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Costa Cruises

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Costa Mediterranea

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Costa Diadema

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Costa Smeralda

Costa Toscana

Costa Firenze

Total rip-off! Stay away

Nevis

For the holidays me and my family went on a 7 night Mediterranean cruise with Costa Diadema. I did have somewhat of a high expectation because a lot of people were recommending us Costa, so we tried it to see how it really is for ourselves.

When we arrived at the port of Savona the boarding process was quite weird and I still don’t get it till this day. Before boarding on the ship you need to download the app that shows you the time that you need to board the ship, but when we got in the terminal the staff gave us the boarding numbers so of course our boarding was completely delayed and we did not manage to board the ship at the time that we had on our Costa app. That is the first thing that really bothered me.

Secondly the thing that I am really disappointed about is the fact that a lot of the staff on the ship do not understand English and the just speak Italian or Spanish, which can be really frustrating sometimes. I understand that Costa is an Italian brand and the main language is Italian, but it is really hard to get the way around the ship because everything is written in Italian and then under the Italian signs you have in a really small font written the same thing in English and that can be really barely seen from the distance, so this can be quite hard.

The third thing that I was shocked about was the dinner service. Our waiter was out of energy and really seemed lost as soon as he would need to serve four tables, so we needed to wait for our first course for an hour which and then after the first course we would wait another hour to get two courses at the same time. The thing about dinner that I find disturbing the most is the fact that the food was almost every time cold. The only thing that stood out at the dinner for me were the desserts which were really delicious and that is one of the reasons I give a two star rating.

Okay so we head now to the room, which despite how old the ship is and that it hasn’t been renovated yet, I must admit that rooms are really nice and spacious. I also need to say that the rooms were always properly cleaned, so with the rooms and cleanliness there really isn’t any problem.

The main reason that I’m even writing this review is the excursion that we booked with Costa. On our cruise we should have visited Valencia, but because of the strong winds we were unable so we were then headed to Tarragona. And when we were heading to the Tarragon the crew announced that we can purchase bus tickets that would take us to the city just for 10 euros per person. It seemed like a reasonable deal so we bought three bus tickets, and here the problems became to appear with organisation that Costa is providing. Right after we disembarked the ship we were heading towards the bus and we were waiting there for half an hour just because out of 6 buses waiting they were only filling one, and there really wasn’t any line so you can imagine it was quite chaotic just to get on the bus. The main problem was when we were going back to the ship, there was at least 1000 people waiting on the bus station and again no organisation just staff yelling at people to get in line and wait, and yet again there were 4 buses waiting on the station and only one was loading people. And just what to load one bus the staff needed 30min which is outrageous and because of that the amount of people waiting for the bus was just getting bigger and Costa couldn’t be on schedule with buses because they were just unorganised and couldn’t get buses filled up in a reasonable time. And for the fact when we discovered that taxi was just 12 euros for 6 people and Costa charged 10 euros per person you really know that you just got ripped off. 

And the last thing that I would like to point out is that when we were  disembarking the ship there was again problem with organisation of the staff. We needed to get off the ship at 8:45, we got off at 9:30 because one of the crew members wouldn’t let us off because she said that the luggage was still on board and not in the terminal. And then we were surprised when the group that was supposed to disembark after us was already going off the ship. And then when we got off before she would let us you wouldn’t believe it but our luggage was already in the terminal, and that is one more proof of how unorganised staff on Costa really are.

And to conclude everything I think based on my experience Costa just isn’t doing enough because they are promising amazing experience and they just haven’t delivered it, with staff that don’t understand English, cold food and just how unorganised the staff are, this is really isn’t the way to go.

Just not what the Costa is promising

With this report, we would like to express our gratitude for the excellent experience and top-notch quality. We recently enjoyed a cruise on the Costa Diadema ship. We wish to commend the organization of events and concerts, as well as the exceptional hospitality of the staff. We felt genuinely welcomed, from the cabin crew to the waitstaff, officers, embarkation and disembarkation team. The only minor disappointment was with the receptionists, who were not overly friendly or patient when it came to sharing information.

We would like to extend our special thanks to the staff at the Corona Blue restaurant (a heartfelt thank you to the waiter Aldrin, Jonathan, Joefrey, and the head of service, George) and at Sunset bar. We Kindly ask you to  pass on our compliments to them personally. We would also like to highly praise the cleanliness of our cabin and the exceptional care provided by the staff in general. The service quality and hospitality were exceptional. Kudos to the theater, the singers, and the entertainment team. We would like to commend the quickest announcer in the theater (Pascualos, sorry for any mistake in the name) for their kindness and hospitality. It's truly heartwarming when the crew members greet you with a genuine smile. We will definitely return and share positive messages with our friends. Thank you very much for a fantastic vacation; we'll be back soon!

With Gratitude for an Unforgettable Cruise: Official Report on the Exceptional Experience aboard the Costa Diadema"

Beginning of August, I went 7 days cruise with my husband to Europe.

 One of the worst vacations and most expensive by far! Be aware people, if you breath they will charge you. They even charge for stuff that gets canceled later, and of course they will not refund you back your money. When you go downstairs to discuss the refund, they will tell you to wait until your trip ends so all money will be refunded before closing your account— total lie!! They did not refund me not even a penny for excursions that were canceled. 

The ambiance less than okay. The excursions more than annoying and they put English speakers with other languages so you barely end up understanding anything. 

For the first time in my life I was waiting for the trip to end and be done with this boring, unreasonably expensive trip. 

Conclusion: STAY AWAY people!

Tunis (La Goulette)

First time cruisers, wife booked it for my birthday!

I would like to firstly like to say a massive thank you to Kayleigh our English speaking rep onboard for making our cruise a memorable one and going the extra mile to help us!

A really big thanks goes to all the crew and workers on the Diadema, they were brilliant! 

Admittedly the vessel is getting a bit old and tired but very clean and the food was very good. 

The pools were quite crowded with young people but we didn't bool an adults only cruise so what could we expect!

There was always something to do and see with entertainment all day when at sea.

We had the drinks package and discovered a craft beer bar on deck 5 which was always empty but the beer was good and the Nepalese barman more than helpful and talkative, a big thanks to him

Thank you all for a memorable birthday cruise

BIG 60th Birthday

Saint-Tropez

We just got off the boat. Worst cruise ship experience I have ever had.

I traveled from Greece to Rome and from Rome to Civitavecchia. I took a shower and the cold water didn't work. Literally a hot bath with 30 degrees Celsius outside.Not only that but the bath overflowed. They repaired it at midnight. Also, I paid for a cabin with a balcony and I didn't even see the sky, because above my cabin were the rescue boats. We went for a 7-day rest but left more tired.

Everywhere children shouting and running (totally reasonable, they are children ), in the cabin until 2 after midnight, strange sounds could be heard from above (apparently from the restaurant that closed at 00:00 and the workers were cleaning), even if  you want to sleep at noon you can't from the children who run and play in the corridor or the neighbours entrance door or toilet door(literally the bed is trembling when they close these doors).

I must not  forget to tell you that with the price you pay,NOT even bottled water is included.!! Can you imagine?In the summer?

The food which is included in the price of cruise was so awful that i would not even  dare to give it to my dog(the ones who love their dogs will understand me). Only the hamburgers and the fresh fruit were good. Can you eat for 7 straight days only hamburger?

Avoid at all costs.ONLY for jokes

First off, I think I owe the previous reviewers an apology! We sailed with Costa previously some years ago and felt very comfortable being English speakers and enjoyed spending time with our European counterparts, we felt that things couldn't be that different and perhaps it was just people not really used to being surrounded by the European Culture. However once boarding we soon realised that there general perception of if you're English Speakers you don't really count.

We boarded in Palma, a very small space and totally chaotic, no queuing or  easy way to stay in you're family group. The terminal is a trek from the ship and if you're mobility impaired this may be a struggle. Once on board we were able to get something to eat and drink and the bags are delivered to the rooms very quickly.

All of the menu's and drink lists are available on the App, actually pretty much everything is App based, we had trouble connecting the 1st night but eventually were able to view it...it is slightly annoying to constantly have to carry your phone with you and the App is not the best performant and chews your battery life.

The room was nice enough, we had 3 adults and 1 child and there was still plenty of storage and bathroom was fine.

The boat itself is nice, it's very clean and they work hard to keep it that way. Shows a bit blah but my little girl loved them. Plenty of bars to chose from.

Kids play bit is impressive and there is an OK indoor play bit. We didn't use the kids club itself but did do some of the activities on Deck 10 in the evening and they were good, staff very friendly and made an effort to make sure my little one was included.


Area's we struggled....

We had 2 tours selected, they were mainly based on what would interest my Pre-Schooler, we choose to go to the BioPak in Valencia and the Turtle Sanctuary in Ajaccio. Both of these were cancelled the night before they were due to take place due to lack of English speakers. We switched to the French/Dutch version and yes whilst we agreed to go on them in a different language it was challenging just to find the time we needed to be back on the bus. I have school French and hoped I'd get away with it but sadly it wasn't enough. Still the actual activity was fine and you didn't need to be led so you could just do your own thing.

The Bar staff verge on rude, they either ignore you or there was lots of eye rolling, sighing, nudging and laughing with their colleagues if you say something. It could be possible that they struggled with our Scottish Accents but when my father speaks Spanish and the change in service was noticeable. 

They also constantly change their minds on things, so kids were fine in the hot tubs under parents supervision until our last day when all of a sudden they weren't and we were told off by an irate Italian officer, we showed her what the signs said but she said "they're wrong" , my father went to talk to reception and apparently their interpretation of the sign is children age 16-18 have to have parental supervision but otherwise no children. I get it, children can be annoying, but all the other pools were closed due to high winds and there was very little else do to with them on a sea day. Again on the final day we went to collect the passports, paperwork said 1 family member to collect all but then we all had to go individually to sign for them, just told the paperwork is wrong.

The staff in the dining room are run of their feet, they seem to have a lot more tables to service now than they previously did. It's really hard to get a drink and this is of no fault of the staff, they just can't physically get to all the tables they have to. The food was ok, it was all fairly cold, but tasty and it was nice to try things I might not otherwise have tried. 

Buffet dining is like entering a war zone, people pushing and shoving. You have to be served by the person behind the counter which slows everything down. By the time you queue at each bit your food is cold, although this generally a theme anyway. This might just be me but I am 5"3 and the counter was just at my eye-line and the people serving just didn't seem to see me (unless they to were ignoring me....which is possible!)

We did breakfast on deck 3 were you can help yourself but you'll need to wait an eternity for a coffee or tea.

Transfers from port to town were pretty pricey. 14E (adult and child prices are the same) in Valencia and 19E in Marseille. Also when re-boarding those joining the ship that day were all lumped in together and made it long queues to try and get back on board. 

We went to request our gratuities were removed as we would have preferred to reward those that didn't openly resent our presence, however this was not possible as they call it a hotel service charge (please bear in mind I have never, ever requested the gratuities removed...I firmly believe that the behind the scenes people should be rewarded and am happy to pay them)...we just felt so beaten down by it all that we needed someway to show our discomfort. We pay the same as everyone else on board but definitely get a lesser service than our European friends.

Not all bad but the little nuances build up

Freeport

Embarkation went well. Cabin was worn out. We had a grand suite but that was it. Food in the restaurants are way below any quality level. Even the pay restaurants are a joke. Had ordered a lobster it was inedible. Club diadema (private restaurant) it's a joke. I've never had such a bad meal on vacation. 

English is not understood on this ship. Italians do not speak this language. The entertainment can only be understood in Italian. Rest is not important at all. They are also extremely noisy. The prizes you can win (cap, t-shirt). With superbingo, all Italians are suddenly very quiet. So they can do it, even if they don't realize that they are being robbed. 

All day long they try to sell you things. It drives you crazy. Every day you are chased by the Italian paparazzi. That bored pushy camera every time. Boat is full of people without any kind of manners. 

We will never sail with Costa again!!!

Last Cruise with Costa

chose this cruise because of the ports of call and the cost which was much cheaper than other cruise lines

the cabin was fine , clean and all that is needed.....large balcony to sunbathe.

ok , the italians like to push in at the buffet for food but if you are not happy with that the restaurant is open to get served. i was in no hurry . waiters giving good service. 

drink packages are brill value for money.international drinks , wine and beer.

embarkation organised with no waiting around

varied entertainment for all ages. not much for children to do

not many british on board but lots of italians , indian and russian

did not do any excursions as taxis cheap . nice walks from ship 

will sail with them again next year , maybe same cruise 

If you want to pay twice the price then sail with someone else

Great value for money

The price was good and we  thought it would be a good idea to cruise the Middle East with our family.  We could have choosen other cruise lines but Costa had the best deal so we boarded on Costa Diadema on our first Costa cruise.  We have been on other popular cruise lines like Carnival, Royal Caribbean, NCL, MSC and Celebrity and our expectations were high because it was an italian cruise line! But we were wrong.  The ship s decor was really ugly, too many colours and patterns that made no sense at all.  Ok, most ships are like that but we always think abut the italians good taste and modern design so it was disappointing.  It has pools and jacuzzis and a very small kid s zone but nothing else for teenagers.  No mini golf, no water slide, just plain pools.  We were lucky with our cabin though.  It was an accessible cabin so it was really huge, great bathroom, spacious room and spotless clean.  Now what s really important for italians?? Food of course, that s where we got mos disappointed, the menu on Fiorentino restaurant was always very poor.  Corona Blu buffet was like being in a war zone, people were fighting for their meals because the area is small and the crew couldn t refil the dishes fast enough.  If you were late for the meal you would find out many items were over.  What can you say about an italian ship that doesn t serve pizza?? (unless you payed for it at Pummi d`oro!).  Entertainement was also one of the poorest we have ever seen.  They had an arabian dance show one night that was all but arabian!  They have a library onboard that had empty shelves (yes, they had about a dozen books and that was all!) Service was only ok, the crew is, in general, professional but cold.  I had a really unpleasant incident at their photo shop as i was looking at my pictures and picked up my phone to answer a message.  One of the photografers started shouting at me saying i couldn t take photos of my pictures! It was so embarassing, the thought of taking photos of my photos never ever crossed my mind! Why on Earth would i do that??? If Costa offers me a free cruise vacation I will surely decline.

Not planing to sail Costa again

This is my first time with Costa. In the past I usually cruised with Princess and Celebrity.  After this cruise, I'll never cruise with Costa again.

First, the service is terrible.  The hospitality desk is absolutely clueless.  There's always a long queue in front of the desk.  When you finally got your turn, they would usually ask you to go somewhere else.  Just to quote an example.  When we board the ship, we were told that we had to deposit cash into our account.  Then we went to the hospitality desk, and they asked us to do it at the machine.  But when we tried to do it at the machine, it turned out that it doesn't accept the new type of Euro, and we ended up having to queue up at the hospitality desk again.  

On the last day. we needed to close the account.  This time we didn't want to wait in long queues again. So we got up at 4am in the morning to close the account.  Not surprisingly, the guy at the hospitality desk asked us to do it at the machine.  When we did that, the machine asked us to contact the hospitality desk because it could not offer that amount of change (we were getting a refund of 120 Euro).  Then we got back to the desk, the guy insisted that they could not close the account there.  We had to show him the receipt generated by the machine.  Then he finally went into the back office.  In my view, if there are so many limitations with the machines, they should not drive people to use the machine all the time.  Or at least they should not be that clueless when a customer said the machine couldn't do it.

The story still hasn't ended.  After waiting for more than 10 minutes, we asked the guy why it took so long.  He said something like if we came in the middle of the night, it would be like that, and asked us to come again in the morning!  Come on! Can't he see why we took all the troubles to get up in the middle of the night to get this thing done?  My husband got angry and asked for his name.  He then lost it!  When my husband took a picture of his name plate, saying that we'll complain against him, he literally shouted at us "Are you happy now?"  When we were talking to the manager, he tried to argue with us in front of the manager.  The manager had to stop him several times in order to allow us to speak.  I think this kind of attitude shows that the staff don't really care if the customers complain to the manager.  They probably got used to it already.

I've done some research about the ship and knew that the excursions are terrible.  So we've decided to do our own excursion.  Unfortunately, our stop at Oman had to be cancelled because the Sultan of Oman had passed away.  The ship had to call on another port in UAE instead.  This is not the ship's fault, but since we knew nothing about that new port, we wanted to seek some simple information about the new port, such as whether the cruise terminal is close to the town center, whether we need to take a taxi or there will be free shuttle.  But then, there was a really long queue at the excursion office, and we needed to queue up for nearly an hour in order to seek those basic information.

When we cruised with Princess and Celebrity, they would offer port information in many ways.  Sometimes they would even organize seminars to facilitate passengers who do tours on their own.  But there was nothing like that in this ship.  Guess they want to make the passengers use their excursion service, which is so notoriously poor.

The food is terrible.  It's a ship for Italians.  I don't understand how they can make the spaghetti so terrible.  The dinner buffet only lasts for 2 hours, yes, 2 hours, and usually only one food station is open.  When all the passengers are on board, they only open one food station for 2 hours!  So you can imagine that you have to queue for nearly everything, even french fries.  We've tried its assigned-sitting restaurants, but the food is even more awful, and the service sucks.  You have to wait 30 mins for the water.  So we gave up after 2 nights.

For breakfast, there's always a long queue in front of the fried eggs.  I'm not talking about made-to-order fried eggs, but those pre-cooked fried eggs contained in a pot.  We need to queue for that every morning.

I can go on and on, but I'm just too fed up to think about this ship again.  

To conclude, just stay away from Costa if you want quality service in your cruise.

Stay away from this ship

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