Oggiabordo

Well congratulations on achieving such an incredible rate for your cruise! These kinds of deals are few and far between these days. Costa have never, to my knowledge included the service charge in UK pricing. I believe you can now choose to pre pay it, but imagine most choose to leave it and pay later onboard. As others have noted, for bookings made in some other markets, gratuities are included in the fare, and so the fare is usually higher, to reflect this. Service charge / gratuities on Costa are amongst the lowest in the cruise industry, and are mandatory. As a comparison , Royal caribbean charge US$16 per person per day, and Norwegian US$20 per person per day. I have generally found the service on Costa to be outstanding, and way above expectations, relative to the rates charged. As a result I often tip additionally above the mandatory gratuities. I hope you have a fantastic cruise! I must admit to being rather jealous !

Genoa is the nearest airport for Savona, but it is not particularly well served from the UK, with just Ryanair and Vueling offering direct services in 2023. Costa offer transfers from Genoa and the train is also an option, although Savona train station is a long walk to the cruise terminal. But you can also get the bus from the station to close to the cruise terminal. Costa also offer very affordable transfers from Nice airport and Milan Linate and Malpensa. These can offer a wider variety of flights, and often better prices too. The drive from Nice to Savona along the coast is beautiful ! I’ve never boarded or disembarked in Taranto though, so can’t help with that one.

The only time I have seen Costa ships using dollar onboard is on cruises departing from the USA (which they don’t offer at the moment) or on transatlantic repositioning cruises. If it’s a wholly European cruise , the onboard currency will be euro.

Yes, absolutely. Guests in suites (category S, PS, GS) dine in the suites restaurant, for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It’s a much quieter venue, with excellent service.

I try to avoid drinking the tap water on any ship, any cruise line. At home I use a simple water filter jug and keep it in the fridge. I can understand why it is a controversial subject though. As regards Costa , they are generally much cheaper for bottled water onboard than many other lines, generally offering water packages too. A small amount of money very well spent in my opinion. Would be good to see some more environmentally friendly solutions onboard though, for those who do not wish to drink tap / jug water on the ships.

I’ve booked both ways , direct and through an agent. I’ve made next cruise bookings onboard with Costa , and they have been extremely helpful, allowing me to choose any agent of my choice , if I wish. I have never tried to transfer an existing booking.. suspect you probably can’t , especially if it was made some time ago. If the booking is of a moderate value, I now leave the bookings directly with Costa. Their phone service is generally excellent, and allows me to pay balance later… agents generally want it much sooner. If it is a higher value suite booking, the savings of going via an agent may be worthwhile.

Hi Marcoigna The suite product on Costa is overall very good, and thoroughly enjoyable ! Category S and above : Butler service Welcome Prosecco - currently Ferrari (it’s lovely !) daily fresh fruit turn down service excellent coffee machine ! separate restaurant for breakfast, lunch and dinner , open daily. on Toscana (and I presume Smeralda) a private suite sun deck in most markets suites also come with the top drinks package “my drinks plus” the weak points are lack of priority check in and boarding for suites very poor toiletries . I have taken many Costa cruises in suites recently . Overall the product is wonderful , especially on the newer ships. Genuine hospitality , and outstanding service. Is it the very best in the market ? No, but it is far from the most expensive either. Overall great value, and really enjoyable !

I’m glad you enjoyed your cruise so much ! I have taken several cruises on her. She is magnificent, and i am looking forward to trying her sister Costa Smeralda later this year 😁