Costa Concordia review

[graemerigg]

Sailed on Concordia in April & really enjoyed the trip. Have finally got around to writing the review, which is in the 'members reviews' section. Agree completely with 'Hans' (another contributor and past cruiser on Concordia) regarding this being a good ship, and some others were either very unlucky or perhaps have unrealistic expectations/enjoy finding fault.

[mountainmare]

As a charter member of the LCCC (Lonely Concordia Cruisers Club) I look forward to reading your review. We leave in only 296 days and are looking forward to this itinerary. Thank you!

[mountainmare]

Excellent review!! Down to knowing that the design is unrestrained Joe Farcus. What you descibe is exactly what this Holland American cruiser expects, since I knew when I booked that this is an Italian cruiseline catering to European clients.

Thank you again.

[alohavictoria]

Thanks Graeme,

Great review. I really enjoyed it. I have had the pleasure of enjoying the Costa experience twice as well as enjoying being in the minority on both of my Costa cruises.

[kernow]

Thanks for posting a review. We're going on the Concordia in October and its nice to read something positive. We like to try different cruise lines and will go with an open mind. I'm sure we'll enjoy ourselves too.

 

Julie

[graemerigg]

Thanks for the comments. Pleased you picked up on how being the minority can be a positive thing alohavictoria - whilst we enjoy Princess (and will be cruising again with them in the summer) it is nice to be in a completely different environment. I think as well it's more of a novelty when you do meet another English speaking passenger so you tend to chat more when it happens. We also met a lot of nice Italians/French passengers etc. I really hope others (mountainmare & kernow) enjoy their cruises. Since like us you sound easy going and happy to try something different, I'm sure you will. Any specific questions just let me know incase I can answer them.

[mountainmare]

Graeme--I do have a couple of questions.

Do you remember the dining times?

I noticed than you mentioned the promenade deck (I have a feeling that HAL may be the last cruiseline to keep the wraparound tradition). Is there a way to manage a wrap araound walk, even if it involves cutting though the inside or going up and down a level?

I was happy that you went to Genoa--actually I'm looking forward to it.

Cypruss still has us stumped--so little time in port, we will try to see some of the countryside with a "taxi tour" How did you like Cypruss--I just finished reading the book Bitter Lemons.

We have DeCastro tours reserved for Egypt, still trying to decide if we'll go to Saqquara, Giza and a quick museum--or what. With just two of us it should be easier than with a bus, but they do convoy with the others to Cario.

Thank you,

Linda

[Debbierpof]

graemerigg - I sure enjoyed reading your review and can't wait to board the Concordia! Did you dock in Savona or Genoa? Did you do this port on your own? Any assistance would be wonderful!

[graemerigg]

Sorry for the delay in replying.

Hi Mountainmare

The dining times were 1st sitting -18.30 & 2nd sitting -21:00. We opted for the first sitting which I think was a good move since otherwise we would have struggled with our late night pizza and midnight buffet! Should have said that we did also enjoy afternoon tea which they occasional had in club concordia at 16.30-17.30 (available to everyone at no extra charge).

 

We cruised on Norwegian Crown a few years ago which had an entire wrap around promenade deck and on the other ships you could at least easily walk around the front or back. On Concordia, if you walk to the back you turn up unexpectedly in Restaurant Milano, if you go forward, you go through some doors, none of which say 'crew only' however you really wonder whether you should be there, as you find your way to the very front and see officers in their quarters through the windows. You could go up to the next deck (which had no general access from the internal public area) and also appeared to be able to walk across to the other side of the ship, however we walked back because it didn't look very inviting. Have read before that if a door does not say "Crew only' then you can enter however I don't know if they really want to encourage yo to be in this area.

 

In Cyprus - the first time we stopped here we walked from the port into town. Don't recommend this since it is not a particularly attractive walk. Second time at this port, on Concordia, we took the public bus from the edge of the port, which was 2 euros (or slightly less expensive in Cyprus pounds). It will take you to the hotel resort area, the beach or the town. We got off near the town park (across from the water front) and basically walked back into town where we eventually ended up getting a taxi back to save time. There are some shops to walk around - and note that the biggest shopping street is actually at right angles to the 'main street' (and waterfront) that the tourist shops are in. We didn't venture any further than the town.

 

Your Egyptian tour option sounds interesting. Can't comment on Saqquara but I do think Giza and museum are 'must sees' unless you plan to come back some day since there is a new museum planned right next to Giza- the current one is looking rather tired and is some distance away.

 

Hi Debbierpof

We docked in Savona and we did a train trip to Genoa (Genova). We found a street map of Savona via Google and train info on www.trenitalia.com and/or www.fs-on-line.com. The station in Savona at Piazza Mameli is 800 metres from the port and ia a pleasant 20 minute walk through the old town. Trains to Genova are every 30 minutes and most take 1 hour. If you take an IC train (intercity) it is only 1/2 hour. eg IC 657 leaves at 10.34 and arrives at 11.06. Coming back there is one IC 610 at 14.55 arr at 15.25.Main station is called Genova PZA. Savona is a nice enough place but we didn't see a huge amount of it due to the trip away. Was impressed with Genova, which has some lovely streets, good shops and a very impressive square with fountains.

Hope you enjoy your cruises

Regards

Graeme