They do not care about customer service

Item: Costa Diadema
Rating: 2.8
Author: costareview

Costa Diadema Cruise Review to Europe - Western Mediterranean

costareview

Contributor Level: Deck Hand

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 10

Overall rating:

2.8 out of 5

7 Night Western Mediterranean (Rome Roundtrip)

Sail date: August 04, 2017

Ship: Costa Diadema

Cabin type: Inside

Traveled as: Singles/Friends

Reviewed: 7 years ago

Review summary

I wanted to take my mom on a cruise for her upcoming 65th birthday as she loves cruises and they're usually the best way to relax and visit so many different countries/places. We have cruised before with Norwegian Cruise Lines and I have cruised myself several times with Carnival, but as she lives in Bosnia and Herzegovina now, the closest and the best cruise that worked for the dates I was visiting her was Costa Diadema 7 day cruise out of Civitavecchia. Unfortunately, this wasn't such a great birthday cruise trip for her and it was super disappointing for me also who had paid and planned this for her knowing she loves cruises so much. Especially if it's your first time cruising, by all means, please choose a different cruise company, as they simply don't care for customer service or to resolve any issues you will have on the cruise. I have so many details of interactions with guest services/reception, waiters and so much miscommunication and misguidance on their part, but the dining experience was really what every night frustrated us and took away from the whole cruise experience and even the quality of food that was actually pretty good. Costa doesn't compare to other cruise lines. It’s ironic that I never received a satisfaction survey email from Costa even though I signed up to receive it, but at the same time speaks to how much they (don’t) care about customer service or opinion. All in all, not a super welcoming or friendly type of cruise, but its destinations, food, and dancing activities boost it up to average.

Embarkation

3 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

I noticed right away that on our Costa cards there was a designation of WaterUSA, so to our surprise this meant that you could only get water for free, without being charged, while you were at the restaurant/buffet during breakfast, lunch or dinner hours. Otherwise, they charged for a glass/bottle of water. Same goes for juices, which were only available during the breakfast hours. This was our very first shocker. The quality of food onboard was pretty good.

Onboard Activities

2 out of 5

Entertainment

4 out of 5

Entertainment crew was great, so luckily at least we were able to relax and enjoy the evening dance events with them. They were very energetic, funny, and friendly. The highlight of our cruise was dancing with them.

Service and Staff

1 out of 5

Where do I begin... Dinner experience was horrendous. You are assigned to a restaurant at a specific time, so you have to go there during the assigned time, otherwise you would need to go to the buffet. Food quality was good, but the dining experience every time, except for the last night was horrendous. All sorts of miscommunication or lack of communication was happening throughout our cruise experience. They simply do not care about customer service and almost all the waiters and even some guest services staff really act like they just want to get rid off you and like they hate that you're on this cruise and they have to be working. That was the overall impression.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5