Wonderful cruise. The passengers were mainly French, German & Italian. Only a handful of English speakers. We were in a French group of 500 or so, which was lovely.
Costa were generous on-board: we had a French evening with cake and Prosecco to celebrate Bastille day & all the passengers were invited to a sumptuous midnight buffet.
This has been our favourite cruise so far & the food beats the other companies we have been on.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Port changed from Amsterdam to IJmuiden, but Costa provided free shuttle bus for the departure.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
The buffet was good, but the queues were slow. Self service & food islands would be much quicker.
The mdr was fantastic. The food here was the best we've ever had on a cruise. The staff are lovely.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Need more activities for passengers under 70. Limited places for dancing (pop rock, disco). Not a silent disco fan.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
Poor. Aimed at a much older population.
Children's Programs
4 out of 5
The teens' clubs (kids aged 12 and 14) started from 9pm. No reserved area for them.
There were teens activities organised each afternoon, but not advertised in the daily planners. Our kids found out from the kids club.
The toboggan was great, but is was shut in the freezing weather.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
Lovely staff everywhere.
The excursions organised were very expensive & were total chaos. Too many delays waiting on the ship.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Lovely window cabin. Big enough to swing a cat in.
Ship tip
Lovely ship (despite the entertainment, we did manage to find places to our liking). We would definitely choose Favolosa again. The mdr food is devine. Get a drinks package when you buy your cruise, we didn't and regretted our choice.
The only big grumble we have was concerning the ship's excursions. Dreadful organisation, poor choice & overpriced.
OK. Nice fields & cows. Kirkwall is pretty. Western Scotland & Glencoe is so much prettier. We would have preferred the Faroe islands.
We did an excursion to a neolithic village, which was interesting & was worth the visit.
Beautiful. We did an excursion "jewels of the north" with the main tourist haunts. I have forgotten the names, but the scenary was unforgettable (tectonic plates, hot pools etc).
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