Costa information please

[Fran Record]

We are considering a Costa cruise in Oct. We have never cruised with then before this. We have cruised Carnival, Celebrity, RCI & HAL. I would appreciate any input as how Costa conpares. Thanks

[njs]

We are considering a Costa cruise in Oct. We have never cruised with then before this. We have cruised Carnival, Celebrity, RCI & HAL. I would appreciate any input as how Costa conpares. Thanks

 

If you stay on these boards awhile, you will become aware of some of the differences and then you can decide if they would be issues that would make you want to cruise with costa or choose another line

The biggest difference is the clientele. Costa caters to the europeans and in that respect alone it makes a big difference. If you dont mind cruising with a good percentage of foreigners (not as big a percentage in the caribbean, with announcements made in at least 4 languages, and sometimes more pushy passsengers who dont always believe in queing in an orderly fashion then you may enjoy Costa

The 2 things that seem to be what people complain about the most after a costa cruise are their fellow passengers and some feel the food is inferior. It is definitely served in a much slower pace, I can tell you that for sure. But on the other hand, Costa is much cheaper than some of those other cruiselines.

Sooooo, stick around for awhile, read the reviews and hopefully that will help you make the right decision for you:)

[Jamrenjer]

We have sailed on NCL, Princess and RCL-- and last year went on Costa. We had heard various "horror" stories-- but we very much enjoyed it. The food was good-- not really any complaints there-- our service was excellent too.... that was on the Majica. There were more Europeans-- but didnt run into any rude passengers as others have. All in all, we were very pleased and will sail with them again... the price was $329 inside guarantee for a week-- so we definitely were pleased with the price. Our room steward was excellent too. The ship was beautiful... all in all we very pleased. :)

[rocknrobin]

Having just returned from a 2 week back-to-back Caribbean on the Fortuna, we've decided to stick with HAL and Celebrity in the future - no surprises, no hassles, no regrets.

[jamestkirk]

I know it sounds terrible, but we were not impressed w/ Costa Cruise Lines. We just returned from a 7 night Eastern Caribbean aboard the Costa Fortuna. I would say 85% of the passengers were over 60, European and Rude. The staff was not very personable. They made us feel unimportant unlike RC where they made us feel like Royalty. The food wasn't bad but there wasn't many options to choose from. The salads bars if you could call them that were terrible and barely there. The customer service line was no less than a 15 minute wait each time and good luck understanding what they say. The announcements were made EVERY time in at least 4 languages. The room attendant like the dinner wait staff was very good however I believe both had more guests than they could handle. This was our 3rd cruise and we regret booking w/ Costa, but it is a lesson learned and we would rather stick to American Cruising rather than Italian Cruising. Oh yes, It will take you at least half the cruise to figure the ship out. Well that's how it was for us on the Costa Fortuna. Good Luck!!!

[Fran Record]

Thank you for the info. We will make a decision in the near future.

[ramble161]

Thought I would throw my two cents in about Costa. We were on a Costa Med cruise in January. Most everything on the cruise was acceptable - not as good as RCCL or Princess, but the price for a balcony was great! We did have some trouble, though, with our billing on the Costa card. Costa's policy is to take your credit card information at check-in before you get on the ship, but then you don't get your "Costa card" until you go to your cabin. The door to the cabin is initially left open, with your Costa cards sitting on the bed. After check-in, when we got to our cabin, there was only my husband's card on the bed. I asked the cabin steward about my card, and she told me I needed to go to the Purser's desk to get one as she couldn't find mine. So I immediately went to the Purser's desk, where they took my name and room number and told me their machine was broken and I would have to wait until the next day to get my card. No problem - I would just use my husband's card until the next day. The next night I asked about my card, and finally got it. Everything was fine until the last day of the cruise when we got our Costa card bill. On the bill was a $150. soda charge made at 8:30 pm on the first day of the cruise - when I hadn't even taken possession of my card yet. Someone had apparently found my card somewhere on the ship, and decided to use it to place 3 soda card charges on it! Since this was the last day of the cruise (ALWAYS check your bill periodically through-out the cruise!), we went to the purser's desk and disputed the charge. They produced the receipt in question, and when the signature for my name was compared with real receipts I had made, it was obvious that the $153. charge was not made by me. (Costa also should have been able to tell that the correct Costa card was not received by me until the 2nd day of the cruise, not the first day when this charge was made). The girl at the Pursers desk (Claudia) assured me that the charge would be taken off my bill...except when I got home, checked my MasterCard bill, and ...the charge was still there. Numerous phone calls to Costa customer service...they say they will call back and never do. So now, I'm disputing the charge with MasterCard, and hoping the charge comes off.

I feel Costa needs to change their check-in procedure. I will certainly never again give them my credit card info. without getting my cruise card immediately. I know it makes for a faster check-in, but by leaving the Costa cards in the unlocked cabin this could certainly happen again. Also, I have learned that you should ALWAYS check your bill as they cruise goes along. Don't wait until the last day.

[Bill B]

After one HAL and six Princess cruises, I have just finnished my first (and probably last) Costa cruise on the Concordia (E. Med.). I would not hesitate to book again with either Princess or HAL, but would think twice about Costa. I think the most telling thing is the passenger to crew ratio - on Costa it's approx. 3/1, Princess and HAL it's closer to 2/1.

 

That being said, there was nothing particularly 'bad' about Costa. In fact, the Concordia has (in my opinion) the best staterooms (it was also the newest ship, so take that into account); and the cruise was good value for the money. You get what you pay for.