Thinking about Costa for So. Am. - help!

[mlbcruiser]

We HAD a Royal Carib. cruise booked out of Santos w/a great itinerary but had to cancel it because of my dh's job. I am just sick over it, but am trying to find a cruise we can replace the other one with that visits Rio, is just over a wk. long at most, and is moderately priced. I've read some horrible reviews on the 2 ships Costa has that would fit our needs. We must go in Feb. if at all, and I am hoping to get some feedback about the quality of their cruises and whether most Americans enjoy them. Although I've read the Magica is a beautiful ship, I've also read about very smokey public rooms, rude service and poor food quality (many "frozen" dinners offered??), w/no lobster served. (What about the other "usual" cruise food like cherries jubilee, soups, salads and baked Alaska?) Also, rude and/or pushy passengers seem to be mentioned in most reviews I've looked at. (Are they truly rude or just "lively"?) And how are the beds? Have they upgraded them like Carnival? I assume the pool is salt water. Are the pools CLEAN? The two ships offering these cruises are the Magica and the Victoria. Please comment, esp. if you have So. American itinerary experience w/Costa. But ANY input is welcome. Thanks!

[Mines]

Hi. We did a cruise for four days on the Costa Victoria last year. It called at Rio, Ilhabela, Porto Belo and back to Santos. We were with my brother in law, his wife and her two children. This was in January, the holiday month in Brazil.

 

We had a great time - wonderful ports of call, nice service and food, very good entertainment and the most lively fellow passengers I have ever seen.

 

It depends on what you are used to. Any cruise that contains 90% Brazilians having fun is going to be noisy, people are going to go over-the-top and will not have the sophistication seasoned American cruisers are accustomed to seeing. I can well understand the culture shock of the "bad-reviewers". There is also the language problem, as nearly everything is in Portuguese, so non-speakers can feel like fish out of water.

 

Being used to travelling on RCL and Princess, I can say that Costa is down-market copared to them. They do have baked Alaska though!! The embarkation procedures were very poor - it took us two hours to get on the ship, having passed by six people checking our bording documents. We also had a problem with the dinner times. We normally choose 2nd seating, but on this cruise it was at 10:15 at night!!

 

I would say that, if you are young or young at heart, ready to join in the party and flexible enough not to let small inefficiencies bother you, go for it. As I said, we enjoyed it, but again, we only had days in port (which were all great).

 

We are going on Spleandor of the Seas to Brazil this year which I think should be better.

 

Otherwise, you could try Celebrity or MSC. I have heard good things about them.

[mlbcruiser]

We WERE going on the Splendour, too (although I posted on the meet & greet/roll call site and still NO ONE has listed on there for our (former) sail date of Jan. 6. That is the cruise we had to cancel. :( (I am still not over it!)

 

You sound like someone who knows what they are talking about. We were once at the Fiesta Americana Condesa in Cancun when a group of Brazilian tourists were spending their last day around the pool. What fun! A couple of the ladies were coaxing people out of their chairs to dance, and, of course, all of the Brazilians were dancing to the canned, American pop & Mexican music. Even those who didn't want to dance must have had fun watching! So yeah, I think we could handle the exuberance most of the time. There might have to be a bit of adjusting, and I think that we would maybe enjoy a more American-focued line more in the service, or perk dept., but we have traveled a fair amount to other countries and when in Rome. . .! As for the lateness of the dining, thanks for that tip as we might want early in that case. (Even 10:15 would be better than, say, 6:00, though. I stay up til 1 or 2 a.m. ALL of the time; dh hits the sack at 9 p.m. wknts. unless we are on a cruise or vacation (when he can make it to maybe midnt!). He would no doubt have to troll for food early on the ship to tide him over and adjust a bit on such a dining arrangement. But it could be done.

 

Did you like the ports on your cruise and what did you do at each of them? (We usually do things independently, but occassionally do book a tour through the ship - like dive trips.)

 

I have seen the Costa cruises I mentioned and a couple of cruises around the horn (just saw a HAL that is discounted for a short time, but I'm wary HAL may be just TOO sedate and a bit heavy on the over 65 set for us from what I've heard from others!). Right now I am waiting to get a handle on WHETHER or not our dd and sil want to go on a Voyager or Freedom class RCI ship March 1 or 2 next yr. We would have to go along to help w/their baby. IF we can't work out the dates, I will be again probably be hunting for a cruise in Brazil, only it will have to be after Feb. 2 (it could then be longer IF we can AFFORD it). Since that may not work out, I am focusing on a LAND trip to at least Rio, maybe w/Buenos Aires added in if I can find cheap flights between the two (?). We'd do that in Nov. and could take more than a wk. then.

 

I'd love to hear any other helpful advice or comments on sites, things to do/see or any other input you may have on Brazil or cruising there. Thanks so much for your input so far!

[Wotan758]

We (my wife and myself) took a 7 night cruise last January in the Costa Fortuna from Santos (our 24th). It was great! We had a full day to visit Rio and also Salvador. We were on the 2nd sitting, the food was very good, many options and to the european taste, which is about the same we get in the restaurants in Sao Paulo. It was cruise a tematic cruise: Welfare, with yoga, meditations and similar activities.

We are thinking in doing it again next year, this time on Costa Magica!

Do not take any cruise during carnival week (Feb 2nd).

You may have good cruises with MSC Opera, which is a very nice ship, but more european (italian) style than Costa.

[mlbcruiser]

Thank you, Wotan. I have heard that the MSC cruises are very good! There is another one - the Lirica? -that I have seen mentioned as well. I will remember the tip about Feb. 2 cruises!

[Wotan758]

Thank you, Wotan. I have heard that the MSC cruises are very good! There is another one - the Lirica? -that I have seen mentioned as well. I will remember the tip about Feb. 2 cruises!

MSC will operate 3 cruises next season: Opera. from Santos to Salvador (Bahia); Armonia, from Rio to Buenos Aires (Prata cruises) and Sinfonia, from Buenos Aires.

[mlbcruiser]

I have never heard of Prata Cruises. I don't think the online American travel agents list that one. And I haven't seen it mentioned on Cruise Critic. Does it cater mostly to South Americans, do you know?

[Wotan758]

I have never heard of Prata Cruises. I don't think the online American travel agents list that one. And I haven't seen it mentioned on Cruise Critic. Does it cater mostly to South Americans, do you know?

The MSC cruise catalog for 2008 shows: 8 nights from Rio, Buenos Aires (overnight), Punta del Este(Uruguay) and Ilha Bela (Brazil). I have not the cruises for Sinfonia. You can chech in MSC website if you want.

These cruises are mostly for Brazilians and for Argentinians.

Portuguese and Spanish are the spoken language on board.

[Pia1913]

If you're an American used to the "regular" cruise lines, you will hate Costa. One Costa cruise, a very long time ago, taught me to stay away. Permanently.

[mlbcruiser]

I once rode a bus to a port in Miami w/someone going on his 2nd Costa cruise and he loved it, though he was an American. The cruise websites w/reviews have mixed reviews on them regarding Costa. Some American's like it; but more probably like it LESS than they like the American-focused lines most Americans are used to. Thanks for the input.

[Mines]

I once rode a bus to a port in Miami w/someone going on his 2nd Costa cruise and he loved it, though he was an American. The cruise websites w/reviews have mixed reviews on them regarding Costa. Some American's like it; but more probably like it LESS than they like the American-focused lines most Americans are used to. Thanks for the input.

I think your summing up of this is exactly right. I would have loved Costa if I hadn't sailed on RCL and Princess. Nevertheless, we had a great time and I would choose Costa again if the itinerary was right.

[mlbcruiser]

I like your attitude. A first cruise is always so much fun, and hardly anyone doesn't like their's. (A few but not many.) I have gone on some ships that had a few things I didn't care for, or I didn't like how they did this or that. But I always say I never met a cruise I didn't like! Plus, I LIKE learning about other cultures and try to see the good things about how they do things that we Americans could learn from.