We're back from Costa Allegra

[Tom&Carol]

After a rather poor start, our trip turned out to be very enjoyable. First of all, we were supposed to leave Halifax 6:40 a.m. on Jan. 19 and catch a connecting flight in Montreal, arriving in Miami around midday. Our Halifax to Montreal fllight was cancelled and we were rerouted to Toronto at 12:30 p.m. and then on to Miami, arriving at our ship at about 7 p.m. Needless to say, we were rather nervous about getting to the ship on time. We were probably one of the last to board, so embarkation was very simple. Our luggage went immediately to our cabins and all of our papers were there waiting for us. No hassle whatsoever. The other couple travelling with us left a bag at the Miami airport, and Costa arranged to have it flown to Progresso on our first port day. There were other people from Halifax who were rerouted by way of Boston. They arrived at the ship around 3 p.m. without any luggage. Costa arranged to have all their luggage meet the ship in Jamaica (4 days into the trip). They supplied them with survival packs, which included T-shirts, skirts, shorts, toiletries, etc., as well as tuxedos and formal gowns and shoes for the Captain's gala night. We were really impressed with this, since the air wasn't arranged through Costa and they couldn't be held responsible for the lost luggage.

 

We found the ship to be very clean and well organized. The crew was exceptional, doing all they could to make everyone happy. The entertainment staff had boundless energy and kept everyone as busy as they could possibly want to be.

 

The cruise was very European. The music and dancing was more ballroom style. Currency on board was Euros. We found everything to be overpriced. The daily drink special was $4.50 Euros (about $6.30 Canadian) and could be supersized for .25 Euros more. A beer was $3.25 E.for small and $4.25 E. for large. If you get a mixer (rum and soda for example), it cost $6.25 E. A 15% service charge is added to all drinks. As you can see, drinking can be very expensive. We found out on the first night that you could purchase duty free liquor and take it to your room. You should try not to be noticed drinking your own booze outside your cabin. Pop can be purchased in port and carried on with no problem. All bags were X-rayed when going on board at each port, and we didn't see anyone questioned about their contents, even though many were bringing beer on board.

 

We arranged all of our own excursions by taxi after going ashore and they were at least half the price you pay on the ship. You can even get a taxi to take you to the Panama Canal to see ships going through the locks. The one excursion we did book through the ship was the Stingray City and Island Tour. Unfortunately, the seas were quite rough that day and all water tours in Grand Cayman were cancelled. Speaking of rough seas - we found the Allegra to be quite unstable. Two nights were particularly bad, so if you have a problem with seasickness, we would suggest you use a patch. The ship does supply dramamine for free. Our last night was very calm, so most likely the instability was a combination of ship size and ocean conditions.

 

There was no shortage of deck chairs and towels, even on sea days. The pool is very small, but on this cruise not many people used it. By the way, it is salt water. There are three hot tubs.

 

The passenger makeup of the ship was roughly 60% American, 40% Europeans and other nationalities. The average age was approximately 65. We heard that future cruises would be more Europeans than other nationalities.

 

The food was good, but not the quality of other cruises we have been on.

We only gained about five pounds each. LOL

 

Overall, we were very pleased with the dollar value of the cruise. If you're looking for a 5 star cruise, then this isn't the one for you, but it is certainly worth the price being paid. We wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone looking for a budget priced cruise.

[Linda-B]

Tom and Carol,

Thanks so much for your review. Sorry for the all the anxiety you must have felt getting to the ship. (Costa really was great agout the luggage problems) It sounds as if you enjoyed the cruise.

We too will be arranging our own tours.

 

What did you do in Montego Bay and Puerto Limon?

 

We have the rest of the ports covered.

Linda

 

Tom and Carol,

I forgot to ask about the dress code on non formal nights--especially for the men. How many nights were jackets or suits required.

Did the men wear jackets and ties--jackets without ties--slacks and shirts, and about how many times. My husband is trying to decide how many jackets to bring.

Thanks,

Linda

[Tom&Carol]

On all nights, other than the three formal nights, our husbands wore slacks or dress pants with a sport shirt or golf shirt. They were as well dressed as anyone in the dining room. Those wearing sport coats, suits and ties were in the minority on those evenings. I didn't find this ship to be as formal as others, e.g. Princess. T-shirts and shorts would be inappropriate, as well as men's sandals. The ladies wore clothes that would be appropriate in any fine dining restaurant at home - skirts, dress pants, sundresses. I hope this answers your questions about dining room attire.

 

In Jamaica we hired a taxi to take us on a tour of the area. The driver took us to a group of huts where ladies sold their crafts. He also took us to a bar that overlooked the ocean where we could see our ship. He gave us time to have a beer there. He then dropped us off at Doctor's Cave Beach. He wanted to take us to a public beach, but the Assistant Cruise Director strongly advised us to go to a private beach - either Doctor's Cave or Magaritaville. She felt that we would be much safer there. You have to pay to get on the private beaches (we paid $5 USD each). Take a towel from the ship (they supply them). There are changing rooms and showers there. If you want a chair you have to pay for that also, so we sat on our towels. Doctor's Cave Beach is a quiet, laid-back beach, while Margaritaville has a party atmosphere with waterslides (we were told) and other activities. I can't remember for sure, but I think we paid about $20 or $25 each for that tour.

 

In Puerto Limon we got a tour from the cruise terminal. We were in a van with a lady driver and lady tour guide. We paid $25 USD each. They took us on a tour of Puerto Limon, then to see a resort that cost $45 per night (I'm not sure why they took us there, but it was a nice spot with a nice view), then they took us to a beach where we had a beer at the bar on the beach. From there we went on a canal tour (I believe it was call Tortuguero Canals) in a boat with a canopy top. We saw several different kinds of birds, two and three toed sloths, etc. It was very interesting. The boat tour was about an hour and a half and the cost was included in the $25. Then the ladies came back and picked us up and returned us to the ship. It was well worth the money.

 

I hope I've answered all your questions. If you need any more information, just ask.

[cruiser_7]

Hi,

 

We will be sailing on Costa Allegra on 2/21. Just had a few questions about the cruise.

 

1) Are we allowed to carry water/ beer/sodas on to the ship?

2) Is it mandatory to go to the formal nights?

3) What is there to see in Progresso and in the Cayman Islands.

I think everybody covered all the other places in these forums.

4) Do they have a gym on board and do you have to pay to use the gym?

Any comments on housekeeping and service would be appreciated.

I'd appreciate any suggestions or tips for our trip.

 

Thanks

[Tom&Carol]

Hi, Cruiser 7

 

I'll answer your questions the best I can.

 

1. First of all, Costa's official policy is that any alcohol carried on board will be held until debarkation day. Also, any alcohol purchased on board is to be held by the ship and delivered to your room on debarkation day. That being said, we purchased beer in ports and carried it on in a tote, as did many other people. All carry-ons are X-rayed, but absolutely nothing was said about any beverages we brought on board. There were no restrictions on soda and water. We purchased alcohol on board and were told we could take it to our cabin and drink it there. As I said in my review, you should be very discreet if you take it out of your room.

 

2. It is not mandatory to go to any formal nights. You can eat in the Yacht Club buffet all the time, if you wish.

 

3. I'm sorry I can't give you much information on Progresso tours. That port of call we were busy retrieving lost baggage at the airport. There is a shuttle bus that takes you into the town of Progresso free of charge. We did go there and walk around a little. I believe that port may be the best one for shopping if you go into Merida. There are organized tours offered by the ship, but I'm sure you could do much better on your own. When you get into Progresso, where the shuttle bus drops you off you can book all sorts of tours for a fraction of the ship's cost.

 

In Grand Cayman, the tour that most people talk about is the Stingray City tour. That was cancelled the day we were there due to bad sea conditions. We went ashore and took an Island Tour with a tour company (not through the ship) for $20 USD each. They took us to a place called "Hell", the Cayman Turtle Farm (that was an additional $5 to enter, but well worth it), The Tortuga Rum Company where you could sample the cakes and rum, and then to Seven Mile Beach. We were asked if we would like to stay on the beach for a while, which we did. They left us there and we got a taxi back to the ship for $4 each. Grand Cayman is the richest island on this cruise, and prices are quite high. You can't bargain with the taxi drivers because all the rates are set by the government. There are other tours as well, which you can read about on the ship and most likely get cheaper on your own.

 

4. There is a small gym on board which is free to use. There is also a sauna and steam room, which are also free.

 

We had an inside cabin on deck 5. We had a mini fridge in our room. The fridge is stocked with beer, water, soda, and snacks. These are not free!!! There is a price list on the vanity. We had our cabin steward empty ours so that we could use it for our own soda and water. She kept our ice bucket filled at all times.

 

We found the cabin to be well kept. However, there was a problem on two days because of sea conditions. Our shower wouldn't drain properly and water went under the bathroom door and soaked our carpet in front of the bathroom. Also, on those days, there was a terrible smell of sewer gas in the hallways. The ship is old, and I assume it doesn't have all the modern equipment of the new ships. Nobody seemed overly upset about this. If this were rated 5 star at 5 star prices, probably people would have complained. The ship is in excellent condition for its age and as clean as any we have been on. This was our fifth cruise, so I do have something to compare it to.

 

You could have room service if you desired, at no extra charge. We didn't try it so can't comment on that. Since we had an inside cabin, we chose to be on deck as much as possible.

 

I don't know what else to add, but if you have more questions, ask away.

[nurse2trav]

Thanks for all the info. The buffet is open for dinner as well as breakfast and lunch? How did the food compare to the dinning room?

[Linda-B]

Carol,

Thanks so much for all your help. Did you have any trouble getting off the ship in Miami?

About what time where you able to disembark?

Linda

[bobthek]

Thanks for all the info. The buffet is open for dinner as well as breakfast and lunch? How did the food compare to the dinning room?

The buffet is open almost all of time. We never had dinner there, so I don't know what the evening hours are. The food is about the same as the DR. The lunch pasta is fresher at the buffet because they are making it there as you wait. The lunches were "themed" with regional specialties, some of them quite good. We never had lunch in the DR, but ate breakfast and dinner there every night. The ambience of the buffet is less than optimal. It is crowded because the steam table and the drink station are across from each other leading to chaotic traffic. They also had several malfunctions of the ice cream machine, leading to more crowds. The food in the DR was OK, not great. Try the cold soups - they are great! Also, the breakfast breads were quite good.

[bobthek]

Carol,

Thanks so much for all your help. Did you have any trouble getting off the ship in Miami?

About what time where you able to disembark?

Linda

This was the worst experiece we had on an otherwise pleasant trip.

The problem is that we had to clear US customs while aboard ship. There were about 4 customs officials seated in the Flamenco ballroom. Everyone had to present passports and customs declarations to them. There were about 700 people on the ship (about 1/4 with non-USA passports) and Costa started letting people in to the ballroom about 8:30 AM. There was a huge crush of people trying to get in there, and Costa seemed at a loss on how to control this.

Because our tour group had buses and did not need to catch planes, we were the last off the ship (as was sensible). We left the ship about 11:00 AM, but some of the earlier people did miss their planes. Once off the ship itself, things went very rapidly.

[Tom&Carol]

We also ate most of our meals in the dining room, just because we liked to be pampered. I didn't keep any copies of our daily news "Today" so I'm not sure what the buffet hours were, but I'm certain it was open for dinner. At least I think so. I wish I had kept a copy of "Today".

 

We're Canadian, so our experience with disembarkation was totally different from Bobthek's. We had to meet in the Flamenco Ballroom at 8:30 a.m. to clear customs. This was a set time for our group. Perhaps that is a change that was made since Bobthek was there. That only took about five minutes. It all went very smoothly. At 10:30 we had to meet in the showroom to disembark. That, too, took only a few minutes. From 8:30 to 10:30 we just roamed around the ship with our carry-on bags. We could have gone directly to the showroom and waited, but we chose not to. We had been given color-coded tags for our luggage, and once we disembarked we found the luggage sorted by color inside the terminal. Apparently the Americans had to do something different. It sounds like the next couple of cruises are going to be mainly Europeans, so I don't know how that will change things. It probably won't make things any more difficult for the Canadians because there will be fewer of them. If you have an early flight to catch, you must notify the desk the night before so that you can get off early. Any more questions?

[Linda-B]

Hi Cruiser-7,

There are 4 of us going on on Costa Allegra 2/21 also. We have done some research and have booked some private tours and such.

 

1)Progresso---We are taking the $2.00 bus tour around town. Then we plan to hire a taxi to take us to Dzibilchaltun ruins and to swim in a cinote. Then to the market and walk our way down the beach for some food and beer on the way back to the ship. ( also Merida is a wonderful old Spanish Colonial city. It is very cheep and quick to get there by Bus or Taxi. I have been to Merida before so this time we are staying at the beach)

 

2)Colon---We arranged a tour with Mario (myfriendmario.com) We will tour The Gatun Locks, Embera Indian Village, Chagres River and Falls. It costs a maximum of $95pp and the price goes down with the number of people on the tour.

 

3)Puerto Limon---We'll probably hire a taxi to tour.

 

4)Montego Bay---???

 

5)Grand Cayman---We are taking a 1/2 day excursion with Capt. Bryan on the Buccaneer. (grandcaymancruiseexcursions.com) It includes 2 snorkle stops and swimming with the stingrays. It costs $39pp. This is our 2nd excursion with Capt. Bryan.

Hope this gives you some Ideas.

Linda

[hondorner]

Ellen, one of our little group, has asked me to ask:

 

Are there hair dryers in the rooms? How about shampoo? She says, "All the other cruises I have been on, there was a hair dryer and shampoo available...with my luck, if I leave these at home, they will not be there."

[Tom&Carol]

Hondorner -

You can tell Ellen there are blow dryers in the bathroom. In the shower there is a liquid soap dispenser. I used it as body wash. It wasn't marked, so I'm not really sure what it was. I took my own small bottles of shampoo that I got on previous trips. The only amenities that were supplied in the bathroom were the soaps. One evening we were left two tubes of body cream. They were full size tubes, not samples. There were also facecloths, which I believe someone was wondering about earlier. There is no shortage of towels, and they are changed at least twice a day. Also, on port days, there were green towels left in your room to take ashore, which, if you lost them, you had to pay for.

[cruiser_7]

Hi Tom & Carol,

 

Thanks for answering all my questions so patiently. It was of great help.

We too have the inside cabins.

I was wondering if the ship provides pills(dramamine) for sea sickness free of charge or do we need to take our own?

Also do they have tea & coffee available early in the morning before breakfast?

Do they provide you with any toiletries like in hotels?

 

Thanks a lot!

[cruiser_7]

Hi Linda-B,

 

Thanks a lot for your tips. We are six people travelling together.

I think we will figure out our tours once we get to the ports. The only one we have planned is at Montego Bay through Winston Tours. They are taking us to Dunns River Falls & Montego Bay and it is $30pp.

We are definitely planning on going to Merida from Progresso.

At Colon we defenitely want to go to Gatun Locks. I don't know if its worth going to Panama City???

We are still undecided as to what we want to do at the Grand Cayman.

Hope to see you on board.

[Tom&Carol]

Hi, Cruiser 7

 

If you read my entries in this thread you'll find the answers to most of your questions. They do offer tea and coffee for early risers between 6 and 7, I believe. Also, you can order room service 24 hours a day.

[hondorner]

Carol, thanks, your reply has been copied and emailed off to Ellen. We're about 4 days from arriving on ship; our bus picks us up about 12:45 this Friday, and it's about 2-3 hours to Miami (we're in Port St. Lucie).

[Linda-B]

Cruiser 7,

We are getting ready for the 2/21 Allegra. Can't wait.

We are a group of 4 from Georgia.

Hope we meet up.

Linda

[janneke]

Dear unexperienced Costa cruisers

1 There is NO evening buffet on the Costas, you will have to go to the evening restaurant. Don't confuse with the night buffet.

2 There is practically NO early morning coffee or thea. Having coffee at 6h30 when the breakfast is at 7 is not exactly EARLY. I speak of experience! I took a mug with me for the next day to tap some hot water and use a bag of instant coffee powder to help me around 6 am for my "early bird coffee"!

On some other cruise lines I had coffee at 5 am, not thus with Costa.

3 I never had my C card imprint made the first day because of the long lines. I always waited till the 2nd or even the 3 rd day, and I used the ship's card for my expenses (drinks, photos,trips,tec) without any propbems.

4 on the last day, i never stood in line when the cashier opened office. I always waited 2 or 3 hours before going to the purser's office when the lines were very short (2 to 4 people) . checking your account the day before or even every day helps tracking any mistakes (eg cancelled excursions were notoriously difficult to correct with the excursion office!):cool: