Costa in the Caribbean on board currency? and a few ???

[anniversay/grad trip]

Considering doing the Costa Magica Caribbean itinerary during the xmas season and wondering a few things...

 

1) What is the on board currency

 

2) Does anyone who has done this know what the cost of the all inclusive bevy pkg costs? The website shows it in euros, but want to make sure it is available for Caribbean itineraries and at what cost?

 

3) Being Italian/Canadian the food (I have read) caters to the Italian cuisine (which is fine) but, is it authentic, (having cruised in Italy several times we have been spoiled by fine Italian food)?

 

4) How does the line compare to other popular cruise lines in terms of food availability, freshness etc?

 

Any insight, would be most appreciated.

[AnonymousCruiser69]

Currency on-board will be the US dollar in the carribbean.

 

The all-inclusive is available. When I had it in november '12, I believe is was $24/day with the service charge. I found it well worth the money. If you log in to Costa's website, check under 'customize your cruise' - it should list the price for your cruise.

 

Food is subjective. I have a lot of photos from my mediterranea cruise here. Authenic italian? Partly. the pasta and risotto courses are consistently very good. There is no evening buffet (beyond pizza/salad). I was in a full suite, and was supposed to have a room service menu but i never saw one (even after repeated requests. costa has a new deal where 'premium' category cabins have access to room service at no extra charge. 'classic' cabins are charged for room service. overall, i found the food to be comparable to hal, princess and carnival (less emphasis is placed on presentation and garnishes on costa, though).

[anniversay/grad trip]

Currency on-board will be the US dollar in the carribbean.

 

The all-inclusive is available. When I had it in november '12, I believe is was $24/day with the service charge. I found it well worth the money. If you log in to Costa's website, check under 'customize your cruise' - it should list the price for your cruise.

 

Food is subjective. I have a lot of photos from my mediterranea cruise here. Authenic italian? Partly. the pasta and risotto courses are consistently very good. There is no evening buffet (beyond pizza/salad). I was in a full suite, and was supposed to have a room service menu but i never saw one (even after repeated requests. costa has a new deal where 'premium' category cabins have access to room service at no extra charge. 'classic' cabins are charged for room service. overall, i found the food to be comparable to hal, princess and carnival (less emphasis is placed on presentation and garnishes on costa, though).

 

Thank you for your response...I did read your full review and quite enjoyed it, but I noticed that by the end of the cruise you were quite "miffed" at the service and such. In retrospect, do you think you would cruise with Costa again? if so, why? and if not, why? We have cruised several different lines, from smallish to mega ships (Carnival-Caribbean, Celebrity-Med, RCL-Oasis-Caribbean, NCL-Epic-Med) so we are not married to any one cruise line or ship, but I am a little worried about all the negative comments regarding Costa...Not sure if it is just the negativity surrounding the Concordia incident, or if the line truly is lacking in comparison to other major cruiselines??? Generally, we like the late dinner seating, so after a large meal we don;t generally look for anything to eat after dinner, so not having a late night buffet is not a concern. I am however worried about not having a poolside grill for afternoon snacks when we return from shore. Is there anywhere to have a nibble at say 3-4pm?

[AnonymousCruiser69]

you are correct, I was a bit miffed towards the end of the cruise. I realize there will always be problems with any line, but it is the way problems are handled that matter to me. my biggest pet peeve is selling me one thing, but delivering another. will I sail costa again? maybe. maybe not.

 

I believe there was a grille open in the afternoon. there was pizza and salad. costa also has a 'tea' (don't confuse this with British tea, though). also, costa lacks consistency so just because one cruise/ship had a grille doesn't mean the next one will.

 

there are a lot of negative comments out there about costa, but there are a lot of good ones, too. I like many things about my most recent (and third) costa cruise. they are what they are. don't go expecting the same experience as princess/hal/carnival and you will be fine.

[George C]

We loved the Itilian food on Costa, ( I grew up in a itilian/american family in NYC) and we have also cruised Italy.