I chose this cruise because it had the right mix of fjords, northern ports, and international feel. I did not want to be on a cruise with a whole bunch of Americans, so instead chose a cruise with a whole bunch of Italians. This made a big difference in appeal and also in quality. Overall the cruise was fine and I am glad we did it. However there are a lot of issues at a corporate level I think they need to address. Not the least of which is providing more information about the cruise and also about the excursions. There was simply not enough information in English about what happened on the cruise. there were no packing lists, no weekly overviews to tell when 'gala nights' happened or what clothing you might need in order to be appropriate for the them (white night, mask night, etc). On excursions, they need to seriously address the time element. Two excursions we were on stressed us about making it back to the ship in time. The Kayaking adventure was nice, but hurried and we did over 4 miles of kayaking in less than three hours -- and with no current, that was quite a workout. The lighthouse excursion allowed us only 90 minutes at the lighthouse, way to little time. This is just one example of how Costa corporate fails the people on the cruise. The crew we interacted with were excellent -- the waiters in the restaurant and our cabin attendant were superb. The officers and the senior leaders were standoffish and arrogant when asked questions. In addition, the bar tenders were particularly rude. The food was above average, although the buffets were often very stressful due to the different social conventions across the ship. Some European cultures have a tough time standing in line and waiting their turn -- something you have to get used to. Anyway, the entertainment was fine and the ship was immaculately clean. I would go with Costa again, but only after asking a LOT of questions. Read Less

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I have previously been cruising with NCL (Norwegian Epic) and Royal Caribbean (Adventure of the Seas), so that is what I have to compare with. We always opted for the cheapest possible price/cabin. I was travelling with my wife and two kids (11 and 14). Embarkation: This was fairly easy. Our luggage (3 out of 4 pieces) arrived at our cabin as expected. My suitcase didn't and the Cabin Steward didn't know anything and suggested it would come later if we wait. In the evening, I called the main desk who informed me that I had to go to the main desk as there was a problem with by suitcase. The problem was that I had brought a small water heater to make hot water for nescafe. I was not allowed to have this and they kept it at the desk and I got my suitcase. If they had at least left a note in the cabin about it, that would have been nice. And even better if I had been informed about such restriction when I purchased the tickets. Cabin: We had a small cabin with no windows. One big bed and two down foldable beds hanging from the roof / wall. It was decent enough room. There was a television which we didn't use. The guide menu on the tv was slow and un-useable. Dining: It seemed that the dining area couldn't fit all the guest on board, so you would often have trouble finding a place to sit. Also our evening dinner was fixed to a restaurant that opened at 20:30, which is a little late for us. Breakfast was fine, not overwhelming. Their coffee was extremely poor. So much that we preferred just getting hot water and using our own nescafe. You could buy fine espresso, and it seemed almost as if this was the plan with the poor coffee. We din't buy it, as this falls into what I would categorize as a scam. The evening dinner was also not overwhelming. It was very much italian inspired. on our previous cruises they would have different themes like oriental, mexican, italian, etc. Here it was mostly italian. Between 16:00 and 17:00 there were light snacks / cake / sandwiches. But between 17:00 and 19:00 there were nothing to eat. This was especially problematic when you had been to shore and came back at 17:30. Also you could only get coffee when the dining buffet was open. Entertainment: There were some shows onboard which were dance / singing / ice skate kind. These were also much italian inspired with singing in italian. I watched a few and they seemed like varieties over the same theme. On Norwegian Epic we saw "Blu man show" which was a completely different level (better). Then there was the usual common gymnastics, which all cruise lines seem to have, and which I have never understood. Also there were some evening dances and piano concerts / singers which were also in italian. They had a 4D cinema that played little movies of lengths between 5 and 10 minutes. When we asked about prices, the lady were very rude and seemed annoyed why we would bother her. Prices and extra: When you are on a cruise like this (and other cruises), there are things that are included (food, some shows, swimming pools, etc.) and then there are other thing that you should pay extra for. I have no problem with this. But for some reason, it is never shown up front how much something costs. It is as if they want you to go and get interested and then only later find out the price when you have signed up. This again in my opinion categorizes as a scam and I dont understand why anyone would treat their customers like that. Information on ship: All announcements were made either only in italian (only on few occasions) or in several languages (italian, german, english, french and one more language - maybe spanish). Information was mostly useless. If something was delayed (e.g. going to shore), it wouldn't be announced beforehand. Only when the time came, they would announce that now you can go. I really don't understand why they dont use the internal wifi connection combined with a smartphone app to allow you to get information (this also goes for the tow other cruises, I have tried). Conclusion: When we ordered the trip, we knew that it was cheaper than the previous ones we had been on. I wouldn't say that it was a bad experience. It was certainly not a luxury trip. If you are after a cheap trip and can find a decent price, this is "good enough", but if you want luxury, I wouldn't go with Costa. Read Less

Costa favalosa was the worst cruise I have ever been on. I have been on many cruise lines. the food quality was only a little better than a high school cafeteria food. The entertainment was poor. The ship had no real food choices but italian and that was very poor. All other ships have multiple food types and different places to eat. If the main dining hall was open the buffet was closed along with any other options. The lines were always very long because they only would have one place offering anything at one time on the ship. They nickled and dimed you for every thing and the quality was poor. The spa hot tubs stem rooms and relaxation rooms were extra. they had no ice cream unless you paid extra and only at limited time offerings . They had no soda drinks or even juice with out paying more. all other ships I have been on at least had juice through out the day or soda during the main meal of the day included. They had no piano bar jazz club. no comedy club. the excursion desk was disorganized. One of my excursions was even cancelled and another was set for the wrong language. The management told the room staff not to waist towels making towel animals which on all other cruises is a custom. There was no onboard welcoming party. The alcoholic drinks were watered down. If this was my first cruise I wound never do another. Read Less

Worst cruise from the start. 90% of the staff were rude. The food on the ship was awful. Couldn't get tea or coffee after 5:30 without paying for it. Second week of cruise had no tea or coffee at all unless paid for it. Our cabin was dirty and had stains on the pillows. Most days room didn't get cleaned until 11 at night. Very unorganised overall but especially when disembarking. Buffet was always full could never get a seat. Evenings buffet was not open so had no choice but to go to allocated restaurant where the food was awful - apparently Italians finest but I'd hate to taste what their worst is. Very disorganised on the trips but to be fair all the places visited were brilliant. Couldn't wait to get off the ship I will never travel again with Costa cruises We don't normally leave reviews but felt like we had too to warn people especially for the price that you pay. Read Less

Very unorganized cruise Poor English speaking staffs Cabin carpet needs cleaning Charged water at restaurant Few choices of the food Poor entertainment activities for kids, only 1 ping pong tables and 3 football tennis tables Poor show arrangement Messed up excursion Worst disembark experience! Had to go back to port to pick up missing luggage. Unresponsive staffs!!! Costa --- first time and last time!   Read Less

We recently took a cruise on the Costa Fortuna in Eastern Europe. We chose the Costa cruise line simply because we had no other choices as we had specific dates we could travel in August. We departed from Copenhaugen and made port at Stockholm, Sweden, Tallin, Estonia, St. Petersburg, Russia, and Warnemunde, Germany. From Germany we returned to Copenhaugen. This was my family’s fourth cruise. We had been on three cruises prior to this one: a Carnival (Caribbean islands) cruise and two Holland American cruises (Caribbean islands and Alaska). We found the Carnival cruise line to be a party boat with lots of loud music and partying passengers. Our cruise with Carnival also happened to be over spring break so maybe that would have been the norm for any cruise and not specific to this boat. For my wife and two pre-teen children, however, this was not our cup of tea. We had a great experience on both of our Holland American cruises and this set the bar for all of our expectations of a cruise experience. On Holland American the boats were exceptionally clean and well maintained, all crew members were exceptionally friendly and the food choices and quality were excellent. Overall, we felt that we got what we paid for on the Holland American line and when considering a cruise, we seek them out first. Now on to our recent cruise on the Costa Fortuna. My wife reviewed a number of blogs regarding this cruise line and this ship. We were particularly interested in learning about this cruise line in view of what happened on the Costa Concordia. Most of the blogs were fairly neutral, though some warned that the cruise clientele would primarily be European and less friendly in regards to our American expectations. Furthermore, we were warned of the expensive beverage policy on the boat, which proved to be quite correct. I’ll start with the ship itself. Overall the boat was exceptionally clean and mostly well maintained. There was an ice dispenser that was out of service for most of the cruise, though there was a cooler of ice adjacent to it so we were never without access to ice during meals. There was also a window that had been broken in the outdoor dining area of deck 9, but it had been covered over by a piece of fabric which hid the problem quite nicely. Otherwise, the entire boat seemed to be very clean and well maintained. Regarding the ship’s décor, some in the blogs described it as distasteful and gaudy. I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Some of the décor seemed mismatched, such as the backlit glass panes with blobs of green and blue tint above the warm colored inlaid wood panels, or the columns of blue and red splotches mixed in the areas with the warm wood panels. In my opinion it was not objectionable. While some of the color palates seemed mismatched, the colors and panels were not faded, the paint was good and there were no scratches, scrapes or other signs of wear. Furthermore, related to the décor, I’m much more interested in cleanliness, service and food quality. The service we experienced on the ship overall was very good. Our room steward was friendly and very eager to assist us. He kept our room very neat and clean and always made sure we had ice. On all three of our previous cruises our room steward left towels on our beds in the shape of animals, but this room steward did not do this. We learned from other passengers on this cruise that there were stewards on our ship who did provide this nice touch, but ours was not one of them. Not a big deal… One down side to our room service was that there seemed to be a lot of service carts and service supplies in the hallway for most of the day and evening. I don’t recall this from any of our other cruises. Regarding our rooms, we had an exterior room with a veranda as well as an interior room. There was only one electrical outlet in each room by the vanity. It would accept a standard (American) 110 volt plug. I think that it was 110 volts, but all the chargers we brought would work with 110 or 220 volts (look on your wall wart/power supply: the input parameters are printed in fine print on the back). Most modern electrical computer or communications devices will work with 110 or 220 volts, but check out your device before plugging in to a foreign outlet. Here’s a travel tip: bring a small power strip. We had more accessories that needed to be charged than we had outlets (iPads, iPhones, laptops, etc.). Another tip: the outlet in the bathroom can be used to charge a phone or a tablet, but it is only energized when the light is on, so don’t plug into it at night and then turn the light off, as the light switch kills the power to the outlet, too. Our room also had a small refrigerator, which was nice. It was stocked with a variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages (no diet drinks) and candies, but we did not consume any. Based on the excessive charges of all the other amenities, I’m guessing that the pricing structure of the refrigerated items was exorbitant. Our bed was two twin mattresses put together to form a king size bed. The mattress was a foam material about 8 inches thick that I would equate to a futon mattress. My wife and kids had no complaints, but I found it to be too firm and uncomfortable. There were no box springs under the mattress and the bed was on legs, so there was plenty of storage space under the beds, which was a big plus. Regarding storage space, our room had three closets with ample hang up space in two of them; the third had shelves. There were also two sets of drawers/cabinets in the room. In addition, there were also two hooks on the bathroom door as well as the bedroom wall for hanging items. Another tip is to bring coat hangers! One closet had 6 hangers and one had 8 though there was plenty more hang up space in each closet. The room also had a small safe, which was nice. It operated by swiping your Costa Card. I guess my only question here was that if our room steward had access to our room with his master card key, is it possible that he would have access to the safe, too? I don’t know… The room came equipped with a color television. We only saw two English language stations, but my view is that if you are on a cruise you shouldn’t be in the room watching TV! When we were in the room, it was nice to have the channel on with the bow and stern cameras. This channel also had classical music. We had internet access pretty much everywhere on the ship where we tried it, but it was VERY expensive and VERY slow. In most of the hotels I frequent in the U.S. it is generally free, and if I do have to pay for it, it is typically about $15 U.S. per day (24 hours). Not so on the Cost-a-Fortuna! Here internet service is .50 euros per minute. They also had a rate for 20 or 30 minutes, but it was equally expensive. Based on the extra slow speed of the internet service, you might be able to download and reply to about four emails in 20 minutes. If you cruise on this line, don’t plan on getting a lot of work done if it requires a lot of internet connectivity. One of the blogs we read spoke of the multiple public address (PA) pages that were disruptive in the rooms. We had PA speakers in our rooms and bathrooms but we never heard anything broadcast over them. Instead, we heard the pages through the PA speakers in the hallway (which were plenty loud). All pages were given in 5 languages, so they would last several minutes. There were only two or three pages through out the day. I’m not sure if our in-room PA speakers were disabled by the person making the announcements, attenuated in the room by a control knob somewhere, or just plain didn’t work. Either way we could hear the announcements just fine and they were not excessive. The food on this trip was average at best, regardless of the time of day. Again, I think that we were spoiled on our Holland America cruises where the food was excellent and the variety was fantastic at every meal and in-between. For breakfast there was the standard fare that one would expect; a variety of breakfast meats, scrambled eggs, fresh fruit, pastries, etc. Each morning I had an omlette made to order. The omlette chef tended to have a poor disposition. He was also skimpy with the omlette ingredients. My son joked that he would dip the spoon into each of the ingredients and whatever stuck to it was what he would put into the omlette. My observation was that maybe the ingredients he used were deducted from his paycheck. Regardless, the food was well prepared and tasty, though light on the ingredients. This particular chef was replaced by mid cruise; not sure why but we were glad. I have to add here that we were spoiled on Holland America with eggs benedict and eggs Florentine every day; no such dishes on the Costa Fortuna... Lunches at the buffet on Deck 9 were good. The hamburger/hot dog bar was great. On occasion there was sushi, which was good (we had it every day on Holland America). At the salad bar the standard dressings were Italian, French and Thousand Island. On one occasion I saw and sampled a very runny Caesar salad dressing. As an American, I’m accustomed to having the options for bleu cheese and Ranch, but these were typically not available. We did have the choice of bleu cheese dressing the last night in the dinning room. We dined each evening the Michelangelo Dining Room on Decks 3 and 4. Our waiters were attentive and engaging and our table was next to the windows at the stern of the ship, which was very nice. Again, we’ve had waiters on other cruises that did magic tricks or food service tricks (like pulling a cork from inside a wine bottle with just a napkin) but no extras here other than good service. The food choices were good and the food was average to good. There was always a good variety; seafood, mammal meat (beef, venison, etc.), poultry and a vegetarian dish. Serving sizes were somewhat small, but one could order as many dishes as one pleased, so quantity was never an issue. Hot dishes were warm and cold dishes were cold. The deserts were generally average, but the ice cream was really good (especially the strawberry)! Probably our biggest issue with this cruise line is their beverage policy. At our first dinner we paid 46 euros for a bottle of wine and a liter of bottled water for dinner. They DO NOT serve ANY free beverages (including water) in the formal dining rooms! We then learned that they have beverage “packages”, and to save money we would need to buy a package. We bought the smallest wine and water package for 99 euros. This package included (4) 750ml bottles of wine and 7 liters of water, which we felt was fine for our family of four. I thought that I could apply our 46 euro bottle of wine and water to this “package” after the fact, but was told that the wine we bought was a “premium” wine (and one liter as opposed to 750 ml) and that they could not apply it to our 99 Euro package. We kind of felt like we had been taken. To facilitate our hydration and in protest of their beverage policy, we always took our empty liter water bottles from dinner and filled them at the buffet so we would have water for the day. The only free water we saw on the ship (water fountains) was in the gym. Also note that there are signs at the water vending area of the restaurants that ask that you do not fill water bottles there. We would fill up glasses and then do the transfers into our liter containers at our table to get around this. We were told not to drink the tap water in the bathrooms, though it was OK to brush teeth with that water. As a side note, if your kids are addicted to pop it will cost you. The soda water package provided 20 carbonated beverages for several dollars per beverage… what a bargain! There also is no free pop at the buffet: only water, tea, coffee and milk. The gym was fairly spacious, very clean and well maintained, and it had plenty of equipment. Furthermore, the week that we were aboard I never saw an “out of service” sign on any piece of equipment, which is rare in any gym! The dressing and shower area was well maintained and spotless. We did not sample any of the numerous spa services. We attended three of the nightly shows. The first one was moderately entertaining. The sound system for the music and singers was very anemic. All the sound came from behind the stage. Normally in a venue like this, one expects a fuller sound system that can fill the entire auditorium. This sound system sounded like the ones used by cheap high school DJs. One the third night there was a talent review using talent from the ship’s staff. It was actually pretty good despite the fact that it was amateur talent. The last night featured singers performing covers of great musical artists, and they were all pretty good and entertaining. We went on Costa-sponsored shore excursions in Stockholm, St. Petersburg and Germany. The tours were all excellent in terms of the places we visited and the quality of our tour guides. We felt like they were all good values for the money they cost. As a side note, on our Holland America cruise to Alaska, we felt like all of the excursions were a terrible value for what they cost, but everything in Alaska was expensive. In Sweden we first visited the Royal Palace, which was an interesting fact-filled tour and well worth our time. Then we had a short time for touring the old city square on our own and lunch on our own. In the old town square we visited the Nobel Museum, which I would give low marks as it was not very well organized an it was very expensive. We had a light lunch there, which was very good. The museum was not a good value for what we spent on it. Also we did not have the time require to really see all of the exhibits. We watched part of the Changing of the Guard at the Palace, and then took, a quick tour of the cathedral next to the Palace, which was very beautiful and ornate and well worth the price of the suggested admission. They did not take dollars but did take credit cards. After lunch we got back on the bus and went to the City Hall where we bought three T-shirts and a 4 bottles for about $100! Be wary of the gift shop pricing! Next we went to the Vasa Ship Museum, which was great. We had a little less than and hour there, which was far too little time to see it all. We could have easily spent half of the day (or more) there. I highly recommend it. In Tallin, Estonia, we decided to self-tour, which was a huge mistake! The streets were VERY poorly marked and with overcast skies it was difficult to get an orientation on our bearings. We ended up buying tickets on the Red Tour Bus, which allowed us to do a driving tour or the whole city in the hour we had left. As this is a get on/get off, narrated tour, this was an excellent investment of our time and what we should have done once we first got off the ship. There are three different tour routes, and between the three routes one can pretty much see the entire city and surrounding area. The only down side to this bus tour was that the bus stopped to let some people off (and we followed) and we returned to that “stop” after touring our site, only to later learn through a helpful local, that the actual bus stop was 200 yards away and no bus would stop where we were waiting. Furthermore, the drive spoke very poor English and unintentionally misdirected us at that particular stop. Traveler’s Tip: Only wait at the marked Bus Stops! In St. Petersburg, Russia, we took the Hermitage and Palace tour. Our guide was very good. His English was great and his knowledge of the places we visited and the tricks of the trade (which entrances and routes were best based on time of day) were very good. I was amazed at the huge masses of people at all the tourist sites we visited and the lack of order. Fortunately we had a good and aggressive guide who could get us through the log jams. The Winter Palace Hermitage was the palace constructed for Catherine the Great in 1764 and was room after room after gaudy, gold leaf adorned room full of artwork. If you are an art fan, this is your place! There was little time to stop and really ponder and appreciate the artwork, but we did see a very large number of paintings by Rembrandt, Da Vinci and other famous artists. If you are not a huge art fan or person interested in classical architecture, then skip this tour because this is most of what you will see (along with hundreds of other noisy, pushy tourists). Our lunch was an excellent four-course meal served in an old palace-turned office building. The meal was very good and included the obligatory shot of vodka and glass of sparkling wine (as well as bottled water). A young man played piano for the first part of the meal, which was very nice. After lunch we toured the very ornate church in the Peter-Paul Fortress and saw the tombs of the Romanov family as well as other famous Russian Royals. Here the crowd control was most needed, as there was a huge mob of tour groups trying to enter at the same time. The cathedral was absolutely beautiful but hard to take in given our short time there and the pressing crowds. I might also add that flash photography and the use of a camera tripod are prohibited here. Next we drove to an old cathedral with brightly colored spires and turrets. We were not able to go into it. Our bus parked on the street and our guide escorted us to the “perfect place” from which to photograph the cathedral (his wife is a photographer). He was right about the spot. Our next stop was a tourist shop where there was a huge variety of very expensive tourist trinkets as well as free vodka shots and coffee and clean rest rooms. We got back to the boat thirty minutes late, but found that there were still busses that were behind us, so it wasn’t a big deal. Apparently this is the norm in Russia. Clearing customs was a snap and we headed back to the boat. Overall, I would say we had a very good experience on the Costa Fortuna. With the exception of the beverage policy and internet service, I would say that this was a good ship and a good value.   Read Less

This was not my family’s first time on a cruise liner, however Costa surpassed our expectations. Our trip immediately started on a good note. Even though we were quite skeptical for the embarkation procedure I have to say it was flawless. The staff was very helpful and midday sharp we boarded the ship, an hour before planned. As soon as we boarded the ship we were instructed that lunch was available at the Christopher Columbus restaurant. The food was excellent, both quality and quantity were present. At two our rooms were ready. It is easy to note the cleanliness of the ship. The rooms are cleaned twice a day. Before we boarded the ship we had decided to take the all-inclusive beverages packet. I must say that it was an excellent idea. The package has a vast variety of alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages. Regarding the excursions the Costa crew is very organized and efficient. All our excursions were worth our money. The entire staff on Costa Fortuna is very friendly and does their best to make sure you have the best holiday you can imagine. Throughout the day there are different activities and they continue throughout the night; games, shows and music are never absent. For our disembarkation we had decided to take a final excursion with Costa which ended at the airport. Again we were assisted and everything went according to plan. All in all we had an amazing holiday on Costa Fortuna and we cannot wait to go back on one of their ships!!!!   Read Less

Overall the cruise was good…but nothing special to write about. It has been a while since my last cruise (I have cruised on both Carnival and Royal Caribbean in the past) so I knew what to expect but was aware things may be a little different now. The ship was as expected, elegantly decorated and the room was very spacious and well kept (we had a premium balcony). I was most cautious about smoking areas, which were never a factor, and the mentality of Europeans, which were not as rude as some reviews had reported, however I am very well versed in European cultural and have learned how to fit in (for example, lines don't really exist and if there is a space between you and the person in front of you they will squeeze). The boat vibrated A LOT and it didn't matter where we were on it. The food was okay at best and I was prepared for not the greatest food. It was not available all the time and having the late seating at 2130, we would want a pre-dinner "snack" but it was tough to get food some afternoons without planning our schedule around food availability. The service wasn't as attentive as I had remembered in the past. I am not sure if this due to cruise line itself or the automatic tipping policy cruise lines now incorporate. The ports were great, embarking and disembarking went smoothly. Would I go on Costa again? Maybe, if the times worked with my inflexible schedule and went to the ports I wanted to see. Would I recommend Costa? No, but I wouldn't tell people not to go either. Read Less

We are veteran cruisers but this was our first time to sail on Costa. Costa took the fun out of shipboard life. On our cruise of the Norwegian fiords we were charged three Euros for every one liter of water in the dining room. Free iced tea was not an option either. Though water was free in the buffet for breakfast and lunch, there was no buffet at dinner time. Instead Costa offered salad,pizza, and dessert for four Euros in the buffet area if one chose not to go to the dining room in the evening. There was a charge in the buffet in the evening for water, tea, etc. We soon realized that even though we drink wine, water is necessary for our health and so we purchased plenty of it but we did not like being charged for it. The only cookies on board, according to what I was told by the maitre de, were sugar cookies at tea time. With no buffet, there was no option to go and get an evening dessert in the buffet except for one night's very late evening party. The ship's photography department printed the best photos from the customer's onboard sitting in a giant size of about 12 X 15 inches. When we wanted the best photo in a series of photos, they said to print it in a smaller size we must pay for two photos "to recompense" them. The 8 x 10s were 19 Euros and the 12 X 15s were 29 Euros. They were definitely not customer friendly and we responded by not buying any. Our cabin attendant was very pleasant and did her job well. She was the bright spot for us in the Costa cruise personnel. Each time we walked through the casino during the hours it was open we noticed it had no more than about ten percent of the tables or machines occupied. Since cruise ships usually make a big percentage of their profits through their casinos, we had to wonder if Costa is trying to make up for lack of casino activity with charging for water and photographs, a poor strategy at best in my opinion. We do not foresee ever sailing Costa again. Read Less

Our Baltic/Norway cruise was July 5-19. Luminosa is a beautiful newer ship and our room was very nice. Costa still has a way to go to get me back. - Charging for water at dinner was unbelievable. - Same for yoga and spinning sessions (13 Euros each time). - Want pizza after 6:30....then pay extra. - Want a nice dinner....reserve a table at their special restaurant for 25 Euros each person. - Want room service....pay extra. - If you want food available at any time go somewhere else because there is no 24 X 7 food. The dining room food was ok but not great - the service was very good however. When in port you are pretty much on your own as no port information provided either before hand or at the dock is to tell you where the ship docks, public transportation available etc. Seems like Costa is pushing their excursions and shuttles. They were very efficient in handling the excursions and do a nice job getting people off the ship quickly. Beware that there will not be many English speakers, we had less than 100 out of 2200. Wasn't a major problem but can impact English excursion options. Read Less

We recently enjoyed 7 sunny days on the Costa Luminosa visiting some lovely ports in the Baltic. The itinerary was excellent. The ship is clean and well maintained, the décor is modern. However, there is a significant area dedicated to beauty/spa services. It is difficult to obtain information re the prices for the services in the Samsara area, unless you personally go there, where they try and do the hard sell on you. We had a balcony cabin, which was very comfortable and spacious. Our cabin was clean and our cabin attendant was excellent. The food on the cruise was varied and plentiful and the evening meal is 5 courses long. Breakfast and lunch are buffet, so it is hard to imagine why some other reviewers would complain that food isn't available 24/7. Really! Surely this amount of food is enough. Our waiters were very efficient and lovely, although they were very busy all evening. We went on 2 excursions in Stockholm and in St Petersburg and our guides were brilliant, they were knowledgeable, friendly, witty and worked extremely hard throughout the entire excursions. On the negative side the ship's newsletter is poor and there was little information about the gala nights, we almost missed the 2nd night as it was barely mentioned.   Read Less

Experienced cruisers all, our family of five embarked upon a 2 week cruise with Costa, enamored of the itinerary offered, to see the Norwegian fjords and the Baltic capitols, including St. Petersburg, with a reasonable cruise fare to boot. We knew ahead of time that this Italian cruise line would have a predominantly European clientele and therefore harbor a number of smokers, but took that into consideration. What follows are our recollections of the trip, from door to door, so perhaps TMI for some. We departed our home on the coast of NC for the nearly 7 hour drive to Dulles Airport (IAD) in Washington DC on a Thursday evening, having booked a one night stay at the Homewood Suites at Dulles, which offers "Park, Stay, and Pay". This deal allows you to stay one night at the hotel either before departure or upon your return, AND leave the car parked at the hotel rather than the airport for the duration of your trip. Due to blinding rain on the majority of the drive, we didn't arrive at the hotel until almost 1am, so requested a late checkout, which was granted. To our great dismay, however, a fire alarm (set off by a housekeeper who burned some microwave popcorn) went off at about 6am, and couldn't be shut off until the fire department arrived about 15 minutes later. When we'd finally gotten back to sleep, with ringing ears, another fire alarm woke us at ~10am, so our short overnight sleep was thus curtailed. To top it off, the thermostat in the room read 84 degrees F despite having been driven down to a 64 degree set-point! So much for starting out our 2 week journey well-rested . . . After the offered complimentary breakfast, we took the shuttle to the airport for our transatlantic flight. Very convenient. Our flight on Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) was routine, a nonstop from Dulles to Copenhagen, where we took a taxi (driven by a madman) to the cruise departure on Ocean Key, the furthest from downtown and an expensive ride. There was nothing to do here but wait several hours to board, so we arranged with helpful staff to check in our luggage early and then simply waited. One of my teen-aged daughters was so wiped out, she simply laid down across a row of chairs and was lucky enough to get a couple of hours shut-eye! On weekdays, Bus #26 goes to the city center from about one block away, but on weekends, service was spotty and we didn’t feel we had enough time to go far afield. Checking in was easy, given that we had checked in on-line ahead of time, but it was curious that we weren’t asked for credit card details to be able to charge items to our account while on-board. It turns out, one needs to do this AFTER boarding on Costa, at the always-busy Purser's Desk (!?). We received Our cruise ID/charge cards were on our beds when we got into the cabin, and bright red cards were also provided that needed to be handed in at the Mustering Drill later that first afternoon, in essence, a way of taking attendance. In fact, those folks who missed handing in their red cards at the Mustering where obliged to attend a 9am meeting the next morning; we felt this was a just punishment, until the entire ship was awakened at 8:30a by an overhead announcement (in 5 different languages in succession) reminding those slackers to attend! There was little of the usual faux-friendly welcoming on board that one can admittedly grow tired of, but our cabin steward kindly greeted us and was very good throughout our stay. Our cabin interiors were well laid out, but our cabins themselves had some drawbacks as to location (see cabin review). The first evening, several things struck us as being very different from other cruise lines we've frequented: one couldn't drink ANYTHING at dinner without paying for it! No iced tea, no lemonade, NO TAP WATER!!? We were advised to buy a "water package", which was 7 bottles of mineral water for ~$30! Despite our protestations that water was available during the day at the buffet lines, we were denied the possibility of getting tap water at dinner. Another difference was that we were not allowed to carry on a token bottle of wine per adult at the start of the cruise, as we have been able to do on Celebrity for example, so it was apparent that drinks of all kinds were going to be a potential money-maker for Costa. It amazed me that many fellow passengers must have sprung for the "unlimited coffee package", which allowed them to order espresso or cappuccino throughout the day without paying the 4-5 Euro per cup premium retail price! We had early seating on this cruise (7pm), as opposed to 9:30p late seating, so after enjoying the 9:30p show and some time at a lounge listening to music, we sought out some late-night snacks . . . for naught! [There was free pizza available until 6:30p, but then, NOTHING (free).] Food overall was good, with good variety: at breakfast there were breads and pastries, cereals, fruit, omelets made to order, sliced meats and cheeses; at the lunchtime buffets, there were varied cold salads, excellent caprese salad (mozzarella and tomato), fresh pasta, and at times more meat/protein options than at dinner! Dinner was either early or late seating: there was NO option to opt out of a proper meal and go to a buffet instead. Our waitstaff was nice but did not appear as well-trained as others we've had: the "serve from the left and take away from the right" wasn't regularly followed and we often were given forks to the RIGHT of our plates for the pasta course (perhaps this is how it's done in Italy?) We think not. In any case, after the first night's brou-ha-ha regarding our request for tap water, their initial stiffness abated and we got on quite well. Having been on multiple cruises, the "gala crew entertainment" provided by the waiters after several of the dinners made us roll our eyes, but other cruisers and especially children enjoyed the pageantry. Entertainment: the cruise entertainers were OK, with some high-energy evenings and one in particular that fell somewhat flat, appearing to be a newer routine that needed some work. In particular, the VOLUME WAS TOO LOUD, especially our first week of the cruise (7/26-8/2/2014), though perhaps by that time our ears were acclimated. The mime and magician and singer (Vick Vikus) and especially the acrobats were fantastic, so we never missed an evening’s entertainment in the two weeks on board. In the various lounges and bars, the entertainers were overall very good, though the high-pitched voice of the female singer in the Cafe Bar Antares was a bit grating; nighttime energy was always high, with much Italian singing and dancing by all. There was surprisingly no crow's nest bar with sublime views, and much space seemed to be taken up by the 2 specialty restaurants (which never seemed busy, as the up-charge was 25 Euros per person) or Formula One racing (for a fee) or the unused minigolf course. There was sadly no sing-along piano bar, and little karaoke, though both of these probably are due to the mixture of languages on board; in fact, it surprised us that not many of our fellow cruisers were interested in practicing their English. The Italians, Spanish, and French traveled in their large, loud family groups and didn't need to seek out external stimuli, while we and our teenagers were eager to meet others. This happened only infrequently. The Teen Club was dominated by Italian-speakers, and there was no attempt made to "mix it up": even the usual "Meeting with Bill W" or "Bridge-Players Unite" signs in the daily handout were absent, and there were no message boards to rally any particular interest. The lone ping-pong table on this ship of over 2300 passengers was always quite busy; one had to first wait and then be quite persistent (?should I say pushy?) to get in on a game. In addition to having to sign out paddles at a removed bar, you had to BUY 2 balls for 1 Euro (but at least the balls were embossed with the Costa logo, so they count as souvenirs)! There was no shuffleboard. The meager mini-golf course hardly looked worth our time, and we weren’t surprised to discover that there was a charge (5 Euro for 30 minutes, or 8 Euro for 1 hour) when we inquired about getting clubs to play. Suffice to say, we felt there was all too much nickel-and-diming (pun intended) going on, in every aspect of this Costa experience! The gymnasium, on Deck 10, was well-equipped, large, had fresh towels and a water fountain (yeah! free WATER!), but the biggest downside was that the posted age limit of "only >16 years old allowed" was entirely disregarded by passengers and crew alike, so 8, 9, and 12 year olds were running about and using equipment and disrupting adults' workouts. Similarly, nearly every day the hot tubs next to the pools on board were monopolized by noisy splashing youngsters   Read Less

I (25 years) have just been on a cruise in the Baltic Sea with my mom (62) for 8 days. We are from Denmark and travelled in July. Overall we were very pleased with the cruise, and would recommend it to friends and family. Before we went I read a lot of reviews online, and not many of them were very positive. As always it might be because satisfied people don’t write reviews. Therefore I have a need to comment on some of the things, and tell you about our experience on Costa Luminosa. First of all: the staff is just great! They are fun, friendly and do their jobs very well. That goes for both the staff at the bars, pools, cabins and restaurants. I read many reviews that complained about the food, both the quality and the quantity. In our opinion the food was really great. There was a wide and fresh selection for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Maybe especially for lunch, there had 6-7 different buffets with pizza, pasta, seafood, hamburgers/sausages, salad, and much more. Everything was made fresh through the day by chefs standing in the buffet. But also breakfast was, I my eyes, impressive. We had dinner at the ‘free’ restaurant Taurus every night except one. The menu changed every day. I read a lot of reviews saying that the portions were too small, and that people left hungry. Yes, the portions are small, but there is no reason to leave hungry! First, it is an Italian ship, and the menu is planned so that you can eat 5-6 courses or more if you like (starter, pasta, main course, cheese, dessert). If there is one thing you want more of, you just tell your waiter (which btw is the same the whole week) and he will make sure you get at bigger portion, or get you two servings of that course. Many nights I ordered 3-starts because I like starters and my mom several desserts. We had dinner with 9 other Danes and talked to a lot more during the week, and not any of us had complaints about the food. We did meet some Americans who were very unsatisfied by the food, though, but I blame that on Americans and not the ship :) We had the all-inclusive drinks, and loved it. The coffee, the drinks and the wine was delicious and the service great. There was a lot included (everything we wanted during the week including many funny and classic drinks) and you could use it in all the bars and restaurants onboard. The ship was very clean, both the public areas and the cabins. The cabin staff was very nice and helpful. We lived in the inside cabin, and it was all fine. When we arrived my mom and I found our beds side by side with only one duvet. We thought that might be a little too cozy for us. We asked our cabin-staff if we could get two duvets, and of cause that was possible, and if we liked she would also move the beds, so it would be to singles with the nightstand in between. It was all done within the hour, even though they were busy with all the new passengers. So the ship was great. My biggest complaint about the cruise was that a couple of weeks before we had to go, they changed one of our ports. Instead of going to Stockholm, we were going to some port 58 km outside of Stockholm. Therefore we booked an excursion over the webpage. When we came onboard, we were told that the port was changed back to Stockholm. Since we were now going to Stockholm again, we were not sure if we wanted the excursion (since we are Danes, we don’t really feel like tourists in Sweden). But it was no problem to get it refunded when we asked, and we ended up taking the excursion after all. They also changed the order of the ports, which was a little annoying, but really didn’t matter that much. If I should say something negative about the ship, it would be, that I thought it a shame that they had closed the roof over the central pool (the roof goes on and off). I thought I very warm and moist to be in there, but looked like a lot of people enjoyed it. And I just used the pool in the back. Also, I read a lot of positive remarks about the shows in the evening, I wasn’t blown away. But might be I had to big expectations after having seen a lot of London and Broadway shows. The other Danes were quite impressed. Besides all of this we had really great weather all week. All in all we were happy, impressed and very satisfied with our cruise!   Read Less

We had a 14 days cruise on Luminose last month(actually in Baltic Sea and Norway) and I would like to share with you some my experience.. There were some new changes started on our trip: no buffet for dinner only restaurant, no free water on dinner table and no cold and hot and ice water after 5 pm (water stations were closed). Menu was almost same everyday and cooking was terrible. In my mind the food in lunch buffet is better than dinner restaurant. If you were hungry after dinner you had to pay for pizza and only pizza was offered. The on ship drink was very expensive, 50 euro for a bottle red wine. The excursions were expensive too. Have you heard " cheap ticket but expense on board". There was no live band for entertainment and some shows were repeated within a week. The service was quite different from American cruise company. They are two different classes. The first language is Italian and this cruise was tailored for European market, you pay euro not dollar. That is 30% more. Be aware.. Read Less

As a frequent and enthusiastic Costa client I was extremely disappointed this time. What was meant to be a romantic getaway turned into a nightmare. Where do I begin.... Well for a start, I'd like to point put that the itinerary was excellent and has been my favourite so far. Visiting both the Baltic cities and the Fjords in a 2 week cruise the stopovers just get better and better, allowing one to make the most of both the history and culture of the cities as well as the breathtaking natural wonders. So again, this review is by no means a reflection of the cruise itinerary. The ship was awful! Everything on the entire ship was falling apart and tattered. All the decoration was outdated and the furniture in the restaurants was falling apart. The bathrooms on board the ship were all broken, most of which had 2 or more cubicles out of order. The floors were often flooded, the smell was revolting, they were often out of toilet paper, paper towels and soap. Very outrageous! To use a clean toilet you had to return to your cabin. On entering the cabin, the first thing I noticed was the quantity of broken things; drawers with no handles, the safe, and various bits and pieces in the bathroom like the paper towel holder and the drain in the sink (the parts were actually missing). In addition the cabin appeared to not have been cleaned. The sheets had hairs in them and appeared to not have been changed prior to our entry, there were crumbs on the floor which also hadn't been hoovered, the mirrors in the room and bathroom were greasy and dirty and the sofa was so full of dust that it stained my trousers when I sat on it. The TV as covered in dust as well. Also, the shower had some unidentifiable residue in it and had obviously not been washed either. As if all this wasn't enough, the cabin window (which we had paid extra to have) was so filthy that we could hardly see through it! Although upon complaint housekeeping arrived to clean, a lot of the broken things remained broken throughout the duration of the cruise. When I asked to speak with a manager in customer services on board they told me that all complaints were to be submitted online. I found the customer services and housekeeping staff's attitude highly dismissive and unsatisfactory considering the state of the cabin. When I told the housekeeping manager that everything in the room was old and broken he simply replied that the whole ship was old and the only thing that mattered was that the cabin was now clean. They offered no complements or compensation. Finally the drinks package, by far the most ridiculous policy ever devised. Me and my partner had paid like €10 per day for drinks. These drinks are almost impossible to get hold of. So you can only have a glass of water at a time which must be consumed on the spot. At lunch you have like 2 hours to order drinks in any restaurant aboard, at dinner however, you can only drink in 1 restaurant and if you choose to eat at the buffet instead you can go thirsty. Unfortunately for me I came down with a severe kidney infection and high temperature during my cruise and it was a constant battle to obtain a bottle of water down in the cabin. The waitressing staff insisted that it had to be bought- in spite of our drinks package. Read Less

I was disappointed in many aspects but perhaps my expectations were off for a European line. I haven't cruised that much, I went for the scenery (Fjords) and convenience of a cruise. I was taken aback by how much Costa pushed the bars and the drinks. They did a good job on some other things, but it was clear where their priorities lay. The shore excursions were generally good. The dining room food was very good, but small portions, so order a lot. The self-service restaurant food was very good at lunch, but severely limited between lunch and dinner. But often too crowded and hard to find a table. The wifi was terrible. Pricey and poor quality, could only surf, all uploads failed. THe library was barely adequate. The Costa people were nice, but the other guests were generally quite rude. Probably standard fare for European cruise, but don't expect people to respect lines, or let you get out of the elevator. Quite a bit of smoking, it is allowed indoors on the ship too. Read Less

I took a cruise on the Costa Fortuna departing from Copenhagen. She is 10 years old and looks her age. The good things: Size of the cabin was very convenient. Lots of cabinets and a large bed which was very comfortable. Many shelves in the bathroom and safety measures not to fall or slip. The balcony we booked was small but with a table and two comfortable chairs and it was nice sitting there. Staff was very friendly, the steward efficient ,the elevators speedy and lots of them. Evening performances at the theater were quite entertaining despite lasting only 45 minutes. 5th floor has several bars with singers and dance floors. quite enjoyable. Before going on the cruise we were often in contact with the company's representatives and they did their best to help us with anything. The bad things: The air conditioner was very weak and hardly noticeable. And it was hot. In the bathroom we had almost no hot water and it was very unpleasant. TV was huge with a small screen (TV not even LCD). Both the TV and the remote only allowed to jump forward one channel or change volume. The picture quality was poor and unclear and that could not be improved. There were a lot of the ship's channels and the rest were Italian. There was only one news channel in English, the BBC. We talked with the steward on these issues and we were told that's that. The room's water had terrible taste, no way we could drink that. We had to buy the ship's water, each liter for 3 euros!!! Even that had very funny taste. When I talked to other passengers who were on other companies' cruises no one has encountered such a problem. I understand the ship is 10 years old but is that an excuse for such disregard? Breakfast and lunch were very scarce and very poor selection. The same the whole seven days. Other people from other cruises were just amazed. For example, there were only two Yellow Cheese kinds, throughout the voyage. Everyone is familiar with the disaster that happened last year to the Concordia. I'll have to assume that because of fall in demand Costa is looking for every way to cut expenses and get passengers to pay more... Another example of that would be the outrageous cost of 10 euros for one hour for the ship's Wi-Fi! Tours: The ship was not sailing to Bergen although most other tours do. In Geiranger we had to get off not directly to the harbour but through a boat and on return everyone had to wait half an hour in the heat for their turn to get back to the ship. On the third day we came to Skjolden from nine in the morning till five thirty. It's a tiny place with nothing realy to do if you wanted to go ashore. We took a tour of the glacier and drove for three hours there and back ond then only saw it from afar. There was no nice scenery on the way as well. At Oslo we arrived at seven in the morning and stayed only until 12 which wasn't enough for a proper tour. We were told the reason for that was that the ship wanted to get in time to the next stop, Warnemunde, so that people wanting to do a tour in Berlin could get there in time. As we didn't need that tour and there was nothing to do in Warnemunde we had to stay in the ship from nine and a half to eight in the evening! Another annoying problem was that in each of the docking points there weren't any taxis or other means of transporatation besides that of the ship's. Friends who cruised other companies in this area told us that wasn't their experience. In conclusion, this was my first cruise and next time, if there is one, I'll be wiser in choosing the right cruising company. Read Less

For the first time we took Costa Cruice in summer 2008 in Mediterranean Tour from Barcelona. We were so please with experience with Costa that we decided to take Costa cruise again to Norwegian Fjords from Copenhagen for one week 9th June. What a disappointment and waste and money! We had a suite that we paid for the family with two children 4700e/week. What happened to Costa Cruise between these years? The huge difference from before was the crew! They were arrogant and fake friendly robots! Did the crew paid that disaster with Concordia? Did the cruise company cut their salary to pay the bill? We had in our suite a nice welcoming suggest a bottle of Spumante. Because we don´t use any alcohol, we asked for our "butler” to have an alcohol free alternative like Coca Cola instead, BUT THIS WASN´N POSSIBILE  WE DIDN´T GET ANYTHING! Our "butler” spoke so lousy English that we couldn´t understand her. Everything what we should have in our suite automatically like fresh fruit every day, lunch/diner menus  we were oblige to asked for to get some. For the first night, they took our chairs away, and we actually had to be angry and unfriendly to get them back to our suite. We also went a several time to gym/sauna and in the ladies side was a "big girl” crew member, who was so rood and unfriendly. I had problems with a locker and she didn´t want to help me at all. She preferred to gossip with her friend. We were also invited to have cocktails with the captain, but he wasn´t never there. And we were also kindly offered to take a photo with a captain, but unfortunately we were late and we took a photo with the Hotel manager instead. But that photo wasn´t free to surge as it was written on invitation! What a surprise! We went to the customer service desk, and there was a very arrogant crew member ( a man) who let us kindly know that only members on Club pearl and Gold Club pearl can have a good service in that ship. We were members only in the Club Coral. But he made a call to verified and told us, that we couldn´t have the photo with a Hotel manager free, but the photo graphed person offered to take a NEW photo and that photo we could get free! How stupid can it be? The manly crew member was very arrogant and rod to us! The food in the restaurants was excellent, but the crew was like robots with mechanic smile in the face. And after the one week in Costa Fortuna, when we leave the ship, our "friendly butler” didn´t even said goodbye! So we have shared our experience with everybody in social media like Facebook, Twitter, travel blogs and sites. Our friends chooses a Norwegian Cruice Line instead Costa Cruise because our experience. And for us, NEVER more Costa Cruises! For the next year we choose Norwegian cruise Line for holidays! What a shame! Cruising from 1948!   Read Less

Realizing that everyone will have a different perspective this review is from a reasonably upscale couple from Canada who have been on several cruises. Here is what we feel is "the good, the bad and the ugly".The Good: Great service from all of the staff. Our room steward, room service, our dining servers, the bar staff, the tour desk and the front desk, were all terrific. They were always exceptionally courteous, helpful and friendly. An easy "10" and kudos to Celebrity/Costa training programs and selection of staff.The room was terrific. Great shower. Excellent balcony. Well appointed with comfortable bed, bar fridge, storage, etc. Our AC broke down (stuff happens) and was repaired by next day. The dining room food a la carte was acceptable but really not great. Average tasting food was always presented very nicely...all "show and no go". The fish was always done very well. I would rate the dining room experience a 6 but a 10 for the staff. Bar service (which was always extra cost) was, not surprisingly, always terrific.The Bad: Despite the tap water in the room not being marked as "not potable" we were told by all staff that it "was not safe to drink" (incredulous). The feeling is that they were told to say that to help the ship sell more expensive bottled water at about $5 per or sign up for additional various extra cost "package" plans (or go to the buffet area). We constantly felt like we were being nickel and dimed as staff would try to sell the extra-price packages.The buffet was below what I would even call a cafeteria. Always crowded. Very limited selection and limited availability and hours. Bland, tasteless and very unappetizing food. How can you go wrong with pizza on an Italian boat? Easy. The pizza could have been right out of a box. Juice at lunch? Nope. Only water. Juice available only with the breakfast buffet unless you wanted to pay extra. We just shook our head and sighed. No coffee maker in room? Come on. Had to order it from room service with a $2 per visit charge (for anything on a very limited "room service" menu). Extended room service menu ran about $6 pp. Internet? Wifi advertised but runs $15 per hour and very spotty. The "hour" is more like 10 minutes as very slow. No deck bars (open) or waiter service. You want a drink? Hike down several floors then carry it back up. The excursions were very limited and descriptions were skimpy. Boat tour of Stockholm? Only offered in German and Italian. We took anyway and fortunately the boat had English audio on the headsets. No ATM on board and no way of getting cash - euros, rubles, dollars, whatever. They have currency exchange but you need cash to exchange. Ancient TV in room with one English channel (BBC) and remote that did not work properly. Minor, yes but 2 days at sea....?The boat was built in 2003 and is showing it's age. Stains on the room floor carpets, a backed up septic system leaving our hallway smelling putrid for 2 days, and similar observations. The public washrooms were all exceptionally clean, modern and well appointed. In terms of the shows not one caught our interest based on the description provided in the daily guide.The Ugly: The coffee. How could an Italian boat have the absolute worst coffee we have ever had. Nobody seemed to pay any attention to this. Room service coffee ($2.50 per visit) was like syrup...terrible). Buffet coffee was watered down. Terrible. We asked for a coffee after dinner in the "upscale" a la carte dining room and were told "sorry, it has been turned off" (this was at 9:30 pm). Only other place to get coffee was to pay extra at the bar. The best coffee we had on the entire trip was at a McDonalds on one of the excursions (which I really hate to admit to).So, that's about it. Based on the full fair we paid for this cruise and knowing then what we know now and compared to other cruises, we would not have gone. I think the staff worked hard to make the best of a situation they knew that we were being taken advantage of. Our sense is that owners/management are trying to squeeze every last dollar out of everyone without delivering on expectations. Read Less

So we just got back from a sailing on the Costa Luminosa. Basically, we had a great time despite the ship. The ship is generally attractive and the crew helpful, but the management on the ship is awful. They are very disorganized. Depending on who you get they may or may not be knowledgeable and can be curt. Both my daughter and I speak some Italian but not fluently and we really felt the focus of attention was on Italian speakers; we would also have enjoyed meeting some but they arrange things on board so that people speaking different languages are segregated (as at dinner). Among my biggest complaints was that they didn't seem to open up the covered pool very much. Our first sea day it didn't open till after noon. Our final sea day, it didn't open at all and when I persisted in asking customer service why, I was finally told it was "broken." I have to say we saw no evidence of that; it was filled and the water was moving (via pump, I would say, since it didn't move in the same pattern as the water outside the ship). We also begrudgingly took a tour of St. Petersburg since the Russian government in its infinite wisdom doesn't allow cruise passengers to wander the city by themselves unless they have paid something like $400 apiece for visas. We were looking for the least restrictive tour and settled on one that included a cruise on a canal boat. When we booked it, we were told it didn't exist in English so we booked the Italian tour. Imagine our surprise when, the evening before, we discovered that there was a meeting point in the English program for the tour that didn't exist in English. Of course, the tour office was closed by the time the program was delivered so we went to customer service. The person there called the tour office director and was told we should go to the English tour meeting point a few minutes early so they could accommodate us. Instead, the person who was coordinating there was RUDE in the extreme, refused to call the customer service person who said she should call her if there was a problem, told us there was no place for us and finished off by saying we knew what we were getting into when we booked the Italian tour. From what we discovered later, they must have opened up the tour after we booked the first day and filled it, and no one bothered to think of us even though we booked early. We really felt that we were treated poorly. We also had problems with internet, our dinner sitting (booked late, got early and had to withstand a mob to change it even though we paid more for the cabin to guarantee our choice of sitting), food was mediocre and (in the dining room) of limited selection, and I have to say I resented the fact that they constantly blared music and activities over the loudspeaker in the pool area, where I was trying to read and rest. I have sailed on Costa before, in the 1960s, as a teenager, going transatlantic. That was a far more pleasant though less "smooth" experience. I wouldn't say I wouldn't sail Costa again -- that would depend on ports and price -- but I will say I was extremely disappointed. Read Less

We took a one-week cruise with Costa Luminosa to the Norwegian Fjords, sailing out of Copenhagen, and visiting Flam, Geiranger, Bergen, Stavanger, Kristiansand (instead of Oslo initially planned) and back to Copenhagen. The scenery is beautiful, although the persisting low clouds due to high humidity levels in the fjords, kept the sun from shining and further improving an already beautiful scenery. The itinerary is great, as it allows to cover some of the best fjords in the region. Too bad the Oslo stopover was cancelled during the trip, due to the tragic events earlier, as Kristiansand is clearly not a suitable alternative in terms of scenery or things to do.The ship is generally good, and in particularly comfort in our minisuite room for 3 people was very good on this new ship. What disappointed us was the way in which Costa maximizes their profits by not only filling the whole cruise ship, but also either charging for things we were not expected to pay extra (e.g. mineral water),overcharging for other things (example: prices for excursion tours we could book ourselves on the Internet were uplifted by 50% minimum!) or constantly "nagging" people to buy additional services (spa, etc). Clearly, they are taking advantage of having a captive customer group to milk them as much as possible.Food was generally fine, although the buffet selection was only "average". Entertainment was OK, but clearly this is not the strongest point of Costa either. All in all, I would say great itinerary, very good ship, good food, but so-so on overall company (a taste of Italian family outings!) and value for money Read Less

We used to travel on Costa but stopped because despite innovative itineraries at good prices, the food was bland and frequently disappointing, and the coffee, always instant, was awful. For this unusual trip to the Norwegian Fjords, which only Costa offered at a reasonable price, we were surprised by the significant food improvement (which is now quite good, except for the coffee) and the many onboard technology innovations. Costa uses an extensive network of hand scanners, kiosks, and interactive TV to take care of administrative tasks - including shore excusions, account monitoring, credit card registration, dinner reservations in the specialty restaurant, and photos. Unlike Costa's user-hostile and often-not-working website, these technologies worked flawlessly, intuitively, and accurately. Check your balance daily at the kiosks, because staff can and do make data entry mistakes. Take those to the front desk immediately; waiting until the last day will mean 45 minutes or more in a line. Dinner and lunch food quality in the main restaurants was much better than in years past. The dishes were fresher, tastier, and the service quick and efficient. However, you will see a significant reduction in beef dishes, and almost no steaks; no lobster night; no fresh salmon on the breakfast or lunch buffet; no midnight buffet; no free alternative dinner to main dining except for pizza; chocolate soft serve ice cream which tastes like icy dirt; and the ship's coffee, while better, has moved from awful to tolerable (it's still instant). True coffee fans pay per cup for real coffee at the coffee bars. Many of the public rooms, which used to be full of chain-smoking Europeans, are designated non-smoking. Three cheers for the fact there were no annoying "art" sales on board this ship! The spa is very very expensive. A hot stone massage for 50 minutes, which you can get in any US city for $100 or less, is about $270. The couples massage and hot tub will set you back over $430. Costa Club members (those who have travelled on the line before) get 25% off spa services while in port but be careful; there is lots of fine print where the discounts do not apply. The speciality saunas and pools and other hot and cold rooms are are $50 per person per day. Gym users no longer have access to showers and changing rooms; these are also the exclusive domain of paying spa customers. For non-drinkers, costa lacks unlimited soda cards. The best available option is 13-750ml bottles of sparkling water for $35. Wine is $35/bottle and up (way up), so wait for the $27 midweek special (two bottles of perfectly reasonable red or white wine and two bottles of sparkling water). The internet can be purchased at roughly 20 cents per minute in a package of 3 hours, down from the standard cruise ship rip-off of 50-75 cents per minute. Shore Excursions: Take the Flam/Myrdal/Voss rail and bus trip. The scenery is so astonishing, especially from the trains, that you'll stumble over yourself (and other passengers) taking shot after shot after shot. Large city tours like Bergen are reasonably priced bus/sightseeing/shopping journeys of 2-3 hours. They are not particularly adventurous but good for seeing the highlights quickly. Small city tours in the fjords can be amazing. The Gerainger Views, for example, are breathtaking; stunning; magical scenery; not to be missed! Book tours online; doing it on the ship will cost you time waiting in long lines. There will around 10% English-speaking passengers on board and about 5% or less from the US, but no worries. Costa handles logistics expertly in five languages including English. The shore excursions are always on time and well-run. Don't go in May when it tends to rain, or in August when the amazing waterfalls have slowed to a drip. The sweet spot is mid to late June. This Norwegian itinerary is spectacular. You will not be disappointed. Last but not least; tips for everyone are handled through central billing; about 7 euros per person per day. Still, at the first moment on the first day that your cabin stewart introduces himself or herself, give them $20-$30 and say, simply, thank you. Just do it, trust us, you won't regret it. Read Less

After leaving the sea 27 yrs ago, working as Chief Electrician, it was time to see how the other half live.We flew from London to Copenhaghen as my wife wanted to revisit Copenhagen and also Costa offered more time visiitng Norway than sailing from Southampton. As this was for her 50th birthday, she called the tunes and after a lot of research on internet to who did what, we opted for Costa.I am a great believer in you cannot please all the people all the time, so I fully expected to not find somethings to my taste and life experiences are sometimes what you decide to make of them.The ship, bigger than any I have sailed on was not the decor I would have chosen, but I was only on it for a week, so not any problem at all. The cabin and cabin stewardess were excellent, kept very clean, warmly greeted every time we spoke to her and it became a guessing game to what she would do to our bed at night and find pillows arranged differently or the blanket laid out in a new shape. It was good fun. Also i rushed out one day and left my t shirt laying on the seat, returned to find it all nicely folded. My wife wanted to bring her home as sha is tored of clearing up after me. There was plenty of storage space for 2 of us for a week and many cupboards were not used.We bought a wine/water & beer package and this worked out a lot cheaper based on CC prices. we didnt pay anymore than if we went to a restaurant in the UK. It wasnt cheap if you bought the drinks as and when you wanted them, so spend some time working out whats best for you.The waiters on our table were wonderful and even when something wasnt on the menu, they would try and get it for you and generally got it. As the staff are on 8 month contracts, working 7 days a week and very little free time, I was very impressed to see them still manage to smile and they seemed to work very hard. The food was served quickly and you didnt have to wait between courses, the food was very good, plenty of choice and was always hot if that was the way it should be.The buffet was good for the reason you could please yourself when you ate and there was enough choices between the various Pizza bar, grill bar, salads aplenty. We did upgrade on the last night to the Luminosa restaurant and for an extra €20 each, well worth the experience. It was a fantastic way to end the week Being used to visiting the west end for shows, the standard of entertainment was average, but acceptable except for one act where the singer was awful. She was only saved by the guy doing gymnastics alongside her. The pools are small and not very inviting, but my biggest bug bear is the fact that they allow smoking in a few areas. I HATE SMOKING and the smell drifted through the areas. They should confine smoking to either outside on Deck 11 or have a room fully vented and they can all kill themselves together. They didnt even manage to get all smoking on Port or Starboard sides of the ship, some decks port, some starboard, I would have walked the whole length of the ship down the non smoking side then.Some of the charges in my opinion are expensive. €75 to a limited tour of the ship. Internet charges are ridiculous, there again only had 341 emails to sort out after a week, but saved a fortune. golf, F1 simulator etc seemed excessive and you can feel at times you may get charged for breathing. Just be aware of extras like €7 per person per day service charge and the staff only get this if they meet the tough standards CC set out. My question is, where does the money go if they dont pay it to the staff. €7 x 2260 per day x 7 days = €110,740 a lot of money for CC to keep in the bank for nothing. I would have liked to personally tip my helpers, but after spending €98 on top of cruise cost, it becomes a no no for me.I would happily return to CC if they stopped smoking mainly, but I also want to compare other companies even though Carnival seem to own most of them. I will look at comments on here before I book the next one in maybe 18 mths Read Less

First things first, getting on the ship - the embarkation process was very fast and trouble free. We boarded the ship at about 12noon, our cabin was ready and our luggage and cruise cards where already waiting for us. The ship was beautiful, it was kept very clean by a small army of dedicated crew who seemed to work non stop. Our cabin was spacious and very comfortable, and was kept spic and span by our cabin steward Crisanto, he was very attentive and no request was a issue for him. The meals in the MDR where of high quality as was the service from our waiter Avery, the menu had great selections and the food was well presented and always arrived hot. Eating in the buffet for breakfast and lunch was always interesting, there was always a great selection to choose from, and the pasta stations where always a great option. The only thing was the buffet area became a bit crazy sometimes, but it was always entertaining. There was a midnight buffet every night, we never made it it any. The club restaurant was very special, well worth a visit, the food and service is top notch, a real treat was where they make ice cream for you at your table with liquid nitrogen and the steam floats over your table - very special. The entertainment was very good with a good variety of shows to suit all tastes. The Squok club kept our children aged 4 & 8 entertained with a variety of activities. Our youngest was a little scared at first as there where no English speaking children her age, but she soon settled in. The english language barrier was never an issue, as all the crew are required to speak English, some speak & understand it better than others but it was very easy to communicate. Rebekah our English speaking hostess was always available to help out, but we did not have any problems. Rebekah was fantastic, she arranged quizzes & deck walks and other little activities for the English speaking guests. As I said we booked 3 cruises back to back. The first 7 days was Norway and there is not much to say other than - BREATHTAKING. Of the ports that we visited Flam and Hellesylt & Geiranger where my favourite. The second cruise was another 7 days but this time it was to the Blatics and again it was all stunning. St Petersburg & Tallinn are the stand out picks on that leg of our holiday. The final cruise was 10 nights back to Savona "The Crossing" is what the crew was calling it, they where heading to thier home port for the first time since the ship was launched to there was quite an air of excitement on board. (we did the exact same cruise last year) all our port stops where great. All in all this was so far our best holiday ever, and I would recommend the Costa Deliziosa to any of my friends and family. Cruising Italian style is an experience that will leave you with many many fond memories - well for us it has anyway..... Read Less