pros and cons of cruising on costa

[sfomike]

am intrigued by the great deals on these ships, especially for solo travelers. i haven't used them yet and am looking for some comments from those who have.

[cruiserking]

am intrigued by the great deals on these ships, especially for solo travelers. i haven't used them yet and am looking for some comments from those who have.

 

sfomike, You will get many more responses if you ask your question over at the Costa Cruise forum here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=138

 

Jonathan

[CapeCodCruiser]

Although it has been a while we loved the Costa we took.

 

Pro - a pasta course with every meal!

[Keith1010]

I too would post this on the Costa Board.

 

Keith

[Cruisin'Christine]

Our first ever cruise was on Costa and we have since been on cruises on multiple other cruise lines. I personally loved Costa. I found our balcony room to be much bigger on Costa than on any other cruise line I have been on since. The food was comparable to the other major cruise lines and my husband, who loves fresh fruit, says the fruit was better on Costa than any cruise line since. He always started and ended each dinner with a fruit plate. The ship was beautiful too. I think you'll enjoy it!

[Sixtytwo]

Friends who have cruised several times on Costa really do like it. We will give it a try one day I am sure.

[Nitemare]

Are announcements still in Italian before they are in English? If so, even though chances of an emergency are SO low on a cruiseship, I'd still prefer the initial announcement be in a language I understand because if it isn't, I expect the followup in my language will be hard to hear over any reaction to possible bad news.

[ianmcleod99]

We took a last minute Costa on the Costa Diadema in June, and found it to be really good value for money. The below is my opinion only:

Pros: Cost of Crusie, Cost of Premium Drinks Package, Entertainment (from 18:00 - 01:00 in at least 5 locations).

 

Cons: Didn't like the intake of new passengers each day, resulting in boat drill each day. Very ineffective drills (considering the Concordia, lesson still to be learned). Due to intake of new passengers each day, meant that someday room wasn't made up until late afternoon!! Almost no British, Americans, etc. Tanoys in multiple languages multiple time throughout the day (some lasting for over 10 mins).

Food in MDR was poor, which resulted in us eating in speciality each day.

 

That being said it was very good value for money, and we would probably do another Costa Cruise as a filler.

[donaldsc]

I have never cruised on Costa but my TA who has done a lot of cruising and is not fussy did it once just to try it. To quote him - "it was like traveling on a Greyhound bus where half the passengers got off at each port and were replaced by another set of passengers". He was also not impressed with the fact that the large Italian families had no idea how to que up in line for stuff. He made it clear that his first Costa cruise was his last one. Again, this is second hand information but I respect his opinions.

 

These are the CC reviews based on about 1300 CC reviews

 

Cruiser rating Excellent 399

Very Good 271

Average 242

Poor 212

Terrible 201

 

Pretty bad ratings in my opinion. You can read them in the review section of CC.

 

DON

Edited July 13, 2016 by donaldsc

[Dancer Bob]

Pros: New passengers at every port, in Europe. Not the mob scenes you get in Florida sailings. You only do one drill , not a muster every day. At the end, not being herded with thousands of other victims through the chaos in terminal, like in Florida.

Announcements: Safety announcements are always in English. Other languages don't concern you, they can be ignored, even English announcements are stuff you should have read in the program.

Prices that are half or less than other cruise lines for a single.

Con: do not travel on Costa during European school vacations. If you've traveled in Europe and hated it, then Costa is not for you.

Food is not spectacular, about what I expect in a local restaurant in this price range. I was recently in a 4-star hotel in Costa Brava Spain, about the same. Evening dining hours remain a weak point, limited after 9 PM. I plan for 2,000 calories/day and always find plenty.

Where Costa really stands out: music and entertainment, far far superior to anything on any American ship I know. The main lounge starts at 6PM with almost continuous music through to 1 AM, with a large (and popular) dance floor. Several other venues offer different themes.

My travel agent likes Holland America (he's on the Eurodam Saturday) but he knows I think it's for pathetic old geezers, he recommends sailings based on what he thinks I'd like. Reviews mean nothing unless they're by people with the same interests.