Costa Pacifica

Hi all,

First time on a Costa cruise, we are hopefully going on the Costa Pacifica in May round the Baltic. Can anyone tell me:

1. Are there formal nights and if so what is the dress code?

2. Do they do an all inclusive package for drinks and if so, can we have more than one package, I don't drink but Hubby does.

3. What is the food like?

Great excitment here, the only down side is that Costa say they do not do flights and transfers to the ship, which is causing us a few headaches, but I am sure we will get there in the end.

WE have just come back from a Costa Pacifica cruise and the answers to your questions are

The " formal" evenings are very informal...I saw 2 bow ties and a couple of long dresses and that was it......most didn't bother.

If you read the All inclusive terms youw ill see that you both have to take the package..its well worth it and even if you don't drink alcohol the coffee, soft drinks and mock tails soon add up. Its about the cheapest there is!

As for the food, I loved it..very Mediterranean with 7 courses available for dinner ..but its not your slabs of beef/lobster type cruise fare..but its very much my opinion.

It sounds like you need to do some searching and reading of this forum before you go. We had a fabulous time!!

I am so happy to hear from someone who has recently been on the Costa Pacifica. We are leaving February 10th from Barcelona. Were the seas rough? We were thinking of wearing a transdermal patch for motion sickness. Did you have days of high winds and waves? Did you need to take anything for it, if so? Thanks, so much.

The med is not a particularly rough sea.. we live about 500 yards from it!

It was quite smooth 95% of the time and a little rough overnight a couple of times. There was only 1 morning I felt a little queasy..but that may have been the GTs. I didn't use anything for sea sickness.

We're doing trans atlantic back to Barcelona in late April and I may need something then!

Thank you. There have not been many posters who've been on the Coast Pacifica. May I assume that you are English speaking? I know that there are very few English speaking guests so my husband requested a table for 8, hoping that we might be put at an English speaking table. Do you know if that is a possibility? I speak a little French and know courtesy words in Italian. Because this is an Italian ship, we always try to be good guests in whatever country we are.

You are allocated a sitting,rather than asking for one and they usually put English people on the first sitting. The tables are by nationality, we had a table for 8 but ended up with just 1 other (very nice!) UK couple. English speaker are very much in the minority but it wasn't a problem and there was a good English rep,John Patrick, who could sort anything out for you.

You'll have a wonderful time..just go with an open mind!

Thank you so much.

We cruised on Pacifica in December of 2012, and her sister ship Serena in December 2013. We had a great time on both cruises, and really enjoy Costa. Just don't expect it to be like any other cruise line you might have been on before, keep an open mind and you will have fun.

The all-inclusive drinks package is a fantastic bargain. We figured that we were ahead of the game by lunch every day, just from the very nice cappuccinos and the pre-lunch sharpener. The cabins are large and very comfortable, and the crew mostly speak English as a second language, with Italian as a third. The entertainment is nearly always outstanding, although we had a fairly dire ventriloquist/comedian who repeated every joke in five languages.

There were not very many English speakers on either of our cruises, but the all of the ones we met were nice.

Enjoy your cruise!

Oh well have taken the plunge and booked Costa Pacifica for May, can't wait going round the Baltic.

We cruised in May '13 on Serena and this month on Pacifica, boarding the sixth, Jan. Costa are normally v. efficient. We had a package each time including flights and transfers. This time, we embarked :D Barcelona which is a good port. All v. smooth. The boat is great - the party goes on! Or you can be quiet if it suits. Don't despair if you see lots of families & pushchairs around as they sort of disappear in the large ship. Think of an Italian tourist village floating around and go with the flow! The food is great & varied, the staff v. nice and it works for us! And join Costa Club if you think that you may go back as there are privileges after another cruise or so!

Since I don't see roll-calls officially for specific months for the Costa Pacifica, I'll join the mock-roll-call here.

Looking forward to trying out Costa/Italian-style cruising, starting in Barcelona in late March.

-- From the various non-forum reviews, I think we'll be ok with this non-U.S. cruise (hopefully less smoke than some of the posters warned of a few months back, else we'll be dealing w some headaches.)

-- Any tips on if the on-board entertainment? Will they be in English? Is it first-come, first-to-grab seating, or do "premium" cabins get to pick seats (we opted for a non-premium, but balcony, room).

-- How easy is it to get to excursions (long waits, or efficient/fast for ones booked via Costa)?

Our experience with the inboard entertainment is very good. The main show tends to be something nonverbal, so language isn't an issue. We had no problem getting seats, just come in a bit early for really good ones. Many of the lounges have music, you should be able to choose from four or five different acts.

Our experience with the smokers was that they stayed in the allowed ares, which was quite a generous selection at that time. Sometimes there were smokers on both sides of the Promenade outside because they were a little confused, but not often.

We booked two excursions on board, and it was easy. You can do it on the TV, at a kiosk, with a paper form, or at the desk. They had English versions of the excursions we wanted, probably of all the excursions in total.

To ynotcruz

We are going on the cruise in late March getting in Savona. We are looking at the shore excursions. I posted about sharing a shore excursion on roll call if you are interested.

Hi Isis2

I am so glad at last I have heard from someone who will be on the same cruise as me and my husband. We come from Malta and are really looking forward for this cruise. I was trying to contact two other guests who will be with us - slombacker and scubagirl 68 - they are interested in taking a tour with Alla tours in St Petersburg. If you are interested please advise.

thanks

Hi Isis2

 

I am so glad at last I have heard from someone who will be on the same cruise as me and my husband. We come from Malta and are really looking forward for this cruise. I was trying to contact two other guests who will be with us - slombacker and scubagirl 68 - they are interested in taking a tour with Alla tours in St Petersburg. If you are interested please advise.

 

thanks

Hi.

We will be cruising on Costa Pacifica 11 May sailing out of Keil. Our TA says you should be aware, that if you take private tours in St. Petersburg you will need to get a Visa for Russia. Current cost £125.00 Sterling. Whereas if you take the Costa excursions you will be included in the Ship's Visa for the duration of each excursion.

Have a great cruise.

Hi.

We will be cruising on Costa Pacifica 11 May sailing out of Keil. Our TA says you should be aware, that if you take private tours in St. Petersburg you will need to get a Visa for Russia. Current cost £125.00 Sterling. Whereas if you take the Costa excursions you will be included in the Ship's Visa for the duration of each excursion.

Have a great cruise.

If a passenger has booked a shore excursion through a Russian Tour company , and not a Costa excursion, if the Russian Tour company is certified (i.e. Alla Tours) then a visa is not required as it is provided by the tour company.

Ron

If a passenger has booked a shore excursion through a Russian Tour company , and not a Costa excursion, if the Russian Tour company is certified (i.e. Alla Tours) then a visa is not required as it is provided by the tour company.

 

 

 

Ron

Correct. We didn't need separate visas on private tours in Russia. The company was certified.

Hi.

We will be cruising on Costa Pacifica 11 May sailing out of Keil. Our TA says you should be aware, that if you take private tours in St. Petersburg you will need to get a Visa for Russia. Current cost £125.00 Sterling. Whereas if you take the Costa excursions you will be included in the Ship's Visa for the duration of each excursion.

Have a great cruise.

Hello, my husband and I are on the same cruise as you. We have booked a 2 day tour in st Petersburg an one for Stockholm with SPB Tours. We dont need visa with them. We wanted a spanish tour because my husband is not so good with english, but all depends if a spanish group gets together.

I have booked for 3 on the grand tour 17/18 May in St Petersburg with Alla and we are not required to get a visa.

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The two of us are on the Costa Pacifica from Kiel leaving on May 31st. Is anyone trying to get together a St. Petersburg four for June 6 and 7. If reasonable, we would like. I am told that groups can negotiate with the tour companies that take care of the visa problem. Steve Frantzich

We did the baltic cruise last year and took a two day tour in St Petersburg with Spb tours. I highly recomend them. They were very professional. Absolutely nothing to complain. They took care of the visitor permits, entrances to sites, etc. Ive done lots of tours and I must say this was probably the best. Maybe the food wasnt to good, but we were happy with the overall service.

I forgot to say that Spb is a certified company and when you book with them they get the visas or permits for you. And they send them to you via mail. No need to worry.

Visas are for people travelling alone or with non certified companies.