We only did Costa because our previous cruise was canceled last minute and we already had airline tickets bought. If I would had known how disorganized was I would had never gone. We were pushed and shoved in the buffet had to make super long lines to get food and most of the times we couldn’t find a table to sit.
Embarkation
3 out of 5
That was the only easy part of this cruise
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
1 out of 5
If you don’t choose a restaurant at time of booking they assigned you one and they also choose the sitting time. When we went to eat at La Marama the first night service was horrible. Our server was very busy we didn’t got served properly she forgot to refills our water and my husband had to order his beer twice then she came back and told us Corona was not included in our drinking package and it was extra. Only Heineken was included. So when I asked at reception I wanted to eat at another restaurant I was told I had to call restaurant services. Had to wait until the next morning to call as they closed early. When I call next day they told me they were super busy and full and he didn’t know if he could get us a table there but I did explained we were refusing to go back to the other one so they changed us. Although we were told all the included restaurants have the same menu regardless that they were different. Only specialty restaurants had different menus. Second restaurant service was better but food wasn’t that appetizing for a teenager girl.
Onboard Activities
1 out of 5
Have lots of pools but small. Jacuzzis were very small too. Fitness centers was good but was busy at all times and closed at 10.
Entertainment
1 out of 5
To be an Italian cruise most of their entertainment songs were in English which I don’t complaint about that aspect but their show themes most of the time didn’t match the songs that were presented.
Children's Programs
3 out of 5
Although they did offered a club for kids we couldn’t try it as our kid is not potty trained.
Service and Staff
2 out of 5
Cabin steward was good and cleaned our mess every day. Most of the servers were friendly but some of them not. If they are going to cater to so many people, the company should hire more staff so their employees wouldn’t look so overworked.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
Design was a bit confusing and not all the elevators got to the superior decks. The carpet in our room looked a bit dirty and could had be pressured wash between passengers. The rest of the ship was well maintained.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
Size was decent and comfortable beds but the ac in our cabin was not working properly and despite we called multiple times it was not only until the third date that it got kind of fixed but at night it shut off multiple times and we awoke several times sweating and kicking covers. Temperature outside was better but we couldn’t slept with the balcony door open because of our child.
Ship tip
If you are an American booking this cruise be aware you can’t download their app where you are supposed to get all the information about the cruise even the menus for every restaurant. They only have a burger place open at night and is not included in the package so you have to pay for it. Be aware as well you have to link a credit card a couple of days after embarking otherwise they will lock your costa card. We were not the only ones complaining. While online at reception I heard lots of complaints about the service in the restaurants. Long lines in the buffet areas and cafes and they are not open 24 hrs. Also the ac in the boat in general was not that great. And you only get serve half a glass of water or juices and no ice available. If you want something cold you have to go to the bar to get ice. Costa recycles their own water so bottle water should be free but we were assigned 7 bottles per adult for the whole duration of the cruise. My suggestion? Save the headache a book a cruise with Royal Caribbean or NCL.
We booked this excursion thru the cruise line well our tour guide took off after we stopped in the Castle and didn’t waited for us to get out of the bus so we’re lost for about 20 minutes or more when we finally found him I have him a peace of my mind. He apologized but we didn’t had time to use the bathroom or had a proper coffee order as we had limited time there. When I mentioned it to the my tour dept in the boat their answer was well everybody gets lost. Nope we didn’t get lost our tour guide didn’t waited for us to get off the bus he left us behind and didn’t do a head count which he is supposed to do. Not so easy to climb right away from a bus when you are in the back and have a small toddler.
The excursion was the only good thing I can give them credit but they had a lot of groups combined because one of the guides called out. So the boat rides were packed lots of people stood up and the ones on seats were not able to enjoyed much the views. Also one tour lady told me there was no bathroom in the hydrofoil when it did had one and then when were given the snacks she scolded me for trying it to eat it where I was standing she said I had to go to the beach and when I looked around other people around me were eating and nobody said anything to them. I would recommend Costa to do smaller groups or to rent their own hydrofoil if possible.
Total caos. People were trying to leave the boat all at the same time. We had to wait for our luggage despite the fact they took our luggage the night before. When we disembark I asked 3 different people how to take a taxi they all told me we had to take a shuttle out the terminal. We later found there were private cabs inside the terminal. We got out and took a share cab that charged us 200 euros for a 45mts ride to the airport.
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