Just returned from a 12 night cruise to So. Caribbean with the Mediterranea. My husband and I along with usually six other couples have been cruising for the past 15 years. This is the first cruise with Costa Cruises.

The Mediterranea is a lovely ship and our balcony cabin was very comfortable that's where the positive ends.

The food was mediocre with few choices and small portions. There was no dinner buffet; in fact after 3 pm the choices at the buffet were little tea sandwiches on rolls with a quarter slice of salami, sliver of lettuce and mayonnaise and some hard stale cookies. Nothing to drink but water and coffee until about 5 pm and then everything shuts down. Ice cubes were a luxury if you found them! All other cruise lines offer ice tea, lemonade, punch and coffee throughout the day and evening. Nothing to drink unless you go to the bar and pay for your water, etc. The Jacuzzis were cold, also the showers on deck. No towels on deck for the pool or Jacuzzi. The towels in the cabin were old, dingy and frayed. The entertainment was poor and amateurish; the theater was about a third full each time. The crew was stoic and unfriendly. Hand sanitizing was not enforced at all. The dispensers were there but no one was monitoring. Having to listen to the announcements in 5 languages was annoying and hard to understand even the English! Read more