This cruise seemed good value but it’s basically the easyjet the seas, seems cheap but will charge for everything! We sailed from Barcelona for a week around Italy etc... I have sailed previously with other liners but this was definitely the worst. Here is why; Check in was disorganised with no visual information of where to go next. This lead to a confused check in which didn’t help out stress levels with a young baby and 5 year old in tow. Staff told us different things. One saying don’t que go straight to the front of the line, when arriving we were told to join the que. The costa port had no luggage trollers and with lots of bags, a pram and a travel cot plus the kids it made the port very difficult. Pre arrival I contacted costa and asked about a cot for my son told that all had been allocated and I couldn’t have one. I forwent my car seat and brought my travel cot adding greatly to the struggle with luggage. I was told after arrival that they had travel cots available. Our travel got damaged in transport and we didn’t even need it in the end, very annoying! No information in the room for pre booked packages. Ie princess for the day, spa etc.... also had no daily itinerary and had to quit for 16-20 mins to get one. Get used to waiting in the guest services que if you are English speaking. No information was given and it wasn’t made clear as to what is included in the premium package and the drinks packages until I questioned it after queuing at guest services. I had an idea but wanted the detail as it was so confusing. The English information is minimal and disorganised at best. My daughter was looking forward to kids club and was accepted into squark club. They say they give rust bands for safety in an emergency, mine was not given the rist band, that details the muster point etc. until I asked on the second admission. Was not told where to pick them up in an emergency. Basic safety not followed!! Come on, not great given their history! No children’s programme until we asked on the second day. Noted that others had them delivered to the cabin. Spa package was reserved. When we came to find out how the week package worked, cards were taken for payment and wrist bands given. We were offered upgrades for an extra fee. We declined a number of times and had decline assertively before they stopped the big sell. We then had to asked whether we got robes towels etc... and they were given to us only after asking. We then waited while the person serving us went onto serve someone else. We were not shown around and thought we had to work it out on our own. We asked different staff and guests about what to do ie where towel are kept, what area is what, how the tea area worked etc... when I complained the receptionist was helpful offering a tour tomorrow but did not understand our issue with poor customer care. Just kept reiterating about the reason we signed the robe out and had to sign it back. Most food is frozen or tinned I think and tastes like it. Not at all as good as any other cruise I have been on. We cook far better at home. Booked princess package for our daughter, despite ordering online, we had to que one again in guest services for the receipt so we could fill a form in to allow her to do it! Even guest services were confused why they wouldn’t Accept the email! No communication, so much so I worry about how they would communicate in an emergency. Kids can only dance at 10pm until midnight in the disco! I suppose ok for European timetable but for brits they were alienated. NEVER AGAIN!!!!! Read Less

The furnishings in the cabin looked well used. The ship is getting old but it is still seaworthy. The staff gave conflicting answers to simple questions asked. A inexpensive Wi-Fi program was offered to counter the expensive charges on regular internet programs. Unfortunately this program was useless as you could not get your emails. Some of the water dispensers in the buffet lines did not work and you could not fill water bottles. Charges for water for your room was expensive. Wrist bands were not used so filling out paperwork for food/drink etc was a common issue. Many of the buffet locations were closed down at various times which forces you to scramble to find open stations. Elevators very slow. Line ups occurred frequently at the front desk. The emergency muster was in disarray and not informative or reaffirming. Wine selection was limited. With a few changes I feel this ship could be a good sail. Read Less

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This is our worst cruise experience. The ship circulates in the west Medit. Sea and stops at several ports. At every port there are people getting on or off the ship. The newly boarded people are, as usual, very excited, which makes this ship extremely noisy. There are people running and shouting at small hours in the hallway every evening. The cleaning and preparation crew move the chairs, drop heavy boxes, mop the floor using heavy machines from mid night to early morning with no consideration that there are people sleeping under the dining area. We had 7 sleepless nights on the ship. In addition, the dinner on this ship has also a lot to be desired. All members of our family (3 people) had severe diarrhea on board. The dinner has very few choices of cheap dishes. We went to the formal dinner once and never did again. The buffet was so-so and was very crowded. There was only one counter that offers fried eggs in the morning and the line was half mile long every morning. Read Less

The events and the food inside the ship are good. But Costa seriously sins in the organization and contracting of services. For example, I booked through the site a laundry package ($ 29.90) and did not use the service. However, on the day of shipment my credit card was already charged without my having used the service. I looked for customer service and they said they could not extort the value because I hired it in the site! I was at the loss! I also had requested a sparkling wine in my cabin ($ 46.00) to surprise my wife on the day of boarding. I had to call multiple times to receive 2 days later! Never hire the tours offered by Costa. We hired 2: a tour with "cheese and wine tasting" in Tenerife at the most regular. The cheeses we could not even taste because they were "free sample" and finished in a few seconds. The wines were very simple and were not worth the tasting. We ended up going to a small restaurant on our own to eat something! The second tour in Casablanca - Morocco was even worse! The guide was rude and just walked with the sign raised without explaining anything and leaving tourists behind! We did not have time to snack or drink water because the guide did not give us time in the points for this. Aside the mosque all other spots were horrible and it became torture to accompany with hunger and be the guide. In the mosque the guide took men and women to shared bathrooms and without suitable toilets, forcing us to stand up to use! Most of the women were embarrassed and could not even go to the bathroom! I and dozens more customers filed complaint with customer service and we were totally ignored! Read Less

Our first cruise on Costa was great. We took 4 children and everyone had a great vacation. All food was included - there were no "excluded" items for extra $ such as lobster. There was all the ice cream you wanted. You could eat pretty much any time you desired. I am not a cruise snob but I have now been on 9 cruises on 6 different cruise lines both with and without children. My expectations are not unreasonable, simply based on previous experience. Unfortunately Costa has changed and not for the better. For example, There is no "free ice cream" available. Many of the best food items you now have to pay extra for. The dishes offered were definitely not as good as on the previous trip. The buffet closes prior to ending time and runs out of food. Much of the food is the same every day. However our waiter, Joey, in the dining room was wonderful. Very attentive, trying constantly to please. Internet/wifi costs an exorbitant fee and many at the hospitality desk are not very helpful. However, Matteo was the epitome of what an ideal customer service representative should be. The evening entertainment (singers not including the opera soloist) was less professional than on previous cruises. The on shore excursions were pricey. And a heads up to those who have not cruised before. There is a "service fee" every day on your account which you may or may not be made aware of until check out. You can opt out but it is a major undertaking to get this accomplished. Conflicting information and requirements from different employees at the same hospitality desk. Thank you again Matteo for your help. We had a good time doing out own agenda on shore, the food was adequate and the employees mentioned, along with help from Jessica, (the english liason), made it a good trip for our family. However I think I will be looking at other cruise lines in the future unless Costa Cruise Line makes some major modifications to their current policies. Read Less

We were looking for a Mediterranean cruise to take the middle week of a three week vacation. After reading a lot of reviews, we booked this cruise on the Costa Diadema with a little bit of trepidation as it seemed a majority of the reviews were either four star or one star. From the very beginning, we knew we were going to love this cruise.....checkin at Civitavecchia was seamless -- we showed our tickets and passports and were boarded without a wait....have never had that happen on any cruise ship, yet alone one that had close to 5,000 passengers on it! The cabin was nice sized with very comfortable bed and ample room to move around. Our cabin steward was outstanding the entire week. Since we had been on vacation for a week already, we had laundry needs, and Costa was the best, with a laundry special of 25 pieces for a flat rate of $20 euros, washed and folded. The cabin was made up each morning and evening. Dining was a great experience every evening in the Fiorentino Ristorante. Our waiter, Ajid, was the best we've ever had on a cruise. The menu was fantastic, with three or four special choices in each category, plus a standard Italian fare always available. My wife and I both cook gourmet recipes, and this food was five star in every respect; choice, presentation, flavor and service. Being from USA we had bottled water at our table each evening free of charge. Sparkling for me, still for my wife, with full bottles sitting on the table when we sat down. We were never rushed, nor did we ever wait too long. We ate at the Teppanyaki Grill one evening and it was a fun show and marvelous Japanese food, right down to the Miso soup and Asian ginger salad. We had lunch one day at the Lido buffet, and like most cruises, found it to be a feeding frenzy, although the food was better than we've had on other cruises. Most mornings we opted for breakfast in our cabin at no charge, as we had paid a little extra for premium services. The excursions were well planned and reasonable, as cruise ships go. We appreciated the fact that Costa forewarns customers which excursions might be difficult for mobility impaired passengers. We took three 'easy' tours, which were perfect and still let us enjoy the major sights of each port.... Disembarking was just as easy and flawless as getting on the ship! No long waiting for our time slot, we were out of the cabin at the required 8:00 a.m. time, went to breakfast, retrieved our passports and left the ship to find our luggage waiting. Would we take Costa again? In a heartbeat! We have decided that all the negative reviews come from people who do not understand European service. While many of the passengers seemed rude and would brush by you, that is just the way they are. Announcements were always made in several languages and easy to understand. The 10 euro daily service fee is below that of most other cruise lines, and in fact we tipped both our room steward and waiter additional before we left the ship. Ship crew was not indifferent as many people have said, but were attentive to and responsive to all of our needs. Well done, Costa Diadema, and thank you for a wonderful experience! Read Less

Let me start off by saying I am neither a complainer nor a pushover. I like to say things as they are and to hell with what the majority or otherwise might say. Nor am I a happy clapper willing to give out praise where it not due. That out of the way, let me proceed. As seasoned travellers myself and my wife have been most places in the world and often several times over. However, until now we have resisted the urge to cruise. Don't ask me why, I have no logical reason, other than liking to be in charge of my our own day to day lives and what we decide to do with them, which is best suited to a holiday where we set the daily itinerary. I was often put off by the choice available, the often very high prices, and unfortunately, the high prices upfront to fly to some of the departure ports from Northern Ireland. For instance, the Caribbean felt a good option several times, but paying up to £700 each for flights just to get to Miami and then the cost of the cruise on top was a turn off. Deep down I also had a fear that I would get cabin fever, and also harboured an illogical feeling that a cruise ship was merely a tarted up ferry and I would know it inside out and back to front within an hour. This proved to be unfounded. So this year we decided it was time to break our mould and book a cruise. The Western Med seemed a safe bet, and being slightly off season in March we wouldn't have spent a Kings ransom if it turned out we really were not up for cruising at all. If we liked it, then spending a lot more in some sunny summer exotic destination would be less of a worry. After an evening of internet research, I arrived at the Costa website, and we finally decided on a Western Med 7 night cruise on the Costa Diadema out of Barcelona. We booked an exterior room with a balcony. We also booked the Piu Gusto all inclusive drinks package including Cocktails. So off we set in early March 2018 In the midst of severe arctic weather as a result of the polar vortex over Ireland and the UK in late feb early March 2018, and we duly arrived in Barcelona on a rather pleasant saturday afternoon. Our cruise wasn't due to leave until Monday night, so we decided it would be good to book a hotel for 2 nights in Barcelona as well. This was a great decision, we had 2 lovely days in the city, and our hotel was right by the cruise port which meant a 2 minute transfer from hotel to Ship on Monday afternoon. Monday came quick enough and a quick taxi run saw us arriving at a modern fresh Cruise terminal purpose built by Costa. The Diadema in all its spotless glory was tied up alongside. Our labelled bags were whisked away, and an hour later, we were called to board. On entering the ship the lavish design is the first thing that hits you. This was no glorified ferry! The ship is beautifully fitted out and spotlessly clean. We made out way to room 2037 on deck 2 and were pleasantly surprised at the size of the room, the bed and balcony. Our two Cruise cards were awaiting us on the bed. These act as your boarding card/ ID at port stops, your payment method whilst onboard, and your door keycard for entry to your room. The idea is you "pair" your credit card to the cruise card at one of the multiple terminals onboard. You then no longer use personal cards or cash on board. Any accrued cost, you settle the night before your trip ends. Of course, the card also holds details of your drinks package, so all your drink 'purchases' are free. You will be called to a meeting point an hour or two after boarding, resplendent with life jacket for a compulsory drill. All in all it took about 20 minutes. This is taken extremely seriously by the crew members and they expect you to treat it as seriously and pay attention to all that you are told. Common sense, and no more an interruption on your cruise than the flight attendant instructions at the start of a flight. At this point, I'll explain go back and explain the drinks packages. There are several, from water only, kids soft drinks, meal only wine packages, wine only all areas, main spirits wines and beers, everything inc Cocktails (but not absolute premium brands) this is the package that we had , and the everything you want package including the very top brands like 20 year old Brandys. Note: everyone travelling on the same booking must have the same package for adults. This is to prevent the card holder 'buying' drinks on the all inclusive package, and passing them to others who haven't paid for the package. Incidentally, I saw this once with a group of 30 something men. The barman saw it happening and immediately refused further service to the whole group. They were then escorted from the bar. I don't know if their cards were confiscated, but on the literature it does say that this could happen if abused. Simply, do the right thing and you are fine, if caught, the bar staff take it seriously and will take action. All the bars on ship serve the same range of drinks and the extensive drinks menu is at every bar. You simply look at the coloured dot that represents your package on the front page of the menu, and any drink that has your colour dot (yellow in our case) then that drink is included. Our package was hugely inclusive and only about 3 cocktails and a selection of like 20 year old brandies were excluded. It included dozens of top brands. Martell, Johnny Walker, Baileys, Smirnoff, Gordons, Martini, Bacardi, Canadian Club, and loads of liquors and beers, coffee, soft drinks and juices.. The Cocktail menu was to die for, with about 30 on offer. (Try the Bahama Mama!!) At €8.20 a cocktail, it would be an expensive night if you were paying by drink. Our package was €175 each. We each drank about €70 of cocktails etc on the first night! :-) Suffice to say, the drink package is worth it. When you consider it includes your wine at dinner, soft drinks etc at lunch time, all your Illy coffees on board. I estimate our tab would have been not much shy of €1000 for the 8 days onboard. (you can avail of your breakfast, lunch and drinks package on departure day as well!) Stay away from the minibar in the rooms as usual over priced. Now for all said above, heres the anomaly. This company (Costa) has a real bee in its bonnet over drinking water! Yes, the stuff you need to stay alive. It is not included free in the room (€3.50 a litre from the mini bar.) It is only dispensed from water dispensers to cup in the buffet area, and by glass only in the restaurants. If you want chilled bottled water, you have to pay extra! even with a drinks package, unless you take out the actual water drinks package! So Martell VSOP brandy and €9 Cocktails are included on your package, but chilled bottled water isn't even though they would likely stock it at about 10 cents a bottle! Very strange, and it seems to irk a lot of people going by comments here and elsewhere. It also seems unique to Costa. So, sort it Costa, really silly policy and one which needs addressed. I cannot for the life of me understand having an all inclusive drinks package and not having the cheapest and most basic form of drink available on it! However that said, I don't remember gasping for water onboard, it is available from dispensers 24/7 and we kept a litre in the room at all times. Moving onto dining. I can genuinely say that If I had have believed some of the ridiculous reviews left by some people here and elsewhere, I may have cancelled the trip. What it did do was leave us with some doubts as to what the food would be like. There must be a lot of people out there with very low tolerance levels, or very delicate palettes . This is an Italian cruise ship. There is no escaping it caters mainly for Italian, Spanish, French and German peoples. In fact English was the 3rd or 4th language translated for announcements. I am not a picky eater at all, but I admit enjoying the typical UK/ Irish diet. Everything from fish and chips, roast beef, a good curry etc. But I also enjoy rice dishes etc. I wouldn't say I am a big lover of the classic mediterranean diet, but I would have a go anyway. Suffice to say, the food will be different than the UK or Irish traveller might be used to. But its of very high quality. In a nutshell, both my wife and I were bowled over with the quality of food on offer. The Italian chefs onboard created dishes each night that were just amazing. From basic spaghetti and pasta dishes, to the beef, lamb, chicken and pork offerings. We were blown away. It was so satisfying too, as our expectations had been lowered so much by these reviews!. I have to say to some of the reviewers on this site, some of you must be serial complainers or just unfortunate, because the experience we had all over the ship was of a serious effort to provide top class food and experience and I don't think we were let down once. You will be allocated a dining room on day one, with either sitting 1 or 2. We were in the Fiorintino restaurant on deck 3/4 for first sitting. Some reviews said staff were nasty and overworked, food arrived cold and took hours. I think you are reviewing the wrong boat. Our waiter was prompt, wine bottle in hand before you had even warmed the seat. The 5 course menu browsed, a nibble at the constant supply of fresh breads, and the first course arrived within 10 minutes. We never spent longer than 1 hour to 80 mins in the restaurant unless chatting to people. It was a lovely experience in 5 star surroundings. The waiting staff were warm and friendly and nothing was too much for them. The food was superb, resented like a top restaurant and cooked perfectly. Now, if you didn't want the sit down 5 course meal, or you decided to eat later, the Buffet on floor 10 was available up until well after 9. If you have experienced all you can eat buffets before, this will be of no surprise to you, but it was no where near the problem some have posted. Its busy, but we never found it crazy busy. You may well have to look around for 2 or 3 minutes to get a seat in the actual buffet area, but never longer than that. Also the area directly outside the buffet has hundreds of seats and tables to eat at also. The buffet runs along 3 sides, and is split into Oriental (Chinese type dishes, rice, fried rice, noodles, ribs, chinese chicken pork etc,) Italian, spaghettis, pasta, lasagnes, ravioli, then a big area serving roast beef, chicken etc. A large salad area and a dessert area. Again, for a buffet, the food is very good and you can have a really nice meal here. One review I read actually said, "most of the food available in the buffet is cold"! what absolute rubbish! This is also the location for your continental breakfast. Cooked breakfasts are at your designated restaurants. In addition to this, there are 3 or 4 "prestige" restaurants, costing about €25 per person per head over and above your inclusive package. There is the Tarayaki, The Ferrari and another. We never bothered, as the food inclusive was so good. You also have an Italian Pizzeria and a burger bar available (at a cost) to about 1.30am, or room service 24 hours at a cost of course. The Pizza is to die for, seriously. We had a full cooked breakfast in bed one morning for €10 all in. (Full UK style) So thats the food aspect. We were really delighted. I expect in review columns like this, it is natural that people will come to complain more than compliment, but I really must say a big congratulations to Costa for service and food. So on to the ship itself. Wow. Its a bit of an assault on the senses. The sheer size of it is the first thing that hits you. It is vast. 16 floors high, numerous bars restaurants etc. A shopping mall, casino, cinema, theatre, disco, nightclub, 2 pools, jacuzzis, country club, Ice cream parlour, spas. Just about everything you would expect. I understand its one of if not the biggest currently on Mediterranean duty. The shops are typical of cruise liners. Tommy Hilfiger, up market watches, and the typical Boots type perfume and lotions shops. Not really our thing but nice enough to kill an hour or so. Do be aware, they run 'sales and promotions' most nights, but in reality the prices are rubbish and its easy to get sucked in when in holiday mode. You will pay at least what you will pay at home, sometimes a lot more! Suffice to say, ignore the 75% off luxury watches promos. Ripoff. But I am sure you are not cruising for the shops on board. Each night, you will receive the ships "newspaper" detailing all of the next days activities and the port of call. This is excellent because you know whats on the ship at any time. We enjoyed a show one night in the vast theatre, and shows change nightly. But we found our home in the country club where a terrific cover band called Royal Alligators played Dire Straits,Queen, Toto, Police, and all the old classics until the early hours. They were very talented and pulled big crowds each night. Other than that, it was nice to just drift about the ship in and out of venues to see what was on, you really can lose yourself walking about the many decks and bars. The bar and lounge areas are all slightly different but designed beautifully, and its lovely to sit in any of them and just take in a bit of entertainment. And this is non stop. This is a dancing boat! Morning noon and night, there are couple Cha cha'ing or Latin dancing to their hearts content. There are free classes on constantly, with bands, singers, musicians, comedians, and dancers doing different shows every night. The public areas are busy, but not frantic. Italians do tend to converse loudly and shout rather than talk, but I don't remember ever feeling that the Ship was rowdy or boisterous. Just happy! You would have thought the waiting and bar staff would be trained to slow down the drinks intake of all those all inclusive passengers to save the company money, but its quite the opposite. The staff will arrive as soon as your glass is empty to fetch a refill. The service is excellent. In fact, the attention and service of staff all over the ship is really exemplary. They are courteous, well trained and efficient. There are always people polishing stair rails and glass partitions, cleaning surfaces etc. You will not see a fingerprint on this ship. I'll not dwell on the ports called at. Suffice to say, we stopped at Palma, Palermo in Sicily, Rome, Savona, Marseilles and back to Barcelona. I cant comment on the tours, but we booked the bus transfer to Rome and it left and came back on time, and the same in Palma. On early arrival back at Barcelona, we had breakfast. Our cases were left outside the room the night before to be transferred to the terminal for collection (saves you carting them through he ship on exit). We were told we could stay on board until about 1 pm which we did, availing of lunch and a few more Cocktails! So an excellent trip with 5 star service board and food. We will definitely cruise on the Diadema again. Read Less

We knew what we were getting into, but never ever thought it would be as bad as it wo as. Food was never served hot or warm or body temperature, it was cold as a dead fish. Eggs, if you call the that, slimy kind of yellow. bacon burned and really greasy. Hamburgers, well below body temperature. If you like bones with your salmon, you have chosen the right ship. If you like Prime Rib Sant cut you have picked the right ship. Entertainment, well stay hoe home and watch TV, it was terrible. Shore Excursions, OMG, no whispers, No Knowledge, horrible times in ports. IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME, TRY IT. Your money is wasted. Good Luck if you like smokers on balcony. cough cough. I was so sick of Dance Band Music I could puke. How about some good music to listen to. No music except some Jazz and who knows what on the ship. No music at all in many places during the evening. These cruises are sure as could be totally European. Go with Celebrity or Royal if you want a good cruse. We were just trying to escape the cold of March in the US. Typical Carnival, the owner of Costa, Read Less

We chose this holiday because the cruise around the United Arab Emirates was a part of the world we had not visited before. I thought the process of getting on board and to our cabin was very good. The ship décor is based on 18th Century Italian architecture, a little over the top but looks great. I thought the ship was well designed and has a very good gym and spa.. There are a good range of bars that have a range of evening music. Unfortunately the waiter service in bars is very poor. There was often only one waiter visible so placing an order can be very time consuming, so you may have to elbow dance at the bar. The standard of food was quite variable from poor to average, nothing that I would recommend as quite a few dishes were bland. everything is printed in eight languages as often are announcements. It is difficult to understand some of the announcements as it is not a clear delivery. Most announcements are about trying to sell you something. There are too many staff trying to sell you stuff rather than serve you. Having been on two previous cruises with Thomson, I was disappointed by much of the entertainment. The best in my view was an evening with Hugo Palliotti, an excellent tenor. The rest was a mishmash of Eurovision type dancing. We booked Bigbus trips around Dubai and Muscat in Oman, which were very good and the jeep safari to Sir Bani Yas Island was brilliant. getting so close to wild animals in such a beautiful setting. Read Less