Costa Mediterranea Feb 4-11 I wasn't planning to write a review, but after reading some of the CC reviews of the Mediterranea, I began to wonder if it was the same ship and crew. 1. It did not rock: in fact it was smooth as glass most of the time. Surely this depends on the sea conditions. 2. The only place we saw smokers was on the smoking side of the pool deck (which we avoided.) 3. The crew (front office, housekeeping, entertainment, officers, bartenders, waiters, everyone!) could not have been friendlier or more helpful. 4. The food was (mostly) very good. 5. The ship is gorgeous and memorable. This was our 12th cruise (10th since 2004), and second on Costa, the first being on the Victoria from Venice in April 2006. Unlike our Victoria experience, embarkation in Ft. Lauderdale was very smooth. Since we live in Ft Lauderdale, my mom dropped us off at the pier about 3pm, for a 7pm departure. There was almost no line and the staff was efficient. We carried our own luggage aboard—it was a very painless process. Since we had eaten lunch at home, we didn't have to search for food right away, as we've done in the past. We were able to unpack immediately and then explore. The cabin was on the port side, on deck 5, forward and it was comfortable and clean; our steward, Ronoldo was very efficient, helpful and friendly. There were usual amenities: micro fridge, safe, hairdryer, sufficient storage. The bed seemed larger than standard ships' beds, more like a king than a queen size, and we had a sofa and little table. This was our first stateroom with a balcony. I've always heard that once you have one, you won't go back...but I'm not so sure. No one mentioned the drawbacks: perhaps there are loud talkers on the veranda next to you; perhaps the people in the one above yours start moving their chairs around early in the morning; perhaps it is so tiny that you have to put the table on top of the chair in order to get the door open. We did bring bungee cords to hold it open, having learned that tip on the CC boards, but it wouldn't have been necessary, as the table or chair blocked it from closing, once it was open. (At one port we docked beside the Coral Princess and I could see the balconies had room for four chairs AND a table AND there were people standing.) Ours had room for two chairs, one table, the door either open or closed, and no one standing. Sliding doors would be something to look for in the future. I think that might be the last negative thing you'll hear from me about the Mediterranea! The dEcor was over-the-top Venetian—even in the elevators. Some ships splash the elevator walls with tacky signs advertising the day's special jewelry sale or bingo game—not this one! Speaking of elevators: they were the best! We never had to wait more than a few seconds. We were constantly amazed, in particular after the Caribbean Princess last month, where it seemed we spent lots of time every day waiting and waiting for elevators. We love Venice, so we enjoyed the ornate furnishings. I like the way the hallways were broken up in segments (and decorated with murals) so you weren't looking down a hallway the length of the ship! We also love the mix of Europeans and other foreigners, although this apparently bothers some people. We had no trouble finding people to communicate with, as most were from the US or Canada. Plus we like to practice our rudimentary Italian whenever possible. We ate in the dining room every night, second seating (8:30). The first night we were the only two people at the table set for eight; not surprising since the Super Bowl was on TV elsewhere on the ship and most people seemed to prefer hamburgers and hot dogs. The following night there were four of us and four empty chairs. The next morning we met a couple at breakfast who wanted to join our table. That made six and we were a very compatible group, similar in ages (60ish) and interests. Other than a few items, the food was mainly quite good and the service was just right. Our waiter, Rex, and his helpers were friendly and efficient. I had the seafood and/or pasta every night. There was a nice variety of offerings in all categories. One bad dish was supposed to be grilled grouper but it was more like boiled or steamed non-grouper and actually was inedible. After that one time (first or second night), the meals were good. Our tablemates enjoyed steaks, chops, etc. For dessert, the waiters accommodated requests for strawberries and/or raspberries, which were not menu offerings. My husband was disappointed by the "gourmet" cheese/cracker dessert: cheddar, saltines in cellophane. He asked them to do better, and they brought the brie and gorgonzola (still no fruit, still the saltines in cello). There was not a lobster night, but there was king crab (not great) on one of the gala nights. It was unfortunate that many of the entrees had the asterisk, indicating frozen, and some of them were inferior. The calamari was also unsatisfactory (you'd think Italians could get that right, wouldn't you?) The "dress code" for Gala Night, which is Costa's term for what is generally called formal night, is interesting. Here is the wording: "Tonight is Gala Night. You may choose to either dress formally, elegantly in a suit for men and cocktail dress for the ladies, or more casually in elegant resort wear, as how you want to enjoy your night is up to you." The grammar isn't perfect, but I highly approve of and appreciate such an attitude! I didn't see anyone abuse this policy. (I've seen folks in denim shorts on other ships' "formal" nights mingling in the public areas.) On Italian night, you are encouraged to wear red, white and green. (Not knowing this ahead of time, I had packed nothing remotely close to that.) The wine prices are very reasonable. If you are not a wine snob, you may want to order a carafe (or half-carafe) of wine (as one does in Italy) and you'll pay about half the price of a bottle. Of course if you buy a bottle, you can finish it at a later meal. The drink prices also seemed reasonable. I think a regular sized cocktail was $5.25 but you could "super-size" it for 5.75. We ate breakfast and lunch in the buffet on deck 9. Nothing was spectacular, but the food was more than acceptable and the area is enjoyable. As someone mentioned, there are no trays and yes, the plates were usually hot. I've found this to be the case on every cruise ship recently. One thing this one lacked (OK this is a negative) there were NO hand sanitizers, ANYWHERE. Not near the food, not at the gangway (although we were handed via tongs a small wipe when returning from shore), not at all. We found this very odd in this day and age. There were salt and pepper shakers on the tables, and the buffets were self-serve: also less germ-safe than paper packets and having staff dish out the food. In spite of this, we didn't hear of anyone being sick...although of course they may have, but there were certainly no outbreaks of a virus. We didn't do any ship's shore excursions, and we didn't go to the casino, so can't comment. We did not go to the special restaurant, but our tablemates did and they hated it. OK, it's hearsay, but I'm passing it on. They said the food was terrible and definitely not worth the extra money. We didn't go to any of the shows in the theater because we prefer to find a dance floor or other music, and in general find ships' shows to be uninteresting if not downright amateurish. An exception was the last night's talent show with Caesar and the lions. We had laughed hard at it (yes, it's corny and outlandish, but really funny) on the Victoria and planned see it. That was toga night and we got into the spirit, even brought garlands of olive branches (philodendron from the dollar store) to wear on our heads. The show was a lot of fun, with Stefano, the cruise director, playing the role of Caesar and two staff members romping around as the lions. Unlike the Victoria, where most of it was in Italian and the comedy was mostly physical, English was the dominant language here. Which brings me to one of the best parts: the entertainment staff. The animation team, as they're called, are an amazing group of outgoing, multi-lingual, very talented young people. They presided over lively and hilarious games and other activities by the pool by day and in the Casanova Lounge every night. They are real pros at a job that has to be difficult at times. I can't imagine keeping up the energy level every day, and repeating what they did for us, every week with a new group of passengers. (I did mention that they are young!) The ports were Key West, Grand Cayman, Roatan, and Cozumel and the ship arrived on schedule in all of them. The tendering process in Cayman could have been better, but then what's new about that? We loved the beach in Roatan (we spent a week there in 2004) and Cayman. It rained a bit in Cozumel so we spent time on the ship (the pool has a retractable cover) and then had a great Mexican lunch at Pancho's Backyard, near the dock. One other negative comment: the tv programming was poor. Sometimes we'd get abc, nbc or cbs, but you never could predict what was on (sometimes Family Feud at 8AM instead of a news show.) About half of the 20+ channels had only Costa info. The others were non-English channels. We're news junkies and missed CNN, at least in the beginning. :-) If this is a deal-breaker for you, then don't go. We chose self-assist disembarkation, which meant we had to be up and out by about 7AM. It was quite easy, but you had to sign up for it ahead of time, and you had to be US citizens...and you had to be able to carry your own luggage. We caught a cab at the curb and were home by 8! It was a great trip. Bravo to Costa. We will return.