Great locations, but poor access

Item: Costa Serena
Rating: 3
Author: ChrisG7

Costa Serena Cruise Review to Europe - Eastern Mediterranean

ChrisG7

Contributor Level: Deck Hand

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Reviews: 0

Helpful Votes: 7

Overall rating:

3 out of 5

Sail date: August 01, 2010

Ship: Costa Serena

Cabin type: Oceanview

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 14 years ago

Review summary

The ship itself is great. It's large and well laid out. It's a little on the gaudy side, but I think that's typical of cruises (I don't go on many). There were too many children there for my taste, but again, that's probably typical for a cruise.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

The dinners were very good, but the other food was mediocre to poor. I was a little turned off my the fact that you had to pay for drinks (including water, juice or soda). I'm just not used to that as an American.

Entertainment

5 out of 5

There were a large number of activities and entertainment options. We only took advantage of them selectively, but enjoyed everything we went to.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Everyone spoke fluent English and was incredibly helpful and polite. I was very impressed with the crew.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Ports of call

Istanbul, Turkey

5 out of 5

I had high expectations for Istanbul, and they were met. The city is enormous and full of interesting history. We visited a lot of sights and my only complaint was that the "all day" tours weren't available for english speaking guests. With only a half day, I didn't get to see everything I wanted, but was impressed with what I had time for.

Thumbs Up 0

Don't Miss: Hagia Sophia

Bari, Italy

3 out of 5

I wouldn't go back there as it's less spectacular than other places in Italy. Still, it was interesting to go walk around.

Thumbs Up 0

Dubrovnik, Croatia

3 out of 5

We just spend the day on the beach, which turned out to be a great decision. If you go, try to bring a mask and snorkle as the water is incredibly clear and condusive to some water activity.

Thumbs Up 0

Don't Miss: The beaches

Izmir, Turkey

5 out of 5

I was blown away by the ruins at Ephesus. I had never really heard of the site before, but I have since been inspired to learn all about it. Fanstastic set of ruins and history to visit. Skip the House of the Virgin Mary. It's crowded, requires a long wait, and doesn't include anything worth seeing.

Thumbs Up 0

Don't Miss: Ephesus

Katakolon (Olympia), Greece

5 out of 5

We went to the Olympia site and had a marvelous time touring the ruins. Our tour guide was well informed, spoke perfect english and great the whole time.

Thumbs Up 0

Don't Miss: The ruins at Olympia

Pros: Service and destinations

Cons: The excursions we wanted were often unavailable due to insufficient english speaking guests

Recommends Costa Serena? No.

1 Comment

cruisellama 5 years ago

Thanks

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