DOnt like it ....too bad

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 4

Review summary

Our family of five decided to take a Mediterranean cruise for our family vacation. I had been on 20 or more cruises in my life but not in that area of the globe. Most of the cruises in Mediterranean are run by Costa or MSC Cruises. I over research every trip we take so, I spent hours researching the cruise lines and destination ports. I knew the pitfalls of Costa cruise line. The culture was Italian and I told the family that some of the behavior may be a cultural shock to Americans. We arrived in Rome the day before and got a room near the Coliseum. We were jet lagged because of the 6 hour time difference but the pick-up from airport was smooth and the ride to the hotel was about an hour. We checked in and received great treatment from the hotel. We walked through the city and visited the Vatican, which was amazing. EMBARKATION The next morning, there was an hour ride to the port in Civitavecchia. The town is small with a few places to eat and shop. The port is an old industrial port. Check-in was a little strange. We waited in line to get into a holding area, then ushered into the baggage area, then brought back into the first building to get our documents. The whole procedure was about 90 minutes. There was a frustrating moment when I left my folder at the reception desk but they wouldn’t let me back into the building to retrieve it. After waiting for some time, I had to ask for the head of security to let me in. It was the first of many times I was angry with Costa’s treatment of guests. FOOD We got on the ship and headed for food. The room would not be ready for two hours. The food at Costa is not top notch but what you would expect from a decent restaurant. Don’t expect lobster or crab legs to eat. Expect a lot of pasta, cheeses and breads. However, whoever is the pantry chef does an amazing job. There is nowhere to get table service at breakfast. It doesn’t exist. It is the same breakfast at the buffet EVERY DAY. Lunch is also at the buffet. There is no table service unless you go to a premium restaurant. We tried the hibachi grill one day for lunch which was very good. Now dinner does have table service which is the same time every night. It is a four-course meal with small portions. They do not offer any options other than water, wine, beer or soda. If you want a mixed drink, too bad. Milk? Too bad. Ice tea? Too bad. And ice is a special request. Customer service is almost nonexistent so don’t expect a smile from your waiter or good service or any type of friendliness. Also, there are very specific times/windows you can eat. The buffet is not open all day and closes every night at 9pm. If you want anything to eat at the times the restaurants weren’t open, you had to pay extra for pizza or burgers at the bars and that all closed at 11pm. DRINKS We choose not to get the drink package because everyone in the room must get the same package and we had three kids with us. Spending money on an alcohol package for kids is ridiculous. We didn’t drink more than two drinks a day, not because we didn’t want to, but because it was so difficult getting a drink. This is the problem with culture that results in the cruise line’s low ratings. I would say 90% of the crew members are miserable and have the attitude of “Don’t like it….too bad.” The one good thing was the expresso. They made it perfect every time (when I could get it). CULTURE We first noticed the attitude of the guests on embarkation. I saw very few English speaking guests and even fewer Americans on the ship. That was not the problem. The guests who were mostly from Italy or Spain were the rudest people I have ever met. They don’t like other people and they certainly don’t like Americans. Lines don’t mean anything to them. If you are waiting for an elevator, they will cut in front of you. Waiting in line for dinner or a drink, they will cut in front of you. There were times I waited for 20 minutes for a drink because other passengers came up to the bar while I was waiting and received service before me. The bartenders don’t care. I had to raise my voice several times during the trip and that is not a relaxing vacation. American Italians are nothing like Italy residents. I would not take another cruise on Costa solely because of the other passengers on board and the service of the staff. THE SHIP The Toscana is the flagship for Costa. The ship is new and beautiful. However, it does have some questionable design and may not be the best choice for American visitors. The room was standard quality and size. The closets and A/C were fine. The bathroom was a decent size (the shower has a glass wall so you can see the person showing from the bed unless you close the curtain). The common areas were made up of smaller performance area. The “main area” will only hold maybe 500 people when there are 5000-6000 on board. The front stage area holds even less. If you want a seat, you better arrive 30 minutes early. For a ship of 5,000 passengers, it did not have enough shopping, casinos or pools. This ship had one “main pool” which could only fit about 50 people and that closed early too. We found one good bar with two jacuzzis at the back of ship (I think deck 14). We go the spa package but its not like Princess or Norwegian. It’s a small spa with no separate pool. The gym was small but adequate. PORTS OF CALL We went to Barcelona which did have protests going on at the time. Beautiful city with great restaurants and shops. I would definitely go back. Marseille is the second largest city in France. Food was very good and we got a chance to see a lot of the city by foot. Palermo was interesting but very run-down. Graffiti was everywhere and the poverty was evident. Ibiza was the opposite; lots of money being thrown around. Beach chairs were $60 and a lobster entree was $225 at lunch. We found chairs at a reasonable price and hung out at the beach. Savona was a great place to visit. We took an excursion that took us all over the city. In summary, if you like to be aggravated, this ship is for you. I thought I could handle the cultural differences, but I learned that, when I am on vacation, I shouldn’t need to count to ten so many times.

Embarkation

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

Onboard Activities

Entertainment

Service and Staff

Ship Quality

Cabin / Stateroom

Ports of call

Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy

Savona (Genoa), Italy

Marseille (Provence), France

Barcelona, Spain

Ibiza, Balearic Islands

Palermo, Sicily

Disembarkation