It wasn't the most exciting cruise - or ship - I have been on, but it was excellent value for money and the things that mattered most, such as food, cleanliness and of course itinerary, were very good.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
We embarked in Barcelona, and the queues were very short to get on board. After boarding, we went for lunch (paella time!) and the cabins were ready immediately after.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
We were lucky enough to get first seating in the dining room - 6.45pm - which meant we ate in the dining room every evening. We were allocated to Otto and Mezzo restaurant on deck three. Four course plus cheese course if desired, and very good quality. Our server Rhoda was excellent, and kept the food and wine flowing! We usually ate breakfast in the Il Gattopardo Restaurant, and again the food was very good, although the service was a bit hit and miss. We also ate lunch in the restaurant on the one sea day - service was very slow. The buffet was badly designed, since you had to queue in a long line and couldn't really see the food offerings before you queued! The quality though was very good.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
We only had one sea day, so didn't have much time to use all the facilities, but they were usually quite busy. Hardly surprising though on a booked out cruise with lots of families on board.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
It wasn't massively exciting to be honest, but there was a tenor one evening that we enjoyed, other things weren't great. But it was geared to an Italian audience so that is fair enough. There was pleasant enough music to be found in the evening.
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
Our room steward and server in the restaurant were great and a real asset to Costa. A few of the bar servers were also very friendly, but outside of this there wasn't a particularly friendly vibe.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
The ship was very clean and well maintained, no complaints.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
We were pleasantly surprised by how spacious the cabin was. Plenty of room for the two of us, although the bathroom was small of course. Very well kept by Elias, who looked after us well.
We embarked in Barcelona, but had stayed the night before. I love wandering around Barcelona, full of hidden nooks and crannies, but it seemed busier than ever, especially at night time.
Naples is one busy city(!) so we took the funicular and had a wander round the higher ground. We took our time walking back down until we emerged into the madness again. It is a fabulous city that we have visited before, but the traffic will wear you down.
We have visited before, so wandered around with no set plan. It is a great place to find something interesting and unexpected. We hopped on the local tourist bus at one point and just jumped off when we saw something we hadn't visited before. Traffic around the port is very busy.
We hadn't visited Ibiza before, so we took a bus into the town and explored on our own. The fort and the old town are well worth a visit. We got the boat shuttle back to the ship (€4 return if I remember correctly). We were docked until four in the morning, so after dinner we walked back to to the town, as it was cool enough to do so, and had a drink overlooking the water. It was very busy, but not manic. We got the boat shuttle back to the ship, bobbing along in the pitch black! Unusual experience.
My favourite port. We took a bus into the town and took it easy wandering about, as it was busy and hot - Palma is a lovely place to have a wander. We tried and failed to go into the Cathedral twice, as we didn't want to be queuing too long, so we explored instead. Nice streets, nice wine, nice coffee.
We only had hand luggage so we stayed on the ship as late as we felt comfortable. We were able to leave our bags in the Casino while we had breakfast and wandered around for the last time.
*Cruiseline.com is not a booking agent or travel agency,
and does not charge any service fees to users of our site. Our partners
(travel agencies and cruise lines) provide prices, which we list for our
users' convenience. Cruiseline.com does not guarantee any specific rates or
prices. While prices are updated daily, please check with the booking site
for the exact amount. Cruiseline.com is not responsible for content on
external web sites.
Contact us
Submitting...
Need help from a personal vacation planner?
Loading...
Find the perfect cruise with weekly tips and cruise deals for as little as $30/night!
Sign up for weekly cruise deals
Join other subscribers and get the best
cruise deals of the week in your inbox every Thursday.
