CS3 Cruise Review on Costa Atlantica on

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 6

Review summary

Just returned from the Caribbean leg of a Costa Atlantica cruise outing... in one wordPATHETIC.Although the ports of call were nice (we visited San Juan, St. Thomas, Catalina and Nassau)..the overall attitude of the staff, the food, and the hospitality all rank up there in the "I ACTUALLY paid for this?" category.The staff was mostly unfriendly, and did not know the ship well (directions around the ship were nearly impossible to get). Customer service was like dealing with Betty Lou and Ed down at the Dairy mart..one would turn to the other and mumble something incomprehensible and kinda give ya a dumb look. The crew/staff was made up of probably 85% Chinese who didn't speak or understand English hardly at all. Strange for an ITALIAN cruise ship. Most of them did not look happy to be there. The meals were for the most part unimpressive...the baked potatos were microwaved, and the "Italian" menu was more like Shoneys. The desserts were 50-50..some looked good, some looked like they had been thrown together on an Easy-Bake set.The TV programming was pitiful..4 Latin stations in Spanish, one network channel out of Tennessee (yeeeeehawwww..pass the grits honey) 4 movie channels, 3 of which were in foreign languages..(foreign meaning 75% of the passengers on board were ENGLISH) and 2 channels of LATIN music.If you like dancing to Latin music the whole cruise, then by all means, visit the disco on board. They acted like no one had ever heard of top 40 music. The piano player in the main atrium was like a Bad Perry Como dream...dude..get a clue.The theater presentations and shows were pretty good..but how many times can you sit thru the same nonsense? The staff handling the kids program did a remarkable job, and were great with the children. The ship was also beautiful..the fit, finish, and decorations were first rate.Also, the dress attire was mostly casual...people dressed up in the dinner hours, but later in the night, many could be seen in T-shirts, hats, etc. Nice if you are a business professional tired of being in a suite everyday.Those last three things save the Atlantica from getting a ZERO stars rating. Look elsewhere if you don't have kids, want good food, and aren't impressed by a ships decor.