We were just scrolling cruises and saw this one ,unbelievable price ,with just two weeks to sailing ,too good to miss ,so booked it !!! Then I started reading reviews how the crew were surly unhelpful etc...and I thought omg what have we done ,and worried for the next two weeks !!!!.... Well , how wrong were the reviews ,or what did people expect ...bowing and scapeing...we found everyone so happy ,glad to help you with anything ... Kelly in reception .. Manuel our waiter ,and Denis always in the restruant with a smile , Eddie our cabin Steward.Saulo, Marvin ,bar waiters ,in fact all the crew ..... The food was very good ,downside ..you had to pay for bottled water at meal times , ...you could ask for anything and they tried to oblige us ..I had mash potatoes every night with my meal (cos I love them ) The cabin were very nice and clean ...downside no tea/coffee making facilities The ship was a bit over OTT ,glass , mirrors , stainless steel everywhere ,but so so clean ,lifts always available,... The nightly shows were disappointing,and not to the standard of P &O Fred Olsen . The ship had lots of nationalitys ,and everyone got along fine ,there was a very happy atmosphere on board ,and I would certainly go with them again ... Read Less

This is the worse cruise ever, not sure where to start. First the positive lifts are great, no waiting as plenty of them. Now the negatives, staff are rude, miserable and clearly not there to please, food in restaurant was appalling and water has to be paid for. Serve yourself buffet has a better choice but a majority of people have chosen that over restaurant clearly as queuing is horrendous and finding a free seat impossible. Tea and coffee is only available at breakfast and sometimes for an hour in afternoon, you can purchase these but expensive and everything has a 15% service charge. Ship docked miles in the depth of ports (to save on port charges) Shuttle service out of port was another charge 12 euros per person per trip and chaotic with no queuing in place and a free for all. Daily service charges are mandatory and cannot be removed even if you are unhappy with the service. I thought I was on my holidays but felt more like imprisonment. Read Less

Embarkation We picked this cruise because the dates fitted our needs and it was departing from the UK. I've cruised extensively with multiple cruise lines, but this was only my friend's second time at sea having travelled with P&O last time. It was relatively inexpensive at around £680 for the week including a drinks package. Embarkation was disappointing. We were 2 of only 65 guests joining the ship in Dover, the majority of people had set sail from Amsterdam a couple of days earlier. Being a five hours plus drive away from Dover, we'd stayed overnight at a local hotel. We'd been given an embarkation time of 2pm, but we had to vacate our room for 11am so we got to the port around 11.30. The ship was in, lots of guests had gone off on excursions etc and yet we had to sit in the terminal with our luggage for two and a half hours, with no hot or cold drinks available, not even water. Nobody from the ship was in sight until bang on 2pm when they came and set their stall up and checked us in. It seemed petty to not invite us onto the ship earlier so we could start our holiday, we would have understood if our cabin hadn't been available but it seemed petty to leave us kicking around in an empty terminal. Excursions We'd looked on line before we sailed at excursions - our first port of call was Le Havre and we'd been hoping to visit Paris, but there were no listed excursions on-line for Paris and we didn't want to risk a 3hr train journey or independent excursion in case something went wrong, since it's 3 hours away from port. It turned out that excursions to Paris were in fact available once on board but by the time we got on the ship in Dover they'd all sold out. We bought tickets for the shuttle bus to Hamburg, for 10 Euros each only to watch lots of people who'd got off the ship without shuttle tickets being allowed on for free which was great for them but left us feeling cross. The shuttle driver who took us to a train station so we could get a train to Amsterdam later in the week told us the pick up point was the same as the drop off point and that was incorrect, resulting in us waiting over an hour in the baking sunshine for a shuttle that was operating back and forth from the other side of the station. It was just al really badly organised, verging on Chaos, and there were lots of annoyed customers, us included. The ports of call were miles from the actual cities, and two shuttles dropped us at a station where we had to catch a train in to both Amsterdam and Bruges...it was not convenient or easy and significantly diluted the pleasure of looking around somewhere new. Food Oh dear. The food and dining experience in general was terrible. The food tasted okay but it was consistently lukewarm, in fact I'd go so far as to say we never had a hot meal the whole week we were away. The choice was far more limited than I've experienced on other cruise lines. The breakfast buffet was just awful with cold greasy bacon and very limited choice, and all clap cold. On two of the days they ran out of bread rolls and there was no cereal of fruit. We tried the formal serviced dining room one morning to see if it was any better but sadly is wasn't. Overall we were horribly disappointed with every single dining experience. The waiter regarded us as a pair of freaks for expecting hot food and a roll of the eyes was all out guaranteed every time we fed back that the food wasn't hot enough. Service & standards It was pretty inconsistent. A couple of the bars had friendly engaging waiters but generally they were miserable and even a bit sullen. Overall not great. One of the officers with 3 pips on his shoulder wandered around often with a shirt that looked like it had been slept in, with faded navy chinos on the bottom half, and a female officer who looked much smarter was more interested in looking at herself in the many mirrors than engaging with the guests. Overall We had a good time in spite of Costa. It's a safe bet that we will never ever travel with them again..it's not an experience we would wish to repeat. Read Less

We cruised on the ‘Around Iberia’ itinerary at short notice and bagged a fantastic last minute deal. Having said that, the overall experience was poor and we would not recommend Costa to anyone interested in a cruise holiday. We joined the ship at Dover, the day after it sailed from Amsterdam, and, as per previous experience at the Dover port, check in was a complete dream, with no queues, friendly port staff and easy access via the high speed rail link from London. The passenger contingent based on our non-scientific analysis during the 8 days on board was (in descending order) Italian, French, Dutch, German, Rest of the World, including English speakers from various parts of the globe. If I have to summarise the negative points of the cruise into a simple statement, it is: Incredibly bad management. The Italian management in particular swagger around the ship with an arrogance that belies the poor levels of service, staff and crew motivation and customer experience on offer. By way of example, we dined in the paid-for pizza restaurant one evening. A group of about a dozen Costa staff arrived to eat, then complained about the pizza and the service aloud, leading to the Food and Beverage director summoning the chef to the table to be chastised in front of everyone, with additional guidance provided on how to prepare a pizza properly. It was mortifying and all the passengers present watched aghast. We regularly had a particular member of staff using the upper sun lounge deck as a venue to make loud telephone calls back home of an afternoon. Queueing for anything on board is a nightmare. I know we have special ‘queueing IQ’ in the UK, but the mismanagement of passengers waiting their turn for anything was an embarrassment. A request for a towel to use by the poolside on debarkation day – we had to vacate our stateroom by 9:30 but wouldn't disembark until 16:00 on a gloriously sunny day – was simply met with “That is not possible”. The receptionist explained, as we had already understood and complied with, that towels are assigned to staterooms and that once you've vacated your stateroom and left your towel there, you’re without one. It beggars belief that Costa have yet to adopt the ‘sign out, sign in’ towel process of other large lines. The NeoRomantica is a beautiful ship, the cabins are modern with excellent storage, and the bar, restaurant and stateroom staff are all wonderful. We loved all of the interesting and varied ports of call on our itinerary. The food offering is mixed – it was nice to have daily pasta choices, the soups were uniformly excellent, but mains were variable. I don’t mean for this review to sound like a giant moan, but rather as an honest appraisal of our experience on board. Caveat Emptor! Read Less

We had the misfortune to sail on the Costa Riviera one Christmas several years ago and we said "never again", this time I mean never again. Not wholly the fault of Costa who now do not produce an English brochure. We were sold this on a coach tour/cruise idea which sounded excellent. 3400, Italians including 500+ children on a ship of this size does not make for a good holiday for 40 English speaking passengers. We booked a high deck cabin with an extra large balcony at the back of the ship. No sun-beds available.Cabin not cleaned, balcony not cleaned, bathroom toiletries had to be requested. Bathroom shower was cleaned spasmodically. 2nd sitting for dinner because after 24 plus cruises this is the norm for us, normally 8-8.30pm, on here it was 9.30-10.00pm. Main course arrived on two occasions after 11.00 pm. Very young children still up with one pleading for his bed?. The dish cleaning area was immediately behind our table, what a racket. Pasta dishes served with no sauce, cold and tasteless. The menu was the smallest I have seen on a cruise ship in 40 years. 3 choices, Pasta, pasta,pasta. My husband is not a cheese eater, he lost weight. The self-service dining was awash with children allowed to help themselves, not a pretty sight. Not enough staff was a huge problem, even they were critical of the food and service. Add to this the smallest of docking times to see places like Dubrovnik was beyond a joke. The all inclusive drinks package became coloured water by day 6. Sending drinks back became the norm. Like I said....never again Read Less

My wife and on went on the Western Mediterranean cruise aboard Costa Magica in March this year (see previous review). We spotted a bargain priced 10 day cruise on Magica around Northern Europe and decided to take the plunge. This was probably our last Costa cruise. The ship called at Dover so we were expecting a few more brits this time, but there were apparently only about 80 aboard so in a distinct minority. This cruise appeared even more geared up to the Italians. Announcements were made in 6 european languages with English following up the rear and sometimes not at all. As before, the Italians were loud, rude and pushy so be warned! We were on Deck 6 Caravaggio which is a bad place to be. If you have a cabin in the central block above the Salento Grand Bar change it. We were in 6297 and directly above the stage so we could hear Bingo calling and the loud thud of eurobeat music until 1.30 each morning. There was also a continual loud vibration. You won't get an early night in any of these rooms. Another problem with this ship is the lack of designated smoking areas and the lack of decent ventilation. Both the bars at the rear of the ship allowed smoking so there was no escape. The 'air con' seems to kick in once an hour but is not very efficient. The restaurants in particular get very hot. Maybe the Italians like it that way but we found it very uncomfortable. If you fancy watching TV forget it. The only English speaking channel is BBC world news. We didn't fancy any of the theatre shows this time and our English companions said most were dire. We were fortunate on this cruise to find an English guitarist Ron who kept us entertained in one of the bars. Pity the cruise director decided to alternate him every hour with a classical duo playing violin and piano. We enjoyed some of the ports of call but unless you are a committed europhile and can withstand the general mayhem recommend avoiding Costa. Read Less

My wife and on went on the Western Mediterranean cruise aboard Costa Magica in March this year (see previous review). We spotted a bargain priced 10 day cruise on Magica around Northern Europe and decided to take the plunge. This was probably our last Costa cruise. The ship called at Dover so we were expecting a few more brits this time, but there were apparently only about 80 aboard so in a distinct minority. This cruise appeared even more geared up to the Italians. Announcements were made in 6 european languages with English following up the rear and sometimes not at all. As before, the Italians were loud, rude and pushy so be warned! We were on Deck 6 Caravaggio which is a bad place to be. If you have a cabin in the central block above the Salento Grand Bar change it. We were in 6297 and directly above the stage so we could hear Bingo calling and the loud thud of eurobeat music until 1.30 each morning. There was also a continual loud vibration. You won't get an early night in any of these rooms. Another problem with this ship is the lack of designated smoking areas and the lack of decent ventilation. Both the bars at the rear of the ship allowed smoking so there was no escape. The 'air con' seems to kick in once an hour but is not very efficient. The restaurants in particular get very hot. Maybe the Italians like it that way but we found it very uncomfortable. If you fancy watching TV forget it. The only English speaking channel is BBC world news. We didn't fancy any of the theatre shows this time and our English companions said most were dire. We were fortunate on this cruise to find an English guitarist Ron who kept us entertained in one of the bars. Pity the cruise director decided to alternate him every hour with a classical duo playing violin and piano. We enjoyed some of the ports of call but unless you are a committed europhile and can withstand the general mayhem recommend avoiding Costa. Read Less

This was our first cruise and it will not be the last , we sailed from Dover uk on the costa magica I was a bit worried after reading some reviews , let me start by saying never take notice of reviews if you have not cruised before make your own mind up .The ship was fantastic as was the cabin and food , the staff were excellent they could not do enough for you , my wife is celiac and she was catered for just as well as we were .The cabin was cleaned to a high standard every day and the ship was spotless the drinks were a little expensive but we took the j2 drinks package and made good use of it . I cannot understand why people give this company bad reviews , as this was our first cruise we have nothing to compare it with but if other cruise companies are half as good as this one then I would be happy , yes it is an Italian company so expect to here announcements in different languages but they are far and few between they did not bother us at all , most of the staff speak good English so communication was not a problem. I did not take any of the excursions as they are quite expensive as you would expect so I cannot comment on them but a couple we meet on board said they were quite good. So to sum up the cruise was fantastic and costa are excellent and I would most definitely take another cruise with them.I hope this review helps. Read Less

Remember this is an Italian cruise line......not a package holiday from the UK. Some of the previous reviewers have obviously boarded this ship thinking that with a stop in Dover that it would be full of Brits; this was certainly not the case. Infact, we very rarely saw many english speaking guests whatsoever - with the exception of the two couples whom we were seated with for Dinner. Embarkation was smooth and speedy at Dover with first impressions of the ship being - wow! We were sat for Dinner on a table of 6 and had a great laugh with the other two couples who were also British. The X1 drinks package is highly recommended - all beers are served by the glass in both the restaurants and buffets but you can take them out if unfinished - including full bottles of wine which can be ordered strategically and wil last you the rest of the night! On conclusion to the eating arrangements we thought it was a shame there is no alternate dining arrangement - the evening buffet being just pizza and salad (you cannot use x1 package there, only in the restaurant on an evening). However the food overall was excellent. I can understand some of the negative reviews on here as I work in a professional role within the food industry and am fully aware of the varying degrees and opinion and how everybody believes their opinion is 'right'! However many are just misleading. The lunchtime buffet had much variation and was of good quality. Dinner consisted of up to 7 courses depending upon your hunger levels - all very good quality, some dishes were a variation on a theme but always good quality. And, after 7 courses, I challenge anybody to still be hungry! We took just one Costa trip - to Paris from Le Havre. Whilst this was 96 euros it was the only realistic way of seeing the city in one day. The trip overall was good and showed you the main sites as well as allowing you 3 hours to wander around by yourselves. It was well organised and worthwhile. It has been mentioned a great deal about the italians on board. Yes, they do push in and yes they can come across as a bit rude - especially when getting a lift, what is it about getting in a lift before somebody else gets out?! You get to the stage where you cannot help but laugh! At no stage however did it become unbearable. The entertainment was a little hit and miss. Give it a go and take it with a pinch of salt. If you out off the ship exploring the cities (thats the main reason you're going on a Northern Europe cruise isn't it?) and then eat when you are back on-board it doesn't leave you a great deal of time to worry too much about the entertainment, that's what we found anyway. On a final note one of the best experiences of the cruise was the staff on-board the costa magica. Outstanding. The cabins and the ship as a whole were spotless. The itinerary made the cruise for us. Oslo being our favourite port of call although all stops have much to offer. It was a shame it rained all day in Copenhagen as it looked a lovely city also. Overall a cracking cruise without any major probelms at all. Would I cruise with Costa again - yes i would. Read Less

After reading the reviews on the Costa Deliziosa, we were worried that we wouldn't like it, but having already tried Royal Caribbean, Princess and Island Cruises I can honestly say Costa were far better than our previous cruises. The ship is immaculate, the staff were brilliant, very attentive and really nice, the food was excellent, good quality, served very efficiently and well presented and the entertainment was far better than RC or Princess. We embarked at Dover, with the cruise having started in Copenhagen, we were two of only 20ish english speakers on the passenger list out of 2600, the passengers were mainly italian and german, but we never had a single problem with language as a very large proportion of the staff were very good english speakers. We visited Le Havre (check out the awesome church), Vigo, Lisbon (stunning) Cadiz (where we went to Seville - again stunning) and Malaga, we ended up in Savonna where we flew back to Gatwick. Embarkation and disembarkation were very well organised. The highlights of the cruise were the animators who entertain the passengers around the ship with the hysterical Fabito who does candid camera stunts which are shown before the evening shows. The evening shows are glitzy, professional and nice with a crew x-factor type show which was lovely. The english hostess Rebecka was really attentive but not "in your face" and always available if we had a problem, which we didn't. I would really recommend Costa it is far better than the previous reviewers have reported. We will definitely use them again. Read Less