Costa vs Princess

[Contessa30]

Hello:

My husband and I are considering sailing Costa to the carribbean. We have sailed many times, but always on Princess. We were wondering how the cruise lines compare. Any comments?

Thanks!

[zenworks911]

Major differences between these two lines. Been on them both. Here are a few:

 

Princess Advantages

Better food B+/A-

Better food service in Dining Room

Movies Under the Stars

American passengers generally in better mood

Better tenders

Best bar service and drink prices

 

Princess Disadvantages

More popular

Feels crowded

More advertising (wine, pop, art, etc)

More expensive (about 33% more than Costa in general)

 

Princess Cultural Differences

Very American Style entertainment (Pseudo Game shows, etc)

 

Costa Advantages

Lots of Dancing opportunities

Budget friendly cruise to be sure ($2000 for 2 people with air from msp and inside stateroom)

Less advertising

 

Costa Disadvantages

Food is B- to A-. If food is a highlight, you may want a diff cruiseline

Dining room service is best suited for the patient cruiser

Some american cruisers who weren't sure what to expect seemed disappointed.

 

Costa Cultural Differences

Expect passengers to entertain themselves more at night, not many gimmicy game shows and stuff, mostly casual ballroom dancing.

More international - Lots of different languages on board

Possibly a bit more smoking, but rooms are fine and smoke-free

 

Bottom line: We like to dance so Costa is #1. Princess is #1 in our book for most things other than that besides price and the crowded feel.

[Contessa30]

Thanks - this was very helpful!

[Paul&Kathy]

We have 3 Princess cruises and about to take our 3rd Costa and agree with everything Zenworks said. I would add that you should check out the particular Costa ship you are considering. The Concordia is very similar in size and layout to the Princess Grand Class. The Allegra is a little old converted car ferry - but did a fantastic itinerary around the Far East.

 

Costa do a fantastic job of doing everything in 5 languages - menus, daily newspapers and announcements (yes you even have to listen to lifeboat drill 5 times over !) so if that woud annoy you Costa may not be for you.

 

The Caribbean may be different, but in Europe or Asia you should expect English speakers to be the minority (on the Concordia we were about 250 out of 3,000+) Although the staff all try their very best to communicate with you in the right language and sit you in the restaurant with fellow-speakers you do miss out on a lot of interaction with other guests. Of course, if you are trying to learn a European language it is a great experience, you can't help but pick up a few words.

 

Some people have an issue with other guests. They are not rude, but many Europeans (not including us Brits I must add !) just do not line up/queue for anything. So if you want to eat at the buffet/get on the shuttle bus/speak to the purser or whatever, you have to be prepared to use your elbows and shout. It is a different culture, that's all, and (I think) all the more of an "experience" for it, if that is what you are looking for. However, if you just want to try another cruise line then there are many options in the Caribbean that would be less of a culture shock than Costa.

[Contessa30]

Thank you so much!

[burny]

Major differences between these two lines. Been on them both. Here are a few:

 

Princess Advantages

American passengers generally in better mood

:confused::confused::confused: What ever do you mean by that?????

[zenworks911]

Major differences between these two lines. Been on them both. Here are a few:

 

Princess Advantages

American passengers generally in better mood

 

:confused::confused::confused: What ever do you mean by that?????

 

 

 

:) It was just one of those weird things. It seemed like there were a lot of people on Costa that had been on previous Carribean cruises on RCL, Princess, etc. who really seemed disappointed in the experiences on Costa. If you read the member reviews I think you will get the idea. For the price of their cruises though, I personally think they are pretty hard to beat for what you get.

 

Just what I observed,