Costa Atlantica Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Costa Atlantica is a beautiful ship. Its decor has an old world ambiance yet it is truly a modern ship in all respects. The staff could not have been better. From the cabin steward, to the wait staff, everyone fell all over themselves to be friendly and accommodating. Ship cleanliness would be hard to top. It seemed that an attendant followed behind anyone who left the pool and dripped water away from poolside. All tables were cleaned almost at the moment they were finished in the buffet area, at poolside and the main dining rooms.Ray Rouse, the cruise director, was most outstanding. His high energy level and seeming involvement in all aspects of the social agenda was very impressive. He handled every responsibility that we saw with the utmost professionalism.We felt the service in the dining room was excellent, while the food was just above average. Several dishes, notably the fish, were less than hoped for. All of the shore excursions, and in fact every single event we had anything to do with, went exactly as expected. Absolutely nothing was late, arrivals, departures, excursions --- nothing. Lines were reasonable at all times.The ship?s captain was impressive, providing all of his talks fluently in five languages. This comment leads to the feeling aboard ship of being in a more international setting than we have experienced on other ships. The travelers seemed to be more international and with many events being delivered in 5 languages it was an exposure we actually enjoyed despite the additional time it took.On the downside, we did experience the rudeness of some travelers, some of whom seem to have the idea that they should not be subject to waiting in a line like everybody else. We personally found this to be true on more than one occasion. Also, I don't know if is the ship policy regarding smoking or that Europeans do actually smoke more, but if smoking is a problem for you, be aware that more open areas seem to be smoking friendly than we have experienced elsewhere. Standing, waiting for an elevator, one is subject to smokers who douse their cigarette just before getting on the elevator.Our room with a balcony is the nicest room we have had on a cruise. Previous rooms with just a window are not even close. We felt like we had another whole room with the balcony, plus the fabulous view.We used the workout area 5 of the 7 days on the cruise and found the entire gym/spa area to be outstanding. Located high in the front of the ship provided a nice view while getting rid of Italian wine on the treadmill.A relative downside for us was the bands and entertainment. Van Pressley, of the Platters family, put on an excellent performance but after that we felt it was downhill from there. Perhaps the shows and bands were more appealing to the Europeans but to me the shows looked like extravaganzas with much dancing and lip synch music from the dancers/chorus. Pretty costumes, but a big yawn for me.The bands also did not seem in tune with our desires. Far too much Latin and ballroom dancing at every dancing venue with little rock and roll or swing type music. It wasn't as if the dance floors were full of ballroom dancers either, there were as many or more who danced to the rock and role and swing music when it was played.A terrific area of the ship is the Cafe Florian, copied after one of the same name in Venice. It featured a wonderful violin/piano duet. This was a great place for an after dinner drink and to relax to Straus favorites.Departure from the ship went like clockwork, while embarkation seemed to take longer than one might hope. Get there early to enjoy the beginning few hours on board before the ship departs.

The Costa Atlantica is a beautiful ship. We sailed the week of Feb. 9 to San Jose, St. Thomas, Nassau and the Dominican Republic. We traveled with our daughter, she's 11, who highly rated the kids programs. Actually, she prefered Costa to Disney! I was pretty surprised by this but she said Disney didn't have as much to do for her age group.Embarkation was not as smooth as Disney's and their terminal is not as nice, but once we were finally on board, the ship was beautifully laid-out. Also, we liked the laid-back atmosphere on the ship. I would highly recommend purchasing the children's drink coupon book (available at the bars only, and you have to ask) - she drank alcohol-free pina colodas and fruit smoothies all week, even at meals, without any problems. The nightly entertainment was a little too "Vegas" for our taste and this was the only area we felt could really use some improvement. Also the theater was poorly laid-out, with many obstruced views, so if you want to actually see the show, go early to get a good seat. The food was good and the dessert buffet at midnight is not to be missed - I think they actually saved all the best pastries for this buffet. The gym was great and I found I had the sauna to myself on several occasions which was extremely relaxing.Our room needed a little extra attention when we arrived, but our room steward took care of everything we asked for before our first night. We did not get to see much of the Dominican Republic and if we had to do it again we would have skipped the afternoon on their island - which was just average - and spent our time exploring the port.Overall, it was a great vacation. We loved San Juan and St. Thomas and the international feel on the Atlantica is a unique experience that many of the passengers enjoyed. We found most of the crew friendly and helpful and our dinner companions were extremly nice - which always makes the cruise a little nicer.

Overall, had a wonderful experience. Have previously sailed on Carnival, RCI and NCL. Embarkation was long, about 2 1/2 hours, but Costa said it was due to immigration services. After that, there were no other significant issues. I loved the food, especially the diversity ... Italian, French, German, American, etc. Every meal had the best Italian rolls with real butter and a cheese tray to match. The cabin steward and dining room service were excellent. Anything I asked for was quickly acquired (extra pillows, more ice, extra rolls, etc.). There were 5 of us, mom and dad (in there young 70's), my wife and I (40 something) and my teenage daughter (13). We all loved the Atlantica. The negatives were the embarkation, the entertainment, and the in-room TV. As much as I liked the idea of being on a European ship (with staff and food to match), I just couldn't get in to the nightly shows. My parents liked 3 of the 5 shows they watched. My daughter didn't like any (it's just not for kids). Costa did apologize for a satellite problem they were having with the TV, but I didn't understand why they could get a Italian and German channel, but only one or two American channels on the last few days of the cruise. As I read from other folks, the last night on the ship is toga night and is not to be missed. Just relax and put on your bed sheets (which they provide) and have a great time.

This was our 5th cruise but 1st time on Costa. We booked an outside cabin with a Veranda, choosing carefully to avoid one which was obstructed by the lifeboats. We had Cabin #5249 on the I Clowns deck. It was a nice-sized cabin with a Queen size bed, sofa, lots of storage space and a small veranda with two chairs. All our suitcases fit under the bed which helped with storage. The bathroom was a reasonable size with lots of shelves and a good size shower with wonderful water pressure. We thought the ship was absolutely spectacular! The Costa Atlantica had many well-designed public rooms and each seemed perfect for its purpose. I noticed that the sound-proofing was very well done because as we walked from one room featuring classical music, and walked into the next room with popular music playing, you could not hear what was going on in the next room. The Atrium lobby is just beautiful and features a piano bar in the center. Cafe Florian, which is an exact replica of a cafe in Venice dating back to the 1700's, was beautiful and quite unique as far as the usual cruise ship public rooms go. It featured classical music from Viennese Waltzes to Opera each night. The Madame Butterfly Lounge was also quite beautiful. Each stairwell features Murano glass vases in a display area and there is a separate brochure which details all the artwork on the ship. Entertainment was somewhat weak except for Richard Ianni and the Everything Italian production show. Don't miss the Toga Night show on the final evening. It was WONDERFUL!! And it was so much fun to see the majority of the people dressed in togas at dinner and at the show. Contrary to other postings we found the food in the dining room AND buffet to be quite good, including the desserts. We also had very good service in the dining room. There have been negative comments on various cruise boards about the passengers on the Costa ships which in the Caribbean are about 75% American and 25% European. (In the Med, the percentages tend to be reversed.) Some people have complained that the European passengers are rude. We did not find that to be the case at all. In fact, we witnessed more rude behavior from our fellow Americans! Yes, some announcements are made in 5 different languages. The only time that was irritating was during the fire drills when we were already restless after having been lined up in our life vests for over a half hour and then had to endure the entire drill given in 5 languages ? however, we can all appreciate the importance of the information. We skipped Bingo since that also were delivered in 5 languages. I overheard some Americans complaining that they encountered other passengers ?who could only speak a few sentences in broken English?. I found that quite ironice through, since most Americans can?t even speak ONE WORD in another language, so what is the complaint?! The assistant cruise director went from English, to Italian, to French, to German, and to Spanish without blinking an eyelash and sounding superbly fluent in each language. I was also very impressed with the command of English of several of the European passengers. We felt the mix of passengers added a certain exotic flair to our cruise.We loved the beauty of the Costa Atlantica, her art and variety of music. Toga night was an absolute standout with Italian Night coming in a close second. On Italian Night in the Tiziano dining room, Italian music starts to play and the waiters and their assistants dance around the room with the lady passengers. Then a conga line forms and everyone dances around the room. Later, there are booths offering games, face painting and bocce ball. On the last night, the usual parade of Baked Alaskas took place and everyone agreed that it was the best Baked Alaska that they had ever tasted on a cruise ship.

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.

We have been cruising at least once per year for the past twelve years. This was our first time on board a Costa ship. The Atlantica was beautiful. All services were exceptionally good. Our balcony cabin was tastefully decorated and quite spacious. Meals were better than some of the other cruises with adequate selections. Disembarkation procedure was excellent. The only area that needed improvement was the waiting for embarkation. Passengers had to sit around the dock waiting room for more than two hours with neither entertainment nor complimentary food/beverage service.Overall, it was a good cruise and we will probably return to Costa in the near future.

I traveled to the Eastern Caribbean on the Costa Atlantica Christmas cruise. The embarkation ran very smoothly and well. I had a balcony cabin on Roma deck. It was very nice, although if you are with three people you loose your couch. The bathrooms were very large with many shelves.Dining: The food was very Italian but the service was horrible. Our table was even close to the escalator for the kitchen.Lounges: The rooms on this ship were very similar to Carnival Cruises (due to the same designer).

This boat is fabulous! The whole Costa atmosphere was still the same. Everything was great from the service to our cabin. All the staff was attentive and friendly. There were lots of children on our sailing and the staff managed to keep them occupied. The food and entertainment exceeded my expectations. I didn't see one unhappy person on the ship. One thing I really liked was that all the resturants, bars and shops were all on the lower decks. It was easy to find a chair on the sun deck, even at a day at sea. I have already booked a cruise on the Victoria for January. Costa offers a generous amount of luxury and entertainment for all. If really want a lot of bang for your buck, go on this ship!!!!

Mytravelco.com Cruise Agent writes: Two clients just came back from the Atlantica on April 1 and said the staff was great except the reception desk where the staff didn't speak very good English. (The deck 2 service desk is the one they had problems with.) Smokers were put in an area off the main dining room though there were plenty of windows. The dining staff was competent (though she said they were lucky as they felt they had the better waiters). They are seniors and the fact the cabin doors were hard to open and had no lever to hold the door open made it difficult to enter the room at times. There were no announcements available in the cabin so they felt they were missing out on some of the things going on. They cruised in cabin #8244 a balcony cabin. Fairly roomy - no complaints there. Even though I reserved wheelchairs it was quite a free for all onboard. Disembarkation and tour explanations were primarily found on the daily newsletter but the clients felt a larger in person explanation would have been useful. There were 46 French passengers aboard, 164 Germans, 116 Italians. They had a sign up that said the ship was sold out and not to ask for upgrades. (This is standard practice though.) This means about 3/4 or more were American passengers and so the bother of listening to announcements in 5 languages seemed unwarranted. Client feels she gave Costa a good opportunity going on their best ship but felt it was not magical. Client has cruised 7 times previously so she is no newcomer. Husband was not feeling well so didn't have the opportunity to really experience the ship so I have no comments to offer from him as he mostly enjoyed the balcony stateroom. Client feels room was worth the money but the cruise line is not a fit for their current cruise needs. She says she much enjoyed the Costa Riviera over the Atlantica believe it or not. I have been working with this client for 6 months or so and she is even tempered for sure. I am writing this down at her request because she does not have internet access and wanted to make these remarks available to others for better or worse.

What a beautiful ship, and what a relaxing trip it was. But one has to put up with rude cruisers and disorganization on excursions.There was great food in the dining room, but it lacked flavor, and the buffets were bogus. Room size and other accommodations were great and roomy. Did I mention rude cruisers? Service in the dining room was inconsistant, sometimes great and sometimes very slow. My wife and I went with the idea to have a great time and we did, even with things like they were. Hey you pay your money and have to make the best of it. It was a great ship, but will be my last time on Costa, sorry to say.