Kajira

We plan to go again- I believe that's the best feedback.

If you have any questions pls do not hesitate to ask- I'll try to help.

We just returned from our first cruise and I wanted to share with you some things I wish I knew before we went. I will not write full review- just some tips that I hope could be of help for you. But pls read first the background data, as some things might not be applicable for you.

Background:

- We are couple in early 30ies, without kids

- Traveled in June 2016 with Costa Faschinosa from Savona (Western Mediterranean)

- Reached Savona by car

Parking in Savona:

Perfectly organized- you literally leave your car in front of the boarding building and pick the keys up next to the baggage claim area.

Have your luggage tags already placed, as the bags will be picked up directly from the car.

Registration can be done in advance on http://www.parkingsavona.com, but it is not mandatory.

Boarding:

It takes ~30-45 min to board a ship (you are waiting in the lounge for your number/ color to be invited).

If you are not from EU your passport will be taken and kept by Costa Cruise. It would be smart to have photocopies with yourself to have some ID when visiting ports.

The crew will tell you that your room might not be ready immediately and that you should wait for official announcement. But, your room might be ready :D, so go to the room, leave the hand luggage if you want and pick-up your Cost Card.

If you have drink packages you can use them even without card- just say your room number.

Lunch is available from 12:00 so you can go for buffet lunch the moment you board- no one will ask you anything.

Food:

Breakfast in MDR (main dining room) is only till 9:30 so we mostly did not use it. Buffet option was rather good.

As we had Premium cabin we could predefine our option for MDR. And we did. And they did not took it fully into account :D. But good thing is that there were 6 people from our country (we are small and poor country ) on the ship and although we did not know any of them- they put us together.

Dinner options in MDR were always linked to the port we were visiting so you might want to experiment a bit and try some new things. If not, there is always basic choice (chicken, pasta…). Our approach was to go to buffet dinner first and have some food and then to go MDR and take some crazy things to try.

During dinner you cannot have alcohol drinks except wine & beer.

Drinks:

We took drink packages and were more-less constantly drunk :D. If you drink alcohol than it is very costly not to take package. We took Brindiamo that does not include cocktails but we would order Mojito zero and White rum aside; Aperol + prosecco + mineral water as well as Disarrono + lemon slices.

With this package (and Piu Gusto as well) you get water in glasses- so there is no possibility to take it to room and have during the night. But you can freely use your bottles and filled them up at dispensers in buffet area. I have also seen people freely caring bottles of water bought outside of the ship.

Service around pool might be slow but for a small tip for waiters (1-2 eur) you can speed it up. (of course this is on top of the service charges you pay anyway).

Entertainment:

Frankly speaking- I have no idea. We enjoyed more sun bathing, drinking, playing table tennis than watching shows.

Port visits:

Ship was arriving mostly on time or before the given time (important for ports with short visits).

You need to be back at the ship at least 30min before leaving time.

Print city maps in advance and decide what to visit- especially in ports where you stay for a short period of time.

In addition to excursions, ship also organizes transport form the port to the city center. The benefit is that it takes you and leave you in front of the ship. If you’d like to use public transport you usually need to walk some 5-6 minutes to the bus stop.

An example of prices: transport to/ from ship organized by Costa 17 eur, public transport 6 eur

Embarking:

You will need to pack and prepare your bags by 1am night before. Be carefully to leave aside/ in hand luggage some clothes for embarking day.

You can use your privileges (i.e. drinking package) till the moment you leave the ship.

You will receive your time slot and based on that the luggage will be available for pick-up. It is better to go 10 minutes later than earlier as you will wait otherwise.

Thanks for the replies

Currently at Costa Fascinosa & ice-cream is available in MDR as a desert.

Many thanks for the answers :)

I have downloaded and saved new ticket and will try to print it in the afternoon.

We have just purchased baverages package. However, as we are already traveling, I will nit be able to print new tickets. Would that be a problem?

What is better option- early dinner or late. Is my assumption right that most people (esp. with kids) would go for early dinner? Is it possible that some food would not be available at late dinner? Can we use buffet while waiting for our dinner (in case we are super hungry :D).

Also, is it possible to get lemons onboard. I like to add lemons in watter, coke, drinks? If not can I bring it onboard?

Would it be possible to use pools at first (boarding day)?

You are also going this Saturday?:cool::D

As for the drink packages...we will not buy all inclusive, because its a very port intensive itinerary, and we are not big drinkers ( i dont drink alcohol at all), we will just purchase this water package once we get on board and have a coffe a day,,thats enough for me:D.

Last night we tried to calculate our potential spending per day:

- 2 coffees per person (we usually have 2 in the morning only)

- a hell lot of water & some soft drinks (4 for breakfast & diner only)

- 2 beers for him, 2 glasses of wine for me (maybe not every night, but in general yes)

On top of that we added one day we are just cruising and realized that the total cost is very close to the cost of drink package.

And although it is not cheaper, as G.M.T. said, it could help us to have clear understanding of costs (I'm control freak;)), and most importantly- we could relax and not count every drink, thinking if we will have enough money at the end.

We have enough time to think it over and decide.

See you on Saturday ;)

The booking is done directly; no TA involvement.

We will need to sort it out once we are onboard, as well.

We will be on Costa Fascinosa next saturday and when I log into Mycruise account there is still no cruise ticket (but boarding form is). Is this normal?:confused:

 

It is written: "Sorry, at the moment it is not possible to download your cruise ticket. Your ticket will be available up to 21 days before departure and once the full amount has been paid."

 

We paid full amount the day we booked it so I dont know what to do if there will be no cruise ticket? I contacted my TA and he said that next week there should be out, but I want them now:mad::D.

Did you get it meanwhile?

I downloaded it last week, I believe.

But I have another problem- cannot book drink package: "The operation cannot be completed. The products and/or services you are trying to book are not available for your cruise."

The two drinks packages include both the decaf at €1.55 and regular espresso at €3.50 (there are four regular espresso:

 

Onda al cioccolato

Caffe Viennese

Nerve Fondente

Marocchino

 

Get the drinks package, then there is no bad surprise when you get the onboard invoice at the end of the cruise.

Yup; my thinking more and more goes into that direction. Thanks a lot G.M.T you are big helper.

Thanks a lot G.M.T.

Is my understanding correct that Brindiamo & Pio Gusto packages do not include regular Espresso just decaf??

our first one will be this Saturday, also on Fascinosa..yaay:)))

Which means we are on the same ship ;)

Thanks a lot on the answers!

So bottle of water is 3eur? I'd rather be drunk :D

Also, the drinking packages prices are per day or in total? e.g. Pio Gusto

For the prices, I am interested in espresso (I cannot stand filter coffee), freshly squeezed lemon/ orange juice, Coke, beer- preferably draught & Chardoney.

p.s. just now noticed my typos:eek:; sorry

Hi,

We will be in Palermo from 9am-6pm and Napoli from 07:30- 14:00 and would like to see vulcanos:

Is it possible in this short period to visit Etna from Palermo/ Vesuvio from Napoli?

Would you advise local agency/ public transportation or ship excursion?

Thanks

Hi, except for the short Nile cruise 6 year ago (lucky to go there before becoming too dangerous) we are the first time cruisers (husband and myself).

Coming from Balkans, Costa sounded as a good enough choice. I read a lot of negative comments about Costa and believe it is all about managing expectations;).

I have some basic basic questions so pls feel free to instruct me where to look for those- if already answered. I tried to find it by myself- no luck.

The ship is Costa Fascinosa, starting from Savona

1. How early can we check-in? We will be staying for 2-3 days in Pisa and will arrive to Savona around 12/01 pm. The official start of the cruise is at 5pm. Can we check-in at 1pm (or even earlier)?

2. Drinking packages- can they be bought just for some days and not for the whole period? Are there water only packages? Can you bring a bottle of water with yourself (unofficially)

3. Where can I find prices of drinks so I can estimate if packages are the right solution for us? Especially having in mind that most of the time we are on the shore.

4. We have premium outside cabin- I understand it gives us some benefits for dinner- but what exactly and how it works?

5. Can you wear highills aboard (I know, I know- but for me it is important;))?

6. I understood that if we are late to ship, they will leave us in the port where we stopped. But how early shall we be back? If it says that we are in one of the ports till 8pm- is it enough to return at 7:45pm?

7. Are the ships always on time- I'd like to buy some sightseeing tickets in advance (Sagrada Familia) ans have to choose the exact timing. Can I count that we will be arriving at the time it is planned? How much time is needed to leave the ship when stopping in a port? Any tips/ tricks to speed it up?

8. How much internet costs?

And finaly, if there are some blogs- texts outside of this website you woild advise me to read?

Many many thanks