MSC Splendida vs Costa Diadema

[Kicker86]

Hi

 

We are ordering our first trip on a cruise. This is in the western meditarian sea. The two ships we have to choose from is MSC Splendida (Fantastica Balcony) and Costa Diadema (Premium Balcony). We are traveling two adults and two childen (3 and 6 year).

 

Anyone who can give some tips?

[SuiteTraveler]

For a Med cruise the ports are the most important thing. Look at each itinerary and choose the ports you like the best. Also look at the port times. Essentially you will be off the ship every morning by 8:30 or 9am (maybe earlier) and won't get back on until around 5pm. So the ship is essentially a floating hotel. Most ships can produce a competent breakfast and dinner. Beyond that, there may be shows onboard. I have not been on a Costa ship, but I have been on MSC and they do a different show every night with Broadway caliber performers - it is some of the best entertainment I've seen on any cruise ship. My advice is to choose for the ports first and then price as excursions in Europe can be expensive. Book as many private excursions as you possibly can with other cruises from your roll call as this will save you a lot of money and you will be on a tour with a small group in a small van that can drop you close to whatever you are seeing and the other advantage of private excursions is that you can see exactly what you want to see and not be in a huge herd of people. You will see more and the small group can move faster. At many ports, you can do your own tour. For example, from Civitavecchia, it is very easy to take a train into Rome, walk around and then take the train back to Civitavecchia at the end of the day. Do bring an umbrella stroller for your youngest child. You will have to take your children with you when touring, so do plan for that.

 

Here is a link to the family cruising boards:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=49

 

here is some information about cruising the Med with children:

http://www.familytravelnetwork.com/articles/planning-mediterranean-family-cruise.asp

http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=373

http://www.gonewiththefamily.com/gone-with-the-family-adv/2015/05/cruising-the-mediterranean-with-kids.html

[Kicker86]

Thank you for the links and the tips for ports and trips. I will read them carefully. What about the ships in general? Costa is from 2014 and MSC is from 2008/9.

[lamchops]

Thank you for the links and the tips for ports and trips. I will read them carefully. What about the ships in general? Costa is from 2014 and MSC is from 2008/9.

 

 

I haven't been on ether ship but have been on both cruise lines. We were on the MSC Magnifica and its the nicest ship that we've been on. We saw the Diadema in port once and its the largest ship we've seen. I prefer MSC over Costa for atmosphere and service but the Diadema is new and big.

[Dancer Bob]

I have been on Diadema twice, on MSC only Divina, not Splendida.

With your childrens' ages, family cruising advice is more important than ports. The childrens'club on Costa is "Squok Club", I can't recall MSC. Posting on the specific cruise line boards will get better advice about availabilty and pricing. I wouldn't offer any advice about booking tours as a family without knowing how restless your children get.

An important consideration- how long before the cruise do you arrive in Europe?

[JMorris271]

We cruised out of Barcelona on Diadema to rance and

Italy and loved the ship. It sparkels. Food was nice with an international flare and the shows were professional. Language was not a problem at all. I will do it again in heartbeat.

 

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