Costa vs. MSC

[Stockjock]

When I wrote this, we were trying to decide between MSC and Costa.  We ended up going with MSC but...when MSC cancelled the cruise, we ended up doing nothing due to coronavirus restrictions.

I have a Greek Isles cruise booked on Celebrity, so I thought I'd look at a Costa itinerary similar to what I cancelled in 2021.  I can tell you that the price has increased by at least 50% on the least expensive comparable cruise.

I would be willing to try Costa at some point, although it doesn't appear to me that some of their cruises are quite the value that they were as recently as last year.

[drsel]

5 hours ago, Stockjock said:

I can tell you that the price has increased by at least 50% on the least expensive comparable cruise.

I would be willing to try Costa at some point, although it doesn't appear to me that some of their cruises are quite the value that they were as recently as last year.

You are correct on both counts.

I also noticed that Costa 2023 fares have gone up substantially for no apparent reason.

Hence I mentioned earlier that I cannot find many bargains on Costa right now.

The only bargain is a Transatlantic from Santos to Barcelona.

 

We have already been on many Costa cruises, most were really good bargains.

Like the 29 night grand voyage for $1017 + €290 service charge.

But right now, they are not quite the value they were till as recently as October 2022

Edited December 1, 2022 by drsel

[Stockjock]

32 minutes ago, drsel said:

You are correct on both counts.

I also noticed that Costa 2023 fares have gone up substantially for no apparent reason.

Hence I mentioned earlier that I cannot find many bargains on Costa right now.

The only bargain is a Transatlantic from Santos to Barcelona.

 

We have already been on many Costa cruises, most were really good bargains.

Like the 29 night grand voyage for $1017 + €290 service charge.

But right now, they are not quite the value they were till as recently as October 2022

I found last year's invoice for a 11/2021 sailing out of Trieste for 7 nights.  BC balcony, comfort plus with drink package.  Total price $1,636 for 2 passengers.  Great deal.

I just priced a virtually identical 11/2023 sailing out of Trieste.  BC balcony, comfort plus with drink package.  Total price $3,034 for 2 passengers.  A price jump in 1 year of over 85%.

There's no way I'd do Costa at these prices.  I think I can do Celebrity, with drinks, tips, wi-fi and $200 OBC for about this price at a more favorable time of the year.  In fact, I've booked it (didn't book drinks/wi-fi/tips, but I think I could add those for about the same price, or less, than Costa).

Out of fairness, my Celebrity booking is an oceanview cabin, but I think the price would be similar or less (Celebrity vs. Costa) comparing oceanview to oceanview.  My Celebrity booking is $4,200 with flights for 2 from San Diego, $300 OBC and a premium OV cabin with an oversized window.  And that includes the fact I paid about $300 to make it fully refundable and transport from the Venice city center to the Trieste cruise terminal.  Plus, I believe I can bring aboard 4 bottles of wine, which can cut down on the drink expense a bit.

So at this stage, I just don't see any advantage to booking Costa.

Edited December 1, 2022 by Stockjock

[drsel]

16 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

There's no way I'd do Costa at these prices.  
So at this stage, I just don't see any advantage to booking Costa.

Exactly what I am thinking.

But don't worry, Costa bargains will come.

As the sailing date approaches,  the prices will keep falling and you may actually get some last minute deals

Edited December 1, 2022 by drsel

[drsel]

Some more differences--

 MSC has got many new ships--Meraviglia, Bellisima, Seaview, Seaside, Grandiosa, Virtuosa, Seashore, Seascape, Euribia, World Europa and even more being constructed; whereas Costa has only 4 new ships--Venezia, Toscana, Firenze & Smeralda

 

MSC is right now the fastest growing cruise line and is expected to overtake both Royal Caribbean and Carnival in the near future.

Edited December 1, 2022 by drsel

[Stockjock]

1 minute ago, drsel said:

Some more differences--

 MSC has got many new ships--Meraviglia, Bellisima, Seaview, Seaside, Grandiosa, Virtuosa, Seashore, Seascape, Euribia, World Europa and even more being constructed; whereas Costa has only 2 new ships--Firenze and Toscana.

 

MSC is right now the fastest growing cruise line and is expected to overtake both Royal Caribbean and Carnival in the near future.

MSC has cleaned up their onboard experience quite a lot, imo.  They still have a ways to go in terms of the offshore customer service and a lot of that could be fixed with empowering local customer service agents, instead of requiring them to go to Italy (or wherever) to solve problems.

As much as some of us bag on MSC from time-to-time, there are a lot of things that they do very well.  Especially at their price point.  They are sometimes cheaper than Carnival, especially when drink/wi-fi packages are considered, and I'd take MSC over Carnival in a heartbeat. 

[drsel]

7 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

MSC has cleaned up their onboard experience quite a lot, imo.  They still have a ways to go in terms of the offshore customer service and a lot of that could be fixed with empowering local customer service agents, instead of requiring them to go to Italy (or wherever) to solve problems.

As much as some of us bag on MSC from time-to-time, there are a lot of things that they do very well.  Especially at their price point.  They are sometimes cheaper than Carnival, especially when drink/wi-fi packages are considered, and I'd take MSC over Carnival in a heartbeat. 

Actually I have not even contacted the MSC customer care for a long time, because my agent is quite efficient and does all the work for me.

TA also gives me 6.6% of the fare as a discount, which is better than OBC.

 

MSC is usually much cheaper than Carnival, especially considering the Wi-Fi and drinks package; but I really love Carnival also.

 

[Stockjock]

2 hours ago, drsel said:

Actually I have not even contacted the MSC customer care for a long time, because my agent is quite efficient and does all the work for me.

TA also gives me 6.6% of the fare as a discount, which is better than OBC.

 

MSC is usually much cheaper than Carnival, especially considering the Wi-Fi and drinks package; but I really love Carnival also.

 

Because I'm in Southern California, most of my Carnival experiences have been out of Los Angeles on the shorter 3-5 day cruises, and I've seen a lot of fighting, arguments and excessive alcohol consumption by individuals who can't handle it.  

But maybe I've just been on the wrong Carnival cruises.

Edited December 1, 2022 by Stockjock

[drsel]

Another Major difference--

MSC is the only cruise line to have never sold or scrapped any ship during the entire Covid pandemic. Instead they built and launched more new ships.

 

Almost all other cruise lines including Costa have sold ships or scrapped them.

Costa sold neoClassica, neoRiviera, Mediterranea and neoRomantica ( later scrapped )

Costa scrapped Victoria.

Right now Costa has 13 ships

 

Edited December 1, 2022 by drsel

[At7Seas]

No doubt that Costa listed prices are not cheap, but they are a kind of upper limit. A policy to show that one got a great deal by paying less. By recent EU rules advertisement of price reductions must be based on factually advertised prices, not on listed prices any more. Before special sales the list prices have to be advertised for at least 30 days for being allowed to use them as reference. This Costa has to apply, as being an Italian company, while MSC as being Swiss doesn‘t need to. I for my part have booked for 2022 and 2023 two repositioning cruises connecting the same parts of the world, same number of nights, just visiting different ports, two times the same tariff and I booked during the same time of the year before. Price increase was roughly 9%, which remains slightly below the general inflation. With an 85% increase I definitely wouldn‘t have booked - perhaps I‘d waited for a better price. Again a clear sign that a general statement about prices is very difficult. Costa‘s prices are also related to demand, just as with many hotels or airlines. If demand is higher than expected the listed prices won‘t fall, this is another non-predictable part of pricing. Further comparing prices for repositioning cruises with a round in the Med is just impossible. Since there seems to be much more demand for cruises that start and end at the same point these are generally more expensive, while repositioning is not so much for earning money, but covering costs. This is typical for Costa, but definitely not limited to Costa. Who has the time to go on a longer cruise and doesn‘t mind to end in a port on another continent than departed pays way lesser amounts per night. Before the tariffs have been changed these cruises also were massively offered at Basic tariff with the least things included. Nevertheless worth the money. Normally advertised were prices at Classic and Premium rates. This has been changed. Main tariffs are now My Cruise and All Inclusive. My Cruise generally translates in old Classic, while All Inclusive is old Premium plus My Drinks (formerly Piu Gusto, which was their second largest package before the smaller packages were abolished). Generally one pays a 30 € difference between the two tariffs per night, but it happens to be less or even a free upgrade during a sale. And MSC has thrown the tiny Easy package out the last regular tariffs recently. They generally charge 32 € for this, if available. So one shouldn‘t allow to be fooled by generalising special offers and tariffs that were abolished in the meanwhile. Of course there are differences in the areas where these lines sail. Who wants to visit Saudi Arabia simply can‘t do that with Costa. What I do miss with Costa are the Islands in the Indian Ocean, where Costa was sailing intensively pre covid winters. Why they don‘t do this part of the world any more is beyond my knowledge. But taking fast growth for quality is at least a surprising idea, not really sustained by any economic experience. Indeed, since the owners of a container shipping company bought the remains of infamous Lauro Lines and renamed the company into MSC Cruises a huge player was formed. New ships entering service for MSC did not result in phasing out the old ones. For about a decade now MSC did not sell any ships, so there are also older ships in the MSC fleet than in that of Costa. Sales contract of Costa neoClassica was conducted in 2017, not really covid related. Phasing out older ships is not negative and mentioning vessels that are or should be transferred to an own branch (neoRiviera to Aida) or a new joint venture (Atlantica and Mediterranea) doesn’t mean loss of quality. In the last couple of years Costa increased their capacity significantly, that of MSC virtually exploded. No wonder they try to sell with an aggressive price policy to fill ships. Costa is working on several markets and in Europe with two brands and is part of a large group with several companies and even more brands. Carnival Cruises (the company that operates the Carnival branded ships) is serving a very different segment of the market than the companies with the common parent company Carnival Corporation & Plc. As another daughter Carnival UK runs for example the brand Cunard, while Costa is again another sister company. The Carnival Cruises “funship concept” doesn’t appeal to me at all, Cunard’s appearance is very British, Costa (now I am talking about the brand with the same name as the company) tipico italiano…

Edited December 1, 2022 by At7Seas

[sealynx]

4 hours ago, At7Seas said:

By recent EU rules advertisement of price reductions must be based on factually advertised prices, not on listed prices any more. Before special sales the list prices have to be advertised for at least 30 days for being allowed to use them as reference. This Costa has to apply, as being an Italian company, while MSC as being Swiss doesn‘t need to.

 

Any company advertising prices and reductions in the EU must apply to this rule, no matter where they are based.

[At7Seas]

5 hours ago, sealynx said:

 

Any company advertising prices and reductions in the EU must apply to this rule, no matter where they are based.

 

True. Just have short look where MSC has all websites legally based: Geneva. Clear statement of applicability of Swiss law can be read in the disclaimer as well. In print media or on TV throughout EU I regular see "we are great" advertisements, but no "x less" as we had now with black week on the internet. If you disagree with MSC try to sue them. MSC always searches a way to sail around laws they regard to be restrictive. Obviously they are not willing to fulfil Austrian and German pricing laws and resist including service fee in the fare - despite the courts ruled so. Recently MSC also changed the name of the fee - honi soit qui mal y pense.

[sealynx]

Another difference between Costa and MSC. The MSC CruiseCriticBoard is way more active than Costa's.

[At7Seas]

On 12/13/2022 at 9:31 AM, sealynx said:

Another difference between Costa and MSC. The MSC CruiseCriticBoard is way more active than Costa's.

 

Not really a surprise. It is a language question. Costa for example offers in opposite to MSC no sailings from the USA, for Costa it is normal that one ship is calling in US ports every second year only. With the new project to replace Costa’s Chinese with the US market this will change of course. Generally on Costa vessels English native speakers are a very tiny minority, English works well as lingua franca, but not everybody who can talk with his cabin steward in English feels comfortable when it comes to reading and writing in English, which is of course essential for participating on cruise critic. That a company covering English-speaking countries has more activity on English language boards than one, which doesn’t, is definitely no surprise.

[Aeroplex]

I cruised 3 times with MSC and 2 times with Costa last year. 
 

To make it short. Every cruise was nice. But the vibe on the middle sized Costa ships were a lot nicer than on the mass market ships from MSC with separated Yacht Clubs. 
 

On Costa it feeled more like the traditional cruising and due to the size more warm and friendly. 

 

The vibe was 👍

Edited January 1, 2023 by Aeroplex

[Skipper Tim]

A fascinating discussion, thanks to all the contributors. I read it because I have sailed on Cunard, Royal Caribbean and MSC, each twice, but I have the Costa Favolosa Brazil-Barcelona repo cruise, mentioned above, coming up in just over two weeks. For reference, I am English but have also lived in Spain, Italy, Greece and Turkey - I am fairly international!

 

I did two classic trans-Atlantics, Southhampton - New York, on the QE2 and QM2. My take-home from those is that Cunard is a US-idea of what a British cruise line should be but I found it shockingly American - and not what I expected at all. I had to use US-English to communicate the simplest things to the staff and the menus were the classic things that Americans expect on a cruise. I felt like a fish out of water. 

 

Which brings me to Royal Caribbean. I knew to expect a US cruise experience and that is what I got in heaps. What I did not expect was the endless hard-sell and up-sell every moment of the day. I spoke to an English lady who said it was her 60th cruise with RCI and asked her how she coped with the endless sales pressure. She replied to say that she was now immune to it - 'desensitised'. How awful! 

 

MSC, I found both amusing and chaotic because of the mix of cultures of the guests. There was not a day that went by without incident due to cultures not understanding each other. I loved MSC's pizzas freshly made all day outside the buffet, just like those I had when I lived in Italy - so I will miss those on Costa. What I didn't like on MSC was, when going to the MDR for breakfast or lunch, being forced to sit with strangers in the order you arrived. If I asked for a table for 2, we were told to stand aside and wait - often for a long time. We preferred the buffet for this reason in the end. 

 

I will be taking my elderly mother on the Costa Favolosa. She has very high standards from her younger days when she worked in a very expensive restaurant. She will like the Italian theme but she won't tolerate tepid food on cold plates. They will be sent back. I fear for this. 

 

Neither of us have enjoyed any of the shows on any of the ships we have been on. We do however enjoy live music of practically any type, so I am hoping there will be some good live music on the Favolosa as an alternative to the show. 

 

We have separate 'inside guarantee' cabins (not yet allocated) therefore I can book a drinks package for myself but I doubt it would be worth it for her. However, nowhere can I find Costa's current drinks prices for wine in order to compare. Nor can I find the minibar prices. 

 

Hoping there are contributors to help us before our first Costa cruise. I should be able to add my own lines to this thread after it. 

[Stockjock]

3 hours ago, Skipper Tim said:

A fascinating discussion, thanks to all the contributors. I read it because I have sailed on Cunard, Royal Caribbean and MSC, each twice, but I have the Costa Favolosa Brazil-Barcelona repo cruise, mentioned above, coming up in just over two weeks. For reference, I am English but have also lived in Spain, Italy, Greece and Turkey - I am fairly international!

 

I did two classic trans-Atlantics, Southhampton - New York, on the QE2 and QM2. My take-home from those is that Cunard is a US-idea of what a British cruise line should be but I found it shockingly American - and not what I expected at all. I had to use US-English to communicate the simplest things to the staff and the menus were the classic things that Americans expect on a cruise. I felt like a fish out of water. 

 

Which brings me to Royal Caribbean. I knew to expect a US cruise experience and that is what I got in heaps. What I did not expect was the endless hard-sell and up-sell every moment of the day. I spoke to an English lady who said it was her 60th cruise with RCI and asked her how she coped with the endless sales pressure. She replied to say that she was now immune to it - 'desensitised'. How awful! 

 

MSC, I found both amusing and chaotic because of the mix of cultures of the guests. There was not a day that went by without incident due to cultures not understanding each other. I loved MSC's pizzas freshly made all day outside the buffet, just like those I had when I lived in Italy - so I will miss those on Costa. What I didn't like on MSC was, when going to the MDR for breakfast or lunch, being forced to sit with strangers in the order you arrived. If I asked for a table for 2, we were told to stand aside and wait - often for a long time. We preferred the buffet for this reason in the end. 

 

I will be taking my elderly mother on the Costa Favolosa. She has very high standards from her younger days when she worked in a very expensive restaurant. She will like the Italian theme but she won't tolerate tepid food on cold plates. They will be sent back. I fear for this. 

 

Neither of us have enjoyed any of the shows on any of the ships we have been on. We do however enjoy live music of practically any type, so I am hoping there will be some good live music on the Favolosa as an alternative to the show. 

 

We have separate 'inside guarantee' cabins (not yet allocated) therefore I can book a drinks package for myself but I doubt it would be worth it for her. However, nowhere can I find Costa's current drinks prices for wine in order to compare. Nor can I find the minibar prices. 

 

Hoping there are contributors to help us before our first Costa cruise. I should be able to add my own lines to this thread after it. 

When we eat breakfast in the MDR and request a table for 2, we've always been accommodated.  True, it takes a bit longer, at times, but I don't think we've experienced an unreasonable wait.

[kremerlorraine]

14 hours ago, Skipper Tim said:

A fascinating discussion, thanks to all the contributors. I read it because I have sailed on Cunard, Royal Caribbean and MSC, each twice, but I have the Costa Favolosa Brazil-Barcelona repo cruise, mentioned above, coming up in just over two weeks. For reference, I am English but have also lived in Spain, Italy, Greece and Turkey - I am fairly international!

 

I did two classic trans-Atlantics, Southhampton - New York, on the QE2 and QM2. My take-home from those is that Cunard is a US-idea of what a British cruise line should be but I found it shockingly American - and not what I expected at all. I had to use US-English to communicate the simplest things to the staff and the menus were the classic things that Americans expect on a cruise. I felt like a fish out of water. 

 

Which brings me to Royal Caribbean. I knew to expect a US cruise experience and that is what I got in heaps. What I did not expect was the endless hard-sell and up-sell every moment of the day. I spoke to an English lady who said it was her 60th cruise with RCI and asked her how she coped with the endless sales pressure. She replied to say that she was now immune to it - 'desensitised'. How awful! 

 

MSC, I found both amusing and chaotic because of the mix of cultures of the guests. There was not a day that went by without incident due to cultures not understanding each other. I loved MSC's pizzas freshly made all day outside the buffet, just like those I had when I lived in Italy - so I will miss those on Costa. What I didn't like on MSC was, when going to the MDR for breakfast or lunch, being forced to sit with strangers in the order you arrived. If I asked for a table for 2, we were told to stand aside and wait - often for a long time. We preferred the buffet for this reason in the end. 

 

I will be taking my elderly mother on the Costa Favolosa. She has very high standards from her younger days when she worked in a very expensive restaurant. She will like the Italian theme but she won't tolerate tepid food on cold plates. They will be sent back. I fear for this. 

 

Neither of us have enjoyed any of the shows on any of the ships we have been on. We do however enjoy live music of practically any type, so I am hoping there will be some good live music on the Favolosa as an alternative to the show. 

 

We have separate 'inside guarantee' cabins (not yet allocated) therefore I can book a drinks package for myself but I doubt it would be worth it for her. However, nowhere can I find Costa's current drinks prices for wine in order to compare. Nor can I find the minibar prices. 

 

Hoping there are contributors to help us before our first Costa cruise. I should be able to add my own lines to this thread after it. 

club_en.pdf

This is the current wine list from the Fortuna, which we are on now (transatlantic Buenos Aires to Tarragona). Hope this has uploaded OK. We were on Favolosa for a week in February. There is plenty of live music from 6pm onwards (in the atrium, grand bar, wine bar and the bar at the back of the ship).

[Skipper Tim]

1 hour ago, kremerlorraine said:

club_en.pdf 1.05 MB · 0 downloads

This is the current wine list from the Fortuna, which we are on now (transatlantic Buenos Aires to Tarragona). Hope this has uploaded OK. We were on Favolosa for a week in February. There is plenty of live music from 6pm onwards (in the atrium, grand bar, wine bar and the bar at the back of the ship).

Many thanks. That wine list is incredible - more wines than many a wine merchant would have! Also good to hear about the live music. Enjoy the rest of your cruise. Tim.

[kremerlorraine]

14 hours ago, Skipper Tim said:

Many thanks. That wine list is incredible - more wines than many a wine merchant would have! Also good to hear about the live music. Enjoy the rest of your cruise. Tim.

The wine available on the MyDrinks package is very limited and not great quality. Having said that, I'm not too fussy and am happy to drink it! If you are thinking of buying from the wine list, make sure to sign up for Costa Club before the cruise or on the first day on board. It gets you some decent discounts on a selection of bottles.

[Skipper Tim]

2 hours ago, kremerlorraine said:

The wine available on the MyDrinks package is very limited and not great quality. Having said that, I'm not too fussy and am happy to drink it! If you are thinking of buying from the wine list, make sure to sign up for Costa Club before the cruise or on the first day on board. It gets you some decent discounts on a selection of bottles.

I have managed to sign my mother up for the Club but not myself. I will have to phone them (travelling tomorrow). 

 

Does the My Drinks Plus package cover all wines?

[kremerlorraine]

4 hours ago, Skipper Tim said:

I have managed to sign my mother up for the Club but not myself. I will have to phone them (travelling tomorrow). 

 

Does the My Drinks Plus package cover all wines?

No, just the wines that are available by the glass costing up to 7 or 8 euros. There are some good ones in there.

You can sign up to the Club on arrival by going to the Customer Relations Manager.

[Skipper Tim]

Thanks again, I managed to sort out my Club issues via email - they had the wrong d.o.b. for me in the Club account. 

 

I have been studying the wine list you kindly sent me. I have had to put all the wines available by the glass and all the full bottles of interest into a spreadsheet in order to apply the 25% or 50% Club discounts, add the 15% service charge then convert currencies to £Sterling! It would a appear neither drinks package would be worth it to us and we would be better off buying bottles. Again thanks for your help!

[drsel]

 

 

Edited April 7, 2023 by drsel

[drsel]

 

Emma's comparison is spot on.

It's precise, to the point, and much more accurate than that of the Cruise Buoys

Edited April 8, 2023 by drsel