On Saturday the 29th March 2008 my family and I boarded the Costa Allegra at approximately 8pm, we completed the passport and administration process onboard ship and were escorted to our cabin (4122) by a crew member but unfortunately she took us to the wrong cabin, was this a sign of things to come? - The lady crew member apologized explaining that she was new to the ship. We duly trundled our luggage and children accompanied with the staff member from the bow of the ship back to the stern.

Our cabin which we had booked in July 2007 was on inspection not only dirty but had a strange dank odor. In the area above the window the air-conditioning vents had been blocked and padded out with a 3 foot length of green foam sponge this was absolutely filthy and blackened with dust and debris that had accumulated between the air-conditioning vents and the foam. The children's upper bunks had to have their duvets changed as they were dirty and marked. Towels were seemingly in short supply, our cabin initially only had two.

We raised these issues with the maid and left the cabin to explore the ship. On returning some 2 hours later the cabin had been cleaned, duvets changed and additional towels supplied and the ominous 'green foam' had been removed. We decided to settle down for the night at approximately 12.10am. We now discover that the ladder to the right-hand bunk cannot and will not secure properly to the upper bunk, there simple wasn't enough space between the bunk and dressing table for it to do so. The opposite left-hand bunk was OK (See pictures 19-20 and video footage). My daughter therefore had no option but to gain ingress and exit from her bunk by climbing onto our double bed then the window sill, stepping across to her bunk. (See pictures 16-18 and video footage) Something that is surely dangerous and raises in my mind both health and safety implications and liabilities on yourselves. This was later raised with Anita Wolfgang the Front Desk Manager - her reply was that it was a small ship and they could do nothing about it because of the configuration of the cabin and its fixtures and fittings. Read more