Comparison of Costa to RCCL or NCL

[brent1865]

Good morning everyone,

My wife and i found a great deal on a Costa cruise and are interested in some feedback from some people who have cruised on both Costa and RCCL or NCL. Any comparisons or contrasts would be very helpful. We are always looking for new experiances and want some objective info about this line. Thanks in advance for your help with us making this decision.

 

 

Brent1865

Cincinnati Oh

[chris209]

I had posted this in another thread but will repost it here as it provides an answer to your question:

We were on the New Years sailing of the Costa Atlantica (PS 6219) and have also been on Celebrity, RCCL and Norwegian. In my opinion there was not a lot of difference between the quality of each of the cruises. We thought Costa was definitely the best value however- the price was very good for quality comparable to the more expensive offerings of Celebrity and RCCL. I would also say the food was comparable across all the lines. In my opinion NO mass market cruise line offers true 5 star dining - it is more like good or very good banquet food (except for some of the optional restaurants). Given this, we quite enjoyed the meals on Costa and many items were VERY good. The buffet also was quite good. The only thing that needed some improvement was the breakfast buffet as it was EXACTLY the same every day. Certainly I would not say that Celebrity was any better in the food department (in my experience). Some differences between the lines are the greater proprtion of non-English speaking guests on Costa but we had absolutely no problem with this. I had worried about smoking but never found this to be a problem at all. Also I felt that the Costa ship was the most uncrowded of the ships I have been on - even though it was at full capacity of 2700 we could always find lounge chairs on any deck- this was not my experience with RCCL or to a lesser extent with Celebrity and NCL. Given the great value I would definitely sail Costa again.

[DEBNWIN]

We went on the Costa Mediterranea last year over spring break and thoroughly enjoyed it. Like Chris, we found it to be comparable to the other cruise lines. As Chris also mentioned, we found the biggest difference to be that it has travelers from many different countries on board. They do the lifeboat drill, bingo, and most announcements in five languages!! Which generally is very interesting, but it did make for a longer lifeboat drill than usual.:) This might annoy some I guess, but we liked the very European feeling to the cruise. We had a beautiful balcony room with lots of space, considerably more than NCL's rooms. I believe I heard somewhere that Costa is owned by Carnival now. We went on the Carnival Miracle in the summer and had the identical room and the entire layout of the ship was identical also...which really made it easy to get around!! I didn't care for the shows quite as much as on other lines, maybe because they were a little more "classy" than usual...and I'm a down to earth kinda gal. I prefer a comedian to classical music. But that's an individual taste. All, in all, we really liked Costa and wouldn't hesitate to go on another cruise with them.

[ILov2cruise]

Not sure if Costa made any improvements over the last year. Was on the Med over spring break. Ship was great, so was the service. Food was not good, always found something to eat but the food was lacking. Shows were not good, no band poolside. The price was the best thing about this cruise.

We were in a PS suite, it was a great cabin.

If you have cruised RCCL or NCL, you cannot compare them to Costa.

Costa ranks 3rd out of the 3.

[chris209]

Not sure if Costa made any improvements over the last year. Was on the Med over spring break. Ship was great, so was the service. Food was not good, always found something to eat but the food was lacking. Shows were not good, no band poolside. The price was the best thing about this cruise.

We were in a PS suite, it was a great cabin.

If you have cruised RCCL or NCL, you cannot compare them to Costa.

Costa ranks 3rd out of the 3.

 

 

 

You mean they do not compare in YOUR opinion and Costa is 3/3 on your scale! I think they compare pretty evenly and I would also say that holds true for Celebrity as well as I have cruised all 4 lines (see my message above). I would say that the entertainment on NCL is better than Costa but otherwise I think all these lines are essentially the same. Our New Years's Costa cruise was actually one of our favourites and I would say that, in my opinion, Costa comes out way ahead because the value is much better- great cruise for much less cost!

[ILov2cruise]

In my OPINION, Costa does not compare with the other lines. And I have also cruised more than 4 times and on X also.

 

Food was below what I have had on other lines, but for the price we paid to cruise Costa than I guess your right. The price and the food went hand in hand, cheap. It was Italian style, not Italian, and YES I know the difference. Canned seafood thrown on top of pasta does not make it Italian.

Entertainment was just ok 2 nights, the other 5 it was bad. On sea days we like to sit by the pool and enjoy the band, not the radio[there too we got what we paid for, radio not live music].

Smoking was no problem, and English is not my first lang., Italian is. So that was no problem.

I didn't have a bad time because of these things, but it could have been better. Any day at sea is still better than a day at the office.

The op asked for opinions and this is mine. You don't have to like it. I didn t knock your opinion even thinking it was way off base from the cruise we were on.

[CtheWorld]

We are looking at Costa, because of the price, also. These comparisons are helpful. Keep them coming.

[ILov2cruise]

Was on Celebrity Century over New years 2004, Than Costa April 2004. Paid 1750.00 pp on the Century in a ocean view cabin. Paid 1100.00 pp for a suite on Costa med over spring break. Both Holiday cruises. You can't beat Costa prices. If your going with a open mind you will be fine on Costa.

I went expecting Italian food, not Italian style. To me there is a big difference between the real thing and just style.

I also think when cruising from any where in europe that the food is cooked different. Here they try to be a little more American.

I have also read alot of good Costa reviews about the Atlantica, but not many good reviews about the Med, I was on the Med.

I loved the ship. For some the food is inportant, for me any day at sea is better than a day at work.