Some back ground information; 2 adults, 2 kids, one 9 year old, one 6 year old. This would be the kids 3rd cruise and our 16th. (2nd with Costa, 14th within the WLCL)
Since we live in Florida, we drove down to Ft. Lauderdale, everything is clearly marked. We parked, took our carry on suitcases, walked across and started check in. We arrived around 1 pm and we were aboard in our cabin by 1.30 pm. Since the ship does not leave until 7 pm there were no lines anywhere. Your Costa Card is in the room and to activate it, you swipe a credit card at a self serve kiosk on board the ship, or leave cash deposit. (More about this later)
Reservations: We called Costa directly to reserve the cabin. The young lady was fast, efficient and understanding. All was done and booked within 10 minutes. Website: I am not a big favorite of Costa's website. I run high speed cable (road runner turbo) at home and this site is just slow, always. It is somewhat customer friendly but it could be made easier to navigate. Easy enough to fill in all the necessary paperwork online and print it, using the web check in. The luggage tags are cheesy and I recommend laminating them, and placing a back up inside your suitcase if dropping them off with the porters.