12/04 -11.. just returned from mediterannea

we just returned from a fabulous cruise on the mediterannea.. embarkation was a breeze at 12:30.. we had a suite and were immediately checked in and boarded as were pax in regular cabins.. there was a very short line and plenty of receptionists.. the ship is immaculate and the staff is wild and crazy.. you will see for yourself.. it is the most interactive cruise staff i ever encountred in my 25 cruises..our waitstaff was wonderful,, they were genuinely concerned that we enjoyed our dinners .. the rack of lamb, fillet mignon, all pastas, fish entrees, veggies and lobster were well prepared.. the only thing i didn't like was the cold creamed soups but the clam chowder was excellent as was the cream of asparagus soup.. the waiters were constantly asking if they could bring us 'more' or to please try such and such.. 'just try it'.. the lobster tails were delicious.. we ate one nite at medussa as guests as we were in a suite.. but the same thing was on the dining room menu with a few differennt but limited selections and we would have preferred our dining staff.altho the ambience in medussa is very romantic and elegant.with versace china .... the ship is a late nite ship and there is always dance music in all the lounges till very late.. the shows were very good and a very resounding standing ovation was given to edmundo an italian opera singer.. the production shows were extremely good with beautiful costumes and staging, along with a fantastic laser light show/ but the most fun was with the cruise staff all day and all nite..we never returned to the cab in before 2 a.m... the casino was even good to us :) I don't know how they keep the energy going.. the CD Paul is very pax friendly and took part in a lot of the staff's fun and games.. we did great snorkeling at Coki Beach in St. Thomas and in Dominican republic did the electric bike tour (which i highly recommend) and the nite show at casa de campo. which was really worth seeing..nassau was so crowded with 8 ships in port.. I would recommend a snorkel tour there as the reefs are beautiful..or head over to the atlantis to see the 'digs' for a price.. the gym on mediterannea has a lot of great equipment. and I did visit it twice :).. but i was good, and only used the elevators when my legs felt like they were about to give out.. i mentioned in an earlier post that the mediterannea had no 'real' Bingo when I was on her last year.. she has since bought 'real' Bingo equipment and is trying to satisfy the U.S. pax penchant for Bingo..if anyone is looking for phooey louis , prada, coach, etc.. the nassau straw market is the place to go :).and the names are even spelled right :) the pool water (salt) at back of deck 9 was refreshing.. this is the adults only area and i was pleased to notice it was strictly enforced...including the hot tubs.. rules and regs were set forth for children, including use of the elevators and security did their job.. there were not that many kids on board, less than 100 but the ones i saw were adorable, sweet, charming and courteous.. (must be children of CC board members :)) the staff was extremely pleasant,, always saying 'hello' or good afternoon as the case may be as they passed you in the hallway..and did i mention Paul Rutter (the Cruise director) and his staff are completely insane (in a good way.. ) there is always something going on.. more activities than you can possibly handle.. we never returned to the cabin before 2 a.m... to those of you going on the mediterannea I don't see how you can not possibly have a great time..

Thanks so much for the review! I'm very happy to hear the positive comments since I'll have a group traveling with me in Jan!

You mention being on the Mediterranea last year...would you say that there have been improvements since then? Or, did you feel that food, service, etc. was great at that time? There seem to be so many polar opposite reviews out there so I'm curious if you feel there's been some imrpovements?

What Host Star has written describes my cruise on the Med last Jan, especially the comments about paul and his staff. I wonder if it is still the same group. The one dark haired girl and his assistant with the curly locks (I can't remember their names) were worth 100x their salary. Our cabin steward was outstanding, our room had to have been cleaned every time we left.

The differences?

The shows were uneven,fair to excellent,

Now I did love the cold soups, but didn't care for the clam chowder, and the casino wasn't that good to us! LOL!

I am looking forward to my cruise so much now, had a superb cruise on the Atlantica last year but the reviews for the Meditteraena weren't as good. Leaving on Sunday for back-to-back cruise over Christmas. Can't wait. Love the priority boarding for suites infact I love it all and can't wait to get away, relax, and enjoy the 5 star treatment that I have come to expect and of course receive from Costa.

Hey Host Star!

Welcome Back and Thank you so much for your review. BTW: We also had Paul Rutter as cruise director in January '05 on our cruise... He was just amazing, I agree completely!

I am glad that you had a wonderful cruise and enjoyed every aspect of it. That's how it should be anyways.

Great review... Make sure that you also post a review at the Member Review section of CC. That will stay there forever... or at least a very long time.

Thanks again for sharing your opinion!

Andy ;-)

I am so glad you had a good time and everything went well. I am sure that I will have the same experience when I go in April 2006. Except maybe there will be alot more children. Thanks for the great comments.

What Host Star has written describes my cruise on the Med last Jan, especially the comments about paul and his staff. I wonder if it is still the same group. The one dark haired girl and his assistant with the curly locks (I can't remember their names) were worth 100x their salary. Our cabin steward was outstanding, our room had to have been cleaned every time we left.

The differences?

The shows were uneven,fair to excellent,

Now I did love the cold soups, but didn't care for the clam chowder, and the casino wasn't that good to us! LOL!

I have to agree, the cold soups last year were delicious, this year bland ( to mee anyway)..sounds like a new staff but how they put this staff together is beyond me.. paul's entire staff was worth 100 x salary.. his lead man was Peppee (Italian) he lead the dance classes by the pool and you've never done anything like them before.. the one (I'm brain dead right now) that dresses as Priscilla made the most gorgeous woman..his moves were absolutely hysterical.. the makeup job on him was as tho they had done it for a film star.. everything this staff did could have made them a lot more money than working on a cruise ship.. our wait staff was wonderful.. the food was just as good as last year.. and boy if you have complaints they want to know about it..the maitre d was around every nite to inquire if everything was ok.. another thing.. we paid no corkage fees for the 3 bottles of wine we smuggled on board.. i did a test with one and walked thru embarkation carrying it .. no problem.. but liquour bought in the shops was delivered the last day

Hi Host Star,

I'm so sorry we didn't get to meet up. I forgot to take your cabin number and my dear hubby did not save the message you left me. Sigh!!!

I posted a detailed review as well on this sailing.

I am pretty critical and as you can see in my review there was very little to criticize.

Our first night dining service was not too swift but it was great the remainder of the cruise.

I agree that Edmundo was amazing. He got an ovation from me. That voice of his is truly a gift.

As for Paul and Pepe, they were fantastic! And they were so much fun at that toga Bacchanal sp. ? show.

The entertainment may definitely BUFFET and not LIONS :D (You can explain that one. ;)

Two of the passengers in our group entertained at the show, and two were participants in the newlywed game. So our people were well represented. ;o)

Now it's time to lose the five pounds I put on and get ready for the Magica in April!

:p

I am so glad you had a good time and everything went well. I am sure that I will have the same experience when I go in April 2006. Except maybe there will be alot more children. Thanks for the great comments.

Hey Bookworm - I think we are going to be travelling on the same cruise on the same dates - yipee. My husband and I are so excited cause this is our first cruise. Are you travelling alone or with friends/family? We are travelling just the 2 of us. Have you got all your excursions planned yet? We are still deciding on them.

I was a little worried about the food on the boat, but, the last few reviews that I have read havent been that bad. I am sure it will be fine. I really dont care what it is like as long as I can get away from all this cold weather. Yuck!!

I hope to heard back from you - it would be neat if we could meet up on the boat - what deck are you staying on?