The ship, cabin and staff (apart from some waiters in the dining room) were good.
There were about 200 teenagers on "school trips" on our cruise, they took over the swimming pools, jacuzzis and were noisy,especially at night (we had to change cabins) Also a lot of families with young children
There was very little entertainment in the day time, no lectures, cinema, etc plus no ...
I have cruised on many different cruise lines since my first cruise back in 1996, including 5 star and budget ships.
This is my first time on Costa although I have sailed on their sister company Carnival and many things about the management and layout of the ships is similar.
Check in at Barcelona was very efficient as Costa pick up and drop off at all the ports on their itinerary so you ...
We chose a Costa cruise because of our very positive experience with them 8 years ago. We have done 9 or 10 cruises with different companies including Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, and Holland-America. We knew in advance that there would be few fellow Americans on the ship, that Italian would be the main language, followed by German, Spanish, French, and all the rest. The Fascinosa is a ...
I was a little anxious about this cruise, but it was booked by my wife's parents as a present for the family and I had hoped that some of the reviews on this site were wrong. They are not. We had a great time, but not because the boat, or Costa provided a great experience. The communal areas and bars are very dated. The rooms (we had a balcony room) were spacious and reasonably comfortable for a ...
Drill prior to sailing was poorly demonstrated. Everyone stood around at their muster station which was on deck. For those passengers who have never sailed before, there was much confusion as to how to put their life jackets on, etc. The explanations in the event of an emergency were very poorly explained. We are talking from experience as to how it is done on other ships.
Our waiters ...
I have completed 30+ cruises on all the major lines over the last 15 years and have recently tried both the Pacifica and Fascinosa ships so hopefully I can provide a balanced review for members. It is clear this is a company who want to rebuild their reputation and do all they can to help you enjoy your cruise. Are they in the same league as Holland and America?-no. But neither are their prices ...
Cleanliness
The ship was constantly being cleaned, the decks were disinfected every morning and one evening when I nipped back to the cabin the beds had been moved and the attendant was cleaning underneath them. I have never seen that on RCCL, HAL, Princess or Celebrity. We had fresh towels automatically daily and new linen every 2 days.
Staff
Were all friendly and attentive and one occasion, ...
We had toured a week in Venice and a week in Florence. As Valentines Day was approaching we started exploring something different for the following week. Since we were already in Europe we wondered about a cruise. This cruise was the only one to fit our interest and time frame. We got a great last minute deal by phone directly through Costa in the week before departure. We were thrilled to find ...
Took my two young kids on their first cruise. I had done a Costa cruise in the summer and enjoyed it.
Cabin was fine for three people and it was great to have a balcony. Unlike many other reviewers, I had no problem with uninterested staff: maybe because my kids are nice, the staff were kind to us. They were smiling and helpful and we had no negative experience.
The food was not as good as the ...
When cruising with Costa Americans need to accept that they will be a minority on the ship. You will here many languages spoken, however the staff all have English as their common tongue.
The embarkation in Savona was very smooth and well organized. We have cruised with Costa in the past with a disorganized embarkation, but they have gotten their act together.
The ship was very clean, the staff ...