Is Costa really asbad as the reviews?

[barante]

My November "live" reports from the Costa Victoria contain entries in which I discuss my views on the China cruise market. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1730507

 

In brief, I wondered whether a very brand conscious region of the world would be satisfied with a non-premium cruise brand, such as Costa. Certainly our North American Chinese-descended passengers and Singapore crowd were not impressed. (We had PRC crew members but no, or very few, PRC passengers.

 

I'm not even sure it was Costa's level so much as it was the lack of any wow factors that disappointed passengers, aside from the occasional chaos on the ship. When we were parked next to Celebrity Solstice at two ports, they longingly looked at a ship filled with balconies. To them that promised luxury.

[sthelder]

Great live review, will read through the thread after work today.

 

In fact, many cruising friends I met here, they took to cruise in overseas because of much better cruising experience and the ridiculous pricing policy. Even with the air fare and visas costs, the total overseas cruise costs are not that much higher than booking a cruise targeting mainland China market. A couple could do a Mediterranean cruise for about US$3000+ (balcony), and that's roughly what Costa is charging the local cruisers for a similar grade balcony (full fare, not last minute...as I mentioned earlier, hardly any early bird price, either because the cruiselines are not willing to committed or the locals are not used to book holiday months ahead)!

 

Balcony or suite is very pricey here. But may be not that attractive to certain group of guests. I overhead a conversation between some elderly guests (hard not to, they were loud), they were fine with inside cabin, as they came solely for the casino!! To them, it's easier (not necessarily cheaper though) than flying to Macau or Australia (lately, Singapore also has a casino). My travel agent friend told me that Costa made tonnes of $ from these gamblers, it's the biggest on-board revenue generator for them. Well, I won't be able to ascertain whether it's real, but logically, I think it makes sense.

 

Personally, I don't like Costa because I think they are just milking the China market and not doing enough education or promotion of cruise knowledge.

 

The insufficient cruise knowledge, huge expectation gap and most importantly, short-sighted pricing policy may mean a higher than necessary percentage of first-time cruisers will be put off from future cruises.

 

*I just realised I finger-pointing at everyone other than myself*

[Tapi]

even costa is owned by Carnival

 

I'm looking at the 2014 itineraries and I'm tempted by the E. Mediterranean cruise on the Costa Magica. I knew that Costa is owned by Carnival Corp, and that the ships and interior designer are the same, but looking at what's on the Carnival website, they look almost identical.

 

Having sailed on Carnival many times (and looking at trying something different for our upcoming Eastern Mediterranean cruise) I have to say that the many similarities with Carnival are actually a turn off.

[AmoMondo]

Just got back from my third Costa cruise and it was a good experience on the whole. I was on the Atlantica and found that a much nicer ship than the newer Joe Farcus gawdy brash designed ones like the Favolosa etc. I believe those are very similar to Carnival.

 

I'm not keen on the embarkation process, it's just goo bitty with too many different people to queue up to see to complete it all and I'm not a fan of the interior layouts but overall a good experience for what I paid. I was seated with people who regularly cruise on Carnival and Costa because their daughter works for them. They said that ship layout was almost identical on both lines but the older Costa ships had nicer decor. Big difference on Costa is it definitely has a Italian feel rather than American and the passenger mix is very different. Costa caters for 5 or more languages onboard which means things are done differently than on Carnival which I believe is only in English.

[hoytlakes]

this thread asking is costa really that bad? well we were just on costa pacifica in a triple rm in the western med. for the price we paid (all three of us in balconly cabin 2,599 usd (total including taxes) it was a very good value. the cabin was very nice, food above average and drink pkg very good. for the price we pd I am satisfied. you do generally get what you pay for. in this case you get what you pay for plus a little extra. we looked at it as a means to an end i.e. a traveling hotel/restaurant. we really flew to Europe to see the cities, sites, etc. not just go on a boat. if I were to be going on a cruise for just the cruise i'd pick a different line but for a floating hotel it was wonderful.;):)

[cruisetrail]

I'm looking at the 2014 itineraries and I'm tempted by the E. Mediterranean cruise on the Costa Magica. I knew that Costa is owned by Carnival Corp, and that the ships and interior designer are the same, but looking at what's on the Carnival website, they look almost identical.

 

Having sailed on Carnival many times (and looking at trying something different for our upcoming Eastern Mediterranean cruise) I have to say that the many similarities with Carnival are actually a turn off.

 

The Magica is on of the worst - same as old Destiny.

Favolosa/Fascinosa subclass - significantly (very well) redesigned Destiny.

Luminosa/Deliziosa - a mix of Vista and Spirit classes.

Carnival does not have ships like those four.

[OCruisers]

We've only been on two Costa cruises -- both short 7 day cruises to the Caribbean in mid spring ... and several years back.

 

Totally enjoyed both and have nothing but positive things to say about Costa!

Remember ... ours were to the Caribbean with many from the US and Canada.

 

LuLu

~~~~

[Blondie008]

I'm looking at the 2014 itineraries and I'm tempted by the E. Mediterranean cruise on the Costa Magica. I knew that Costa is owned by Carnival Corp, and that the ships and interior designer are the same, but looking at what's on the Carnival website, they look almost identical.

 

Having sailed on Carnival many times (and looking at trying something different for our upcoming Eastern Mediterranean cruise) I have to say that the many similarities with Carnival are actually a turn off.

 

I am not sure if its the same cruise we did last September - is it a loop cruise? 7 nights? if so - be wary..

There were I think four embarkation points on this cruise, nearly every day hoards coming and going. FREE family places - buffet was just a pizza war! Magica REEKS of cigarette smoke - if you dont smoke dont even think about going on Magica. The ceilings are very low, and the filtration of cigarette smoke is almost non existant! I was a smoker at the time and even I could not stand it (so much so I quit when I came home!).

I would rate Carnival in a few leagues above Magica..

I guess if its dirt cheap - you get what you pay for. We only paid £699 each - so - we took it just as a cheap break in the sunshine. From what I gather though, £699 was actually a top end price to pay for this cruise and many sailed for less than a third of what we paid :eek:

Lunch - we avoided the buffet - it was just incredible - pack of wild animals on a wild scavenge. The best food on the ship was the MDR at lunch time in the Gluten Free section. That was the most civilised meal we had during the cruise.

If you can bear treating it as a bus around the med - then go for it. But that is what you will get.

The piano bar was quite nice (if you could stand the haze) -

The rest ...hmmmmmm as I say, makes Carnival look like Crystal!

Madness - it was just chaotic mayhem. Ive never in my life seen anything quite like it...

We absolutely did NOT complain about our cruise - we paid so little for it we just thought "ah well - wont do it again"...

Even at a third of the price - even at bargain basement - I wouldnt do a 7 day loop on a Costa mass ship ever again.

Each to their own of course, but no, not even remotely on a par with Carnival:eek: We did Carnival B2B earlier last year - on Freedom - actually it was great - better than we expected - and absolutely leagues above Costa Magica.... Yes, the ships are similar in design, but thats as far as it goes.

We ARE sailing with Costa again, but on NeoRomantica which is a totally different ball game and in a league of her own.

[Blondie008]

I'm looking at the 2014 itineraries and I'm tempted by the E. Mediterranean cruise on the Costa Magica. I knew that Costa is owned by Carnival Corp, and that the ships and interior designer are the same, but looking at what's on the Carnival website, they look almost identical.

 

Having sailed on Carnival many times (and looking at trying something different for our upcoming Eastern Mediterranean cruise) I have to say that the many similarities with Carnival are actually a turn off.

 

I am not sure if its the same cruise we did last September - is it a loop cruise? 7 nights? if so - be wary..

There were I think four embarkation points on this cruise, nearly every day hoards coming and going. FREE family places - buffet was just a pizza war! Magica REEKS of cigarette smoke - if you dont smoke dont even think about going on Magica. The ceilings are very low, and the filtration of cigarette smoke is almost non existant! I was a smoker at the time and even I could not stand it (so much so I quit when I came home!).

I would rate Carnival in a few leagues above Magica..

I guess if its dirt cheap - you get what you pay for. We only paid £699 each - so - we took it just as a cheap break in the sunshine. From what I gather though, £699 was actually a top end price to pay for this cruise and many sailed for less than a third of what we paid :eek:

Lunch - we avoided the buffet - it was just incredible - pack of wild animals on a wild scavenge. The best food on the ship was the MDR at lunch time in the Gluten Free section. That was the most civilised meal we had during the cruise.

If you can bear treating it as a bus around the med - then go for it. But that is what you will get.

The piano bar was quite nice (if you could stand the haze) -

The rest ...hmmmmmm as I say, makes Carnival look like Crystal!

Madness - it was just chaotic mayhem. Ive never in my life seen anything quite like it...

We absolutely did NOT complain about our cruise - we paid so little for it we just thought "ah well - wont do it again"...

Even at a third of the price - even at bargain basement - I wouldnt do a 7 day loop on a Costa mass ship ever again.

Each to their own of course, but no, not even remotely on a par with Carnival:eek: We did Carnival B2B x 14 nights, earlier last year - on Freedom - actually it was great - better than we expected - and absolutely leagues above Costa Magica.... Yes, the ships are similar in design, but thats as far as it goes.

We ARE sailing with Costa again, but on NeoRomantica which is a totally different ball game and in a league of her own.