Overall the ship was pretty nice, but we had a suite room on the 8th deck rear corner with a huge balcony -- so we expected something nice.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
The food in the standard dining facilities was better than expected. The standard "service" restaurants had pretty good selections and made an effort to fulfill special requests. The buffet dining for breakfast and lunch had good good considering the service style, but the crowds were a bit much to deal with. The "premium" restaurant was terrible. While the ambience and service were nice, the selection was very limited. Plus, even though there were at most 10 people in the restaurant when we dined, they only cooked the fillet one way -- medium to medium-well. I could not believe it.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
Many activities were in Italian so we skipped them. This did not really bother us though.
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
As mentioned, our steward and wait staff were great. The rest of Costa personnel were average at best. Of course, this is an Italian cruise line mostly catering to Italians. So, speaking English only did not help.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
The public areas were very clean. The deck layout was a little annoying. It took a while to go the correct routes without being blocked. The pool areas were very crowded and noisy. I urge anybody travelling with Costa to get a room with a nice balcony so you can enjoy the weather in a quieter setting.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
We had a very nice room, but paid a premium price to get it. There was a bit more engine vibration in our room than I would have wished. Our steward was very thoughtful though.
We made a big mistake here and went on Costa's "sailing trip" to a private beach. It was terrible. The sail trip lasted 5 minutes and never left the port area. The beach was tiny and our tour had some really poorly behaved children (the parents apparently did not understand manners). That being said, the port area of Dubrovnik is very nice. Too bad we only had less than an hour to see it. I would like to try seeing it again.
To me, Rhodes was just like an average Caribbean Island with a built up downtown and typical beaches. We went to one beach, and it was nice, but not special. I would try to avoid it in the future, but we had fun. The old town area at the port was actually the most interesting place to visit.
Santorini personifies the Greek Isles to me (with Mykonos a close second). We went to a "black sand" beach to relax (most of these islands are volcanic). We then went to the old town above the port to shop. I wish we spent more time there though. Santorini and Mykonos were on the same day and 5 hours were spent travelling between the two stops.
The Olympian ruins were great and I think they are a "must see". We met some people who went to the beach near Katakolon and they said it was very fun with "Hawaii like" waves.
We did not get to Mykonos until 6p so we just walked around the port/town area and had a dinner over looking the bay. This was very fun though. Mykonos at night is really nice. I wish we had an itinerary that spent a whole day there (maybe 12p to 10p).
We did not do a tour and just walked around the city. It has an interesting castle, but is otherwise a boring stop. I would not choose a cruise again that wastes a day stopping here.
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