our Costa Diadema Cruise

Wev'e just come back from a weeks sailing aboard the Costa Diadema sailing from Barcelona for a one weeks cruise. We called at the ports of Palma, Civattevecia, La Spezia, Savona and Marseille.

This was booked as a birthday surprise and we booked a premium Guarantee inside cabin at the last minute, so we did not know where the cabin was going to be situated, so we weren't expecting much.

This was also our first cruise as Perla Diamente members so we were interested to see how things worked out.

Pre-boarding.

We used the Perla Diamente bag express service. This meant our cases were picked up from our home address a few days before sailing and delivered straight to the cabin and vice versa on return. We were a bit worried that our cases would'nt arrive and had packed a few things in a small overnight case,as a just in case. Our cases arrived without problem but arrived back before the date we were given following the cruise, (we spent the disembarkation day and night in Barcelona) Luckily our neighbour was in and took the cases for us.

We travelled by train up to Barcelona the day before the cruise and stayed overnight in a hotel and the following day used the Metro to get to the cruise port (Drasanes) Used the port cruise bus for 3€ to get to the terminal

We were given priority boarding and told to go to the VIP lounge to wait,this was not open but we only had to wait about 20 minutes before boarding ticket number 1 commenced. Why people with higher boarding tickets have to congregate around the entrance to board is beyond me. It was quite a battle to get through.

Boarding.

The obligatory photograph as you board and then we were directed to take Lunch in the Buffet restaurant on Deck 10 as the cabins weren't available until 2 pm. This was the only time we used the buffet for lunch or evening meals. There was quite a varied selection to choose from. 2 types of pizza, hot dogs and burgers, salads, 2 choices from the carvery, an asian selection and a few other hot choices as well as a selection of cold meats,cheeses, breads and desserts.

Plenty of space available and servers to take drink orders. I had a selection of asian dishes and Don had a salad. What we had was very nice.

Cabin.

We were very pleasantly surprised to find we had been allocated a balcony cabin on Deck 6 midship. The position was just one cabin from the lift and stairs area. Normally we would never choose a cabin by here as we were always worried about the noise coming from passengers using the lifts and stairs. However we never heard a thing.

The cabin was spacious with a large double bed, a sofa, large desk area, small table and plenty of storage space. 2 cases fit under the bed. Bathroom small but functional.

A bottle of sparkling wine and a basket of fruit was left on the table along with 2 pins for moving up a level.

The balcony was furnished with 2 chairs,but we hardly went out there as the weather was too cold for us most days.

Moran our cabin steward kept the cabin spotless and serviced twice a day. All requests were met with a smile and speedily done.

The tv shows predomonantly Italian channels,along with German, French, Spanish and a few English channels (mainly news) but remember this cruise line is aimed at the West european market.

Fire drill.

When you enter your cabin along with your cruise card and cruise information you will find your life vests on the bed. The tv will be switched on and you will be instructed to watch the safety video before you can access any other tv channels. The back of the cabin door will show where your muster station is.At the appointed time,you go to your muster point (crew will point the way if you are unsure.) You now wear your life jacket. Present your cruise card at the entry point where it will be scanned to show you have attended the drill. The safety proceedures are announced in several languages, despite what some people say on these boards, English is not always the last to be used, they do alternate, besides is it really the end of the world if English is last, just be patient. Our fire drill lasted about 15 minutes and we sat in the Grand bar for it. It was all very civilised.

Spa.

We had pre booked a couples spa pass for a week costing 99€ each.

This allows unlimited entry to the Thallosothearapy pool, heated marble beds, steam room, sauna, winter garden with relaxation chairs, well being teas, and orange and lemon water. Treatments are available at an extra cost and we only encountered one pushy lady who did eventualy take no thank you for an answer.

It was busy on occasions but not uncomfortably so and we made use of this place a lot. It was very relaxing.

Dining.

This i find is a very personal choice. First of all this cruise line is aimed at western europeans so if you go expecting english/american cuisine you may be dissapointed.

The buffet restaurant at breakfast only serves a cold continental breakfast with a choice of cereal, fruit, cold meats, cheeses. Lots of different breads and pastries

I tried a warm cinnamon bun from here which was delicious.

The main dining room also offers this buffet choice but with a selection of cooked breakfast done in the style of different countries such as.

Norwegian breakfast – smoked salmon, cream cheese, dark rye bread.

Mexican 2 fried eggs, rice, refried beans and salsa

American - Thick pancakes with maple syrup

German – german sausage

English- Bacon (streaky or canadian) eggs, beans,sausage and hash brown.

Spanish – tortilla filled with peppers and onions.

Eggs benedict was available too.

Please remember these are in the style of ,so for example, if you chose an english breakfast, the bacon wont be british and the sausage wont be an english banger.

All our meals were taken in the restaurant club diadema and breakfast was served from 7 till 9.30. all main restaurant times were the same. Cold breakfast buffet was till 11 in the buffet restaurant. Along with the above selection you could also help yourself to sparkling wine in the club restaurant at breakfast.

Lunch. 12 till 2pm.

Cold buffet selection, including prawn and seafood salads, lobster salads, cold meats fruit boats etc.

soup

capellini pasta in beef broth with pecorino cheese

primi piatti

fregola pasta with veg ragout

penne pasta with fish ragout and mullet fish roe

rigatone with white meat ragout

secondi piatti

fish skewers with shrimps, cuttlefish,fried artichokes and sauteed lettuce

cornish hen cacciatora style,mash potatoe, spinach

frattau bread with poached egg,tomatoe sauce, fennel salad

sweet

chocolate biscuit,gianduia mousse

polenta flamarie

fruit.

Dinner. 7 till 9.30pm. I am writing 1 evening menu below.

Antipasti

Artichoke and shrimp salad with mint

country mushroom pie

primi piatti

shellfish bisque scented with cognac

risotto with shrimps,porcini mushrooms,saffron and fresh rocket

pansotti stuffed with swiss chard in light parmesan sauce

secondi piatti

slow cooked beef flank,pork jowl,3 pepper sauce.potato wedge, ratatouille

roast duck leg,fruit sauce, red cabbage, macario potatoe

swordfish roll, salmon and grilled prawns, mash potatoe and lemon sauce

chard and ricotta pie

selection of cheese and accompaniments.

Sweet course

cannoli filled with ricotta,choc chips and candied orange

Strawberry mousse,marscapone cream and strawberry compote (sugar free)

Fruits.

Chefs Menu

atlantic bonito, balsamic glaze, crunchy veg,caper mayo.

Tagliolini pasta with garlic, oil, clams, scallops

suckling pig, clementine chutney,mustard sauce,veg

grand marnier profiteroles, fresh berry cream.

Always available

grilled beef fillet, fried potatoe and bearnaise sauce

grilled shrimp

michelin starred menu

antipasto

roast octopus, confit tomatoe. Whipped potatoe with majoram

rice arancini with tomatoe basil extract, roast pepper sauce

soup

seafood and jowl bacon salad, garlic parsley on legume soup

celeriac cream with chicory pie

Pasta

crisp pasta parcel with white meat ragout, cheese fondue,sweet paprika

cup of fregula with seafood sauce and shellfish aroma.

Main

roast guinea fowl, whipped minted aubergine, broad bean mousse

roast beef medallions, fennel gratin, sauteed potatoe, celery and basil pesto

brochette of plaice, mix veg,caper and tomatoe oil

potatoe and spinach balls with pistachios, sweet & sour compote

sweet

iced chocolate tart withmarsala and coffee ,orange zest,pineapple in chilli.

We have to say that we enjoyed every single meal we had. It was always served hot and the staff were very very friendly and chatty. We looked forward to meal times immensely. For us, we like a leisurely meal and meals took between 1.5 hours to 2 hours.

Pay for dining.

There were several dining venues where you paid extra.

Samsara – 30 €- we have eaten here before

Teppanyaki – 30€- we tried this on this cruise and enjoyed it very much. It's not just about the food it's also the way it's prepared. The chef was very entertaining.

I had

sushi with soy sauce

miso soup

japanese salad

teppanyaki beef steak and jumbo shrimp

garlic fried rice

Donald had

sushi

miso soup

salad

teppanyaki salmon (2 fillets)

fried rice

no drinks included

it was somebodys birthday and she shared the b'day cake so all of us were to full to eat dessert.

There are also paying pizza and burger restaurants.

The vinotech also has a premium menu degustacion for 30€ which we hope to try next time if it's offered. Here is the menu

mix of sushi

marinated maine lobster

pacchero pasta filled with sea bass with cherry tomatoe and clams

glass of Roero arneis doc

creme caramel foie gras

glass of ferrari demi sec

crepes bites with mushroom and cheese fondue

wagyu cubes with parmantier cream

glass of pinot noir

sliced fruit with cream pudding and lemon & celery sauce

sweet cheese and choc quennelle with crystalized orange

glass of moscato d'asti.

I don't want this to go on too long and so i'll finish part one now. Hope you found this interesting and hope it has wet your appetite for more.

Still to come, Drinks, daytime & evening entertainment, cruise thoughts and disembarking. Happy Cruising :)

Bazboy, looks like this cruise went off really well (so glad after your recent experiences).

Looking forward to the next installment.

Please include one negative point so that the Costa Naggers have something to get their teeth into.:D

Hi Bazbov,

Thanks so much for posting such an objective review! We will sail Costa for the first time next month (Mediterranea out of Barcelona) and I found much useful information in what you posted so far.

One question, since you always dined in the Club restaurant, did you notice if the main dining room menus were completely different or similar?

Thanks!

Thanks for these details.. We are on Diadema for the first time at the end of this month (In fact first time on costa)

Bazboy, looks like this cruise went off really well (so glad after your recent experiences).

 

Looking forward to the next installment.

 

Please include one negative point so that the Costa Naggers have something to get their teeth into.:D

Lol, Hiya G.M.T. Hope all is well with you. There was a negative and we do try to be fair when writing about experiences.Far too many people are quick to criticise and not to praise. Credit where credit is due. Happy Cruising and hope MIL is doing well :)

Hi Bazbov,

 

Thanks so much for posting such an objective review! We will sail Costa for the first time next month (Mediterranea out of Barcelona) and I found much useful information in what you posted so far.

 

One question, since you always dined in the Club restaurant, did you notice if the main dining room menus were completely different or similar?

 

Thanks!

Hello ejincali.

I did ask the restaurant manager if the meals served in the club restaurant were the same as in the main restaurants and he told me that ALL main meals were the same,they just weren't cooked to order. this was because of over 3 thousand passengers, so you can imagine thats quite a number to cater for. He didn't think there was a buffet table to choose from in the main restaurant.

We hope you have a fantastic time. please do remember that this ship caters mainly to the Italian passengers and that things will be different than the American Lines. Cuts of meats ,cheeses etc mayl be different to what you may be used to. Happy Cruising. :)

Thanks for these details.. We are on Diadema for the first time at the end of this month (In fact first time on costa)

Hello ighten

your'e very welcome. We hope you have as an enjoyable time as we did. Happy cruising. :)

Hello ejincali.

I did ask the restaurant manager if the meals served in the club restaurant were the same as in the main restaurants and he told me that ALL main meals were the same,they just weren't cooked to order. this was because of over 3 thousand passengers, so you can imagine thats quite a number to cater for. He didn't think there was a buffet table to choose from in the main restaurant.

We hope you have a fantastic time. please do remember that this ship caters mainly to the Italian passengers and that things will be different than the American Lines. Cuts of meats ,cheeses etc mayl be different to what you may be used to. Happy Cruising. :)

Yes, actually, we are looking forward to the European-ness of the cruise. I've been on an American line in Europe before and always felt like we were back in the United States after we got back on the ship. Multiple languages, different foods, different standards of social etiquette--that's what makes international travel exciting.

Thanks so much for this excellent review. Off on the Diadema next month with my mum. As she's not a pasta fan it's very reassuring to see the menus and see all the alternatives she has to choose from.

One thing of interest was that the buffet only serves continental style breakfast. I wonder if this is a new thing as I'm sure we had cooked breakfast in the buffet in the past. No probs as I like the main restaurant set up .

Also,are there any cooked options on the cabin breakfast menu?

Looking forward to reading the other thread now :-)

Thanks so much for this excellent review. Off on the Diadema next month with my mum. As she's not a pasta fan it's very reassuring to see the menus and see all the alternatives she has to choose from.

One thing of interest was that the buffet only serves continental style breakfast. I wonder if this is a new thing as I'm sure we had cooked breakfast in the buffet in the past. No probs as I like the main restaurant set up .

 

Also,are there any cooked options on the cabin breakfast menu?

Looking forward to reading the other thread now :-)

Hello dritan.

The continental cold breakfast in the buffet at breakfast time is a relatively new thing. We have previously had cooked items in the buffet before on past cruises with Costa too.

From what i can remember seeing, i think the cabin breakfast menu was just cold items.

Hope that you and your mum have a great time. Happy Cruising. :)

Wev'e just come back from a weeks sailing aboard the Costa Diadema sailing from Barcelona for a one weeks cruise. We called at the ports of Palma, Civattevecia, La Spezia, Savona and Marseille.

This was booked as a birthday surprise and we booked a premium Guarantee inside cabin at the last minute, so we did not know where the cabin was going to be situated, so we weren't expecting much.

This was also our first cruise as Perla Diamente members so we were interested to see how things worked out.

 

Pre-boarding.

We used the Perla Diamente bag express service. This meant our cases were picked up from our home address a few days before sailing and delivered straight to the cabin and vice versa on return. We were a bit worried that our cases would'nt arrive and had packed a few things in a small overnight case,as a just in case. Our cases arrived without problem but arrived back before the date we were given following the cruise, (we spent the disembarkation day and night in Barcelona) Luckily our neighbour was in and took the cases for us.

We travelled by train up to Barcelona the day before the cruise and stayed overnight in a hotel and the following day used the Metro to get to the cruise port (Drasanes) Used the port cruise bus for 3€ to get to the terminal

We were given priority boarding and told to go to the VIP lounge to wait,this was not open but we only had to wait about 20 minutes before boarding ticket number 1 commenced. Why people with higher boarding tickets have to congregate around the entrance to board is beyond me. It was quite a battle to get through.

 

Boarding.

The obligatory photograph as you board and then we were directed to take Lunch in the Buffet restaurant on Deck 10 as the cabins weren't available until 2 pm. This was the only time we used the buffet for lunch or evening meals. There was quite a varied selection to choose from. 2 types of pizza, hot dogs and burgers, salads, 2 choices from the carvery, an asian selection and a few other hot choices as well as a selection of cold meats,cheeses, breads and desserts.

Plenty of space available and servers to take drink orders. I had a selection of asian dishes and Don had a salad. What we had was very nice.

 

Cabin.

We were very pleasantly surprised to find we had been allocated a balcony cabin on Deck 6 midship. The position was just one cabin from the lift and stairs area. Normally we would never choose a cabin by here as we were always worried about the noise coming from passengers using the lifts and stairs. However we never heard a thing.

The cabin was spacious with a large double bed, a sofa, large desk area, small table and plenty of storage space. 2 cases fit under the bed. Bathroom small but functional.

A bottle of sparkling wine and a basket of fruit was left on the table along with 2 pins for moving up a level.

The balcony was furnished with 2 chairs,but we hardly went out there as the weather was too cold for us most days.

Moran our cabin steward kept the cabin spotless and serviced twice a day. All requests were met with a smile and speedily done.

The tv shows predomonantly Italian channels,along with German, French, Spanish and a few English channels (mainly news) but remember this cruise line is aimed at the West european market.

 

Fire drill.

When you enter your cabin along with your cruise card and cruise information you will find your life vests on the bed. The tv will be switched on and you will be instructed to watch the safety video before you can access any other tv channels. The back of the cabin door will show where your muster station is.At the appointed time,you go to your muster point (crew will point the way if you are unsure.) You now wear your life jacket. Present your cruise card at the entry point where it will be scanned to show you have attended the drill. The safety proceedures are announced in several languages, despite what some people say on these boards, English is not always the last to be used, they do alternate, besides is it really the end of the world if English is last, just be patient. Our fire drill lasted about 15 minutes and we sat in the Grand bar for it. It was all very civilised.

 

Spa.

We had pre booked a couples spa pass for a week costing 99€ each.

This allows unlimited entry to the Thallosothearapy pool, heated marble beds, steam room, sauna, winter garden with relaxation chairs, well being teas, and orange and lemon water. Treatments are available at an extra cost and we only encountered one pushy lady who did eventualy take no thank you for an answer.

It was busy on occasions but not uncomfortably so and we made use of this place a lot. It was very relaxing.

 

Dining.

This i find is a very personal choice. First of all this cruise line is aimed at western europeans so if you go expecting english/american cuisine you may be dissapointed.

The buffet restaurant at breakfast only serves a cold continental breakfast with a choice of cereal, fruit, cold meats, cheeses. Lots of different breads and pastries

I tried a warm cinnamon bun from here which was delicious.

The main dining room also offers this buffet choice but with a selection of cooked breakfast done in the style of different countries such as.

 

Norwegian breakfast – smoked salmon, cream cheese, dark rye bread.

Mexican 2 fried eggs, rice, refried beans and salsa

American - Thick pancakes with maple syrup

German – german sausage

English- Bacon (streaky or canadian) eggs, beans,sausage and hash brown.

Spanish – tortilla filled with peppers and onions.

Eggs benedict was available too.

 

Please remember these are in the style of ,so for example, if you chose an english breakfast, the bacon wont be british and the sausage wont be an english banger.

 

All our meals were taken in the restaurant club diadema and breakfast was served from 7 till 9.30. all main restaurant times were the same. Cold breakfast buffet was till 11 in the buffet restaurant. Along with the above selection you could also help yourself to sparkling wine in the club restaurant at breakfast.

 

Lunch. 12 till 2pm.

Cold buffet selection, including prawn and seafood salads, lobster salads, cold meats fruit boats etc.

 

soup

capellini pasta in beef broth with pecorino cheese

 

primi piatti

fregola pasta with veg ragout

penne pasta with fish ragout and mullet fish roe

rigatone with white meat ragout

 

secondi piatti

fish skewers with shrimps, cuttlefish,fried artichokes and sauteed lettuce

cornish hen cacciatora style,mash potatoe, spinach

frattau bread with poached egg,tomatoe sauce, fennel salad

 

sweet

chocolate biscuit,gianduia mousse

polenta flamarie

fruit.

 

Dinner. 7 till 9.30pm. I am writing 1 evening menu below.

 

Antipasti

Artichoke and shrimp salad with mint

country mushroom pie

 

primi piatti

shellfish bisque scented with cognac

risotto with shrimps,porcini mushrooms,saffron and fresh rocket

pansotti stuffed with swiss chard in light parmesan sauce

 

secondi piatti

slow cooked beef flank,pork jowl,3 pepper sauce.potato wedge, ratatouille

roast duck leg,fruit sauce, red cabbage, macario potatoe

swordfish roll, salmon and grilled prawns, mash potatoe and lemon sauce

chard and ricotta pie

 

selection of cheese and accompaniments.

 

Sweet course

cannoli filled with ricotta,choc chips and candied orange

Strawberry mousse,marscapone cream and strawberry compote (sugar free)

Fruits.

 

Chefs Menu

atlantic bonito, balsamic glaze, crunchy veg,caper mayo.

Tagliolini pasta with garlic, oil, clams, scallops

suckling pig, clementine chutney,mustard sauce,veg

grand marnier profiteroles, fresh berry cream.

 

Always available

grilled beef fillet, fried potatoe and bearnaise sauce

grilled shrimp

 

michelin starred menu

 

antipasto

roast octopus, confit tomatoe. Whipped potatoe with majoram

rice arancini with tomatoe basil extract, roast pepper sauce

 

soup

seafood and jowl bacon salad, garlic parsley on legume soup

celeriac cream with chicory pie

 

Pasta

crisp pasta parcel with white meat ragout, cheese fondue,sweet paprika

cup of fregula with seafood sauce and shellfish aroma.

 

Main

 

roast guinea fowl, whipped minted aubergine, broad bean mousse

roast beef medallions, fennel gratin, sauteed potatoe, celery and basil pesto

brochette of plaice, mix veg,caper and tomatoe oil

potatoe and spinach balls with pistachios, sweet & sour compote

sweet

 

iced chocolate tart withmarsala and coffee ,orange zest,pineapple in chilli.

 

 

We have to say that we enjoyed every single meal we had. It was always served hot and the staff were very very friendly and chatty. We looked forward to meal times immensely. For us, we like a leisurely meal and meals took between 1.5 hours to 2 hours.

 

Pay for dining.

 

There were several dining venues where you paid extra.

 

Samsara – 30 €- we have eaten here before

Teppanyaki – 30€- we tried this on this cruise and enjoyed it very much. It's not just about the food it's also the way it's prepared. The chef was very entertaining.

 

I had

sushi with soy sauce

miso soup

japanese salad

teppanyaki beef steak and jumbo shrimp

garlic fried rice

 

Donald had

sushi

miso soup

salad

teppanyaki salmon (2 fillets)

fried rice

 

no drinks included

it was somebodys birthday and she shared the b'day cake so all of us were to full to eat dessert.

 

There are also paying pizza and burger restaurants.

 

The vinotech also has a premium menu degustacion for 30€ which we hope to try next time if it's offered. Here is the menu

 

mix of sushi

marinated maine lobster

pacchero pasta filled with sea bass with cherry tomatoe and clams

glass of Roero arneis doc

 

creme caramel foie gras

glass of ferrari demi sec

 

crepes bites with mushroom and cheese fondue

wagyu cubes with parmantier cream

glass of pinot noir

 

sliced fruit with cream pudding and lemon & celery sauce

sweet cheese and choc quennelle with crystalized orange

glass of moscato d'asti.

 

I don't want this to go on too long and so i'll finish part one now. Hope you found this interesting and hope it has wet your appetite for more.

 

Still to come, Drinks, daytime & evening entertainment, cruise thoughts and disembarking. Happy Cruising :)

thank you for this infomation i never been on costa , doing the T A 14 nights favolosa hope it is similar to your ship so i would have a grand sailing

thank you for this infomation i never been on costa , doing the T A 14 nights favolosa hope it is similar to your ship so i would have a grand sailing

You are very welcome bklynbobby. Hope you have a good time on the favalosa.

Thanks for all this detail, we're off on the Diadema today for the same itinerary. It was good to have such a balanced review. We have sailed with Costa once before but that happened to be the week of the Icelandic volcano eruption so other matters overshadowed memories of the cruise itself rather... ;)

Wonderful review!

Hope you don't mind me asking a couple of questions...

Was there an evening buffet?

And also Afternoon tea?

Thank you 😀

Thanks for all this detail, we're off on the Diadema today for the same itinerary. It was good to have such a balanced review. We have sailed with Costa once before but that happened to be the week of the Icelandic volcano eruption so other matters overshadowed memories of the cruise itself rather... ;)

Hello ThePauls and thank you for your kind words. I do hope that you enjoy your Diadema cruise. Look forward to hearing your thoughts. Happy Cruising. :)

Wonderful review!

Hope you don't mind me asking a couple of questions...

Was there an evening buffet?

And also Afternoon tea?

Thank you 😀

Hello Feline-fine. Thank you.

I believe there was a small evening buffet for a limited amount of opening hours, evening buffet opening time was 7.30pm until 9.45pm.

Afternoon tea which the Italians call La Merenda. is served every day in the buffet restaurant. This consists of small filled bread rolls (please be aware that instead of butter the rolls are spread with mayo and then filled with various fillings) Various cakes and pastries and a fruit selection. It does get busy and can be a scramble. We only used it once but what we had was nice. It was a bit off putting to see quite a few people pile the plate (no trays) as full as they can get it, but IMO this happens on all cruise lines (except maybe the likes of silversea etc, but we could never afford that :D ) Tea is served from 4pm till 5pm.

Please don't hesitate to ask more questions if you wish. Happy cruising :)

Thank you so much 😀. It's lovely to read a balanced (and positive) review for Costa.

Cerileigh 🙂

Great information. I will be on the Diadema for my first Costa cruise on the 6th of march. So I try to get as much information as possible about it.

Great information. I will be on the Diadema for my first Costa cruise on the 6th of march. So I try to get as much information as possible about it.

Hello Michael and thank you.

Hope you have a wonderfil time. We are on the Costa Neoriviera in 4 weeks time. Looking forward to that. Happy cruising. :)

Thank you so much! This is very helpful!

We are also cruising Diadema over Easter.

Question: What time can we board in Barcelona?

We are staying in nearby accommodation and will check out at 12pm. Can we go straight to the ship?

Thank you so much! This is very helpful!

We are also cruising Diadema over Easter.

 

Question: What time can we board in Barcelona?

We are staying in nearby accommodation and will check out at 12pm. Can we go straight to the ship?

Hello ausabroad.

Boarding for us started at about 2pm. You can get to the terminal before this time,where you hand your luggage in and then you will be given a boarding number. You then wait inside the terminal until your number is called. They announce these in several languages,so listen carefully. you'll have your ships id photo taken as you board the ship, It is likely that your cabin wont be ready and you'll be directed to a dining area for lunch. An announcement will be made, again in several languages to let you know that cabins are available. you will find your cruise cards on the bed.

Hope you enjoy yourselves. Happy Cruising. :)

Great, thanks again!

Hi bazbov,

Just would like to know about your experience boarding at Barcelona.

We, like you are Perla Diamante & was in a Suite, having sent luggage on we expected 'Instant Boarding' as suggested by new club rules, but was made to stand in line with all others handing over luggage for 40 minutes, then told we could board.

Getting upstairs' to boarding hall, again we waited in the suite line while others were given boarding ahead of us, one Lady we met at Airport & was a first time Costa cruiser boarded along side us.

I have complained to Costa about this procedure this is twice at Barcelona this has happened to us.

Thank heaven we had a wonderful cruise and was pleased to see a marked improvement in the menu's.

Saw Amanda in Savona spoke briefly about your previous problems.

Bazbov,

Thank you very much for your thoughtful and very informative posts. We are cruising with Costa on Diadema for the first time in April. Your review is very reassuring. The "official" review says you need to go local or go loco. I think we will fit in just fine on this ship ;-)

KatapultMike

Hello ThePauls and thank you for your kind words. I do hope that you enjoy your Diadema cruise. Look forward to hearing your thoughts. Happy Cruising. :)

Back now, overall it was a great holiday - much better than our first and only previous cruise with Costa in 2010. The Diadema is a lovely ship, the crew are friendly and the itinerary is a good one for sure. So, on to our take on this cruise:

Embarkation: We flew to Barcelona for this circular cruise. It's an easy airport transfer; I booked a private taxi in advance for both ways via a website. The terminal building is quite small, we arrived latish so there was no queue for security or registration but we witnessed much longer queues while waiting for our transfer back to the airport on the last day.

The ship: Diadema is the largest ship we've been on. It's a well organised ship though, the bars and entertainment venues are good, the theatre is massive and has good seating. Getting on and off never seemed a problem despite the large pax capacity. We had a balcony on deck 8 and loved it for the private open air space it gave us - the Lido up on deck 10/11 was a bit echoy and noisy for us to sit there for long although the sofa-style seating on deck 11 is very nice.

Entertainment: The entertainment was very, very good: which must be a challenge given the number of languages on board. There's a noticeable difference in the music that is played compared to a British ship - lots more Spanish and Italian songs in particular. The evening entertainment was more varied than on say a P&O or Thomson ship: an opera singer, two very different acrobatic/juggling/circus style acts, a couple of themed musical shows, etc. The latin dance group in the Orlov bar venue were all excellent dancers. The lounge bar musicians were off a generally high standard as far as we could tell but we didn't spend much time in the piano bar or other smaller venues as the speaker volume in entertainment areas of the ship were higher than we found comfortable (theatre wasn't so bad luckily!).

Food: Breakfasts in the buffet, as I had read in advance on these boards, is cold buffet only. It's a proper scrum too as you'd expect from 4000 odd passengers - they do have more than enough seating though, which is better than on the larger P&O ships. The sit-down breakfast in the Fiorentina restaurant offers a menu of cooked breakfasts and the option of the buffet as well - a great compromise if you're not all wanting the same style of food. The service breakfast was rather chaotic, we never ate here in the evening to see if this was a general issue. Evening meals in the Adularia restaurant were very good. Food was of a high standard, although all menus were Italian inspired so not as much variety as we are used to. I enjoyed every meal I had, my vegetarian husband had some rather repetitive food (e.g. spinach-based starter and then a lot of spinach in the main as well) but the standard was generally high.

Drinks: Not much to say here, the prices are high for a Brit post-sterling slump. They whack a service charge on every drink - we're not used to this, but the base holiday price is so cheap it's kind of expected they'd make up the money somewhere else. Good variety of drinks, the German themed pub was a nice addition to the ship although it rarely seemed busy. The lack of any cider was an annoyance to my husband, have Magners, Koppaberg or Rekordelig not made it to the Med yet?

Ports: This is what makes a holiday for me and this cruise had a great itinerary. We did all DIY, the Costa Travel excursions are expensive (Sterling again!) and the ports were all easy to deal with. Palma we just walked around as we've not seem much of it before. At Civitavecchia we took a train to Rome and did our own walking tour of major sights (we've been before). At La Spezia we took the train to Pisa and had great fun seeing the tower and surrounding civic/religious buildings. At Savona we did a little shopping walk around but, by chance, decided to go up the bell tower and it was an absolute delight. Lots of steps and no lift, but they're doing free guided tours for small groups and the place is crammed to the rafters with paintings and historical objects. It also offers nice views from the roof! At Marseilles we took the paid bus in and walked around, then we took the trolley train up to see the Basilica de Notre Dame: stunning views of the city and an impressive church to visit.