Help! HAL or Costa?

[latserrof]

Ahoy mateys!

We're on the 4/21 21-day Nieuw Statendam TA/Fjords from Ft. Lauderdale to Amsterdam, and we're considering adding another leg immediately thereafter; the choices -- both 14 days RT Amsterdam  departing 5/12 -- are either:

1. Remain aboard the Nieuw Statendam to  Baltic/Russia, or

2  Switch to the Costa Mediterreanea to the British Isles

The two prices are about the same.

We're currently scheduled to do the Baltic/Russia TA on the NCL Getaway in fall 2019, so the British Isles are a bit more appealing, but we've never cruised Costa and are a bit concerned about the 'international' flavor and some of the reviews.

Any thoughts, fellow cruisers?

 

[dingsterkat]

Costa was unappealing to me - lines for everything. Took forever to get on and off the ship. Rude fellow passengers. Announcements repeated in multiple languages, bland food. Maybe it was simply the cursed ship we were on... the Costa Concordia.  About a year before it was run aground.  The only thing I remember as special was the drink package where they would bring you a bottle of wine for dinner, not glass by glass. But not being a huge drinker, that didn’t balance out the negatives.  Stick with HAL or NCL would be my advice. 

[OlsSalt]

Costa itinerary is so port heavy I would not worry much more than simply getting your basic room, board and transportation to all those British Isle sites on this ship, particularly since you are heading back to the Baltics later.   I'd pick Costa and have fun noting the differences. Might want to check the language availability if you planned on taking any shore excursions, but many are DIY stops.

 

Beyond that, have fun. Or consider getting a Holland Rail Pass or Benelux Rail Pass and enjoying two weeks in the low lands country side.  May would be a beautiful time to be on land.  Train system is excellent and you can bike from town to town and extend your adventure even more. 

Edited January 25, 2019 by OlsSalt

[Rowsby]

Just an idea.....

 

Zuiderdam is doing a nice 14 Day Fjords and Highlands.....R/T Copenhagen....leaving May 17th.....

 

A ferry trip and a few extra days before the next cruise would fun......:)

[terrydtx]

10 hours ago, dingsterkat said:

Costa was unappealing to me - lines for everything. Took forever to get on and off the ship. Rude fellow passengers. Announcements repeated in multiple languages, bland food. Maybe it was simply the cursed ship we were on.

We had some friends who did a Costa Mediterranean cruise last year and this is pretty close to what they said about Costa. They are non smokers and they said the ship had so many smokers and common areas full of smokers as well. IMHO, I would stay with HAL too.

[Cruzaholic41]

There is only one major cruise line I will never sail again and that is Costa. It was an awful experience. I’ve seen rude passengers on every cruise but nothing compared to the way they acted on that ship. It was so bad, I disembarked early. I very highly recommend avoiding that cruise line in Europe. 

[alwaysfrantic]

I've sailed on both and we liked Costa just fine.  

 

[FredT]

Tacky or classy?    Thats your choice. 

 

Like Cruzaholic 41 said above... There is ONE line I would never sail again........

 

[badtwin]

Our first cruise was on Costa Magica in 2009, so things could have changed a bit.  We enjoyed it and would cruise Costa again for the right price and itinerary.  What has been said is true - some language issues, food is more Italian based, the ship decor is flamboyant, and lots of cigarette smoke.  And there is a definite "cultural difference" that seems rude by American standards.    

 

For the on-board cruise experience, we much prefer Celebrity or HAL.  As someone once described it to us, they are "noticeably nicer."    The food is more upscale, the staff was better, and there was much less smoking.  (And no or fewer speedos.)

 

It really comes down to what is more important to you - the ports or particular aspects of the on-board experience.  If you love all those nice touches you get with HAL, Costa may be disappointing.   If you want a decent floating hotel, Costa would probably be okay.

 

[OlsSalt]

Costa has a really good UK-Ireland itinerary- 3 at sea days - but an overnight in London (but it is Harwich -pay attention to this) - that is as good as it gets if one want to visit the UK by ship.  

 

Spring for a very good cabin and stay away from the smoke and crowds would be one way to handle Costa's drawbacks - this is a 2400 passenger ship. Italians don't necessarily line  up as neatly as other groups - that is a fact; not a sign of rudeness. 

 

Date Port Arrive Depart Sunday, May 12  Amsterdam, Holland   5:00pm  Monday, May 13  At Sea     Tuesday, May 14  Cork (Cobh), Ireland 8:00am  6:00pm  Wednesday, May 15  Dublin, Ireland 8:00am  6:00pm  Thursday, May 16  Liverpool, England 8:00am  6:00pm  Friday, May 17  Belfast, Northern Ireland 8:00am  6:00pm  Saturday, May 18  Oban, Scotland 8:00am  6:00pm  Sunday, May 19  At Sea     Monday, May 20  Edinburgh (Newhaven), Scotland 8:00am  9:00pm  Tuesday, May 21  Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England 8:00am  4:00pm  Wednesday, May 22  London (Harwich), England 9:00am    Thursday, May 23  London (Harwich), England   8:00pm  Friday, May 24  At Sea     Saturday, May 25  Bremerhaven, Germany 7:00am  2:00pm  Sunday, May 26  Amsterdam, Holland 8:00am

[bendigoboy]

We sailed Costa Favolosa in Norway and had a fabulous trip! I would recommend though that you see if a suite is in your price range...the suite comes with great extras, incl great drink package, fabulous food extras and priorities. They also have an English hostess to help you with problems. If you want a real travel experience i would go for Costa! HA is rather US based and conservative!

[hshowalter]

My wife & I have been on 122 cruises & the worst cruise was costa.on a 7 night cruise we never got a seat at the shows. we would go a half hour before show time & people were saving seats all over the place. the food was terrible ,the worst of any cruise. It took us 3 hours to board We got onboard at 4;15 pm& the boat drill was 4;30. we never got lunch that day.