My overall impression of Costa Cruises is one of obtaining clients with attractive advertised prices for their cruises but falling short of the quality and service of cruise lines like Holland America, Cunard & Norwegian. None are perfect but Costa appears to recoup the majority of its profits by charging for additional items that are included by competitor companies. The ship and our stateroom were well appointed and our maid and dining staff were pleasant and efficient, a credit to the company.
It appears that whilst our ship 'the 'Serena' has accommodation for 3000+ guests it does not have the resources to cater for this number.
The sun lounger policy is an example. My wife and I wished to use a sun lounger each but because all the available sun loungers were either being used by guests or reserved by them we had to resort to using those that were stacked on deck 11. I was among at least twenty guests who were forced to use these loungers; one lady had to carry four to the sun deck and I had to carry one for one elderly lady who wished to use one. Costa Cruises claims it has a strict policy of not allowing guests to reserve sunbeds but this policy is completely ignored by guests and not enforced by the company. Indeed when I approached a senior female officer she said the company cannot remove towels from reserved sunbeds; but I would be allowed to!
Well appointed clean stateroom with good shower-room and ample wardrobe space