Our only cruise experiences - Star Cruises (small,friendly but brilliant destinations) & NCL Pride of America in Hawaii (Disappointed). Got bargain deal on cruise in package so went thinking if it is not so good at least we haven`t spent alot of money! My partner & myself thoroughly enjoyed ourselves; would look for Costa again & would recommend particularly to Brits / Europeans for Caribbean cruising as the good mix of nationalities brought a good balance we felt instead of all being from the USA; it is mostly aimed at English speaking however. Getting on & off ship pleasant experience; good security but not such intense X-Raying,searching,checking etc.as Hawaii. All staff on board friendly, polite & efficient. Restaurant food good; could not say excellent but we found it nice & served well. We chose to eat at the buffet on the two formal nights as this is the only thing about cruising we do not enjoy; cannot be bothered to use luggage space taking suits etc. to have photos taken we don`t want. The buffet was as good for dinner as it was for lunch & breakfast; plenty of choice; comfortable seating with variety of tables to accommodate everyone & lots of big windows. Lots of bars & small tables in theatre so could enjoy a drink while watching shows, which we loved by the way. Only drink beer & this was reasonably priced.Production Dancers & Singers VERY good; modern themes but thoroughly professional & they are all friendly when not performing. Specialist acts- some old type variety & modern but all enjoyable. Continuous good musicians in bars. Two pool areas one with entertainment & one quiet, which was heaven for us & railings not too high so could get plenty of sun. Food available nearly all day either restaurant,buffet or pool areas & afternoon tea which was our favorite. The Costa Mediterranea being Italian deign is ornate but tastefully so; we have just had outside cabins on the cruises we have done as we feel the extra cost of a balcony will go towards another holiday (we like to do as many as poss) & if it is nice enough to be outside we are up on deck but the cabin was a good size. We didn`t go on ship excursions as we choose to book alternate or arrange them when we get off ships.

Ports :- Key West was great day ;shuttle to downtown,tour of island,museum,shops & Sloppy Joes. Would love to go back to stay. Grand Cayman-on boat trip out to swim with Stingrays- No one should miss. Roatan,Honduras-Unpleasant place; maybe nicer when developed / cleaned up. Cozumel, Mexico-Travel to beach on other side of island necessary as only T-shirt,jewelry & Pottery shops at port but sunny, clean & modern. Immigration for non USA Citizens AWFUL when disembarking at Fort Lauderdale- 1 hour & 20 minute queue ! but this was the only complaint all week so can`t be bad.