Racist Italians on board the Costa

Costa neoClassica Cruise Review to Asia & Indian Ocean

jingahr

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 73

Overall rating:

2.2 out of 5

Maldives, Sri Lanka, India

Sail date: December 16, 2017

Ship: Costa neoClassica

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: 7056

Traveled as: Family (young children)

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

Overall Costa Cruise left a bad taste in mouth due to unpleasant encounters from Italian passengers and crew. Everything else is fine.

Embarkation

2 out of 5

Crowded but fine,

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

1 out of 5

Tivoli restaurant was racist, no seats served for those from India,. But the Italians got reserved seats !!??

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Dancing on ship was fine

Entertainment

1 out of 5

Indians ladies wearing pants for swimming not allowed, The Italian and Philippine racist crew staff came multiple time to throw them out of he pool and Jacuzzi. Cmon, everybody cannot go swimming naked and in 2 pieces , that way the Ship is not sensitive to Indian culture. Racist Italians i felt,

Children's Programs

1 out of 5

Children were shouted at by the Italian folks in the pool - 'Stop splashing water around on my face!!' What did you expect in a pool !!

Service and Staff

1 out of 5

Staff and Crew was mostly ok, except for few folks like there was this Filipino lady who was specifically rude towards Indians, and Italian crew guy was harsh with most Indians. They need to be more sensitized to the Indian culture and politeness. Crew in general was just shouting especially to Indians , maybe a cultural barrier.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

Clean ship, good design , Tivoli restaurant was awesome !

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

Cozy room

Ship tip

Indian and on ship? Here are few tips: Wear 2 piece swim costume Children dont splash in pool Children dont shout in room Just obey the Italians and fall in line Be ready for some harsh cultural shocks and rude behaviour from Italian folks on ship You might not get a reserved table in Tivoli (only Italians get) American ships are much better and less racist

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Male, Maldives

4 out of 5

Not bad all

Thumbs Up 1

Kochi, India

3 out of 5

Crowded but fine.

Thumbs Up 1

Disembarkation

1 out of 5

Again , an Italian lady shouted at us for missing the first boat :( as usual racist Folks .

12 Comments

cruisellama 5 years ago

Thanks

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Joball 6 years ago

Sorry but swimming in anything but a swimming suit is unhygenic and you will get asked to leave in alot of places- not just this cruise. Disneyworld prohibits it as does everywhere in France.

I'm not sure why you believe a cruise should bend to your culture? surely travelling to other places you change to fit the culture of the place you are going to???Not the other way around

By the way I am muslim from Iraq.

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jingahr 6 years ago

well , i just wrote it how i felt it like. I will never do a Costa again . Will go for American cruise lines + other country cruise lines, not Italian anymore .. sorry .. my personal choice based on my experience at Costa.

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drsel 6 years ago

Sasikala, another Indian on the very same cruise, gave glowing tributes to the entire crew. He said "they were POLITE, CO-OPERATIVE & HELPFUL. Hats off to them"

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rgbenning 6 years ago

Some people just play the race card to explain everything that happens to them or around them. I am not saying that this person is lying, I was not there. The race card is played so much now days that it is getting to the point were most people just roll the eyes and and ignore the accusations. That us too bad that the abuse of the race card is leading people to ignore legitimate race discrimination complaints.

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CoachD 6 years ago

As a black male in the electrical union from Chicago, I have seen racism in many different forms. After being on two cruises and looking forward to my third, I have never seen or experienced any racist behavior from the staff.. Wasn't there on board with you, yes racism comes in many forms from many different people, but I'm sure if you spoke with someone the situation would have been rectified. Now if you was spouting off about how much you love or hate Donald Trump, then hey, you get what you get.. Lol

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drsel 6 years ago

Tables are reserved only for those who have chosen Fixed time dining. It's not possible to reserve tables for any time dining passengers. Even in India, a proper swimming costume is a must for EVERYONE entering a swimming pool in any 5 star hotel, anywhere in India

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BonMike 6 years ago

Why did you think that not being able to get a reservation in the Rivoli restaurant was racist? There may have been other reasons, if you had asked. Children should not shout in the room no matter what nationality they are. It's rude and inconsiderate to disturb your neighbours by shouting. What you have called rude and harsh cultural shocks could be experienced by anyone visiting another country where customs and traditions are very different. Why did you think the lady who spoke to you loudly for missing the boat was racist? I wasn't there to see any of this, but I wonder if you mentioned your concerns to the guest services desk or asked to speak to a supervisor when you felt you were experiencing racism. This is the first I have ever read of racism being an issue on a ship where the crew is made up of people from all over the world. Hopefully another guest from this cruise will also post a review to share their experiences.

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drsel 6 years ago

Dear jinga, 1) Kindly elaborate on the RACIST unfriendly attitude towards Indians.(a lot of staff are Indian ) 2) Is the food bland Italian pasta & spaghetti or frozen & re-heated, as some have mentioned earlier? 3) How bad was the rocking? 4) Did they force you to pay the COMPULSORY Euro 10 service charge per person per day or could you tip as you please? 5) Were the evening/night shows of Broadway or Las Vegas standard (like Celebrity, RCI) or much inferior? 6) What per cent of nights had GRAND SHOWS, or were the shows held each & every night? 7) Besides shows, what were the other organized ACTIVITIES, lectures, classes, games & programs? 8) How was the FOOD in the buffet v/s the main dining room? Thanks!

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drsel 6 years ago

Were there GRAND shows every night? Were the shows of Broadway or las Vegas standard?

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BDRebel 6 years ago

Generally, when someone throws the racist card, it raises a red flag in my head. I'm not saying it didn't happen, but I find it odd that a cruise line would allow it's crew to behave in such a manner.

My question is -- did the crew treat all Indian passengers the same way, or were you and your family, who happen to be Indian, treated this way?

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jingahr 6 years ago

Racist Italians, so the fun of the ship was taken out. Crew was nice and polite mostly, but the Italians on board the ship was totally rude and hated children.

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