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

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

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

Ship is very beautiful and well laid out - enjoyed the central elevators. Service staff was exceptional - excluding the Excursion Desk (unless). Very disappointed in the food served - the Italian influence was missing - I have traveled in Europe and did not recognize this reported influence - a staff person reported that being a repositioning cruise the quality was diminished. This was Basic Transportation - pure and simple. During our 19 days we got sick on day 5 and remained sick for the next 4 weeks. Everyone on the ship had or have had this virus. Other than Purel stations placed in the buffet area little or precautionary measures were visible. I did email to Costa Customer Service about my experience - got a letter back that in summary said they would use the feedback for future travelers and 'To Bad - come back again sometime' - Never again Read Less

We were looking for an alternative to cross the Atlantic other than by plane to avoid the jetlag. As this sailing fit in our time schedule we booked a cruise on Costa Deliziosa leaving Ft. Lauderdale March 03. -To begin with the ship: Costa Deliziosa is an eldery lady in need of a thorough make-over. The entire interior decor and design was retro. - Our cabin, which was a so-called Samsara balcony cabin mid forward looked tired and worn with stains on the old carpet and a shower curtain not properly fastened. Worse, the bedding reeked, and the linens were worn and had holes in them. The blankets were flimsy and not warm enough. - The food at the restaurant was mostly overcooked or too salty and poorly presented. So after a week we simply changed to buffet style for more selection but still had issues with the quality of the food, During the entire cruise the fruit consisted of old and beyond shelf-life plums, nectarines and oranges or fruit salad with stale melons. - We had booked a shore excursion to the island of Gordo in the Dom.Rep. which turned out to be quite hazardous due to very slippery rocks and rickety steps inside and through the caves. In Costa's tour description these hazards were not mentioned. - A week into the cruise we and a large number of other passengers contracted a severe bronchitis which made treatment at the ship hospital necessary. Yet, the ship management undertook no extra measures to contain the spreading of the disease or making sure that every passenger used the disinfectant displayed in public areas and restaurants. We saw people grabbing food at the buffet with their fingers! - Disembarking procedures in Venice were chaotic. There was no proper information and people were kept in large groups in different locations for hours to wait. So we finally took things in our hands and left the ship so as not to miss our connecting train. In comparison to other cruises we did with other cruise lines like MeinSchiff, Holland America and Princess this was the worst experience ever. Needless to say we wrote a detailed letter of complaint to Costa Cruises. And also needless to say their answer was non-committal as expected. Read Less

Crusing Costa is a unique experience. Passengers speak many languages but the staff speak good English and are helpful in every way. The shows in the theater are all in English and ours were excellent. We took a 24 day transatlantic with great ports.The ship is slightly dated but very clean and comfortable. The service was excellent.Its great for ballroom dancers .Large dancefloor and good music. The lunch buffet offers a wide variety of food.Coffee and desserts were exceptional. The diningroom menu is very Italian. Some was very good but many meats and fish were overcooked. We learned how to order to fit our taste. Many shore excursions were reasonably priced although there is little information about the ports.We have taken several transatlantic cruises and this one had more activities,day and night, than any other . It is a FUN ship. We are looking forward to another Costa cruise in the future. Read Less

I was on other cruise where the cabin was so small we had to keep open luggage under the bed and use them as closets.Costa cabin is so nice and spacious.The cleaning of the cabin, is so amazingly good, in the minimum details. and any request was looked into! Amazing clean bathrooms all over at any time. And if there was an issue on the public spaces if you notified it, they were instantly taking care of it. Loved the food, a lot of healthy choices/ Beautiful dining restaurants, with wonderful service. You could ask to have special dishes cooked for dinner, such as more vegetables, and less carbos., Any request was looked into and make it work. A lot of activities on sailing days/. And a lot of evenings entertainments. After a while the nightly show was a bit repetitious, but could understand why after 34 days!! Shore excusions well organized, even if for my taste a bit pricey. Would love to do the World Cruise next! Read Less

Costa -Deliziosa Our 11-day cruise (February 21, 2019) generally was made most enjoyable by the crew. Very helpful, pleasant & happy to serve you. Everybody spoke English as well as two or three other languages as well, so there was always someone to help you as needed. This was a very International passenger list as the 11 days thru the Western Caribbean was the intro trip to the repositioning of the ship to Italy after we disembarked in Fort Lauderdale. Of the 2,800 passengers, 800 disembarked in Ft. Lauderdale with the other 2000 + passengers remaining on board continuing on to Italy via the Eastern Caribbean Islands. My constructive criticism first comes on the Costa website that is a disaster, probably built years ago for the Costa management but not the passenger. Costa is now owned under the Carnival Line ownership umbrella but you would never know it. Costa does not even acknowledge you as a previous passenger of Carnival, no points, rewards everything is about Costa. Again the website at first glance looks great, but all it wants you to do is book everything before you get on board. For example, there are three drink packages available yet you have nothing to compare their prices. They do not list or show the wine list, the liquor or beer list. Onboard almost every drink (cocktail & wine) by the glass averages $7.50 plus 15% service charge. Wines by the bottle start at $20.00+ and on this leg of the trip luckily, everything on the ship was priced in USA Dollars. Prices change to Euros as soon as they leave for Italy. There are no lists for Spa services nor beauty services yet they want you to book everything on line. My spouse wanted a haircut and nowhere could you find a price for any beauty services. I would highly recommend purchasing an all-inclusive liquor package along with your cruise ticket from your agent or travel advisor. Yes, it brings up your costs but you can negotiate this with them or some travel agents will work with you and even add onboard ship credits. Packages & Tours Do not buy online, wait until you get on board to see what you are buying and paying without leaving money on the table. Same with restaurant reservations, buying onboard restaurant packages is so much cheaper aboard ship as opposed to the website. Anything you book on the website you cannot change nor cancel. Buy tours on board, same prices but you have the flexibility to change or cancel your tours. Another huge faux pas by Costa. We boarded the ship in Ft. Lauderdale @ 2 pm and before dinner @ 6 pm every bar on board was out of Draft Beer. They only serve Heineken Draft. The bartenders were taking canned Miller beer and filling the draft beer glasses apologizing with every customer. Within two days they were out of Crown Royal, then Canadian Club and then any Canadian whiskey. This running out of product continued with liquors, Pernod, Richard, 451, & Sambucca. We had bought the $350 drink package each as both occupants fo the same cabin must do so. Crew management said they were waiting for a supply of beer, wine, liquor aboard a ship from Italy but it never showed up in Ft. Lauderdale. The second day we arrived in Miami and for sure the Costa Deliziosa should have had the Miami beer & wine Distributors replenish & load on board supplies they were out of and ones that were in short supply. Granted there were other bottled beers available, albeit every bar (over 10) did not have the luxury of this selection but definitely someone screwed up. Entertainment was excellent with a magician, juggler, and singers as it is so hard to address people of so many languages so no comedians nor comedy clubs. Finally, the Costa “APP” on your smartphone is just mediocre. It does not list nor monitor your expenses even after you have left the ship. Most of the listed links do not work with the exception of “Chat” that was good, where you can communicate with other passengers. Definite upgrading of this service and app is needed. Carefully look and monitor everything you do on the website as this Costa ship is behind in technology that you will be paying for if you are not awake nor aware. Internet on board is painfully slow almost like “dial up”. If someone else is paying for your cabin & passage you will have a great trip & experience, plus you will enjoy your cruise immensely with no worries with anything I have listed above. Read Less

I was really excited to get back and give Costa Deliziosa a proper review. I am not sure which cruise most folks that have had issues with this cruise sailed on though my experience was completely opposite. So yes I have been on about 10 cruises in The U S and one out of Rome. Also I used to work on a ship (Everyone a large vessel is not a boat. It is a ship) years ago. Pre registration was super easy and the port personnel shared that I was one of the first people he encountered that actually read and filled out all of the needed paperwork before reaching the port. Our ship didn’t leave port until 11 p.m. I showed up around 12:30 p.m. Check In was about 5 minutes. I sat down and waited for my group # to be called. It was called about a 1/2hr after I checked in. On this cruise (Keep in mind this may change) your actual stateroom key is not given to you at check in. It is on your bed in an envelope. I did a quick check of my room, said hello to my stateroom host and went exploring the ship. A tip. Walk around the ship if you arrive early and take pictures of the different decks, spaces and areas. Just about everyone else is at the buffet so you will get some amazing unobstructed pictures. After the pictures I went to the buffet. I was pretty surprised due to the bad reviews. The food was good. There is something for everyone. Obviously yes there was pasta though lots of proteins, salads, cheeses, breads, soups, etc. There is free pizza and hamburgers and fries for lunch each day at the buffet. Yes there is an additional charge if you wanted to partake in a special experience of them at night though it is a larger portion and presented in a meal function vs. self serve. My bags were delivered to my room about 2 hours after I boarded. I did receive a drink package with my room though choose to upgrade it to the highest tier. Honestly there was no need for me to do that because the drink I had for the 10 days was included in my initial package. Oh well Update as of February 2019 (This may have changed by time you are reading this). The Samsara regular cabins only get access to the spa area stairs/elevator, spa rooms (Not included are massages and services). You do not get access to The Samsara Resturant anymore and need to make a reservation like everyone else and pay the extra charge. Samsara Suites do get all of the above privileges along with a drink package minus the massages and services. First thing to do is join Costa Club. It takes seconds and is free. Your new club number may not show up online on your reservation if you get the number after you book the reservation though it will be noted and recognized on board. There are quite a bit of perks along with 50% of the specialty restaurants on board along with discounts on certain drinks, shops and spa. A couple I met are loyal members and receive major discounts on their cruises along with upgrades. Shared it was for sure worth it. The buffet was so good I ate lunch and dinner there everyday except for dinner in the dining room on my first night. I did meet a cool cruise mate the first night and build a friendship for the next few days. I travel by myself and it was nice to have company for a few days. He was on a work trip and left after 4 days. Out of the numerous crew members I encountered only one was a bit grumpy. Came to find out he had a newborn at home and had months left on his current contract. This didn’t give him the excuse not to be “on” though it sort of made sense. He did lighten up a bit as the cruise came to a close. So I had an absolute great time on my first 10 day Costa Cruise. I made friends with a few of the crew members. If you do eat at the buffet do read the hours in the daily guide. For some odd reason the hours changed on the 8th night and create some unhappy moments. I shared with the staff that was simply silly and moved on. I opted to take my bags off the ship in Ft Lauderdale. Lined up about 15 minutes before the published times. Was about 15th or so in line. Cleared Customs in 5 minutes. There was a van directly outside the exit hall that took about a dozen of us to the airport. I am getting ready to head out on another cruise on a different line in a few weeks though will have Costa on my mind for some time. Read Less

We just came back from a 37 day cruise (Western Caribbean and Transatlantic) with the Costa Deliziosa, starting on february 21. It was our 25th cruise and the 6th or 7th time with Costa and absolutely the very last one with Costa!! Positive points 1) The service in the bars. The waiters take your order electronically and we had our drinks always within 5 minutes. 2) The system of hosts for every important language. In general the hosts are performant but it is not clear which questions you have to ask on the hospitality desk and which questions you can ask to the hosts. 3) The excursions in Tenerife (jeep safari with Tamaran) and Cozumel (Submarine) were very good. On the whole most of the excursion we did were satisfactory. Only the excursion in Costa Maya Chacchoben was below expectation - with 55 persons (also some people of a Norwegian cruise ship????) and only one guide….. 4) The shows. The quality of the shows is mostly OK. Negative is that we had 2 and sometimes 3 times more or less the same show. 5) Internet package at reasonable prices for 250 MB, 500 MB, 1 GB or 3 GB. This system is honest, because even if it takes a long time to open the URL, you only pay for what your get. The Internet Connection itself was very slow or mostly not possible during day time (to much users)… Negative points 1) We paid extra for a premium balcony and we got a balcony with an obstructed view???? Cabin 7208 is just under the wing of the bridge. We only saw some iron bars under the wing and the feet of the captain while maneuvering. People of our group who booked an inside cabin got a upgrade to a classic balcony with a magnificient view??? How is it possible that cabin 7208 with that obstructed view is said to be a premium cabin???? And why do we get that cabin; we are Pearl level??? The 1st day we asked for a change at the hospitality desk but this was not possible because the ship was full. 2) The food. There are 3 choices of antipasta and 3 choices of Primi Plati. The presentation is nice but it is most of the time chicken or pasta. For the main dish, there is a choice between meat (or what it ought to be), fish, chicken and vegetarian. You can always have another main dish with fish, chicken or vegetarian, but there is no other meat dish. If you do not like it or if you do not want the sauce (nearly always tomato sauce or cooked in tomato sauce), the only alternative is to pay a supplement of 17 € for a steak or veal escalope. The meat we got was sometimes UNEATABLE since it was only fat (even my dog wouldn’t eat such meat of 3rd quality). 3) The service in the dining room was bad. We got never our dishes together. One day, I did not order a Primi Plati but only the expensive steak as main dish, I got this steak together with the primi plati of the others. Another time I did not get my primi plati with the others but exactly 8 minutes later!!. I asked for the dining room manager and she could only say there were so much people and they couldn’t manage. 4) The restaurant was sometimes a disco bar with incredible loud music. We had a speaker just above our table 258. At least 5 people run away from the tables in the back of the 3rd floor each time the disco started, because it was very dangerous for your ears. I estimate the volume at more or less 120 db (legally only 85 db is tolerated in the restaurants of most countries) 5) The hospitality desk. Most of the time, you had to cue more than 30 minutes and they couldn’t give you an answer on your questions most of the time 6) Excursion desk. Also always a cue of 30 minutes or more. The first day after the departure in Fort Lauderdale, there was only 1 employee at the excursion desk??? Although we had pre-ordered some excursions - our tickets were not delivered in our cabin and we had to queue to be informed that they would only be delivered the next day morning so the day of the excursion itself!! 7) Excursion desk. When my wife wanted to book an excursion in Napoli, they said it was full and the only possibility was to come to the meeting point the day of the excursion. No waiting list?? In the evening my wife tried to book it on one of their machines and it worked ????? 8) Shuttle bus services in some of the ports were very expensive – many times taxi was cheaper or same as tickets for 2 persons. Costa does not give any information on the ports of call (such as interesting sites, local transportation, weather forecast, currency) - only description of the excursions they offer. 9) Service in the cabin. Only one service a day. If you do some sports in the morning and you want to take a shower you do not have a dry towel if you already used it in the evening of the day before. 10) Animation is Italian style – shouting like fools. The questions for the trivia’s are given in 5 languages but their English or French is so bad, that you couldn’t understand. 11) There are very few nice activities. They wanted to organize a bridge tournament but they do not have the knowhow, neither the administrative tools???. There is no bridge room. You have to play in the Mirabilis, while the Italian animation team is shouting like fools. 12) There is only 1 big bar (the Mirabilis). Impossible to find a place there between 8 pm and 8.30 pm when the people of the first seating have finished there meal and the people of the 2nd seating are there after their show. 13) In Savona a group of 400 Russians came on the ship….. And they were so privileged. Announcements in Russian… The last day, they took every possible thing out of the buffet in their backpacks. 14) We had the Piu Giusto package for drinks. Cocktails, whisky and most drinks up to 8 € are included but not the fresh orange juice???. Irish coffee is also not included. You can make it yourself….. as whisky and coffee are included. 15) Smoking. It is a paradise for smokers. You can smoke on the balcony’s, on most places on the promenade, on the higher decks and on the starboard side outside on the swimming pool. In the evening there are 12 tables for smokers (starboard side), 9 tables for non smokers (in the middle) and 9 tables for dining under the stars (which is sometines dining under the smoke) on the port side 16) In the beginning of the cruise, we went to the pizza restaurant (8,5 Euro p/p). On the menu there was a Pizza Salami picante, but they said they didn’t have it anymore. We asked then for a normal Pizza salami, but they refused to make it, although there was always salami in the buffet. Supplement pineapple on the pizza not possible, although it was always in the buffet. Flexibility?????? 17) We had dinner in the pizza restaurant, which is part of the buffet, the last evening. All doors were open. Temperature was nog higher than 17 C°????? 18) Fitness room. No towels, no water refreshment, very unhygienic since no spray to sanitize the equipment after use. 19) In total we had sometimes more then 2200 people on this ship. Holland America Line has mostly only 1800 people on this type of ships (Panamax type)….. 20) Our cabin steward had to do 25 cabins on his own (one service a day). Holland America Line has 2 stewards for 20 cabins (two services a day). How can this poor man do this???? 21) Transfer to airport in Venice. We pre-booked a transfer but 1 day before arrival we received a note that our transfer was scheduled at 14.30 hrs which was much to late to catch our flight at 16.15 hrs. After discussion at the Excursion desk (it was our fault? since we had to let them know before that our flight was at 16.15 hrs) they changed the transfer to 12.45 hrs. Surprise, surprise, there was no bus at 12.45 hrs at the meeting point… The bus company said we were on their list for pick up at 13 hrs and also mentioned we had the wrong tag on our suitcases (should have been white C and we had white D). They also said that they had no scheduled bus/shuttle at 12.45 hrs. 22) When you registered your credit card for your payments (to do yourself on the automated machines), costa charges your expenses every 2 or 3 days on your credit card. Their confidence in their customers is apparently not big!!! 23) Communication is as always a catastrophe on costa ships and also this time. Let me give a few examples a) Indication Exit ship was forward deck A, which we follow. When we came there, we were told that is was midship on deck 2. When we came there, they said it was midship deck A etc. b) In the diary di bordo, we saw that it was 2 days after another the same show. When we asked if this was correct, they told us that it was wrong the day before. So we mist that show… c) By the disembarkment presentations in Venice, the English host said we could stay until 11 am in our cabins; the other hosts said we had to leave the cabins at 8 am. The 4 presentations of the hosts were different; why not using the same presentation. d) We didn’t get any maps or hand out in any port of call. In Venice it was absolutely not clear, where we had to take our shuttle. Why not give a plan?? Read Less

Booked this cruise because we were already in Florida and we thought it would be great to get away. This sailing was convenient for us. Well where do I begin, the staff was not very knowledgeable about disembarking when we got to the islands, some said level one , some level two that day ended up being level three. My husband and I purchased the beverage package, I was disappointed to find out that bottled water was not included, we got all we wanted by the glass, I needed it for my room so I can take my medications. When I asked for a bottled water it cost me $4.50. Next another issue with the dinner seating I was not happy with the people they sat us with so we asked for a table for 2 they told us to come to the dining area and we had to wait to be seated until 8:55 to see which tables were empty we did that and we were given a table. The following evening we went to that table and another couple was there we asked the maitre 'd and he said we had to wait again, meanwhile we are getting frustrated because there were lots of empty tables. So we were finally assigned a table. The server we had was awesome and so was the cabin Stewart. My husband plays in the casino a bit heavily so he asked the pit boss if we can get comped a dinner at club Costa restaurant on the 10th deck, after talking to the manager they gave us the dinner. Well I want to say the menus is almost the same as the restaurant. We ordered dinner, my husband got the fillet and a lobster and I got just the lobster . The waiter came back to the table and informed us that we had to pay and I paid for my lobster so I had it charged to my room. Dinner proceeded well until we got to the main course. The fillet my husband ordered was not a fillet, you couldn't even cut into it very tough cut of meat and both lobsters were black inside. We informed our server , and we took a video and pictures. The maitre 'd came and asked what happened. He contacted the manager and they had a meeting in the kitchen. The manager came to our table and said I'm sorry about this the chef didn't notice it was like that, the claws were cracked and I noticed it right away how could he have not noticed. We got up to leave and she said I'll be in contact with you. Someone called the following morning and asked my husband what happened? My husband said exactly how he felt and she said I'll make a note of it. The amount they charged me was never deducted from my onboarding account. I have been trying to contact customer service to talk to someone and I haven't been able to get through. I did sent an email and I'm waiting for someone to get back too me. I traveled with Costa 14 years ago there was a bunch of us celebrating and everything was great. I'm very disappointed with this cruise and this line. I also want to add that the buffet food was always the sa.e and very salty. The cabin smelled like urine all the time. I couldn't wait to get off this ship. We have gone on many cruises and we enjoyed them all this was a nightmare. I have to say the casino staff was great and very friendly. Read Less

We chose it because of the port of call and the price "seemed" right? The service was poor and the customer service desk was not much better, staffed by people who had very little experience with travelers and were misleading and uninformed. Promises made were not kept resulting in our wasted time. Time is money$$$ ! Little or no efforts were made to fix issues. We read about problems in Italy, political and organization wise and this ship encompasses all that is wrong with Italy in one spot! Food in the restaurant was often cold and orders delivered to our table were mixed up. Simple things like ice were not available. The printed menu did not cover the actual dishes served so that a number of allergies were only discovered at the last minute. There were no substitutions so you basically went without food if you could not eat the food the waiter brought you. You could always fall back on the buffet on the 9th deck and that was the only "safe" place to eat. The wifi package did not work...but no refunds and the service desk did not understand how it worked. Read Less

Full disclosure: I won this cruise, so my only choice was itinerary, and after reading many negative reviews, I was quite worried. My worries were unfounded and we had an amazing time...as Americans, the Italian flavor added to the experience...rather than detracted, in our opinion. The last night, the dining room was rocking as waiters danced with passengers, the Italians started a conga line and everyone...Italians, Americans, Germans, French, etc....sang Italian songs. There are some things that will seem inefficient to Americans, but just chill out and enjoy a little bit of the European experience. It was particularly fun to watch the Super Bowl on the big screen by the pool with the other American passengers and stand for the national anthem...the grill was also open late that night, so we could indulge in burgers, hot dogs and fries. I will never forget the look on some of the crew's faces when Big Boi performed in that giant fur coat for the halftime show! As far as entertainment, we liked all the shows, but especially Davide, the tenor and "The Voice at Sea"...where passengers competed in a sing-off. All competitiors got encouragement from the audience and we had a little nationalistic pride when an American won. Bingo was done a little differently with push-in cards and the caller reading off the numbers in 5 or 6 languages...again, FUN! I didn't buy a drink in a bar, but my son and his fiance did and they said prices were even a bit lower than those in Vegas, where they live. We only took one tour with Costa...in Jamaica...and it was well-run with awesome guides. They only spoke English, so I'm not sure if the Europeans enjoyed it as much as we did, but most of the activities did not really require a narration. We loved the dance lessons and shout out to the Latin Dance team who would dance with passengers in one of the bars at night. The musicians at all of the venues were excellent....if you like to dance, you will LOVE this ship! Cabins were okay...maybe a little dated, but comfortable. Many complain about lack of turndown service...I think most of us are capable of doing that ourselves. My room was always made up when I returned from breakfast, gym and spa. We had second dinner seating, which started out tough for us, being American, but we adapted by eating a salad or dessert at the buffet and then going down and having a delicious dinner in the dining room. I have seen complaints re charges for pizza and burgers...you can eat those for free at lunch...no need to pay at all. As our itinerary progressed, we were actually glad for late seating, as we got back late at some of the ports and would have rushed to get to the first seating. I used the spa and gym daily...part of the reason I only gained 1 lb, despite indulging in dessert 2x/day. Both are excellent and the spa package was a great value...especially during sea days. Be sure to register your credit card at one of the kiosks when you get on the ship (this was one of my only complaints...why can't you register it upon check-in at thea port?) or you will need to settle your bill in person at the Hospitality Desk, which had a very long line as our trip concluded. My only other complaint has nothing to do with the ship or cruise, but just that the Costa customer service department in the US had an incredibly long wait time on the phone before I was even connected with an agent...and that they would not return phone calls or emails. All in all, a fantastic cruise...one of the best I've been on...and it had little to do with the ship, but mostly because of the atmosphere. I lived in Germany for 3 years when I was much younger and loved it...I always found that if you travel to other countries and want things the same way as they are at home...maybe you should just stay home. Read Less

You get what you pay for. Do yourself a favor and book a real cruise, not one that works you over at every step of the way. Save a little more money and do it right. Way to many cons vs. pros to mention. Only good thing was our cabin and room steward. These people work like dogs all for the almighty corporate profit. No costumer service. So many different languages, very little is included. You pay extra for just about everything. They rush you through dinner and kick you out before you're done if your server is slow. With all the fancy words on the menu you don't know what you're eating and half the menu you have to pay extra for, including water. Who ever heard of such a thing. Sometimes they would make the crew do a show while you are dining and it's so loud you have to hold you ears. Entertainment was loud and boring like from the 1970's. Pool is tiny and so crowded you can't enjoy yourself. No towels. I mean I could go on and on. For us, never again. I've been on Princess, Holland American, Regent and Seaborn. Don't make the same mistake we did. Read Less

Regardless of poor reviews that we read, we embarked on the Costa Deliziosa due to provided price discounts (~70%) for 2 x 10 consecutive days. And, the following is our personal opinion: 1. Food and its variety was very good in taste and the quality terms. Except: a) there was very poor choice of tropical & exotic fruits like Papaya (popular in Central America), Dragon, Pepino,.....etc. Kiwi were to hard and not well matured. b) often we encountered a shortage of water melons. c) often there was an annoying line-up for the food at pick hours d) service over the supper lasted too long (~ 2 hrs). e) free coffee was of poor quality 2.There was too many outdoor cigarette smoking places. The smoke from outside was entering main corridors through the door openings into the Buffet area making difficult to find a smoke-free place. Smoke was even evaporating on walking / jogging path on the top deck. Also, the walking path was blocked by people laying on chairs. Cigarette's smoke from the balcony was penetrating over the day and some night hrs inside of our balcony, hence we were very limited to have the benefits of balcony. Read Less

No matter what nationality you are, when you travel with Costa Cruise you will become Italian and live in an atmosphere full of love and human warmth. Italians are different from everyone, they are unique in the way they live their lives with others. The secret is in human contact, in the way they make you feel comfortable and important at same time , they know that everyone has a weakness for good food, pizza, pasta. wine, sweets and the beautiful Italian and Neapolitan melodic songs, I have had experiences with other Cruise Companies as: Carnival, Princess and Royal Caribbean but with Costa I reserve indelible memories, I do not exaggerate but the cleanliness that I have always found on Costa Cruise ships I have not found them from any others Cruises Ship For this and more if you decide to take a cruise I recommend Costa Cruise My next cruise will be with Costa Cruise again Read Less

Cruising for me is a wonderful experience no matter what. I have traveled by cruise ship 30+ Times. This shop was by far the worst in terms of food quality and options. I would gladly pay more for better quality food. The drink package is deceptive. We upgraded 2 times and still had to pay for a bottle of water to take in shore. Their menu in the dining room was not what I expected. Very limited and mostly lie cost meals prepared poorly. When I complained about this I was given a complimentary dinner at one of the specialty restaurants. It was the worst lobster I have ever had! How in the world do you mess up a lobster?? Never got ice with my drunks even though I asked multiple times. I will never cruise with costa again. The excuse that they cater to a European crowd as unacceptable. I have had some amazing food at restaurants in the untied states. Read Less

Bought the cruise as an alternate Christmas gift. Looking forward to seeing the islands and just getting away. What a disappointment! Most of the staff had trouble with English. The cabins had daily changes of towels but the bedding was not changed for the whole 11 days. The tour office gave incorrect information and if you wanted to cancel a tour you were out of luck. That required a doctors note. Tours were not as advertised, well some were, some not. I was sick 5 out of 11 days due to the food...and not the only one. Table selection was not available and after waiting an hour to have seating changed were advised what we wanted Was not possible. We paid for the specialty restaurants, not so special. The menu on the specialty restaurants were similar to regular dining rooms on other cruise lines. The entertainment was marginal. A lot was from the crew...no headliners. Read Less

So I'm just gonna be straightforward with the good, bad, and the ugly. Buckle up kiddos, because you're in for quite a ride with this one. GOOD: -Embarking and Disembarking was a very simple process -- usually pretty quick. -Rooms were nice and clean with decent amount of space -- Balcony rooms came at a great rate. -Photographers were experienced and friendly. Pretty much were willing to try whatever you wanted for memorable photos. -Great if you want to interact with people from different cultures & diverse backgrounds. BAD: -You could literally feel the ship moving at all times. We've been on other cruise ships before and no other ship has rocked as much as this one to the point where it interrupts your day. Members of my family were literally sick for whole days on this ship because you could constantly feel the rocking. Apparently this is a common problem because the front desk gives out seasickness pills for free... -All help desks/excursion desks are open at strange times and for very short hours. -There is a language barrier a lot of times in general with most employees because most of them speak Italian, French, or Spanish as a primary language. Service overall is TERRIBLE. -Waitstaff is understaffed, especially in the main dining room. Service is slow due to the fact that one waiter is assigned to about 4 tables to serve 3-5 course meals per table without assistance. Meals can last up to 3 hours. -Nothing is included in your package except for dinner and the buffet. All other food places, spa areas, snacks, movie theater, decent fitness classes, even WATER, etc. all cost extra. This was different for us compared to Royal Carribean because all snacks, movies, and such were included. -Pool is tiny. Only two hot tubs. Not much on the top deck. -Not much to do when at sea. Entertainment is basically the same performers doing different things. Mostly music acts. "Parties" only include a DJ and pretty much nothing else. The only club on board is what the ship uses as the "Teen Club" during the day and converts it into the adult club at starting at midnight. UGLY: -Excursions poorly planned and priced. Most excursions are 2x-3x more expensive than if you purchased the same trip after arrival at the local excursion booths. We signed up for an ATV adventure and it was not in the pamphlet nor did they tell us ahead of time that we needed Sneakers and Drivers Licenses with us when we arrived. One employee told us it was fine, but another told us 15 min before departure that it was mandatory. Had to run all the way back to the ship to collect our things frantically, returned only for the group to have left without us. Employees were rude when we asked questions and basically told us it wasn't their problem. Highly DO NOT recommend doing excursions with Costa. If you HAVE to take this ship, do excursions with the locals on land!!! -Food is poor quality-- bland and very strong/unclean tasting fish. For an Italian ship, pasta was often not made very well. Was often undercooked and sauces were bland. There was also never much variety. You will basically be eating the same food every day. -Food areas are open at weird times. The buffet is open for about 2-3 hours at a time for meals. If you're hungry for a snack or something in between, you will have to pay extra at other places. TL;DR The service sucks. The food sucks. The experience sucks. This ship sucks. If you want a floating hotel, this is a cheap option. If you want a cruise, look to Royal Carribean, Princess, Carnival, or Norwegian instead. This is not worth your time or money. Read Less

Initially chosen for the price......and as we live in Florida very easy access. I always read cruise critic and in most cases have agreed in general with the comments. I admit I was a bit concerned about this cruise from reviews I had read....prior to the cruise. Embarkation was quick and went very smoothly..we arrived at the port about 12 noon. Dropped our bags, parked the car and walked into the terminal and after a very brief scan of luggage and person onto the ship. photos were made as we entered the main area of the ship on deck 2. The ship is beautifully maintained ...artwork and colors were very tastefully done in an Italian baroque architecture style. Note: All announcements were made in multiple languages with the primary in Italian...then onto English, French,Spanish,German...etc. I found this a nice touch as it made us feel we were farther away than the Caribbean is to us as Florida residents. We were then directed to the buffet are on deck 9 for lunch. It was quite good with a large variety of hot and cold dishes. After lunch we did a bit of exploration then headed to our cabin. We had a basic balcony cabin which was very nice, bathroom and room about standard for most balconies we have encountered..but pleasantly surprised by a long ,comfortable leather sofa for seating area. The balcony was very nicely sized and had comfortable seating as well as a table for drinks or snacks. Our balcony was fully covered and felt very private. Dining was a choice of traditional first or second seating or the buffet. (No anytime/flexible dining on this ship) We had been assigned the second seating which was at 8:45 PM...at a table for 8. Our table mates were quite enjoyable and we looked forward to the evening meal. The entertainment was terrific...great singers and dancers....good quality shows. We even had the opportunity to be entertained by an Italian tenor who was magnificent. He had such a beautiful voice and he sang both modern tunes and opera..it was such an emotional performance. The activities team was really enthusiastic and great at getting the passengers involved in many things from singing, dancing to exercise and games on the pool deck. This was a very talented group of young men and women. Super friendly staff and highly visible around the ship. The Captain and officers were highly visible and frequently joined in with events about the ship. Service was excellent and the quality was as well. Our cabin steward was great and met our every need. The ports were very familiar to us as we do a lot of Caribbean cruising so we opted to stay on the ship the entire trip. This turned out to be a great choice..lots to see and do, The main pool on the Lido deck has a retractable roof so we were very comfortable even with not so perfect weather. There was a large back deck on Lido as well with restaurant seating and another pool. On New Years Eve we went to specialty dining in the outdoor restaurant for lobster and champagne...again fabulous with a live band playing reggae. Lots of comfortable seating all over the ship..so Sea days were not an issue. Loved the Casino, very bright and laid out nicely, Good variety of tables and slots for everyone to enjoy and "non-smoking" at all times. I wish every ship had this policy. We are not smokers but the designated areas seemed to be located so as to provide minimal contact with the general areas....even on the open decks. We were not traveling with children but there were many vacationing families on board. There appeared to be many programs for all ages and they had a Captain and Princess for a day program that was adorable. On the last night at sea they had a special reception in the main salon especially for the children...the boys were dressed in the Captains uniforms and the little girls in beautiful gowns, They had a small parade into the room, were each introduced to the audience and then had a special dance with their parent. It was a lovely event. Disembarkation was a breeze....we did walk off...gathered at the ramp exit on deck 2 at 6:20 am as instructed the day before...by 6:35 we were headed off the ship..thru terminal and in our car by 6:45. Amazing! Looking forward to another COSTA cruise in the very near future. Read Less

We chose this cruise because of the low cost. Unfortunately, the old saying...you get what you pay for....is totally true. First, the pros: Embarqment and disembarqment was quick and smooth. Specialty restaurants were very good. A couple of the shows were very good. Ship and rooms were clean but showing some wear. Now the cons: English was definitely the 2nd or 3rd language for the staff of they spoke it at all. All announcements were in italian, german, french and ,if lucky, english. No room service after 3:30 so no bed turn down. No wash clothes were available in the rooms. You had to ask for them daily. Toilet failed and took 4 hours to get repaired. Food in the buffet was same every day and very bland Dining room food overall very poor with exception being pasta options. Customer service desk always had long lines, up to an hour. Then the rep either didn't speak English or very poorly. Overall, it seemed that most employees were just "going thru the motions" . It created a negative attitude that even filtered to the passengers. Overall it just wasn't a fun time and it was Christmas! Read Less

We chose this cruise because it suited the dates we wanted to be away. The Good: The ship and cabin were nice and clean. The Staff in general work so hard!! They have so much energy!! We really appreciate their enthusiasm! We enjoyed the shows and had great time at the Mirabilis bar. New Year's Eve was a blast! The Bad: Food was very plain, every day at the lunch buffet, they offered the same thing, over and over. The meat, chicken, and pork were dry and lacked of flavor. In the restaurant, the menu contained choices that really didn't jump on your eye. Nothing interesting or tasty. We didn't get the chance to pick our time for dinner when booking the cruise. We requested it to be changed and never heard back. We didn't book it directly, but we registered on their website to pick some excursions. We never received any formal communication on the time of embarking and/or what to expect. We would have appreciated some details before hand. Two of our excursions were canceled due to the wind at a very last minute, and the "excursion desk" was closed for business. We couldn't find any alternatives. The data plan was a bust... again not entirely clear what you were getting. The drink plan was decent. But sparkling water nor water of any kind was included. As other reviewer said, you get what you pay for. The crew and social staff were wonderful, but because of the food and lack of communication we unfortunately won't go with Costa again. Read Less

Having had been on 10+ cruises before (Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Norwegian, MSC) I have to say that this cruise line is the worst when it comes to customer service. Travelers used to good customer service should not sail with Costa. We sailed as a family for New Years 2018, and while we had a good vacation overall, it certainly was not due to the staff aboard the Costa Deliziosa. It felt like not only were they understaffed at all times, every day; but the staff was also grumpy - felt like they were just there to get the job done and get their paycheck. While you can see the details of our experience below, overall, I would not want to sail Costa again, or would recommend it to any American friends, or anyone that expects decent customer service. So here we go with the detailed review: ~~~Let's start with some general good things I liked about the experience: + Boarding process was very quick (both on the first day, as well as when we got off/on at the various islands). + For international passengers, they do a good job at making the announcements in various languages (it's obnoxious as they get longgg, but good for those that speak something other than English or Italian) + Bags were delivered very promptly on both the first day, as well as the departure date. + While the variety of food wasn't doing it for us, the quality of the food was really good compared to other ships. + A lot of great live music throughout the ship every night / they have a lot of bars + Drinks package and upgrade to the middle tier package was worth it. Lots of drinking throughout the week. + Mobile app with free chatting (only available for iPhone) was very useful to find each other on the ship as well as to see the the daily planner. ~~~But the list of bad things outweighs the good one: - The temperature in the ship was borderline hot, especially in the gym. Couple of times I had to step outside to get some fresh air. - On port days, despite having odd port hours they did not adjust the schedule for the buffet. At one particular port there was a 20+ minute line to get... Salad, since it was the only available thing. - Rooms in the back of the ship vibrate a lot. One particulate night the vibration was so strong that when you sat on the toilet it felt like you were in a massage chair. Alternatively, you could also get a free shaking massage while laying in bed as the vibration is equally as strong there. - Calling room service or customer service was futile - you were placed in a permanent hold without anyone ever answering. After spending 20+ minutes one day, I discovered that the call is never answer. The trick? If placed on hold, hang up and try again until a human answers the phone. Why even have a hold system them? -- If you managed to get through the line for room service, you'll be playing a guessing game of whether the food will arrive or not. One particular night we placed an order that never arrived. I was too tired to call back and have them deliver it after waiting 45 minutes. - No ironing on board, which is standard in most cruise lines. We decided to send a couple of clothes to the dry cleaner to get them ironed. We requested same day delivery, and at 6PM nothing had arrived. I had to call to have someone go check and get them, and I was told that the clothes deliver only starts at 6PM (keep in mind, first sitting for dinner is 6PM). Seems like same day service is not viable in most cases. - Room is only serviced once a day - no turndown service, or change of towels in the afternoon. - The buffet: in general they had a very european selection of food which wasn't my favorite, but I knew what I was signing up for when going on an european cruise line. - Pool towels: They do not have a place where you can go exchange your towels. They apparently come around every evening knocking on your door and asking if you need fresh pool towels. Well..... We must have never been in the room around the time they came because we never got that option. Not only that, after I once called to get fresh pool towels, they were never delivered. - While they had an iPhone mobile all, they didn't have an Android equivalent. The iOS app, which we installed on the embarkation day, also decided that it needed an update midway through the cruise and kept bugging you about updating (hello? no wifi!) it every time you opened it. ~~~Special mention to the TERRIBLE evening dinning experience The first day was bad. We had three rooms under the same reservation, and they sat some of us together, and some of us in a different table.... After talking to the maître d' they fixed the issue on the second day. And things got worse... The second day was terrible. Our waiter was extremely rude*. He was just rushing to get our orders, rolling his eyes at my grandparents for taking long time to choose, and brought the wrong food (and tried to force us to eat it before fixing the issue). It was so ridiculous that I had to call the maître d' over to talk to him about his attitude. After this incident, on the third day things started to get better after being assigned a new waiter. Our waiter was ok when it came to his attitude, but the issues with the food continued. Between courses it would take a good 20-30 minutes before the next course arrived. Dinner usually lasted two and a half to three hours every night. Not only that, but in between courses the servers would not refill your water or wine unless you managed to flag them down. One night I didn't like my meal, so I sent it back and asked for another meal. The waiter continued to bring the rest of the meals, and brought my food after bringing my dessert.... *note that we later realized that the reason why service was so slow and the waiters were so bad is because they're understaffed. On most cruises you get a waiter and an assistant waiter. This cruise line only has one waiter per table which makes the entire process extremely slow. Read Less

I am not a seasoned cruiser, rather this was my second cruise to almost the same ports. We chose this cruise because the dates lined up with our vacation timeline. My first cruise experience was with Carnival. This is where my husband and I set expectations for this cruise were based on that experience from a year ago. We were continuously disappointed to learn everything we thought would be standard were up charges. We expected to have free room services, as is standard on Carnival. We did not. It was not explained to us when booking this cruise either. Food We expected there to be some sort of free food options available at all times. There was not. In fact, we boarded the cruise ship late (9:00 p.m.) and was stunned to learn that there were no free food options for us ... and that we would either have to pay additional fees or go hungry until breakfast. It was myself, my husband and two teenage sons. Drinks On the Carnival cruise we did not pay for a drink package but were fine with drinking water, milk and tea at any given time. On this cruise, we paid for a drink package (we were told it was an all-inclusive drink package, but soon learned it was only during meals.) We paid an additional 480$ and was told we would need to pay an additional 600$ for the all-inclusive dink package. The drink package we had was only during lunch and dinner (lunch we were on excursions all but two days.) And dinner in the restaurant meant beer was not included either. Times One afternoon we returned late from an excursion and rushed to the deck to get lunch/snack/ something. They had cleared all but one bar and there was a rope blacking it and we were not allowed to grab anything before they cleared it … we were told we could go to the opposite end of the ship to grab a salad. The lovely food was right there … and instead we ate salad. Again, this would have been ok, except we had eaten a salad the last two days for lunch as it was the only thing open once we returned from our day trips. Dinner was four hours later. Staffing This would not have been a big deal, except the tea, milk and water machines that were supposed to be up and running 24 hours a day we're not. Instead, we consistently had to hunt down someone to fill the machine. A majority of the time we were told it was not their job. In fact, that was the standard statement from most of the crew when asking for help. My husband went to find the big screen gaming for my teenager and each person he talked to gave him the same statement, “that is not my job.” Customer Service Our TV in our room did not work half the time … which is frustrating, because this is where you were expected to check your ship balance and find activities. The TV in our sons’ room did not work either. Their toilet overflowed. I thought maybe it was them until my toilet overflowed. Then I had a lady from the ship chew me out for putting facial tissue in the toilet. When I told her I had not done such a thing she called me a liar and said he had found facial tissue. I could not believe she was calling me a liar. I know what I packed. Activities There were not enough deck chairs and activities for visitors while out to see … people circled like hawks looking for a place to sit down. The pool was tiny and did not allow enough room for kids and adults to hang out. The variety and timing of activities were also limited. Communications While on Carnival, we were able to communicate with each other through their free app. Additionally we were able to see daily schedules, and excursion times using the app. We were also able to see what time we needed to return to the ship via the app. These were all HUGE misses during this trip. Read Less

My daughter and her family included me as a whole family Christmas vacation. None of us had ever been in a cruise before. We loved every minute of it. We loved our dining room experience. Service was impeccable by Joseph. My cabin was always clean and neat. Irwandi was extremely friendly and polite. He was eager to help with anything. The rest of my family had the same experience. We loved the shows and really enjoyed the piano man who was above and behind the bar in the main lobby. He had an amazing voice! Every night after dinner we sat there, had a few cocktails and enjoyed the music. We also made some new friends! We had a problem with the boys, ages 14-20. Their wasn’t really any type of entertainment for them. We learned everything was being setup for Peppa Pig. The arcade was closed and everything was focused on much younger kids. Our boys got bored. They said they still had s great time but they did get bored. Our trips to the stops were enjoyable. We did not get to do any of the excursions. We had a catamaran scheduled, but it was cancelled due to weather. We had another let down when we got to Miami, our airboat tour was sold out. We had some weather issues, high winds, some rain, but you can’t control the weather. When we had to leave the ship in Miami and wait to return to the ship...wow! That wasn’t well thought out. The majority should not have to wait for hours to get back onboard because some people did not obey the rules. We sat quietly but as the wait got longer, the people who had been there for a very long time got pretty rowdy. There was shouting, yelling, booing as the late stragglers finally made their way off the ship. Something should be done about this. Some financial penalty should be issued to those stragglers. All in all we did have a great cruise. One of my grandsons and I practiced Italian with the app on my iPhone. We all decided that being on a ship that was not American was interesting and fun. We got to experience so many different things. Oh, our cruise plans were made about 2 weeks before we left. It was a complete surprise to me because it was a Christmas gift for me. It was a good one!! Read Less