I booked this cruise days before it started because the price was unbelievable and it lets off in my home port, so I would be relaxed at the end of the cruise with no additional travel home. I have had wonderful vacations turn bad when air travel takes me from being fully relaxed to being miserable.

Embarkation, in Quebec City This was wonderful. The ship was docked for a day before it was leaving and I arrived on the first day around 4:30 p.m. The entire process took only minutes, and I never felt like I was waiting for anything. One thing that Costa does to expedite the process is that they do not require you to register a credit card for payment as part of the boarding process. They have a separate procedure, not really any more complicated that using an automated teller machine at a bank, to register your credit card while on board the ship. My room was already available and my luggage was delivered to my stateroom promptly.

The Cabin I was in an obstructed view balcony. The cabin itself is a good size (210 square feet if I recall properly) with three closets and enough drawers for two people to manage. The balcony itself is very small, and the two chairs and plastic table crowd the tiny balcony. The door can only open part way because it is obstructed by the furniture. For this cabin, the view is seriously obstructed. I would only recommend paying for this type of balcony if you want to smoke on the balcony. I was upgraded from a lower category without charge, so it was just a nice addition which I did not pay for. There was a small mechanical problem -- the air conditioning was not functioning correctly -- but my cabin steward took care of the problem promptly when I notified him, notifying the appropriate person and having the thermostat replaced. My cabin steward was excellent at his job, able to communicate well in English, and always a pleasure to speak with. Read more