We booked Costa Pacifica for 10 night Mediterranean cruise for our wedding anniversary. It was our first cruise and i would say that it met and sometimes exceeded our expectations. Value for money was great and with few exceptions everything was awesome. Cleanliness overall was top. Reaching places on the ship was easy after we discovered the interactive screens. Sadly, always some of the elevators were out of service. With the exception of our dinner waiter who was later then other waiters, the staff was very helpful and friendly. Food quality and variety for us was exceptional. Many serving buffets and hours. We loved sea fruits, bakery, grills, pastas and desserts. We dinned in My Way restaurant. The menu was different each night, with 3-5 options for each meal, italian cuisine at it's best. Daily and evening events, some free, some paid. We were clearly explained that this is an italian ship and although we enjoyed the italian atmosphere, we felt that some events were for italian guests mainly. English is the second language here. Theatre shows were ok with some good singers, decent dancers and great acrobats. Some comedy also. Internet packets are expensive like all cruises, but there are some social packets and even one option to pay for minute. Excursions were worth it, some a little expensive but it was the best option. We booked northern part of the Lanzarote, Puerto de la Cruz in Tenerife, and the 9h all around Funchal (fabulous experience). We chose to visit Marseille and Malaga on our own and it was a good plan. We absolutely loved the condition of the ship, the design and decorations. Everything reflects a musical theme. Recommend it. Read Less

The cruise was okay. We scheduled several tours through Costa and the Argostoli Greece was awesome. The next day in Santorini Greece, we bought that tour and when it came to getting our tickets out, the tour had been canceled and no one told us why. It seemed like it made the staff mad that we even asked where our tickets were. They finally told us they had no english guides to take us on tour. We ended up doing that day on our own. When we were in Katakolon Greece the guide told us to come back to our bus at a certain time, we went back and looked all over the place for our bus, we finally found one of the guides which didn't speak good english and she was no help at all, finally another tour guide came along and he got us on another bus that took us back to the ship. The ship left immediately once we boarded. I really think they would have left us in Katakolon. We felt lost thoughout the whole trip. We paid a bunch of money for a tour to Paradise Beach in Mykonos Greece and it was just a very expensive bus ride to the beach. The food was ok, nothing special or anything. We had our best meals on the Islands. Rooms were kept very clean. We loved our cabin steward, he was the best employee on the cruise. We paid for internet service which was terrible, couldn't even load a web page, they charge a fortune for the internet service that was lousy. I bought my husband an internet service, he constantly complained that he couldn't check things on the internet. The service couldn't even load facebook, just a rip off. I will not book with this cruise line again. Read Less

The roomservice was exellent. Housekeeping spoke very good English. She took really good care of guests. I was travelling solo, and the whole crew of the ship took really good care of me. The whole crew called me Madame. I dont like shows so much, and luckily the was a place on the ship where 2 gitarists sung songs from the last 30 years. I really enjoyed it, they played like pro's. Food was really great, and all the crew was flexible to my wishes. I had a really good time from I landed on the airport in Barca, and got picked up by Costa. I went on one tour, to Monaco. The guide talked really good English, and was so good explaining the history and odd points about Monaco. The ship was very good organized, the crew was excellent. The best cruise I ever been on. I would do this again. Read Less

This was the ONLY cruise ship available for the one week we could sail and go to the ports we wanted to visit. The food was sub-par. The crew was miserable and literally opened up about how poorly they're treated and paid by Costa. Ever since Carnival Cruise Lines purchased Costa, everything's gone downhill. The entertainment was extremely poor. The dancers acted as if they were practicing just going through the motions, and not really performing. It was an embarrassment for them. The activities director NEVER spoke one word in English. Most of the cruisers were Italian and she catered to them 100%. This was the overall theme the entire week! Even the nightly DJ'S spoke and exclusively played italian. It was as if they were purposely trying to exclude ALL NON-ITALIANS!! Many of our excursions were canceled because "there weren't enough English-speaking cruisers on board," so we were told. Never again will we sail on Costa Cruise Lines!!! They couldn't pay us to cruise with them again. Read Less

I was party leader for a group of 10 friends and family. I joined this cruise with low expectations, based on the previous reviews. What I actually experienced was way beyond my expectations. We did the Baltic Cruise and visited Stockholm, Helsinki, St Petersburg and Tallinn. This is an expensive route normally and this was a budget price in the scheme of things. Based on what we paid and what we received there are no complaints. The food was of a good standard at the buffet and the formal dinner and in fact some of the formal dinner food was amazing. I had one of the best beef steaks I have ever had on one evening! The waiters could have been a bit more jovial but they were not rude and their service was fine and we always had a good experience every night. The room was bigger than expected with a good size comfy bed and plenty of hanging space for clothes. We did not see our cabin steward at any time on the cruise but the service was fine and the room was always well looked after. We did have a problem with a shower tray that would not empty properly so one ended up stood in water and also with water overflowing onto the main bathroom floor. I reported this and they came and fixed it while we were out. They then called the room later that day to make sure that we were happy with the fix and by that time we had not used the shower. When we used the shower we found that it was not working correctly still and so we called them and once again they came out to fix it. Once again they called us later that day to check it was ok and this time the fix had worked. I have been on many cruises and I have never had a follow up call to make sure that we were happy with the fix. This is a first for me, so well done to them for actually taking the time twice to make sure we were happy with the repair/fix. Credit where credits due. We did three excursions through Costa and two of these were very good. However we did do the Best of Stockholm and Vasa Museum tour on the final day which is a 3.5 hour tour at €70 per person their ref 2501. This is rushed tour and is not enough time. It ended up that we only had 40 minutes in the Vasa Museum, which is the highlight. They introduced this as one of the World's best Museums and a wonderful experience and then gave us only 40 minutes inside. This is ridiculous as in my opinion you need at least 1.5 hours inside, minimum. I would suggest that you go privately and take your time as this is an amazing museum that deserves more of your time. This was a blemish on what was otherwise a great trip. Read Less

The restaurant staff very professional and well trained. Out cabine room was superficial clean every day lots of dust and the bedsheets not changed for the entire week. The excursion staff lack of knowledge and very rude not happy to offer any excursions in English unless is just downtown were we can go by ourselves. We we looking forward to have a nice hiking and engage with nature but NOT POSSIBLE NOT POSSIBLE. When we book the excursion there was nowhere mentioned that they don’t have a English guide available not the necessary number of people needed so the tour can be offer. The excursion assistant manager poor poor quality of service and very disrespectful. I wasn’t expected to have such a unprofessional staff.They absolutely were so rude that I will never try a cruise with this company and I will let everyone know about my terrible experience on the ship. It almost felt that staff were angry when speaking to them in English. They don’t have the urge to offer quality service as you seen been advertised. Read Less

The ship is a very beautiful ship. It is a Carnival Destiny (Sunshine) class ship that has a slightly different layout. The decoration is very well done with some odd art work here and there. The cabin was standard to all other ships I have been on. This was my first time on an Italian ship. I have cruised on British and American ships more times then I can count. The ship did pick up an drop off passengers at every port which I had never experienced before but did not affect our vacation in any way shape or form. The biggest difference was of course the language for all activities (except the production shows) were all in Italian (Production shows were fabulous by the way)... which is understandable. I'm not much of a dance lesson, trivia contest guy anyway. The dining was the biggest not so good surprise... The food on this Italian ship is the most different then any other ship I have sailed on ... The breakfast was always continental not the typical huge American/british fatty breakfast. The pizza and ice cream which is normally free on the American/ british ships was an upcharge (our kids were disappointed). There was not a free coffee, tea, water dispenser available all day like other ships... It was only available for buffet meal times which kind of forces you to get the drink package... The food in general compared to carnival, rccl, norweigen, celebrity, etc. you could see how this cruise line pays significantly less for quality and if you do want the quality food you have to pay an upcharge (do not expect to get a free lobster night and chocolate molten cake). On to the service... The service from waiters, bar staff, was wonderful... The room steward service on this ship and all other ones I have been on gets worse every time I sail so that was not surprise. All the workers I met spoke English along with Italian, and other languages so was very impressed and humbled as I am in the typical American that only knows English. I admire anyone that can learn other languages. The ports are the main reason why we picked this ship... We were in a port every day except one and got a chance to explore castles, cathedrals, and beaches. We chose to travel on the busiest month in Italy so we did pay extra for that but it was the only time work permitted average was $1000 per person. I do overall recommend this cruise line but as an American and having cruised on more American and British ships... I will go out of my way in the future to make sure the next cruises we go on are American or British mainly because of the comfort level of the language and food make the whole experience way more appealing and on a vacation that is very important. That is why I gave this ship an average rating... This ship was lacking overall a feeling of southern hospitality if you know what that means then you will understand... All other ships and lines I have been on have a deep feeling of southern hospitality but this one did not. That is the best way I can describe it. Read Less

In my opinion this cruise has one port missing. It arrives in Stockholm on a Friday, boarding is on a Saturday, then it leaves for Helsinki, following is 2 days St. Petersburg, then a short time in Tallin. The day after is again in Stockholm, and the following day you have to disembark. I can't understand why they don't add Latvia for example instead of docking for 2 days in Stockholm. Otherwise it would have been nice to have 3 days in Russia, but Stockholm is the least city that one has to see. Something about the ship, decor is very old, brown and orange everywhere, breakfast very poor, bacon and sausages are not even good for dogs...thanks God they offered meat in the grill section which I enjoyed very much for breakfast. In the evening we ate at the sit-in restaurant, food taste average, food decoration very nice. Entertainment during sit-in dinner ZERO neither some background recorded music except for the Italian night and the gala dinner where there was live entertainment which we enjoyed very much. At the pool area NO MUSIC except when there are organised activities which happen only when the ship is at sea...I find this so stupid as it is costless to put a nice music on through a CD...The pool slide on Costa Magica was delusive..it is opened only for 1 hr if you're lucky. So, we booked this ship for the slide and when we boarded we could'nt even use it, we had to wait until the last day to go on it 3 times as they did'nt advise its opening times and we encountered it open by chance....why? we presume so that they won't have to repaint it since the blue colour comes off on your swimsuit or because they don't want to waste human resources to guard the slide. As for the bar service, we bought Piu Gusto for all the cabin which was a family of 4. One of us went to get 2 drinks from the pool bar and the barman humiliated him by asking him for another card....why when our package included unlimited drinks? why ruin guests holiday experience with this approach?? as for children activities the Peppa Pig activities were great and the children had so much fun in the Squok Club...so well done to them. I was going to forget about this...this is unbelievable but true...guys forget that you will be getting an ice cream or a nice milkshake on the ship...if you want one you have to pay for it...this is our 5th cruise and we never encountered anything similar!! As for the Photos...when they will learn that if they reduce the price they will sell more? it's unbelievable how many photos they throw away after every cruise when if they sell them at least half the price many people will be encouraged to buy them...very greedy and stupid behavior in my opinion. Read Less

Last year we cruised the Mediterranean on the MSC Opera- this time we chose the Costa neoRiviera. The ships are similar, although the MSC Opera was lengthened a few years ago. The Costa neoRiviera is leaving the fleet in November and will be transferred to their German division, AIDA Cruises, so this review won’t be relevant for much longer. The good points: it was a very affordable cruise in peak season for 11 nights. One of our party was travelling as a single passenger and Costa’s policy (in certain markets) is to only levy a 30% surcharge- this is another reason we chose this trip. Atmosphere: Costa neoRiviera is a smaller intimate ship and is easy to navigate- the only trick to remember was the middle elevators didn’t go past deck 9. The crew were fine and we encountered no constant upselling like on MSC. The only disappointments were a confusing 30 minute life boat drill and crew not always enforcing the pool age restrictions, although considering this voyage was mid August this was often an impossible task. Most of the passengers were Italian, the remainder French, German or Spanish. There were perhaps 20 native English speakers on board so if you were looking to expand your Anglo social circle, this wasn’t the ship for you- English speaking guests are targeted by sister company HAL. Since Costa and MSC are mass market cruise lines, the demographics of your fellow passengers come from a wide social spectrum; therefore, standard Anglo behavioural norms/etiquette are often lacking. Being in the minority, the only solution is to modify your own behaviour: “when in Rome…” Dining/Food: Hurray! After last year’s MSC disgusting culinary experience (straight from the microwave to your plate) and rude Maitre D’ attitude, it was great being on a ship where you could actually eat well and alter dining arrangements without any fuss. Except for one night featuring a brand new celebrity chef menu (resulting in many half consumed meals) which the dining staff observed, the quality and portions were very good in the main dining room and buffets. Cleanliness: The ship was clean (not MSC obsessive compulsive clean) and satisfactory although some open deck areas on level 12 required attention. As the ship is being refurbished soon, perhaps it was decided to wait until then to perform the necessary work. Having said that, there were sufficient deck chairs on board (an MSC Opera problem) and the ship never felt crowded. Entertainment: This is the only area that needs improvement compared to MSC which was exceptional. While the special guest acts were quite entertaining, if the night involved the neoRiviera singers the performances were too repetitive- I think we saw the same prancing/dancing moves a number of times- just in different costumes. There is also a design flaw in the Ravello theatre- rows are tiered, but there are two rows in every tier so the second row can’t see over the first so you need to arrive early to get a seat with a view. Overall verdict: yes we would cruise with Costa again. Our expectations were met and the overall experience far surpassed MSC. Read Less

Costa is a Very Surprising Compony, We Enter the Ship in St. Petersburg, the ship is quite of big and good. We Booked Cabin with Window and the Cabin is quite big and good but there a addtion staff on money. The food on costa is good , there what to eat everywhere. there 2 restaurants on the ship. We was on smeralda and it was an goodrestaurant but it was take the food a long to get. Costa having a show every day Evening. there a lot what to see on board and what to do. But Pizza on board is on additonal Payment. the service on board is good. on Information there staff that talking in multi languages. the loading and unloading was good and quick. and the shops on costa is quite good and recommanded to wait to last day for sales . very nice cruise maybe We'll go again Read Less

Visiting the places we were interested in. Good value for money and suits all budgets. Booking in was very efficient. The ship it’s self was very ornate bars, lovely theatre & lounges. The food was ok if not fab, but bearing in mine the cost it was good value for money. The cabin staff, lounge staff and restaurant were lovely. What spoilt our experience somewhat was the aggressive attitude of the bar staff and some reception staff. We always treat all the staff with respect and a smile but some staff thought it was ok to be rude and aggressive. We did the Stockhol, Helsinki, St Petersburg, TAllinn stops and i would highly recommend these, take an extra day in Stockholm as there is plenty to see. At this point I am not sure I would book Costa again, purely due to the number of times I encountered rude staff and saw how they behaved towards other passengers, even on 1 occasion to an elderly and frail lady. Read Less

Boarding: boarding in Kiel took hours. I’m new to cruising, but it seemed rather disorganized with little possibility for seating. The terminal in Kiel was an uncomfortable , utilitarian facility. None of the screens were working, Costa Personnel were walking around with signs to tell people which groups were boarding. Ship’s decor: the ship has a musical “theme” which is so tasteless and kitschy and dated. One can see that the ship isn’t the newest. There are plenty of signs of wear and tear. The Casino takes up a lot of square meters so I suppose it is a big money maker for the ship. Cabin: we booked two premium balcony cabins. The balcony was fine, two chairs and a little table. It was a relief to be able to escape the never ending noise of the ship. Except that our cabin on deck 6 was right over a bar. So at 10 pm when we were ready to go to sleep because of a busy day in port, the music in the bar was so loud that our cabin was shaking and one could literally sing along with the songs if one was so inclined. But we just wanted to sleep! Only possible with earplugs for all 10 days!!! Shower had a flimsy cloth curtain that was not adequate to keep water from dripping all over the bathroom. And a few nervous moments when we were getting dangerously low on toilet paper. Our toilet didn’t always flush. The mattress was hard and uncomfortable. The pillows were lumpy and synthetic. You can only choose softer or down pillows in suites. The cabin steward was super polite and did a good job cleaning and tidying our cabin every day. The spa: definitely worth the €135 Euro spa pass. A very fine spa with 4 different steam baths and a super jacuzzi. And a sun room with a great view. There are only adults which is a relief as all other pools and jacuzzis are full of children. The jacuzzis are from 16+, but this is not enforced by the personnel. Small children in warm bubbly water...I’ll let you guess what it must be full of. My husband and I both booked hot stone massages that were wonderful, but the relaxation was destroyed when both our masseuses turned our massages into a sales pitch for foot cream (€30), neck cream (€40), 21 day detox cure with vitamins and tea (a bargain at €180), and 20 packets of bath salts that are almost as good as a massage (“only” €10 a packet, much cheaper than a massage”). It was very difficult to convince her that I wasn’t interested. She definitely didn’t take polite no thank you’s. So all the stress that was massaged away was right back again. I’m sure they are pressured to sell products. She tried to schedule me for another €100 massage, but you can be sure I wasn’t going to put myself through that again. I’ve never experienced that in a spa before. Fitness center: very well outfitted, also for 16+ but full of kids playing around on the machines. No personnel was present to enforce this. Several “health” seminars are offered, but they always end in being a sales pitch for insoles or detox vitamins. Food: absolutely inedible. Our assigned table was in New York, New York. Nice waiter, but he messed up our orders every time. The food was cold, dry, tiny portions that barely resembled their descriptions. The salad leaves were wilted (brown around the edges) and the seatings took almost 2 hours plus. That was a lot of sitting for so little food. My 190cm tall 24 year old son had to eat in the buffet afterwards so he wouldn’t be hungry. So we decided to eat in the La Paloma buffet restaurant. Long lines, lukewarm food, and to top it off, my 22 year old son and I both got food poisoning which kept us up all night with vomiting and diarrhea. Luckily we had two cabins! I was very careful afterwards in my food choices. The only truly tasty food was the focaccia at lunch time. The breakfast buffet was full of sweets. The rolls were small and dry. The eggs were powdered and wet. Only two types of cheese and very limited sliced meats. The “orange” juice was anything but. You could also sit down in the NY, NY restaurant for breakfast. But the buffet is exactly the same as La Paloma buffet restaurant. Only difference is that the coffee cups are smaller and the tea is served with lukewarm water and there is linen and silver on the table. The joke is I lost weight on this cruise, who loses weight on a cruise?? The gelato was super, but you had to pay for it. Entertainment: the Italian lifestyle requires that most entertainment started at 9.30-10.30 pm. Well, we arrived early in the morning in port, so I don’t know how people could party all night and have a full day of touring the next day. There were theme nights every night that it appeared that every Italian on board had the required clothes but we had received no information prior to the cruise about which outfits were required for the various parties. The white gala night, the international night, the Italian night, the French night, the masquerade night, etc....not that you would have packed for so many themes if you didn’t know about it. So we felt excluded from a large part of the on board entertainment. Excursions: we booked two excursions, Danzig and Marienburg, and two days in St. Petersburg (grand tour). Both were very expensive but we had very good guides and the food was the only tasty food we got on the trip. The buses were new and air conditioned. Our guide in St. Petersburg was great. She could get us through thousands of Chinese tour groups with seeming ease. All other destinations we used hop on, hop off buses that you can catch at the harbor. This is a much cheaper option. Destinations: great, but 5 hours in Tallinn was inadequate. Why we arrived at 1 pm instead of 8 is a mystery. I suspect docking was cheaper after 12. And three huge cruise ships at once pretty much filled the town up. Personnel: generally very friendly. We had one very unpleasant situation when we arrived I Tallinn. Many passengers had headed for the exits as we all wanted to make the most of our 5 hours. Suddenly a large Spanish guy in a white uniform started yelling at us in a very sharp tone to go away before the announcement was made to wait one floor above. We had even been sent by other crew members to wait where we were waiting. It was really uncalled for. He started yelling at Spanish passengers too. It wasn’t a friendly and helpful tone. And we weren’t a mob, there were at the most 15 people standing there. There was a daily animation program but it was quite difficult to follow in 5 languages! But kudos to the crew for trying. The internet: super expensive, €107 for 3 GB and it barely worked. In the end I actually hadn’t used my full three GB’s because I couldn’t download or upload anything because it was so slow. The social media flat is probably a better deal. We were close enough to land that our roaming worked fine most of the time. All inclusive: our package included the pio gusto drinks package. Only silly thing, they wouldn’t provide a bottle of water. Those had to be bought. And you weren’t allowed to fill water bottles at the water dispensers. So lukewarm chlorine water from our tap was the only possibility in the cabin. We bought bottled water in port. To round it up: We would never travel with Costa again, but now we know what to look for on a cruise Read Less

We had used Costa once and were not very pleased, the only reason we chose it again is because it was the only cruise that we found that would go to Norway on the dates we had available. The ports of call were spectacular, enjoyed the views, the fjords, nature, falls and train rides. It was a multicultural experience with people from a lot of nationalities. The food was average, being vegetarian, I had usually one option on the menu. On our last cruise with Costa, in South America, the pasta was superb, so I was looking forward to that, but was very disappointed. The menu was very weird. They need an italian chef to bring good pasta. Going to the buffet was a challenge for me because I had a walking disability and used a cane, and you had a station for fruit, another for salads, for deserts, for water, and for hot foods. So there was a lot of walking, and it was usually crowded and hard to find a place to sit. One day I felt like eating pizza and found out that they charge for pizza! and also for ice cream! (which was a free option when we cruised with Costa before) Being from USA we were not charged for water, but the rest of the passengers had to pay. Our server for dinner was I Nyoman Darsana from Indonesia. Great person, very polite and courteous. The programming was average. The best shows were the acrobatics and Mimes. The room cleanliness was average. The carpet was stained and needs to be cleaned (room 4181) The sheets and towels in general seemed old and grayish colored. Read Less

Before going on the cruise I read these reviews and thought to myself how can a big cruise company have a ship that bad? But the ship was great, everything was nice, food wasn’t bad and overall I had a very nice time. The room my family and I took had a balcony which was really nice and big. The cabins weren’t that small and 2 people could and will comfortably live in them. The restaurant on the 2nd and 3rd floor was really good, and so was the pizza restaurant on the 9th floor, but the buffet on the 9th floor was good but not the best. The negatives of the ship were that everything is expensive on the ship and the WiFi was really, really expensive. But literally everything else on the ship was really nice, would recommend for everyone to go on it. If you go with a positive attitude then you will be guaranteed a great time. Read Less

We visited Stockholm, St Petersburg, Tallinn and Helsinki. This was a beautiful cruise that is very well organized in every aspect. I think it also gives you a great sense of Italy and their way of life and partying. The only bad thing that I have to point out is that they have VERY small swimming pools on the ship, and this is a real problem when 3000 people want to swim at the same time. I loved the food, Italian cuisine is famous worldwide and I think there is something to eat for everyone. :))) And they have a WONDERFUL entertainment team which made me dance and stay awake every single night till God knows which hours. Important to know: - You can link your credit card to your ship card and then don't have to worry about payment. - They have totems now, so you can book your excursions there. - Embarkation and disembarkation went smoothly and without any crowds and problems. I will definitely travel with Costa again! Read Less

Pro's: Clean cabin and ship Friendly staff Con's: tea and coffee only available with breakfast or afternoon tea (which only lasts an hour) Charge substantial service charge per person per day Ice cream not included Pizza not included (yes this is an ITALIAN cruise ship) Water has to be paid for with evening meals! Very crowded pool Cigarette Smoke where ever you go Tried to sell you add ons for evening meals that you have already paid for Charge a lot for shuttles into town from ports (they didn't tell us that there were free shuttles provided by the port authority, we had to work that one out ourselves) kids events at anti-social hours (10 pm onwards!) Fitness and beauty "seminars" where they basically try and sell you something every time! They just want money money money, very greedy. The list goes on and on. Basically, don't waste your money on Costa cos it will Costya. Read Less

We have chosen this cruise like most people because of the itinerary. 11 NIGHTS WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN - an amazing itinerary.We sailed on 11 July from Savona. Reading reviews I knew the cruise line is not perfect and did not expect much, but what we have experienced was so much worth! Starting from the drill - which took at least an hour or more. English speaking people were wondering around the decks asking where to go. Eventually we were put on one of the outside areas under the sun (no seating and no sun protection) where we had to stay for at least 30 mins prior the briefing which we cant hear due to noise. By that time older people were not able to stand longer and some were shouting at the staff who were saying that it was not their problem - go and talk to the management. That was a big waring flag of what would follow. - No good service (except our stuart) - Poor quality towels and bed sheets, poor quality of linen at the restaurant . - Food of low quality and variety - what was not eaten on breakfast was used for lunch and then for dinner. - I had twice food poisoning from the dinners' dishes - Horrible service during dinners, when we had to wait for one hour to be served. - Only 2 properly trained and knowledgeable staff at the excursion desk, the rest could not do the job and were asking them to book or change tours and it took really long time to rebook excursions which were cancelled. I can continue, but really don't want to as it makes me so upset. The reason of all that - poor management on this ship. I would never step again on any of the Costa ships or recommend this cruise line. Read Less

Review Summary The question is...Would I recommend taking a Baltic Cruise on Costa Pacifica? I will reluctantly say “Yes”. The Cruise Ship is well worth the money spent. The destinations are absolutely exquisite. The only hesitation I have is the food as it was terrible. Embarkation Getting to the Port in Kiel Germany was very easy. The Cruise Terminal is ~1 mile from the Kiel Train Station (HBF). Plenty of shops and food establishments to peruse before boarding. The boarding process was abysmal. Massive amount of passengers being funneled into 6 check-in stations. It took ~4 hours from arriving at the Terminal to boarding the ship. Baggage arrived to the cabin later in the evening. Absolutely miserable experience. Ship Experiences Food and Dining Main Dining Room was mediocre at best. Presentation of dishes was average. Quality and variety was well below average. Little to no fresh vegetables and fruits. Buffet was nearly inedible. Same low quality dishes every single day. The breads and desserts were above average. Little to no fresh vegetables and fruits. Specialty Restaurants were no better. Drink Packages and Bars were above average. This is the primary disappointment. Was expecting good Italian Dining, yet received meals that were so horrible. In addition, four of our party became violently ill throughout the cruise directly related to the food. Onboard Activities The shipboard activities were outstanding. The ship was filled with activity daily and was one of the most exciting cruise ships I have been aboard. Entertainment All of the Performances and Entertainers were excellent. One the most exciting cruise ships I have been aboard. Children's Programs No children Service and Staff The Crew were outstanding in all aspects. Very friendly and professional. Ship Quality The ship is in great shape. While the decor is very brash, it fits the energy of the cruise. Appropriate Music throughout the ship. Cabin / Stateroom Cabin is above average with plenty of storage space. Tastefully decorated. The bed and pillows were average. Ship Tip Really think about how important the quality of food is to your cruise experience. Ports Of Call Kiel, Germany No excursion. Good port for Embarking and Disembarking Gdynia (Gdansk), Poland Average port. It is a young city so in a couple of years it will be a much better port. Shuttle to city center is ~$8 Klaipeda, Lithuania Wonderful port. Lots to see and do. Walk to the city center. Very inexpensive. Tallinn, Estonia Wonderful port. Lots to see and do. Walk to the city center. Very inexpensive. St. Petersburg, Russian Federation The Crown Jewel of the Baltics. Spend as much time and money as possible in St Petersburg. Extremely inexpensive. Must obtain a Visa prior to cruise or book an Excursion through the cruise line to exit the port. No exceptions. Helsinki, Finland Beautiful port but not much to see or do. Very expensive. Shuttle to city center is ~$15 Stockholm, Sweden Wonderful port. Lots to see and do. Shuttle to city center is ~$15 Disembarkation Couldn’t get off the ship fast enough. Disembarking is typical as with other ships. Received color coded baggage tags the night before. Pack and set your bags outside your cabin by 1am. Depart the ship at time coordinated by your color code. Bags awaiting you in the Terminal. Read Less

I decided to cruise with Costa because they offer affordable trips to Scandinavia. Unfortunately, this was by far the worst cruise I have ever been on. The ship itself was in pretty good condition. The inside felt cheap but comfortable. The ship's layout was fairly confusing and they were constantly ripping up carpet all over due to a bad smell. The inside cabin's are small but comfortable, and the balcony cabins are quite a bit larger with a nice view. As far as dining is concerned, don't expect much out of any meal except for seated dinners, which were mediocre at best. The buffet dining experience was miserable because of overcrowding and disgusting food. The "snack bar" consisted of sad looking frozen hot dogs and hamburgers. The pizza was pretty good (when it was free). The worst part about the dining situation on the Costa Magica was how much extra money you had to spend to have a good experience. Water is the only beverage included in a regular ticket besides the four juice options at breakfast. Charging extra money for alcohol is understandable, but only offering water for a 1500 E ticket is ridiculous. Oh, and don't expect a "late night snack" unless you want to fork over another 15 E after the buffet is closed. The first few nights of on-board shows were some of the saddest I have ever seen. The shows at the end of the week were enjoyable, but not enough to make up for the nightmarish first three nights. The service was consistently poor. Do not expect to be greeted as a guest, but rather as an annoyance. The waiters were not attentive, the service staff was rude, and the security staff have stares that make you want to be on a different planet. The only good service was the maid service. Read Less

Summary - if your only language is English, it is best to avoid, it is heavily weighted towards Italian, including language, entertainment, food, majority of guests. You Que for almost everything, a lot of items were extra cost and it is not a budget cruise. Quick tips – Avoid Costa if you can only speak English. Carefully select your drinks package to suit, select your evening meal timings to suit (early is 6.45 seated, late is 9.30). Service charge is automatically 10 Euros per person, per night. If you port at Dubrovnik it is KN not Euro in most shops. Do not let your internet package run out, as you can not top it up then, it has to be re-purchased (up to 100 Euros per device) Non of the staff were helpful when it came to being charged or overcharged with anything. Full Review - We booked this cruise as a bit of a last minute choice, we had the itinerary in mind and only had 2 options, Costa or Norwegian Star, I should have read reviews but instead went off photographs, which made the cabins look dated on the Norwegian, so went with Costa. The ship itself is nice, our cabin was ok, although I am not used to cruises, so it felt a bit caravan like, I am unsure if this is across all cruise ships. We upgraded to an unrestricted balcony view room, as we liked the idea of seeing where we were going on a first cruise, this was worth it, as it was great to see it leave and arrive at Ports, or gave us something to look at. Food - Evening set meal times in main restaurant are not ideal, 1st seating is a 6.45 which for some days is too early and 9.30 which by the time you eat, is late. You do not get to switch between meal times, so decide and request before you go. If your going as a couple, have to sit with strangers at this meal, if like me then that is not for you, the choices are buffet or pay for one of the other restaurants. Buffet was very repetitive, you had to que much of the time, but there was a large selection and nice food, it is all self served, including drinks, so there is no service as such. There are set meal times, anything outside of this is charged like mini bar, room service, any other restaurants, including the burger and pizza, which are served from the buffet area and in the same seating area which is a bit of a cop out. Drinks - You can choose a drinks package, be careful which one, as its very labelled on what you can or can’t have, anything above your drinks package is charged. Ours for example was the brandino, which included branded drinks but not bottled water or cocktails/champagne, which apart from the water did not bother us, but as they ask you to not fill water bottles from the vending machines, you have to keep refilling small glasses or pay for the bottles (3 euro). Vending machines only had juice at breakfast time, all other set meals were water, or tea/coffee, alternative drinks are all a visit to the bar for a drink, in which case you have to que up, most of the time. Service - Majority of the staff were friendly, there were a few that because of the language barrier, just didnt want to know. There is no drinks service by the pool, so it’s all ques at the bars. There is no pool side service, although at the main bars inside there is table service. You are automatically charged 10 euros per person per night for a service charge too. Entertainment - Being a cruise ship, there is a fair few bits to do and a good schedule, however it is largely Italian based, including evening, with a large language barrier. Pools - Larger indoor pool, with a screen and more entertainment, does have a sliding roof but doens't seem to get a lot of sun, outside pool is small and full of children, not many sun loungers although this is one of the main areas for bathing, also saw staff taking away towels when people had only just gone in for dinner or drinks, I can understand if they are trying to reserve for hours but this caused arguments. Destinations - This was the best part, I felt you got a good amount of time at most locations, although some are early and some are leave just after mid day, I got to see some lovely locations in a short space of time, whilst resting between locations, this is what it was all about for us. Getting on and off the boat was very organised too. Although they had to change our Mykinos stop to Athens due to bad weather. Read Less

This was my first cruise setting sail from a port within Mainland China. It is understandable that a large number of the passengers came from within Mainland China. My immediate impression on embarkation after passing through passport control is that Costa's staff starting from the point where our passports were collected, vessel's officers along the gangway up to the point where our photos were taken for the Costa Cards for use during the cruise, were less than friendly and welcoming. There was no smile whatsoever on their faces and nothing to suggest from their body language that we as paying passengers were welcome for this cruise. This I found out to be the norm for all vessel's offcers during the entirety of this cruise. My review now continues by bullet-points : 1. As Costa Venezia is less than one year old since it joined the Costa fleet, everything on the boat is very new and modern. Wife and I booked a cabin with balcony and the cabin is roomy and nicely appointed. The room was on deck 9 towards the rear of the boat and is very convenient to get to Deck 10, where a lot of actions and eateries are located. During our cruise, our cabin was looked after by a dedicated cabin steward. He was Star Serondo from the Philippines. He also greeted passengers with a big smile and is industrious. Every morning when wife and I went upstairs to deck 10 to take a quick breakfast, Star would have completed the cabin cleaning within the short time that we went for our breakfast, which was normally 40 min. from the time we left our cabin to the time we returned to our cabin. He comes with my high commendation. 2. One very important feature that I noticed is that a large number of the crew on the boat only speak Mandarin. This is undertandable as a large number of the passengers come from Mainland China and they only speak Mandarin. Unfortunately for someone like me who is not well versed in Mandarin found it hard to communicate with crew members when I need to. In one instance, I was asked if I can speak to them in Mandarin!! Their Mandarin speaking crew appeared to be inexperienced and went about their business by adopting Chinese custom and lacking in Internationally accepted mannerism and etiquette. This is a real disapointment for someone like me who is so adpated to Western culture and mannerism. 3. Tying in with my previous comments, a lot of the announcements made on the boat were made in just one language. Yes, you guessed it, mandarin only. This left me in the dark at most times and in particular, I was worried that I might miss any important announcemnt that is safety related. The only times that the announcement was made in both English and Mandarin was immediately before disembarkation when we arrived back in Shanghai. to remind passengers to go and settle their bills before they disembark!! All in all, the entire cruise was geared towards Mandarin speaking passengers and for those who do not speak Mandarin, best to choose other cruises not setting sail out of China ports. 4. In terms of food, those outlets that serve free food offered little varieties and their taste was poor to average. For me, there are only two categories of food, one being to fill you up when you are hungry and the other is looking for quality in the food that one takes. The food served at these outlets only qualify for the first category that I described. 5. I have also tried out four paid resturants during my cruise and they include Casanova, the Hot Pot place, the Teppenyaki restaurant and the BBQ outlet. The only place that comes close to my second category of food is Casanova. The place is quickly filled up and my best advice is to make a reservation for this restaurant as soon as you settle into your cabin to avoid disappointment. However, whilst the food in Casanova is okay to good, do not expect their service can complement the food. Most of the staff in this restaurant has no knowledge on how food should be served. This place is definitely not a fine dining outlet. For the BBQ outlet, the food served was cold and not sizzling hot as one would have expected from BBQ experience. The only consolation is the food served at the BBQ outlet is relatively cheap. The teppenyaki experience is more to attend a show dinner more than quality of the food. At any rate, the quality of the food is nowhere near the authentic teppenyaki restaurant that I have come across, be it in Japan or outside Japan. Hot Pot place is worthed a visit as the food does not require Chef's cooking and the price is again relatively cheap. The boat also has a steakhouse, a seafood restaurant, Napoli Pizza and noodle house which i did not have a chance to savour. 6. We joined a shore excursion when the boat berthed at Kagoshima. Save for the lunch provided with the excursion, the experience was bad. The guide for our group made us stand in line to wait for all the execurion participants to arrive before she led us to our coach. When we arrived at one of the three designated sight-seeing locations, the guide just pointed to where we were suppose to head and did not actually show us the place. At one location, we had to resort to using Goggle Map to find out where we were supposed to be going. The worst part came at the end of the excursion when we were all asked to leave the coach to move into a supermarket like medicine store. We were made to stay there for over an hour. For those who were not interested to shop in the store was made to stand around and were not allowed to stay on the coach! The attendants in the shop were mainly Chinese and that shop can be mistaken as another shop found in Mainland China if we were not told that that was Japan. Better off saving your money by not joining the excursion and simply disembarked and explore the destination yourselves. 7. I want to complement a lot of the English speaking crew who came form India and the Philipines. They are all very cheerful, helpful, hospitable and ready at all times to make passengers to enjoy the cruise as it should be enjoyed. This contradicted sharply with the Western officers who not only appeared to be unfriendly, but also too arrogant in front of their mainly Chinese pasengers. They seem to have forgotten that all passengers are paying to come on board and we are not refugees!! Read Less

Booked this well in advance and decided to upgrade to a balcony premium room as also taking teenager with us. Given the reviews of Magica and Costa (read them after booking...) I was concerned that we may regret choosing this - but the itinery was fab and we have been on a couple of cruises before in eastern med with Royal Caribbean - so checked re package and location of cabin carefully - got a single bed sofa sorted rather than bunk bed - and chose Deck 9 as close to bars/buffet/pool etc. We had a fantastic week - and this is why I am writing the review (given the majority of very negative ones!) - as we really rated the following: - the dining room/food ! we were seated at an English speaking table and we had a laugh from the off. Hello Steve and Trish and John and Bev if you are reading this! - the staff - we found everyone helpful and friendly - far more than previous cruises - we enjoyed the gala night - it wasnt formal or stuffy and the whole set up is very relaxed and casual - if you want formal dont book this ship!! Norbert was excellent - the premium room - spacious and spotless all week - decent shower and loads of storage space. Decent bed including the single one - the sofa bed wasnt a hassle and just stayed down along wall all week which was ideal. - embarking/disembarking - all very straight forward - no waiting getting on or off and the same throughout at various stop offs. We got a public bus from central station when arrived at Stockholm - after gettting Arlanda Express from airport - takes 30 mins and cheap! - the itinery - we chose this primarily as we wanted to get as much time in St P and Stockholm as possible - we booked our own shore excursions in St P and did our own thing in other cities. We had a brilliant time in St P as we wanted to do more specific history and politics tours so used Ulko Tours to go to the Political History museum (fantastic - you could spend 5-6 hours there - ask for english speaking tour guide before you go) and also smaller KGB museum. Also did general city tour 1 day with Advertura - very good. These were costly - so it does add a lot to the overall cost of the holiday which we didnt realise when booking cruise. We booked our own flights to and from Stockholm separately so this gave us an extra day in Stockholm - otherwise we would have had to leave the ship by 4.30am on the last day. So this worked out for us and accomm in Stockholm was reasonable - stayed at Park Inn - a couple of stops on metro which was excellent. So overall we were impressed with Costa and would use them again. Yes - the majority of the passengers are Italian/Spanish (no surprise there then) and yes it was loud and noisy in all the public bars/spaces. The entertainment was as to be expected (!) and yes Costa makes the staff try to sell all sorts so there is too much selling at the info sessions - but we found the overall service and the dining experiences great. Just one thing Costa - please add water to the drinks package - its madness not being able to get a glass of water but as many spirits/wine/beer as you wish. Read Less

We did the 7 Night Cruise June 2019 Started at Genoa and did France Spain and back to Italy on the Costa Fortuna. Rooms were great like most cruise ships, clean and always well looked after by our stewart. The food was amazing in our eyes , fresh pasta and always nice and hot if your wanting that little extra , the Dinners and Breakfasts in the diffrenet rooms around the ship were fantastic and the atmosphere was also great The ship was easy to get around and plenty to do on board The Casino Staff were great to chat with and always very Friendly Must say that if your after a great fun holiday , it rate this ship 9/10 This was our 12th cruise but first in the Medditerainan and must say we really enjoyed it and would do the same Ship again Hope you enoy like we did Read Less

The ship was clean and well cared for. Staff very nice, I even tipped extra. The food however was horrible. Very few dinning choices and most had an extra cost to eat such as hamburger or even a pizza. I get that if you want something that cost more like lobster but a hamburger really? Speaking of the lobster one of our group members tried it. He said it looked green and slimy and thought that was just how it was prepared. It was hard to tell because of how bad the food was everywhere else. He ended up with food poisoning as well as my wife whom had eating some eggs. The serving times where so short that you had nowhere to sit and eat. The staff even stopped the serving lines 15 to 20 minutes early so many time we went with out eating. No big loss their. They allowed smoking on most of the ship including dinning areas so you couldn't get fresh air. We even had my own balcony but we couldn't even use that because our neighbors smoked on the balcony next to us. We totally waisted our money. They also have several hidden charges that we discovered later. Geev Galvez and his helper Charle Ramirez. They worked in the main dinnig room for the special dinner. The service was spot on. Drinks before we even had to ask for them and offered different food choices as they notced people not eating the food. Not their falt on the food qulity but they did their best. Other service in restraunts was good to vary poor. We ate one night at the pizza / hambeger place and after asking 6 times to get someting to drink we all took turns to go to the buffet to get drinks and come back. We never did get any drinks that we didn't go get our selfs. Read Less

We chose this Cruise Trip to North Europe, as this covers four stops in Western Norway, besides Copenhagen and Goteburg in Sweden. This was our second trip on Costa Ship. Very happy with their Itinerary, since main attraction was to visit Norwegian Fjords. Vast variety of food and comparatively far better Entertainment compared to others. Overall a great experience and Value for money. One suggestion for those Taking this Cruise at Warnemunde Germany. Warnemunde is nearly 2 to 4 hours by Train or Coach from Hamburg or Berlin. For individual/ group travelers, who not taking direct Private Taxi/ Car from Hamburg or Berlin to Cruise centre, the better way is to Embark on this Cruise at Copenhagen. This will avoid all the hassles of getting to Warnemunde from Hamburg or Berlin One suggestion for Costa: Being an Italian liner, there should be some free Pizza and Ice cream stations. They have Shore Excursions for different language groups. At Norway ports, private excursions to Fjords are available at cheaper prices. Read Less