to start.

 

.....It was like a horrible horrible nightmare.

 

... the food ... Grade F dogfood.

....The word "NO" is the only word they know how to respond. No to EVERYTHING!

 

Everything ... I could go on for pages and pages. I'm booking a Princess cruise TODAY and sailing ASAP, just to wash away the TERRIBLE TERRIBLE experience that EVERYONE I spoke to had. They SUCK!!!!

 

When I read reviews like this, I have to thank my lucky stars. I've been on 16 cruises with American ships and a recent 18-day'er with Costa. Had a wonderful time with great cuisine and experiences on each and every one.

 

The Atlantica staff was very sweet and accomodating. My Casablanca At Night excursion did get canceled the night before because not enough English speaking guests had booked it. No worries though because they told me to show up the next morning in the lounge where some of the excursions met and another one might be available. It was! I did the day trip to Marrakech. Had a blast and heard later that Casablanca was blah in comparison so it all worked to my advantage. A couple of older Americans on my bus didn't like the fact that we had to share the guide with the Germans on the bus. They claimed the guide was speaking more German than English. I didn't really notice. I was kind of embarrassed that they were bothering the guide with their complaints. I chatted with him (Abdul) later at a stop and we laughed. He said that his job could be quite stressful at time trying to keep everyone happy. He was a great guide and the excursion company was the same as some of the other ships were using.

 

I wouldn't warn Americans away from Costa but I might caution them that if they find themselves gravitating toward Hiltons when they are abroad, an American based cruise might be a better choice for their needs and expectations. For ever person who slams Costa on this board there is another one who loves it.

 

After reading your review, I would be inclined to check other reviews on the Serena before I booked it. Yours just seems so over the top claiming it was a a "horrible, horrible nightmare" with only "dog food" to eat that I can't tell whether your criteria is at all close to mine. Your warning just to Americans makes me suspicious about your cultural flexibility but maybe you think those are the cruisers who use this board. Still, based on what you've said, I would double check your reports against others just to make sure the ship didn't have some serious management problems. Did you see any positive reviews about the Serena before you booked? I haven't followed the reports on that ship much. Hopefully, someone else will post about your cruise.

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Cuizer2

Cuizer2

Posted
Posted
Just sailed Serena, Med cruise Civi - Malaga via Italy, Spain, Morocco, Canary Islands. It was the first Costa ship to leave Civi after Concordia.

 

And although I could write a book on how bad the experience was, I can just say in every category except the room steward, it was unbelievably horrible, beyond words. It was SOOOOOOOOO bad I just don't know where to start.

 

Any believe me when I say this ... nothing has changed since Concordia, the disorganization is beyond belief. And as an American who speaks almost fluent Italian, the translation was not the barrier, it was the utter and complete lack organization and respect for their passengers. It was like a horrible horrible nightmare.

 

So go ahead and ask away ... the food ... Grade F dogfood. The excursions, they had no problem cancelling and not letting you know about it. Try to get on another excursion instead? Well that's logistically IMPOSSIBLE by their standards.

 

When leaving the ship with an empty coffee cup asking where I can put this with dozens of stewards around, please put that in your room. I asked if he was joking ... his answer no. Please put in room or you can't leave the ship. The word "NO" is the only word they know how to respond. No to EVERYTHING!

 

Everything ... I could go on for pages and pages. I'm booking a Princess cruise TODAY and sailing ASAP, just to wash away the TERRIBLE TERRIBLE experience that EVERYONE I spoke to had. They SUCK!!!!

 

Wow.

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Smurfette&Trojan

Smurfette&Trojan

Posted
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We cruised with Louis Majesty in September 2010 and the ship

was horrible! Dirty, rundown, low quality food, incredibly expensive

and the itinerary was changed with little to no notice. I was sick

the entire cruise (would later find out I was preg with twins) but

still, we had a great time.

 

Louis Cruiselines mainly caters to Europeans like Costa and while I

found the Europeans to be a little brusque with me, I just learned

to ignore them. I think your vacation is what you make of it. Sorry

you didn't have a good time.

 

I don't know why but I really enjoy reading negative reviews of

the cruiselines. It helps me identify problem areas so I go in with

lower expectations - that way I'm not disappointed.

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