Costa Fortuna Review

Costa Fortuna very disappointing

Review for the Baltic Sea Cruise on Costa Fortuna
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CanaMan
6-10 Cruises • Age 60s

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Sail Date: Jun 2013
Cabin: Mini Suite with Balcony

Realizing that everyone will have a different perspective this review is from a reasonably upscale couple from Canada who have been on several cruises. Here is what we feel is "the good, the bad and the ugly".The Good: Great service from all of the staff. Our room steward, room service, our dining servers, the bar staff, the tour desk and the front desk, were all terrific. They were always exceptionally courteous, helpful and friendly. An easy "10" and kudos to Celebrity/Costa training programs and selection of staff.The room was terrific. Great shower. Excellent balcony. Well appointed with comfortable bed, bar fridge, storage, etc. Our AC broke down (stuff happens) and was repaired by next day. The dining room food a la carte was acceptable but really not great. Average tasting food was always presented very nicely...all "show and no go". The fish was always done very well. I would rate the dining room experience a 6 but a 10 for the staff. Bar service (which was always extra cost) was, not surprisingly, always terrific.The Bad: Despite the tap water in the room not being marked as "not potable" we were told by all staff that it "was not safe to drink" (incredulous). The feeling is that they were told to say that to help the ship sell more expensive bottled water at about $5 per or sign up for additional various extra cost "package" plans (or go to the buffet area). We constantly felt like we were being nickel and dimed as staff would try to sell the extra-price packages.The buffet was below what I would even call a cafeteria. Always crowded. Very limited selection and limited availability and hours. Bland, tasteless and very unappetizing food. How can you go wrong with pizza on an Italian boat? Easy. The pizza could have been right out of a box. Juice at lunch? Nope. Only water. Juice available only with the breakfast buffet unless you wanted to pay extra. We just shook our head and sighed. No coffee maker in room? Come on. Had to order it from room service with a $2 per visit charge (for anything on a very limited "room service" menu). Extended room service menu ran about $6 pp. Internet? Wifi advertised but runs $15 per hour and very spotty. The "hour" is more like 10 minutes as very slow. No deck bars (open) or waiter service. You want a drink? Hike down several floors then carry it back up. The excursions were very limited and descriptions were skimpy. Boat tour of Stockholm? Only offered in German and Italian. We took anyway and fortunately the boat had English audio on the headsets. No ATM on board and no way of getting cash - euros, rubles, dollars, whatever. They have currency exchange but you need cash to exchange. Ancient TV in room with one English channel (BBC) and remote that did not work properly. Minor, yes but 2 days at sea....?The boat was built in 2003 and is showing it's age. Stains on the room floor carpets, a backed up septic system leaving our hallway smelling putrid for 2 days, and similar observations. The public washrooms were all exceptionally clean, modern and well appointed. In terms of the shows not one caught our interest based on the description provided in the daily guide.The Ugly: The coffee. How could an Italian boat have the absolute worst coffee we have ever had. Nobody seemed to pay any attention to this. Room service coffee ($2.50 per visit) was like syrup...terrible). Buffet coffee was watered down. Terrible. We asked for a coffee after dinner in the "upscale" a la carte dining room and were told "sorry, it has been turned off" (this was at 9:30 pm). Only other place to get coffee was to pay extra at the bar. The best coffee we had on the entire trip was at a McDonalds on one of the excursions (which I really hate to admit to).So, that's about it. Based on the full fair we paid for this cruise and knowing then what we know now and compared to other cruises, we would not have gone. I think the staff worked hard to make the best of a situation they knew that we were being taken advantage of. Our sense is that owners/management are trying to squeeze every last dollar out of everyone without delivering on expectations.

Cabin Review

Mini Suite with Balcony

Cabin MS

Nice room, great shower, ancient TV (1 English channel - BBC news), nice balcony, no coffee maker (!).

1 Helpful Vote
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