Costa Mediteranea 11 day NIGHTMARE CRUISE...

This was our 14th cruise, fourth with Costa...Got back Dec 22nd 2014. Weve Cruised on the Mediteranea two previous times and Once on the Concordia (also cruised Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Princess and Carnival) so this wasnt our first cruise experience...

THE GOOD: The price, very reasonable for an 11 day exotic carribean cruise. Free upgrade, Costa gave us a free upgrade from the bottom of the ship to a premium balcony room which was beautiful. The people traveling on board, a nice mix of Americans, Canadians and Europeans...most everyone was very friendly and cool, met tons of wonderful people on this cruise. Our room steward was awesome as was our water boy for evening dinner...the stops, while different and cool (Tortola,Antigua, Samana, Guadaloupe) most of the ports were commercial shipping docks that were far from everything and filthy(most of the other cruise ships were docked at the normal, close to everything and nice ports)...also a few of the days we arrived after 1pm limiting what you could do, time wise...returns were 530pm..but still all good...EXCEPT...

THE BAD AND UGLY: We found out that Costas new German CEO CUT the ships food budget by 70% AND also cut the staffs pay by 30% AND nearly doubled their workload. What does that all mean you ask? (ship was full of Indian workers who make 300 bucks a mos) TERRIBLE, I MEAN TERRIBLE or NONEXISTANT service... expect to see pissed off and not giving a damn crew and staff, want some hard boiled eggs for bfast? forget it..parmasean cheese for you pasta...good luck..pure nastiness ruled on the mediteranea via the staff...

THE REALLY UGLY: Prison food is all i have to say, not that ive been to the big house but see what they get served on lockup...the food was that bad, worst ..i mean worst dogfood ever...bfast every day was, soupy powdered eggs..i mean SOUP....cut up hot dogs...american cheese with mystyery meat...hard as a rock and cold french toast WITH NOT SYRYP of any kind...Lunch, boiled rice...boiled potatoes...boiled broccolli...mixed, boiled potatoes AND broccollit with cut up hot dogs AND turbo fish...(tasteless boney cheap sea trash fish..inedible) the sit down meals were almost as bad, with fowl, rabbit and chicken backs for dinner...really? i mean it was SHOCKING how bad the food was on this cruise...nothing like the old costa pre concordia disaster...we heard the Costa layed out 1 billion from the concordia and are making it up on the backs of its workers and cruisers....word to the wise ..NEVER EVER EVER cruise with Costa...we hit burger king on the way home from the port and it was like a five star meal compared to the prison food they served on the mediteranea...we will never ever cruise with costa again, even if it was for free... heads up to everyone out there... EVERYONE on board was enraged too...DISGRACEFUL!! Costa should be ASHAMED of themselves!!!

Thanks for the recommendation. Costa for sure for me.

gws35, I think we're really lucky to have the BEST of cruise dining (food wise) ever at our neo-Riviera Sept. 2014 southern Europe cruise, our 35th sailing overall. Will monitor Costa's progress for sure.

Well I guess I'll find out for myself in around a couple of months if the cut backs and impact on food and service is that bad.

I'm on a 11 day Fascinosa cruise 17th. - 28th. Jan, so I'll report back with what I find, together with menus and photos.

I could do with loosing fed kilos.:(

Now if anyone would like to send a CARE packet to any of the ports we will be at, they will be greatfully accepted.

This was our 14th cruise, fourth with Costa...Got back Dec 22nd 2014. Weve Cruised on the Mediteranea two previous times and Once on the Concordia (also cruised Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Princess and Carnival) so this wasnt our first cruise experience...

 

THE GOOD: The price, very reasonable for an 11 day exotic carribean cruise. Free upgrade, Costa gave us a free upgrade from the bottom of the ship to a premium balcony room which was beautiful. The people traveling on board, a nice mix of Americans, Canadians and Europeans...most everyone was very friendly and cool, met tons of wonderful people on this cruise. Our room steward was awesome as was our water boy for evening dinner...the stops, while different and cool (Tortola,Antigua, Samana, Guadaloupe) most of the ports were commercial shipping docks that were far from everything and filthy(most of the other cruise ships were docked at the normal, close to everything and nice ports)...also a few of the days we arrived after 1pm limiting what you could do, time wise...returns were 530pm..but still all good...EXCEPT...

 

THE BAD AND UGLY: We found out that Costas new German CEO CUT the ships food budget by 70% AND also cut the staffs pay by 30% AND nearly doubled their workload. What does that all mean you ask? (ship was full of Indian workers who make 300 bucks a mos) TERRIBLE, I MEAN TERRIBLE or NONEXISTANT service... expect to see pissed off and not giving a damn crew and staff, want some hard boiled eggs for bfast? forget it..parmasean cheese for you pasta...good luck..pure nastiness ruled on the mediteranea via the staff...

 

THE REALLY UGLY: Prison food is all i have to say, not that ive been to the big house but see what they get served on lockup...the food was that bad, worst ..i mean worst dogfood ever...bfast every day was, soupy powdered eggs..i mean SOUP....cut up hot dogs...american cheese with mystyery meat...hard as a rock and cold french toast WITH NOT SYRYP of any kind...Lunch, boiled rice...boiled potatoes...boiled broccolli...mixed, boiled potatoes AND broccollit with cut up hot dogs AND turbo fish...(tasteless boney cheap sea trash fish..inedible) the sit down meals were almost as bad, with fowl, rabbit and chicken backs for dinner...really? i mean it was SHOCKING how bad the food was on this cruise...nothing like the old costa pre concordia disaster...we heard the Costa layed out 1 billion from the concordia and are making it up on the backs of its workers and cruisers....word to the wise ..NEVER EVER EVER cruise with Costa...we hit burger king on the way home from the port and it was like a five star meal compared to the prison food they served on the mediteranea...we will never ever cruise with costa again, even if it was for free... heads up to everyone out there... EVERYONE on board was enraged too...DISGRACEFUL!! Costa should be ASHAMED of themselves!!!

More than a pinch of salt need for this 1 time poster:cool:

More than a pinch of salt need for this 1 time poster:cool:

Totally agree with you, especially when the OP says "EVERYONE on board was enraged too", can he ask ALL 2600 passengers (in 5 languages - like the annoucements) what they're feeling were.

I have my own theory about negative reviews:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2142556

5th. post.

Over on the Princess board, there's a "Princess is the absolute WORST!" thread. I agree, a pinch of salt- every cruise line seems to have unhappy customers.

Just remembered- was there a kosher group on board for Hannukah? Was on Mediterranea a few years ago on a B2B when that happened. Their demands caused utter chaos in the kitchen, I would have been just as incensed as the OP. But because of the previous cruise, I knew it was a "group" problem, not a "food" problem- whoever in Group sales didn't properly coordinate with the Executive Chef and cut back on ship capacity to kitchen capacity, should have been fired on the spot.

"NIGHTMARE" still seems a pretty strong term, when Costa did deliver the ambiance and nightlife I would expect.

More than a pinch of salt need for this 1 time poster:cool:

Hasn't noticed it was a one time poster. Seen a lot of these types of postes on MSC board where you get a really experienced cruising going on about nightmare cruises or cruises from hell and comparing food to prison food. They never return to CC again.

I guess it is possible that someone should only find out about these boards after several years of cruising and then decide to let others know Bout a particuLrly bad experience but it is suspicious.

It. Any week have not been a great cruise food and service wise, but they blow their credibility when they exaggerate....."EVERYONEwas enraged...." ...unbelievable. Maybe they were going on about it so much that some of the passengers just found it easier to nod and then get away ratherbthan argue. Perhaps on a round the world cruise you eventually speak to every passenger onboard but definitely not on a shorter one.

If I hadnt actually been on that cruise ship I would'nt of believed it either. The HORRIBLE HORRIBLE food and Terrible service, on a Costa cruise? The three previous Costa cruises we did were just awesome, not as many small rest. (small deli, asian..etc) but the food and service were just wonderful. We especially liked the Fresh Mediteranean anti past and pastas...THIS time was very very different.

I should correct something too, EVERYONE we TALKED TOO was very very unhappy about the food. When I struck up a conversation or chatted with an english speaking guest that was always the first thing they said, CAN YOU BELIEVE the food on this ship? OMG!!! The Europeans were a little less vocal, but there were a few (Barbara from switzerland...also Karen And Stephan from Germany who were disgusted as well) I wish I had taken pictures..and yes this is my first post, normally cruises are mostly good with very little complaints this was on a another level...the shows were very good, though short at 45 min, also the entertainment was good...though short as well, live bands played 1 hr and then was dj..so those were very good as was the condition of the ship..perfect and clean...we loved Costa before, but the food was just that bad...ok I took a tour on the Norwegian Dawn in a professional capacity 7 yrs ago in NY City, Saw the entire ship..every inch...the food they were feeding the wait staff down below...THAT was the same food they served the cruisers on the Costa Mediteranea this time out....Every American and Canadian we met were very very unhappy...others said they would contact Costa directly...I said I would spread the bad word thru the internet, and yes this is my first post here...any questions i would be happy to answer all...I LOST 4 lbs on this cruise btw..who LOSES weight on a cruise??

Sad to read this. We have been on two previous Costa cruises. The first was on in 1997 on the Costa Atlantica and the food on that Western Caribbean sailing was truly DREADFUL - in fact so bad, that the last night we (DH, I and my in-laws) sent every dish back to the kitchen and dined only on baked potatoes! We did try Costa one more time ( very brave of us, but we have taken over 40 cruises on MANY lines), trying the Costa Magica in 2006. GREAT food and a really fun cruise that we thoroughly enjoyed!! So...we have been strongly considering the 23 night transatlantic on the Mediterranea from Miami to Italy departing March 20 from Miami, but there is absolutely no Cruise Critic member thread for it or any other discussion groups that I can find, and after reading this review we are a bit wary, although still tempted as the prices and itinerary are really good..... Losing a few pounds does not bother either of us a bit, but it seems a shame if the dining experience and service is truly as poor as described above. We absolutely LOVE cruising and there are a number of new ports on this itinerary we have never been to before. Thoughts???

We'll be on Mediterranea for the Feb 4 - 16 sailing. We were on her back in 2006 for a B2B and were quite wowed by the ship. Last year we tried the Luminosa and were impressed enough to all book Costa again, though mostly because we dance and love the musicality of the Costa ships.

Quite by chance one of our group who just booked with us for the Feb 4 sailing was on the Mediterranea for the December sailing which the OP is commenting on - but her experience was that everything was great on that cruise.

As a guy who likes to eat, I will post a full review - good, bad or ugly, come what may, on CruiseCritic as soon as we get back home February 20.

If I hadnt actually been on that cruise ship I would'nt of believed it either. The HORRIBLE HORRIBLE food and Terrible service, on a Costa cruise? The three previous Costa cruises we did were just awesome, not as many small rest. (small deli, asian..etc) but the food and service were just wonderful. We especially liked the Fresh Mediteranean anti past and pastas...THIS time was very very different.

 

I should correct something too, EVERYONE we TALKED TOO was very very unhappy about the food. When I struck up a conversation or chatted with an english speaking guest that was always the first thing they said, CAN YOU BELIEVE the food on this ship? OMG!!! The Europeans were a little less vocal, but there were a few (Barbara from switzerland...also Karen And Stephan from Germany who were disgusted as well) I wish I had taken pictures..and yes this is my first post, normally cruises are mostly good with very little complaints this was on a another level...the shows were very good, though short at 45 min, also the entertainment was good...though short as well, live bands played 1 hr and then was dj..so those were very good as was the condition of the ship..perfect and clean...we loved Costa before, but the food was just that bad...ok I took a tour on the Norwegian Dawn in a professional capacity 7 yrs ago in NY City, Saw the entire ship..every inch...the food they were feeding the wait staff down below...THAT was the same food they served the cruisers on the Costa Mediteranea this time out....Every American and Canadian we met were very very unhappy...others said they would contact Costa directly...I said I would spread the bad word thru the internet, and yes this is my first post here...any questions i would be happy to answer all...I LOST 4 lbs on this cruise btw..who LOSES weight on a cruise??

Stand by what I said previously. Did you not see the large bowls of boiled eggs at breakfast time? As for your other comments, do you never eat boiled rice or boiled potatoes or broccoli - perhaps you only eat French fries? If so, then that could account for your complaints.

I'm not even sure why I'm bothering to reply to such nonsense:rolleyes:

Sad to read this. We have been on two previous Costa cruises. The first was on in 1997 on the Costa Atlantica and the food on that Western Caribbean sailing was truly DREADFUL - in fact so bad, that the last night we (DH, I and my in-laws) sent every dish back to the kitchen and dined only on baked potatoes! We did try Costa one more time ( very brave of us, but we have taken over 40 cruises on MANY lines), trying the Costa Magica in 2006. GREAT food and a really fun cruise that we thoroughly enjoyed!! So...we have been strongly considering the 23 night transatlantic on the Mediterranea from Miami to Italy departing March 20 from Miami, but there is absolutely no Cruise Critic member thread for it or any other discussion groups that I can find, and after reading this review we are a bit wary, although still tempted as the prices and itinerary are really good..... Losing a few pounds does not bother either of us a bit, but it seems a shame if the dining experience and service is truly as poor as described above. We absolutely LOVE cruising and there are a number of new ports on this itinerary we have never been to before. Thoughts???

The 11 day Costa Carribean Cruise Im talking about was just coming off a repositioning from Europe, we talked with a nice French Couple who did the transatlantic crossing before hitting Miami. They said it was good, but the Capt missed a few Euro stops due to bad weather (understandable) also two rough days crossing the Atlantic..but other than that good (second day of cruise, so no talk of the food yet)..they got off in Guadaloupe, we picked up a ton of new cruisers there as well.

Thats one of the things we liked about our 11 day as well, price was reasonable and also some really great and different destinations. Also we like the music and style of Costa and do a lot of dancing as well...to be honest heres how things went, the first three days the food was really bad, BUT the next two days the food was good...almost like the old Costa, so we thought maybe they were just using what food they had left crossing the Atlantic? NOPE, after those two good days, the food got even worse....the rest of the cruise the food was just horrible..I made a joke about it at dinner one night, said Costa was playing mind games on us...bad food, then two days of good food...then WHAM! Back to bad again! The joke went over like a lead balloon..lol

Would I take a chance on a 23 day cruise to Europe with Costa again...considering a great price and awesome Itinerary? No, my so said she wouldnt either...but remember, we just got back and are still dissapointed with the food and service. It might have been one bad experience who knows...id love to hear you went on it and had a wonderful time...

We'll be on Mediterranea for the Feb 4 - 16 sailing. We were on her back in 2006 for a B2B and were quite wowed by the ship. Last year we tried the Luminosa and were impressed enough to all book Costa again, though mostly because we dance and love the musicality of the Costa ships.

 

Quite by chance one of our group who just booked with us for the Feb 4 sailing was on the Mediterranea for the December sailing which the OP is commenting on - but her experience was that everything was great on that cruise.

 

As a guy who likes to eat, I will post a full review - good, bad or ugly, come what may, on CruiseCritic as soon as we get back home February 20.

The Mediteranea Ship is still the same, beautiful and spotless. We Cruised on it in 03 and again in 07 I believe, the second time we received another free balcony upgrade as well. Youll be happy with that...to be honest, most of the poor service was related to the food staff/wait staff, the Italian girls at the front desk were friendly (we chatted a bit, my family is from the same area in Italy theyre from) also the entertainment staff that I talked too were friendly as well...food workers/wait staff...whooaaa different story...

Would love to hear stories about the ships food and service being perfect now...I hope things have improved .....then again I was also warned that cruise lines actually PAY people to write fake/fabricated reviews...trust me, mine is NOT fake or fabricated....

Stand by what I said previously. Did you not see the large bowls of boiled eggs at breakfast time? As for your other comments, do you never eat boiled rice or boiled potatoes or broccoli - perhaps you only eat French fries? If so, then that could account for your complaints.

I'm not even sure why I'm bothering to reply to such nonsense:rolleyes:

If I was in prison THEN maybe boiled rice, boiled potatoes, boiled broccolli AND chicken backs MIGHT be appetizing, but not on a Caribbean cruise line that supposedly prides itself on good Italian food and service. They served THAT every day for 11 days for lunch...NOT ACCEPTABLE... How about a few nice pasta dishes, some anti past...fresh salads..tomatoes...nothing gourmet, just something fresh and EDIBLE...were you on this cruise? Wanna know about the hard boiled eggs for bfast? You had a 50/50 chance of opening a half raw egg AND after the 1st hr the staff REFUSED to bring out more...I STOOD THERE and waited 20 minutes UNTIL they did, and ya know what...a small indian worker snuck four hd boiled eggs from behind the elevator section so noone else could see...in a bowl hidden behind his back...***?? I grabbed two and watched him sneak back to his hiding place..same thing happened with the parmesean cheese AND syrup....disturbing, all of it...

I think ill go into more detail for your entertainment, except it wasnt very funny having to eat on that ship..I NEVER saw a single tomato on the entire ship, NONE..ceasar salad? think wilted iceberg lettuce, a small piece of carrot and thats IT...and no dressing..God knows where that went...no romain lettuce..anywhere, ever...no vanilla ice cream, only strawberry...most of the time the machines were empty btw...fast food section, ONE cold and hard as a rock burger, same with bun...inedible...never saw a single shrimp anywhere anytime...first nite was mussles, they were closed and inedible..also smelled bad...two people at our table got deathly ill eating em...towels and coffee...i didnt have a prob, cause i dont drink coffee, but many others complained there was ZERO coffee anywhere anytime...and had massive problems getting clean pool towels...

Regular bathroom towels were dark and dingy, same for sheets...forget washclothes ...none anywhere..same with ice...NONE.. I had to twist my room stewards arm to bring some...dinner you could only get bottled water, its was like freakin liquid gold, god forbid you got more than a quarter glass of water...my waterboy finally did the right thing and brought water..like i said, the food was shockingly bad...no offense but maybe youre of irish descent, i have irish friends and family and to them a boiled potato and chunk of old meat is good food to them, or maybe youre one of those people the cruise lines PAY to write false cruise ship reviews...

waterboy????

When I joined CC in 2004, I was going to take a 7 day Mediteranea cruise from

Fort Lauderdale.

The same type of commentary was written about Costa.

I've taken five more.

Costa Rocks!

We were on a Costa med cruise in October and the food was fine , not Princess standard ( we use Princess & Costa mostly ) but we also didn't pay american ship prices for the cruise so didn't expect 5 * standards , all the waiters were attentive and our room steward was brilliant , greeting us by name each time too , for the cost of a costa cruise you get what you pay for and we have enjoyed both of our cruises with them

Sorry to hear about your terrible cruise.

OP stated following fact:

THE BAD AND UGLY: We found out that Costas new German CEO CUT the ships food budget by 70% AND also cut the staffs pay by 30% AND nearly doubled their workload.

Does anyone know if its true?

OP stated following fact:

 

THE BAD AND UGLY: We found out that Costas new German CEO CUT the ships food budget by 70% AND also cut the staffs pay by 30% AND nearly doubled their workload.

 

Does anyone know if its true?

Do you think it is true ? Common sense must tell any one such reductions are not possibly without destroying the Costa business.

Just got off on 1/23/15 after 10 days - first time on Costa - food was fine - main dining good and plenary of choice with buffet including good salad bar and fresh fruit - boat very clean - everyone very nice and cabin very nice and well attended - will sail with them again

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Do you think it is true ? Common sense must tell any one such reductions are not possibly without destroying the Costa business.

Sailed Costa once- OK w/ almost horrible food, but GREAT dancing

Been on a bunch of recent cruises and a number of Costa cruisers were saying how bad it got lately.

Can a CEO kill a brand?? ...Hello New Coke