Beware of this cruiseline and this cruise

Costa Mediterranea Cruise Review to Europe - Mediterranean

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 39

Overall rating:

2 out of 5
Costa Mediterranea

7 Night Italy & Adriatic (Savona To Trieste)

Sail date: March 19, 2016

Ship: Costa Mediterranea

Cabin type: Balcony

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

First I would like to say I called the Costa Cruise line several times prior to booking to be sure, that as a Orthopedic, Chronic Pain and Cardiac Handicapped person, I could get from where the ship docks to the front of the port.  They assured me .....no problem they supply intraport buses. 
When I got to Olympia, Greece. I disimbarked and asked where to wait for the port transport.  "sit right there, they come every 20-30 minutes"  and 1 hour and 45 minutes.later, I made my way back to where I disembarked and asked the employee at that station a tall man from India (name tag), when and where were the buses.   He looked me up and down, "you look like you could use a walk, it is 2 kilometers to the front of the port". 
I was in shorts. My long scars on both legs, the 1 inch shorter left leg were visible. He couldn't see the heart failure which wasn't well controlled by medications in a situation where there is uncontrolled salt in the food and this particular heart failure is best treated by transplant which I don't want to do.  My legs were swollen, I was obviously diaphoretic and short of breath.  Who was he to tell me "you could use a walk'. I missed this port entirely.  I swam instead in the ship pool, grateful not to have body to body contact as usually happened after 9am. 
Hot water, Tea and Coffee were only available at Breakfast and 'Tea Time" unless you purchased a special beverage package for Hot Water.  What a stupid issue to anger the passengers over......the hot water is a by product of the engines being on, which they always were. 
Food was terrible and took 2 hours and 30 minutes most nights in the main dining.  The Sugar Free dessert option were Excellent on a consistent basis. Those Chefs should really write a Diabetic Dessert Cookbook. We asked several times if we get in and out in an hour.....we were told to go to the buffett. But I can't carry plates and walk as I need to steady myself on something. 
The cabin was quite worn. Light switches had gouges out of it exposing what looked like cork.  The balcony was rusted in many areas with the metal separating. I was afraid.
Entertainment.  The Acrobats and Magician were really good.  The Costa Cruise dancers and 2 singers that performed the other nights were okay if it was 1 performance. They did the same hip hop dance style every night just in different costumes. 
I have been on 25 cruises........this is probably the worst service. The best part was the 7 ports of call, though once you got there Split Croatia an  improvished port hat didn't have anything to offer, other than a bus rides viewing hanging laundry. It was also Easter.  I was hoping for a Sunrise service. The only services were for Catholics and they were at Midnight and 5 pm on Easter Day. 
They have an option to send 1 email at 20 cents Euro/ minute.  What they didn't tell 
you was that it took 16 minutes to send a 1 paragraph email and though we asked several times first if there were any other charges they billed  a $6. nondisclosed registration fee.  I took the Internet brochure to the front desk and showed them there was no disclosure about this $6. registration fee.  The guy said too bad you have to pay it. It cost $9. to send a 1 paragraph email.  It would have been better to wait for a port with a McDonalds and buy coffee and send from there. 

 

 

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

1 out of 5

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Service and Staff

1 out of 5

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5
First I would like to say I called the Costa Cruise line several times prior to booking to be sure, that as a Orthopedic, Chronic Pain and Cardiac Handicapped person, I could get from where the ship docks to the front of the port. They assured me .....no problem they supply intraport buses. When I got to Olympia, Greece. I disimbarked and asked where to wait for the port transport. "sit right there, they come every 20-30 minutes" and 1 hour and 45 minutes.later, I made my way back to where I disembarked and asked the employee at that station a tall man from India (name tag), when and where were the buses. He looked me up and down, "you look like you could use a walk, it is 2 kilometers to the front of the port". I was in shorts. My long scars on both legs, the 1 inch shorter left leg were visible. He couldn't see the heart failure which wasn't well controlled by medications in a situation where there is uncontrolled salt in the food and this particular heart failure is best treated by transplant which I don't want to do. My legs were swollen, I was obviously diaphoretic and short of breath. Who was he to tell me "you could use a walk'. I missed this port entirely. I swam instead in the ship pool, grateful not to have body to body contact as usually happened after 9am. Hot water, Tea and Coffee were only available at Breakfast and 'Tea Time" unless you purchased a special beverage package for Hot Water. What a stupid issue to anger the passengers over......the hot water is a by product of the engines being on, which they always were. Food was terrible and took 2 hours and 30 minutes most nights in the main dining. The Sugar Free dessert option were Excellent on a consistent basis. Those Chefs should really write a Diabetic Dessert Cookbook. We asked several times if we get in and out in an hour.....we were told to go to the buffett. But I can't carry plates and walk as I need to steady myself on something. The cabin was quite worn. Light switches had gouges out of it exposing what looked like cork. The balcony was rusted in many areas with the metal separating. I was afraid. Entertainment. The Acrobats and Magician were really good. The Costa Cruise dancers and 2 singers that performed the other nights were okay if it was 1 performance. They did the same hip hop dance style every night just in different costumes. I have been on 25 cruises........this is probably the worst service. The best part was the 7 ports of call, though once you got there Split Croatia an improvished port hat didn't have anything to offer, other than a bus rides viewing hanging laundry. It was also Easter. I was hoping for a Sunrise service. The only services were for Catholics and they were at Midnight and 5 pm on Easter Day. They have an option to send 1 email at 20 cents Euro/ minute. What they didn't tell you was that it took 16 minutes to send a 1 paragraph email and though we asked several times first if there were any other charges they billed a $6. nondisclosed registration fee. I took the Internet brochure to the front desk and showed them there was no disclosure about this $6. registration fee. The guy said too bad you have to pay it. It cost $9. to send a 1 paragraph email. It would have been better to wait for a port with a McDonalds and buy coffee and send from there.

Ship tip

Use another Cruise line

Ports of call

Katakolon (Olympia), Greece

1 out of 5
NO HANDICAPPED TRANSPORT INTRAPORT........YOU CAN'T GET TO THE FRONT OF THE PORT IT IS 2 KILOMETERS AWAY.

Corfu, Greece

5 out of 5

Dubrovnik, Croatia

5 out of 5

Venice, Italy

5 out of 5

Trieste, Italy

3 out of 5
Was this review helpful? 39

3 Comments

cruisellama    5 years ago

meyabbo    8 years ago

Didn't you go see Diocletians Palace in Split?! It was fabulous! Costa is a European cruise line and Europeans typically linger for 2-3 hours over dinner...one of the things I enjoy about Europe. I liked that ship, although your mobility issues must make many aspects much more difficult.

bubblicious79    8 years ago

I'm sorry you had to go through that and I pray that your health condition improves.