We chose a repositioning itinerary that took us from Malta to Malaga, stopping in Sardinia, the Balearics, and along the Spanish Coast. Previous cruises had set our expectations. Star Clipper is a small line with three small ships that use sail frequently. Frequent stops in European ports insured that the food stocks were excellent. As a repositioning cruise, the opportunities for water sports were limited, perhaps as a consequence the average age of the passengers was a bit higher. Weather was an issue on our two sea days with 4 to 5 meter swells and winds gusting to 40. (Force 7). The crew handled the conditions well and maintained service and safety. The key to enjoying Star Clipper is to understand and cherish the scale and limitations of a 300 foot sailing vessel. Sailing into and out of historical ports, feeling the motion of the sea, and finding entertainment in your fellow passengers are features of the experience. The Cruise Director, Yuri and Musician Melchor maintained a steady stream of amusements. The hotel staff was cheerful and unobtrusive. The menus were varied and preparation and presentation were excellent. For this voyage we were dockside in every port. We used excursions in every port as we didn't know the areas. We arrived in Valetta a week early and loved Malta! Really could have been there longer. Malta has something to appeal to almost every variety of tourist. Caligiari was a bit bland, but the sea front ruins excellent. All three of the Balearics were fine, varied and attractive. Cartegena was a pleasant surprise. A lot of new archeology finds and a revitalized downtown will make this much better known and more visited. Motril is really only a way to get close to Grenada and run up the canyon to see the Alhambra. Worth it for the path up and Grenada. Malaga in late October was uncrowded and pretty. Read Less

Just came back from Msc Bellissima ,we booked a year ago . This is our 15 th cruise ,second time on Msc.We were so looking forward as Msc Splendida was perfect. But unfortunately this one no.Inside cabin very small,buffet always same food. The only positive place was the Lighthouse Restaurant staff very nice especially our Waiter Antonio and his wife Sandy.Food was very good and health there.Its the only place we looked forward . Every day at 5 pm huge noise of a drill every single day.So never a siesta. I think Msc are building too many ships in short time ,and things are not being done in good details.Changing of ceiling screen is nice but not everything. We look for nice details,Doors from were you can go to see the sea on most floors. Italian shows used to be better,Cirque de soleil was very nice ,but cancelled once so many missed it . Read Less

Pros ... lovely modern cabin lots of space nice size and balcony , Lovely ship and nice staff,Cons .. way too crowded marketplace buffet is hell on Earth it’s like a stampede no spare tables and people pushing into you and elbowing you , hard to get a drink , food not nice at all not enough choice..all in all an awful experience , food poor in restaurants also, we were glad to get off the ship to have a nice meal that we actually enjoyed , anything that’s any good you have to pay for cirque do soleil 15 euro each and you get an awful drink that’s supposed to be a cocktail, although the show is good, speciality restaurants very expensive but nice food the standard the food on the rest of the ship should be , bowling arcades and cinema not free total rip off 50 euros to use all 3, theatre shows average at best , drinks package needed to be upgraded as soon as we boarded as it soon became clear we could only drink Heineken and 1 wine and spirit , pools far too crowded and people reserving their beds with towels and not turning up for hours this should not be allowed , the ship is lovely but the crowdedness and standard of food really let our overall experience down, msc trips not worth the money a nice relaxing boat trip to Portofino was 500 people being crammed onto a dingy ferry and loudspeaker blasting out about 7 different languages all the way there’s and back really not a nice experience at all , if you are have kids and are a willing to spend a lot of money for extras and eat pizza and burgers for a week then this is the ship for you ! Read Less

We are an American family of four with two kids 18 and 16. We have cruised many times before but not on MSC and not in Europe. We had a great cruise! The food, service and overall experience exceeded our expectations. We had a duplex suite which had plenty of room and great views. We made the most of th drink package and the bartenders and waiters were great. We really enjoyed the food at the regular dining room - great service and great views while we enjoyed the great food. We also tried the chop steakhouse and tapas bar - both great. Plenty of hot tubs and room on the ship. The excursions were also great we did the ebike tour in Genoa, Amalfi coast tour, beach in Messina and bus tour in Barcelona. In Malta we just walked off the ship which was nice we were able to walk through downtown which was beautiful. I can’t say enough good things about the ship staff they were so friendly and exceeded our expectations. We will definitely cruise MSC again and thank them for a wonderful cruise. Read Less

We travelled on more than 60 cruises on Silversea, Celebrity, Cunard Grill Class, HAL, Viking, RCCL, Crystal, Seabourn, Hapag Lloyd, Oceania and Regent. We wanted to try the MSC Yachtclub. Well first we arrived in Marseille cruiseterminal 10:00 AM, so way to early but the butler at checkin said "no Problem" and brought us on board to the beautiful Topsail Lounge dedicated for Yachtclub only. Our suite was already ready and at 10:20 with a glass of champagne in our hands we were standing on our beautiful balcony. The suite was cosy and spacious and the bed was so comfortable, this is the first mattress on a cruiseship with so much comfort zones so you have to sleep really well. The bathroom was well appointed and with a perfect pressure rain shower. The butler and her assistant delivered our requested drinks for the free minibar. After this we went to the special Yachtclub restaurant for lunch. The restaurantmanager came to us to tell that he ordered special muesli with fresh strawberries everyday for us in the mornings at breakfast, what we requested in advance. After a wonderful lunch we went upstairs to the Yachtclub deck, nice and quiet with good loungers with comfy pillows on it, really a haven on such a big busy ship. Yachtclub is worth every penny f the cruise fare and the luxurrylines can learn from the MSC butlers what service really is. they know how to treat you as a guest . The rest of the ship is wonderful, with a lot going on but always when you go back to the luxurious Yachtclub you feel like coming to a haven of quiet and comfort. The quality of the Cirque du Soleil shows on board was great and the best shows we have seen in the industry.The Ship was beautiful with lots to do and the shops had very good prices. Really try MSC Yachtclub and you will love it.. Read Less

This was a cruise billed as Sicilian Food and Wine Experience. Not only was there no Sicilian meals, only one night with specialty wines from Sicily. It was extremely disorganized, nobody knew anything, and nobody tried to solve any problems. Extremely rude excursion staff. Very argumentative when we were booked on a tour that we tried to cancel. When I showed them documents that stated their rules on cancellation the reply was that I did it with the home office and they don't talk to them! Overall food was disappointing, ports were good, but visited only one vineyard. There was a enrichment with a lady that was an expert on Sicilian food, but no food. No lectures on wine. One night had a wine tasting and waiters Brought wrong ones for the different courses. Not enough glasses, was an epic failure. I wrote up two surveys one on board and one from home. As there was much conversation among the guests about how poorly the cruise was done we were not the only ones. I would say 99% felt. We were not delivered what Was advertised and no one from Ponan answered my concerns. Read Less

1. Cabin had layer of dust on furniture and carpet hadn't been cleaned in ages. It only got a good clean after complaining - only to be bitten by dust mites. Balcony furniture is in very poor shape and needs replacing. Hair dryer was broken and dangerous with parts exposed. 2. Food is mediocre and often recycled ie desserts available in restaurants the night before are recycled for breakfast the morning after or at tea time. No great variety available and tiny portions in the restaurants. Food sometimes was too salty and inedible. 3. Disastrous customer service where excursions are concerned. Although pre booked and confirmed by email by Costa nobody in the excursion office bothered to inform us that the required minimum for a particular excursion had not been reached and therefore it was cancelled. Ended up spending the day on board in Barcelona as no port wifi was available to be able to view alternative arrangements. Was eventually offered an excursion in a completely different language. Hospitality desk wasn't much help only advising me to take the problem up with the excursion office at 16.30 when the ship left Barcelona at 1700! Nobody dared disturb the tour manager to ask for compensation for the lost part of this cruise and on the last day was made to return to the cash office twice after 45 minutes as tour manager was not available before 7.30am. Local Malta agent SMS-Mondial totally unhelpful with tour leader's phone switched off and unavailable. Subsequent emails were ignored. English speaking rep Gemma promised to speak to tour manager to ask for compensation but studiously avoided me for rest of the cruise not even bothering to give any feedback on the problem. Was more interested in her British clients and my booking an alternative excursion for Marseille which had also been confirmed by Costa by email and subsequently cancelled without notice. Eventually charged me an extra €15 over and above the published price which I took to be Gemma's commission as she asked for the booking to be put on her account! Only got refunded this amount after much toing and froing and much hassle just before disembarking from ship on final day. Gemma also advised me 'to move on and forget about it and relax and enjoy the cruise'..... after it had been completely ruined by Costa themselves! 4. Dance floor was full of infants and toddlers and one had to be careful they were not trodden upon as parents were too busy enjoying themselves to look after their offspring. Absolutely no control over children who ran up and down corridors screaming and shouting. 5. Just before disembarking from ship on the Sunday I was bitten by what seemed to be a flea in the Cheri lounge on deck 5. Had to resort to medical care to get it seen to as the bites were on my right hand and wrist and finger and also on my abdomen and upper left arm. Bites on my wrist became infected. 6. Water is not available during dinner and one is obliged to buy a drinks package for plain water worth €36. If this is ordered by one person in the cabin and there are 2 people in the same cabin they have to be together as the package bought only shows on the cabin card of the person who placed the order. It cannot be split over two cabin cards which is ridiculous seeing as two friends travelling together are not always together all of the time whilst on board. 7. It took 3 days for a table with a decent view to be given to us. One evening we were seated at a table laid for 11 people when it could only hold 8 people comfortably. To add insult to injury we 6 were made to sit facing 5 empty seats whilst trying to eat all squashed up as the maitre d' absolutely refused to re set the table even though we explained that 3 people had left to go to the buffet and therefore there would be more space. Our view was of oxygen tanks and lifeboats on deck 4 in the Otto e Mezzo restaurant and we eventually got a table with a view after vociferously complaining to the local agent. 8. The 'entertainment' in the theatre wasn't much to write home about and was flat. The only enjoyable night was the concert by the male tenor. The rest is not worth mentioning. 9. The peace and quiet in the library was often disturbed by people chatting and discussing their receipts and it was only by shushing them that one got some quiet time to read. Plenty of other places to discuss financial problems but for some reason people would congregate in the library. Even the cruise advisor was in the library when they should have had a desk near the reception downstairs to discuss and advise clients. 10. Avoid the Samsara spa at all costs. I booked a taster session which promised 15 minutes each of a variety of services but ended up being given a most uncomfortable body scrub on curved mosaic couches. I wasn't even laid flat but made to bend forward over my knees whilst the beautician scrubbed my back whilst talking 15 to the dozen. The facial was just a quick wipe with 2 cotton pads and a mask plastered on and left on my skin. She didn't even bother to clean it off but sent me into the jacuzzi totally covered in oil and salt and my face mask and told me it was ok to rinse it off in the jacuzzi! She even.made me help her rub the salt/oil mixture on my legs! So much for being pampered. She then tried to sell me another treatment for €110 plus some toiletries which I refused thereby losing all interest in me. 11. The waiting staff was unhelpful and rude in the Otto e Mezzo deck 4 restaurant refusing to help when we had a seating problem and thumping down plates in front of us. We were made to feel very unwelcome and it was only after our table was changed that the situation improved. 12. The excursion staff seem to suffer from a 'take it or leave it' attitude as well as dementia as when I complained about why I was not informed that the excursion had been cancelled I was told that a note had been left in the post box outside our cabin. When I informed them no such paper had ever been placed there all I got was a shrug of the shoulders. Not even an apology or offer of compensation. Nothing at all. 13. The entire ship needs a thorough clean. The windows were filthy, streaked with dirt and difficult to see through. Even the balcony cabin glass was dirty. My advice is to totally avoud booking with Costa cruises as since their Concordia disaster the quality and service have drastically gone downhill. Read Less

We wanted a break in mid April.. . . . . . it turned out to be very disappointing. 1. All jacuzzis were always full of people with no control of time limits so we stayed out. 2. Very young children (some with dummies) were uncontrolled, both on the dance floor and at the evening meal. No problem with children playing at the right time and place.. 3. The evening's theater music reverberated in the theater, your ears and at close cabins. 4. A solely Staff Drill was announced in a blurring volume inside our cabin. What for? 5. Hospitality staff told us to go ashore to find out info regarding the next port of call!. 6. Hospitality staff never answered the telephone whenever we needed them and queuing at their desk took at least 20 minutes to get serviced. 7. Coffee after dinner is taboo. You have to go to a bar and buy it. 8. Shows were about acceptable, and the illusionist performed some acts in darkness! 9 I was taken aback when I found that while meals were included, plain water was not. The above points were raised with the Costa local agents. They were grateful for raising these shortcomings and promised to look into the points raised for future passengers, but no refund of any sort was forthcoming. Our compensation was therefore their gratitude for raising the matter!. I am not rushing to book another cruise with Costa. Read Less

I have read many reviews of Oceana and in some cannot recognise the experience we had. It was our first cruise and were a bit nervous about what we would find. All in all it was fabulous! Our Cabin steward, Socorro, was great. The cabin was spotless and we felt really looked after. The waiters in le Jardin and the Ligurian were helpful and attentive. Reception were able to answer all our questions. Ok, the carpets show signs that people have walked on them. The bathroom is not the standard you would expect in a five star hotel on land. But hey, we were at sea, sun rises over a different city every morning were fabulous, food was great, service outstanding, entertainment catered for a diverse assembly. Sun decks can become crowded. There are plenty of other areas to visit if you are interested. We really enjoyed the dance classes, magician and wine tasting. Read Less

We travelled on Oceana as she was going to the ports we were interested in calling at, especially Corfu where we have enjoyed the Boat Trip and Swim excursion before. However, this ship is now in a poor state and I do not mean just decoration/furnishings (which I understand are being renewed in November). We were barely able to open/close the sliding door on our balcony due to dirt being allowed to build up in the runners which meant you had to push the door with all your might in order to open it. Also the rust that has gone unchecked was very apparent at the top and bottom of the door frames. We found the food being offered in the buffet (we chose Freedom dining) just did not go together, ie curry with no rice one evening and jerked chicken on bar-b-que night with no fries, just a dish with a few over-cooked wedges or mash. The desserts, although looking very pretty, were absolutely tasteless. The Catering Manager needs to sit down with the chefs and come up with food that not only looks nice but tastes nice too which is something that just is not happening in the buffet on Oceana. Read Less

Worst holiday I have ever had. I am in a wheelchair permantly I was not able to go on exscurstaions due to no access for wheelchair. Not able to going in any bar or show on black tie nights because my husband who assists me was not able to remove his jacket. Not access around the pool areas . No access in the starlight show the only access for wheelchair was used to stack the people's who could walk . Priority lifts used by everyone able to walk , people queuing to get in lifts at meal times . Shops not accessible due to stands being put in the Isles to sell things and entertainment very poor , not able to see any on the deck 12 because of no access . All entertainment in the day was based on fitness so not able to do this. £84 charged for a week for 2 for tips , drinks exspencive £15 for double becardi & coke . Seemed to me that all the ship was interested in was getting your money off you by selling photos all the time. You are only allowed in the dining area at night for your meal for 90 miniuts because the next sitting needs to be done. Staff smoking on the deck in there uniforms not good smelling of fags when serving customers . What price you see it advertised at seems cheep untill you pay all the exstra on top after booking so if you are in a wheelchair and can not walk do not book this ship . Read Less

I wanted to return to Sicily. I have enjoyed cruising in the last several years. I had a wonderful experience on a yacht style ship earlier nether year and wanted to see how Variety Voyage stacked up. Also, the trip was sponsored by Smithsonian which usually uses class accommodations. This time they missed the boat. The officers on the ship were friendly and accommodating. The rest of the staff was invisible. The room was serviced but that was it. There was no service offered. One particularly annoying thing was that drinks were not included except at meal times. Even soft drinks were charged extra. For a ship with this price that seems unheard of (compared to Crystal, Seabourne, Regent, in hat price range). The room I was in, a category B, was okay for one person. I was traveling by myself and there was barely sufficient storage space in room proper and bathroom. If my husband had been traveling with me, w would have had a problem. The bed was okay but very, very hard. The food was okay but that's the best I can say for it. Some meals were quite bad. Breakfast buffet was identical every day and adequate before t boring after seven days. The couple times we had lunch on the boat was pretty good with a good selection on the buffet. In sum, I would say that Variety Voyage is certainly not worth the price. I expect better service and food for the cost, not to mention a more comfortable room. There were no amenities usually found even on a yacht style ship; no hot tub, no entertainment, outside bar not available. I heard there was a small gym but I never saw it. I would not recommend this ship at all. Read Less

The ship is of course not new. We booked on April/2017 (two adults and a child) a balcony cabin. The check in was very smooth since we embark from Malta and very few people embark from there. The total price was very cheap and we sailed 3 years ago with Costa Mediterranea and we liked it. But Costa Cruises have changed everything since then. There is no free coffee 24hrs only in the morning and one hour in the afternoon. Other hours you have to pay. No free sunday anymore for the kid. Again you have to pay each scoop. No free pizza (are you serious? we are in an italian ship). The breakfast was awful. No eggs on the eleven floor only on the 3rd floor which you had to wait for a table. The cabin was ok but nothing else. It was overcrawded and you had to wait for the buffet and then if you are lucky you could find a table to sit. No smoking to the casino and service at the bars was awful. We are really dissapointed with Costa. I even mentioned it to a ship manager and his answer was: "Well you pay less than other cruise ships you must expect less" Yeah sure I paid less but with all extras (coffee, pizza, ice-cream, not finding a table, not good entertainment etc) at the end of the cruise it cost us more. So trust me Costa Cruises is out of our list from now on. We cruised with MSC and Carnival until now and Carnival Vista was the best cruise. We almost cry when our cruise was over. Read Less

Quite an experience, but with minor inconveniences We were not given choice of excursions by the Travel agent The offered excursions were not covered by a short video on the TV system of the excursion with details such as length of coach drive, walking necessities during tour, etc. We werre not even informed that one tour was by boat and not by coach (Portofino excursion) All inclusive price did not include bottled water in cabin Shore excursions left much to be desired Fruit juices were not freely available during lunchtime in the Maya buffet. There were also hardly any choices of any meat varieties Otherwise all services provided were excellently carried out. The bar and speciality restaurants prices were not high. Entertainment in bars and lounges was excellent. Shops on board hardly offered any real discounts, however. The overall cleanliness and customer care on the ship was outstanding with extremely friendly staff and continuous mainatenance of all areas, especially the toilets. Read Less

We choose this cruise because we wanted to see a bit of France and the fact that it was from Malta to Malta our country. it was rather a late booking so we had to be content with the dates available. The cheaper price made it more attractive. Embarkation went smoothly but disembarkation at Malta port terminal was rather hectic. We had to walk a long way with considerable luggage since there were no trolleys available. The ship was clean, though refurbishment in some places is needed. The cabin clean, towels soft and bed comfortable. Room temperature rather warm. Dining average. The cruise attracts many seniors with multiple health problems, most of the food was very salty, and food for diabetics limited. Fruit salad offered for dessert contained high sugar content fruit so not suitable for those who cannot take sugar Entertainment was very good and varied. Particularly liked the entertainment team with their great sense of humor and jokes, and the excellent latin dancers and their dancing lessons. Service excellent. Shuttle buses in ports very welcome. Shore excursions varied, rather dear, and mobility problems hindered our joining, I would go again but not too soon. Read Less

I am not much into writing however wanted to write this review as i do not know why people give bad or negative reviews of MSC, After a break from MSC (our last cruise on the MSC was in 2012) to try different cruise lines, I wanted to go on the MSC preziosa so we just returned from the med cruise departing and stopping in Malta and we were highly satisfied. as a regular cruiser I have many cruise lines experiences and I must say that MSC is my favorite. Good Food, in buffet and MDR, Good desert good gelato. spotless ship. ok staff are not so much friendly but when we wanted something they always helped us in every positive way. Cabin spotless and clean. entertainment and activities are the best on the MSC. theatre shows are very spectacular and in each and every bar and lounges there was a singer every night and even during the day always with the activities near the pool. Ports are nice- however i do not book cruises for the ports I look for the ship first :) Kids are very welcome on the ship with the kids area and the kids club and even a small show in theater for the kids. I am a silver club with MSC and surely will return to cruising with MSC :) Read Less

Chose this cruise after reading al the hype about Sirena and the refit. Having cruised on similar ships we knew what to expect regarding size, layout, cabins etc. Although the carpets, linen, furnishings, deck chairs etc. all appeared new there did not seem to be too much "refitting" of the cabin itself. The earlier images appeared to show refits to the bathrooms however this was not the case. We are not big people so the space in the bathroom was adequate however I can see how it may be on the small size for larger people, particularly the shower. The food and service in Red Ginger was unbelievably good. The same cannot be said for the Tuscan Steak in which the food was way below average and the service almost non existent. We attended only one show, which was so bad that we did not want to go to any more. Although they seemed understaffed, overall the service provided by cabin, pool, administration and food and beverage staff was both friendly and excellent. Les, the "so called" entertainment director was without doubt the worst I have come across in over 10 cruises. Prices for drinks, particularly wine were extremely high particularly after service charges were added. We ended up buying wine ashore and bringing it back on board at each port, which was never questioned by security. There seemed to me that there was no interest in those passengers who, like us, prefer to do our own thing and not pay the high price being asked for the ship's excursions. There were shuttles provided in most ports, however we were usually docked so far away that it took almost an hour by the time you left your cabin until you got off the shuttle. With limited time in most ports this extra travel consumed valuable time going from and returning to the ship. It was also disappointing to dock in so many container ports rather than cruise terminals, given the standard promoted by Oceania. This was our 3rd Oceania cruise, given this experience would I cruise with Oceania again, most likely not. Read Less

My husband and I booked this, as it was Malta to Malta and we had no flying. Having done approximately 10 other cruises before, we can honestly say this was down there at the bottom. The embarkation process was excellent, well organised and very quick. Our cabin (1007) which was a balcony, was ready upon embarkation and was a reasonable size with lots of storage,, however there starts the downfall, during the cruise, our toilets stopped flushing for a whole day, and another day we were without water in the cabin for the whole day, we couldn't shower to go out on tour, then when we got back we could not wash or shower before dinner (all we got was one bottle of water to supplement us)!. The carpet was not vacuumed and there were bits all over. The cabin steward left no details of his name, and the this day (disembarkation) we still do not know his/her name (shoddy to say the least). Plus side is the cabin was quiet and we had an excellent nights sleep. I used the spa and booked a pilates session- this was excellent! She stretched my abilities and I had a thorough work out. I was going to go back for a second, but never got around to it- shame. Security aboard the ship thought they were protecting the president of USA. They never cracked a smile or exchanged pleasantries which we saw. Breakfasts were at the hottest, warm and some occasions cold once I asked if they had warm plates to put the warm food on and the staff member actually said what a good idea, it would stop the food getting cold! lunch was virtually the same throughout the week. I am surprised the ship has not gone down with any infections, as no-one and I mean o-one used the hand sanitisers, there was no member of staff to make people use them and they were not even placed very strategically! Entertainment was a joke first night was introduce the staff, and two other nights was screened football in the theatre. So, 3 out of 7 nights the animation team had off! There was no poolside entertainment, sorry I lie, there was bingo round the pool?, ad bingo in the bar later around 20.00. Entertainment between 14.00 and 16.00 was siesta time!!!Evenings were very tame affairs i.e. RCL (who incidentally own CDF) will have animated village people groups and bought in acts during a cruise. Not so on Zenith! The dancers were good entertainment, but the shows lacked Pzazz. The bar staff and the dining room staff were excellent, and made up for the rest of the ships faults and the lack of enthusiasm in the rest of the crew. Sorry! I cannot recommend this cruise unless you are 90 plus! Read Less

Just returned from a cruise. This time with Costa, the Costa Pacifica. My wife and I are cruising enthusiasts. We have travelled on several cruising lines. Being both retired,we prefare to travel in the off season quiet months. We are Costa Club members. On the past cruises with Costa, we were greeted in our cabin with champaigne and a fruit basket. This time we were greeted with the misery of a bottle of water with a silly note hung around its neck. On touring the ship we discovered that the chapel had to do without a religious minister. I am not too much of a devotee, but Costa used to boast of its Italian roots and values, which made it stand out among others. During the late hours some guests had to close the insulation corridor doors to cut off some of the noisy fracas made by the night revellers on the reception/piano lounge. I encourage economy on waste, but not on reputation standards. The staff was as usual fantastic and really did all what they could to keep up the hospitality of Costa. Read Less

If you respect yourselves, do not even think of going on the Costa Favolosa (and by extension, on any Costa ship). We are experienced cruisers, this was our 12th cruise with various lines. The balcony cabins are spacious, but cleaning the room was only done in a perfunctory manner. Breakfast was a nightmare. Either a cold selection in the buffet. Believe it or not, no warm food in the buffet! Or a very long wait for some hot food in a restaurant. Once we waited 45 minutes between giving our order and the food arriving on the table. The far eastern crew do their best, but it is obvious that there are not enough of them. Lunch: the food can best be described as uninspiring, dull, routine. Dinner was better, if you prefer tiny portions of everything. All the evening entertainment was in the hands of the same twelve dancers, who presented a dance routine under different guises for 6 nights. Thanks goodness for a couple of intervening clowns! Then there are two Formal or Gala nights. What an insult! The majority of diners were allowed into the main restaurants wearing shorts and tee shirts. This is clearly catering to the lowest element, for fear of losing some passengers. Obviously, the ship is being run on a cost cutting exercise, if not on a shoestring. But this is not reflected in the prices, which are about equal to those of many superior cruise lines. Definitely our worst cruise ever. Never again Costa. Pity some first timers will be taken in. Read Less

Took my whole family for a nice cruise on the MSC Fantasia and no regret at all. Excellent service on a beautiful ship with lots of activities all day round. Fantastic evening complimented with good talented actors at the theater. Excellent food all day round serve by respectful kind waiters with two exceptional waiters Angker Riana from Indonesia and Damion Hawthorne from Jamaica at the red velvet restaurant. This was my fifth cruise but first on MSC. Will never forget this unforgettable time. A very big well done to all the staff for making this holiday so memorable. Suggestion. Perhaps should stay longer in Malta for a more comfortable excursion. Negatives. Some passengers ignor rules and smoke every were, should be stopped by crew members, also noisy by laud talking and children running in the corridors, they should also be noted by crew members. Don't likes. Italian passengers pretend to have priority on other passengers. Should be more respectful. Overall. Would definitely go again. Read Less

Do not believe the negative reviews, this was the 7 th different cruise, and I can say that costa is worth the money, great ship ,nice shows ,good food, but, if you want a perfect cruise book with the seaborn or oceana cruises but don't forget you have to pay 5 times as much the price of the costa. For me costa is a nice entertainment cruise ship and a very modern and tidy ship , just two drawbacks is the pool area is very poor when compared to an msc cruise and the Italian language is a must for me is not a problem because iam maltese a neighbour of italy.I recommend costa cruise to all young people and who has a family on the other hand costa is not good for elderly people or for people who wants a classic or luxury cruise. Costa is disco party and nice shows. Read Less

This was our first cruise. Embarking from our own country saved a lot of hassle. As soon as we went to the Lobby we were given our cabin card. We were on deck 5 to the front. Our twin cabin was very comfortable. It was cleaned every day. Our cabin stewardess, Marlete was very friendly, always with a welcoming smile. The shiip in general was always nice and tidy with staff doing their work. With regards to breakfast, there was a large variety of food, from cereals, joghurts, really good freshly baked bread, eggs, omelettes, sausages, salads, fresh fruits, pastries and sweets and juices, teas and coffees. The buffets were exquisite as well with so much variety, from pizzas and pasta to ready made dishes of fish, meat and carvery and salads. Juices, soft drinks and wine were also there. The main restaurant, Le Flamboyant, offered fine dining with a la carte menu. It had a lot of variety too, from fish, veal, rabbit, duck and other meat. Starters included mouthwatering soups, pasta and salads. Dessert was really delicious. Besides there were different bars open nearly all the time. Service was good with friendly staff always helping you when in difficulty. Entertainment was also very nice. With the pool, jacuzzi and gymn, it was really great! Activities throughout the day for different categories, such kid's clubs, karoaki, demonstrations, well-being talks and also on request religious meetings such as Mass. Everyone was taken care of. In the evening one should not miss the shows in the theatre. Very well prepared shows by very professional bands, singers, dancers and animators who made the public participate. We really enjoyed them! Good presentations by Kamel, Maria Paz and Claudine. Then there are the disco and the casino too! With regards to excursions, we only had the Marseille excursions organised by the ship management. Which was nice and interesting. The other excursions were bought from the travel agency we booked from. They were all nice but travelling so much for all those days was a bit tiring especially where the weather was a bit hot. So next time we will not buy the package of excursions when booking the cruise, so that we choose daily whilst on cruise, which ones we feel like going. But on the whole, the places we went to were very beautiful. As a first experience, the Zenith offered us a very enjoyable cruise. It was very worth it and so we hope to go on another one in the future. Read Less

This was our first ever cruise!! and It was SuperB!!! Our cabin was on Deck 8, very comfortable; bed and the shower was good & we also had a sofa. Loads of wardrobe space, not noisy.. and with Balcony. Near the lifts, all we had to do is go up 1 flight of stairs for breakfast and Lunch; & use the lift to go to the Restaurant on Deck 3 or other bars etc. on Deck 5. Room was kept very clean; Our steward who was in charge of our Room was amazing he came twice a day and everything was spotless...always smiling & ready to help! Thanks for everything Roel!! The food was Excellent, the buffets at lunch and breakfast will be a little packed, some queuing to be expected but alot of seating available, as one can also sit in the bars outside which are connected to the restaurant, which also has upstairs where there is also a Sandwich station. For Lunch the Grill will also be open serving burgers, hot dogs etc. Coffee, tea, milk and water was available free of charge in the buffet 24hrs. The evening meal in Duca D'Orleans one of the two MDR, was simply excellent with alot to choose from. We had an All Inclusive package and therefore had unlimited amount of drinks through out the cruise which was very worth buying; MDR served tiny portions of food but if you like a particular plate one can opt to ask his server for a larger portion, but having a 6 course meal be sure that you will be full by the end of the evening, if You will not than there will be Buffet in Deck 9. Not everyday is the same for the Dinner Buffet; sometimes only Pizza will be available. Our Servers at the MDR were simply amazing, they went out of their way to make sure that we are satisfied and having a great time! Way to go Eugene & Putu!!! The cruise is mainly for Italians, however all the announcements were in 5 different languages, Italian, English, French, German & Spanish. Nathalie our English host was available to chat an hour a day, and she was very helpful. Great Shows & good entertainment, always having something you can do. A daily program is delivered to the cabin that let you know of what will be happening on the ship. We went to 1 excursion- Classical Rome costed 96€; Could have been cheaper, but we had 2 guides who were very informative & explained the History of Rome, and lunch included (3 course meal incl. wine and Water) Excursion was not available in English, but this depends on demand. When visiting Savona, we were told that there is nothing to see there, but at the Port there is an information centre where you can get a map with all the spots worth visiting- make sure to visit the Sistine chapel in Savona (tickets 1eur), and you can also swim in a nearby Sandy beach just 10 mins walk from the Port. Photos are quite expensive 20€ each. We were only disappointed about the handling of the luggage when disembarking, as we had one of the luggage damaged. Read Less

Check in started at 1pm. Embarkation was quick here in Malta since there was a group of about a hundred staring their cruise. They don’t give you your cruise cards, but you find everything on the bed once you go to your cabin. No white glove attendants to show you to your cabin (as on MSC), you have to find it yourself. But they were already available when we boarded. Not too big, compared to the Outside and Balcony Cabins we had on MSC, but probably their Insides are the same size. We had no sofa or chair, just a stool. There was just enough closet space for our family of 4. The thing I hated most in the cabin were the wardrobe door knobs. They are not knobs but loops of rope which after a couple of times opening the wardrobes and drawers start hurting your fingers. Totally stupid idea! Cabin was always kept clean by our attendant, Agnelo and here is another difference from MSC….. only 1 cabin attendant per cabin and not 2! Bathroom was of a good size, but they still have the silly shower curtains. Cabin door was very light, making it easy for our 2 year old to open by himself. There was a flat screen in the cabin. The beds were very comfortable, nothing to complain here. Our cabin no 2350 on Deck 2, was situated close to the lifts which take you next to the pool and buffet. After putting our luggage in the cabin, we made our way to Ca d’Oro Buffet on deck 9. It was not too crowded this time but sometimes we had to walk around it 3 or 4 times to find a table. Choice of food items not too big but what was available was good. The stupidest thing about it was that even if you wanted just one item, you had to queue after everyone since all the food items were next to each other. There were no separate pizza station or soup station, just one thing after each other, probably a money saving idea from Costa so people would not go more than a couple of times to get different food since at certain times there were long queues and when an item finished it was not replaced immediately, so people just stopped in front of food and waited. Sometimes queuing took even 10 mins. This is another difference from MSC, where they had various stations and the choice was much better, especially after the big change MSC made to the Buffet after July 2012, where they started having more choices available and the buffet started opening all day until 9.30 pm everyday. Not the same case on Costa though. Apart from having too few choices of food, food was available until around 3pm and the grill until 4pm. The grill was only available outside near the pool, so if you wanted some fries, you needed to queue outside as well. The grill consisted of fries, burgers, sausages and a different type of grilled meat (chicken, pork or beef) everyday, plus some grilled vegetables. At least the food on offer was always of good quality. There were 5 stations (all having the same food) where you could queue which were all open at peak times. Then there was 1 station offering pizza, cheese and 3 types of pasta. Coffee, tea, milk and water was available free of charge in the buffet 24hrs. There were different kinds of sweets available everyday in the buffet, just simple sponges, nothing fancy. I hardly ever liked any of them. Same as on MSC. Both lines need to employ some good pastry chefs! But at least there was soft serve ice cream available at lunchtime and tea time. We had dinner at the Duca di Borgogna 5 times during our cruise. The other 2 nights we had table service pizza at the Buffet. We liked most of the food we had at the MDR, but the service was not that great. The waiter seemed to be serving too many tables and they were not next to each other, which seemed stupid to us, because he was always in a hurry, running from one side of the restaurant to the other. On the other hand, the assistant waiter seemed to be taking it too easy! I hardly ever had any dessert here because most of the time it was either forgotten or they took the order so quickly they forgot to ask us about dessert. The pizzeria was nothing fancy, just 4 different types of pizza every day which you can choose from, but both times we went, it was quite busy. There is only pizza and salad available in the buffet after tea time. Although most people prefer to eat in the MDR, Costa should leave it up to the guests to choose where they want to eat and open the buffet for dinner as well. We know it would be very popular because it was always busy on MSC. Most people with young children like us, prefer casual dining and the buffet is ideal. In the MDR we were seated with a young couple who had no children, therefore we felt we had to give them a break from ours for at least 2 nights. Service in the MDR was much better on MSC and even the variety of food available was better. We ordered room service breakfast every day and it was promptly delivered without any problems. The coffee was very nice and hot. Same things available as on MSC. I ordered room service once in the afternoon, just a bread roll with shrimps and the bread was not fresh. The menu was very basic, just a couple of salads, soup and about 5 different types of bread rolls. Really nothing to write home about! There was a sandwich bar on deck 10, open until 6pm where they had 4 different types of rolls available every day. They were ok, especially when toasted. We did not like the décor of this ship, you either love it or hate it! We found some places too flashy to the point of looking cheap. MSC are much sleeker in their modern yet simple designs. The ship is overall quite clean, but not perfectly clean like MSC, and you do not see people cleaning all day long as you do on MSC. We got the all inclusive drink package as part of a package from the tour operator. It is very good value for money if you like to drink. The quality of the drinks was always very good. Service depends on the bar staff. Some of them were very attentive and others seemed to be taking it easy, even at peak times. Our favourite bar was the atrium bar, where Christopher was always so nice and helpful. We used the retractable roof Pool most of the time. The water was comfortably heated and they closed the roof at around 4pm every day. There was no one to guard the pool apart from the ‘at sea’ day. There were a lot of Sicilian young men who were partying all the time by the pool, diving and smoking and no one was stopping them. This made it difficult for us to swim with a 2 year old. My son and I used the slide once and it was not very busy. But after about 4 goes, I got dizzy and had to stop. My son could go on forever though, if I let him! The infant pool on the top deck was closed every day during our cruise, probably because the weather was still slightly cold. Now to Smoking, a hot debate on Costa ships. People were smoking in smoking zones only inside, but sometimes you could smell the cigarettes even in non smoking areas. But outside, passengers were smoking everywhere, even on the non-smoking side on deck and the problem was that no one stopped them. Smoking policy is stricter on MSC. We would really prefer if smoking is abolished at least from inside. Kids club was very well organised. My son spent a few hours nearly every day at the Squok Club and they even organised a show by the kids in the theatre. The trick is to look at the kids activities programme so you get to know what and where anything is happening. It took me a couple of days to get used to this, and my son ended up missing a couple of interesting activities because I did not carry the programme with me all the time. They even gave a token to the kids the night before leaving the ship. My son got a Costa Squok Club hat and he absolutely loves it! I felt Squok Club was more organised on Costa than MSC and it seemed to be more popular too. The ports of call on this cruise were very interesting. Here is a brief description: Malta – our home country. Valletta, the capital city is easily accessible on foot, either by walking up the hill or by using a public elevator. It is a beautiful city. The hop on hop off bus is also available at the port, and it is possible to go around the island on these buses. Catania. We have often been here, and we love it! We used the port bus from the ship to the port gate, very good idea! Not many people seem to know about it because we saw most people walking. Then we walked around the city, visited our favourite spots, visited the market and then spent some time in Giardino Bellini. We would have liked to stay here longer. Naples. It was our first time here. I had planned a route of around 2 hours walking. First we walked to the Galleria and then to Piazza del Plebiscito. Both of them are a must if you are visiting Naples. Then we walked along Via Toledo, a shopping street, and then into the old town centre, along Via San Biagio to see the crib shops. Most of the shops were open even though it was a Sunday. Again, we felt we did not have enough time to see Naples. We plan to go back. Savona. It was also our first time here. The sight of Savona from the ship makes you think it is a beautiful city. Via Paleocapa with porticoes and Art Nouveau buildings, is the high street. It is the most interesting street in the town, nothing else to see here. The port itself is beautiful though, as is the view of Torre Leon Pancaldo, just across from the ship. There was a market here in Piazza del Popolo. Barcelona. We used public transport from the ship to the Ramblas. Tickets cost Eur 3.50 per person, compared to Eur 9 for the Costa Shuttle. And public transport actually stops you closer to the Ramblas than the shuttle! We have been here a couple of times and we always end up walking the narrow streets to the right of the Ramblas. We always walk around the cathedral and up to Piazza Catalunya. It is such a beautiful and vibrant city. For first timers, the hop on hop off bus is a very good idea. Palma de Mallorca. We felt this was the highlight of this cruise. It is such a beautiful place. The Eur 9 we spent for the Costa shuttle was a bit high, but well spent, since we did not waste any time to arrive in Town, under the beautiful cathedral. We spent 3 hours walking the beautiful streets of this lovely town. They have beautiful squares where you can sit down and enjoy the ‘dolce vita’ and they have some good shops too. We would surely love to go back. And now to the big questions: Would you cruise with Costa again? Although we have experienced better, we would surely cruise with Costa again if we get a good deal. Do you prefer Costa or MSC? Sadly, I would say I prefer MSC because their ships are more beautiful, they give better service and they have better food!   Read Less