Carnival vs Costa!

[caribbeanboy]

Who has been on both and what are the (mayor) differences?

[Cruzman]

As I recall, the major differences were the passengers, the menus, and the European influence on Costa. There are usually lots of Europeans on board, even on US departures and, unlike Americans, tend to smoke more and wear speedos around the swimming pools, lol. Instead of the usual American condiments, look for olive oil and red wine vinegar on dining tables. Also, expect on board announcements to be in several languages.

 

In the dining rooms, pasta is offered at every meal, either as a starter or an entree, and there is usually a toga night in the main dining room on the last night of the cruise (ever gone to dinner dressed in a sheet?), lol.

[cruisin'4aboozin']

Toga night was fun for sure! It is definitely a more european feel to everything, but I have to admit....I hated the food! It was all very bland...definitely very european. Me?....I like the taste of taste! Carnival's food is MUCH better!!

[Cruisin' Ron VA]

Who has been on both and what are the (mayor) differences?

 

I would love to run for Mayor of Carnival. :D

 

I am pleased to announce my candidacy for the office of Mayor of Carnival Cruiselines!

[jessemon]

The mayor differences are on Carnival the mayor wears a medal and on Costa the mayor wears a sash......

[Name Of The Game]

We saw a cheap price for the Costa Atlantica and asked our travel agent about it. He said Costa has lots of smokers and rude passengers.

 

Carnival it is! :D

[Frank12]

My parents have done both. Mom is a gourmet chef and said that Carnival's cuisine is far superior to Coasta's.

[big_duck]

He said Costa has lots of smokers and rude passengers.

 

This differs from Carnival (or any mass market cruiseline) how?

[Name Of The Game]

I agree the casino was very smoky but didn't experience rude passengers on our cruises. Everyone we encountered was nice and polite.

[DaDivaMom]

We just tried Costa in Feb. The mix of passengers was decidedly European but not in a bad way. Yes they announce everything in 5 languages but it wasn't distrurbing in any way.

 

Food:

Thumbs up to Carnival. Costa's dinning room service was excetionally slow and the food only so-so.

 

Activities & Entertainment:

Carnival. We like kichy and found the activities and bands to be only so-so on Costa the exception being the guest talent show and Toga night. Those were on the same night and were great fun.

The disco rarely got kicking until 1 am and it was often just our group of friends and the crew!

 

Staff:

We found the staff on Costa to be just as good as Carnival and not rude in anyway. The Cruise Director and social hosts were the BEST that we have ever had(Fortuna)! They were upbeat and fun.

 

Atmposphere:

We enjoyed the ship as it is very similar in layout to Carnival's without the over the top design. We also enjoyed the European flavor and mix of passengers. I layed out at the adults only pool area topless with no issues. Didn't have to go to the "funnel" deck. Shared breakfast and lunch tables with folks of 5 different nationalities and enjoyed getting to know them. We did not find any difference in the number of smokers from Carnival (and I have asthma) nor was there a noticable increase in rudeness or line jumpers seemed pretty similar. Chair hogging however was abundant.

 

Over all the experience is more subdued than Carnival but still enjoyable in my mind, especially for the price. Due to the food issues and slow service in the dinning room though we probally would only book again if the price was substanially lower.

 

We were with a group of friends ranging in ages from early 20s to late 40s, male & female, married and single.

[iluvstz]

Carnival and Costa have the same parent company. Their room designs are similar. They just cater to a different set of people.