Have you ever sailed Costa?

[mafig]

Looking at Costa Magica for April (Bermuda and Nassau out of Ft. Lauderdale). Anyone here ever sail Costa in the Caribbean (not Europe, which I understand is an entirely different experience)?

 

Trying to do research on the Costa board, however, no one ever seems to visit there.:(

 

If you have could you compare the experience vs. RCI?

[Judi Kozar]

Sorry to have to post this, but we sailed Costa after three cruises on RCCL and are back to stay on RCCL.

 

I was not impressed with Costa or the way they presented things. I figured that I would really like this line. I am Italian American and figured I would see some nice ethnic dishes etc. Not so. The only thing I saw immediately that was ethnic, the announcements were made in Italian first, Germany second, French third w/Americans last. The majority of the ship was American!!! It sailed out of Miami!!

 

Oh, well, I am a RCCLer at heart!! Sorry!

 

In the end though I will say a Bad day on Costa is better than a Good day at work!!!! :)

[mafig]

Judi, Don't be sorry. Thanks for answering. Getting info on this cruiseline is so difficult.:(

[settingsail]

We sailed Costa and I have to say I had a wonderful time . It was the Classica and I was 27 . Mostly an older crowd but they are the best partiers :) . we are off on our cruise so hopefully I can help you more when we get home !

[mafig]

Settingsail, Have a wonderful cruise! Hopefully, you'll remember to come back and give me details.:)

[JR Ewing]

We've done most lines and we were so impressed with the decor/food/service on our cruise last April on the Atlantica that we booked one immediately for April of 06 on her sister ship the Med. Same cabin - Grand Suite. Simply outstanding. Sorry others didn't share our experience. Except for mattress comfort this cruise trumped our Holland America trip on the Zuiderdam for far less $.

[pjbrock]

Sailes Coast 25+ years ago in the Caribbean. It was our first cruise-we were young and it was wonderful!!!! Pretty similar to the cruises we have taken with RCCL lately. I understand they sail mostly in Europe and routes on this side of the Atlantic are fewer. Would sail with them again anytime.

[MississippiMom]

On one of these many great CC boards, I came across a thread that Costa often offered free travel for children. I tried to compare their cruiseline with others to see if it was worth considering, but it just made me to nervous, since I couldn't find enough information on the Costa Caribbean cruises.

 

I will say that around twenty years ago, my boss and his wife went on a Costa European cruise for their anniversary and they had wonderful things to say about it. Of course, they went for one of the higher end cabins, and, as it turned out, my boss had previously had some business dealings with a member of the actual "Costa" family, so they got a little "special treatment."

[newmexicoNita]

I have to admit it was about 20 years ago on the Riviera, but with the exception of the toga party (a blast) we didn't enjoy the cruise as much as others nor did most on our ship that we spoke with. the cabins were standard to nice, the ship had just been renovated so was very pretty, but the food was the worst we have had as was the service. the Casino was a joke and the ships excursions were out of sight price wise compared to other cruises we had taken. Another issue was the smoking. I was a smoker at the time so it didn't bother me, but because the line is geared to the Europeian cruiser the ships are very smoker friendly. These were my opinions 20 years ago but many of my clients who have cruised Costa share them now. I do occassionallly run into someone who really enjoys the line. The crew seems to prefer to speak Italian which isn't all that pleasant and if I had kids I think I would choose another line. Again, all cruise lines have a nitch, so if you like to party, want a little different enviorment than in the past and are content with pasta cooked 25 different ways you might find this a good match. NMnita

[cruzelovr]

Although I don't have 1st hand experience, my parents (They're in their late 50's) have been on both and last year they did a Costa cruise. I think they sailed on the Atlantica or the Mediterrana. They loved it, they said that it ranked with their Holland America cruise they'd done previously.

 

My Grandmother was on the Costa cruise with my parents and enjoyed it so much she booked the 14 day transatlantic crossing for the next year. She liked that cruise too.

 

So there's 3 votes for Costa.

[holomuku]

Okay- I'll put in my 2 cents worth-

 

we've sailed X 4 times, RCCl 2 times, Princess once, Windstar once, Costa once and a couple others that I can't remember...probably for good reasons! We were on the Costa Atlantica in Dec. of 2002 so I may be a bit dated here.

 

It was an absolutely gorgeous ship!!! Because of their reasonable pricing we were able to afford an aft suite- fabulous stateroom, bathtub, etc- and a deck you could have had a three piece band on! Our butler was very young and almost appeared frightened of us yet we go out of our way to make people comfortable- I think he may have been new in the job and just concerned..

 

It was a different experience. First off, the passenger mix includes far more Europeans and in our case a fair amount of children although they were kept pretty busy (we cruised in early Dec- before U.S. kids were out of school but maybe not for Europe??). Our dinner companions were all Americans, I'm sure they make an effort to do that.

 

They appear to be a more "child friendly" cruise ship than others but then Europe (from our experience) tends to cater to children more than the U.S. An example of this is that a few cabins down the hall they had a large family with one balcony cabin and one inside cabin across the hall. They kept their stroller opened up in the hallway just about the entire cruise- which to some extent I can understand as it appeared they had three or four children in the inside room and parents/grandparents in the balcony cabin. We thought the stroller being out there was a bit of a safety hazard but it didn't seem to faze the crew at all so we just learned to walk around it and hope we had calm seas (which we did).

 

The announcements being in four languages didn't bother us. The number of announcements (after cruising X) did bother us but not enough to say I wouldn't cruise them again.

 

The food was- okay-- we're not big foodies and certainly didn't go hungry. If food was high on the list of priorities-- might not pick this line. If food is just part of your experience you'll be fine. If I remember correctly the entertainment was good. Since we cruised out of Fort Lauderdale the entertainment was all done in English and I could tell some of the passengers just didn't comprehend what was being said at the shows.

 

And- we did see more Europe style bathing attire- some women took their tops off at the main pool, etc. Again, we've traveled in Europe many times so it didn't bother us. I believe they do have an area set aside for topless bathing but those days for me are LONG gone so I'm not sure.

 

And I didn't find very much information on the boards either. I don't think the passenger base for Costa is big on cruise boards so.....that can be taken as a positive or a negative!

 

overall- yes, we'd cruise them again if the price/itinerary were what we wanted. Just be aware it's a bit of a different cruise experience-- for many it's a great way to get a taste of Europe without having to go there!

 

(and by the way- we chose to NOT particpate in the Toga party-- guess we're just not party animals!! Did go to dinner but didn't do the sheet deal...which was fine, no one made us uncomfortable. Actually- at one point our tablemate was within a heartbeat of having her toga come unwrapped.....which validated my decision!)

[rocktheboat]

Cruised on the Med in April. Ship and service were wonderful. Cabins were really a nice size. Food was not good. Since Costa has all these kid deals(kids free, kids $99) the ship was 40% adults and 60% children. Children were very wild. 90% of the people were Americans. There were not many announcements but muster drill was in five different languages.

Price was very cheap, we had a pana suite and paid 1100 pp.

Most Alantica reviews are very good, not so for the Med.

[Julie of the North]

My first and second cruise were on Costa, first in the Caribbean and then in Europe. We are booked on RCCL for April, 06. I have nothing to compare Costa to yet, however; they (Costa) must have done something right as I am now addicted to cruising.:)

[cjcruiser27]

How is Princess compared to RCI?

[klingoncruiser]

My brother has been on Costa twice. He thought the first one was fun, the food O.K. BUT his big draw back was the smoking. It was just awful. He did go back and do a second cruise. The smoking was just as bad. The number of people from europe seem to let the ship be very forgiving about the smoking, something the U.S. ships have become very sensitive to. My brother finally decided not to go back, there are just too many other choices out there. His report will keep me from Costa for a long time. Others who have been on them also have complained, unless they smoke then they found it a nice break. At some point I guess they will cut back on the smoke on Coasta.

 

I will try them one day, that way I will know for sure if I like or dislike the line. Seems that the Toga party is a real kick. He thought that was a wonderful idea.

[mafig]

Thank you all. You've given me alot of info to ponder.

 

What I'll probably do is wait for reviews on the Magica when she comes over here and does the Caribbean. We are booked on Caribbean Princess in April, but the itinerary is same ole, same ole; and the ship is not getting good reviews. We plan on doing Freedom in November. If we decide on Costa it will be in place of the Caribbean Princess.

 

 

 

Thanks again.:)

[newmexicoNita]

My brother has been on Costa twice. He thought the first one was fun, the food O.K. BUT his big draw back was the smoking. It was just awful. He did go back and do a second cruise. The smoking was just as bad. The number of people from europe seem to let the ship be very forgiving about the smoking, something the U.S. ships have become very sensitive to. My brother finally decided not to go back, there are just too many other choices out there. His report will keep me from Costa for a long time. Others who have been on them also have complained, unless they smoke then they found it a nice break. At some point I guess they will cut back on the smoke on Coasta.

 

I will try them one day, that way I will know for sure if I like or dislike the line. Seems that the Toga party is a real kick. He thought that was a wonderful idea.

I am sure costa will become less smoker friendly in the near future. We were in Europe a few months ago and amazed at how smoking has become less than the most popular habit for Europians. Gatwick airport has no smoking except in designated areas, which are few and far between with little if anyplace to sit; you just stand up if you need to have a puff! this was the same situation in Krakaw Poland. Very few of the younger people smoke in Poland. it appears the non smoking world is moving throughout the universe!!! NMNita

[schack2]

We sailed Costa 2x ...first was great, second was good, but not as great as the first but it was 8 yrs. after the first on Costa. We are already booked for the Costa Magica Bermuda trip. It will make our 18th cruise. We leave next Sat. for our first RCCL on the Jewel. We always have a great time.

 

The food is not what it was 20 years ago when we started cruising. We never found the service to be lacking.

[TxKroozer]

Sailed Costa many years ago and can only add the pizza bars were great. the additional pasta courses at dinner were nice. And like it was said in an earlier post, you have quite a bit of fun on the Toga nights. You sure learn many ways to tie a sheet around a body.

[driftychick]

As said previously, we have sailed many lines, we were not happy with out Costa Cruise and we loved our Princess cruise. The Costa Cruise's best points were the pots of call, we did not care much for the "attitude" of the crew and most folks that we sailed with were from Europe. One lady wore the exact same dress to every evening meal, at the end of 14 days we were glad to be at a different seating!