My partner and I had a very nice time on this cruise. It was my first time with Costa. We loved the itinerary which included Rome (unbelievable), Cairo (yeah we saw the Pyramids, Sphinx and artifacts from King Tut... no kidding), Turkey (drank that tasty and intoxicating Lions Milk and purchased a carpet. Sure beats going to work), and many other dazzling sites.
We had the cheapest room listed and it wasn't bad. 1252 is next to a staff hallway which didn't show up on any of the ships maps. It did get a bit loud (occasional banging?)at times. I would not book that room again. The room was clean and I have no complaints about the bed. I slept great .
The breakfast was okay. Same menu different day. Blah. Lunch. Very good. Some folks complained but I thought they were nuts. The ship does make pizza all the time and it is always offered. Kids liked it, but many of the adults wanted the lunch buffet well after lunch hours. That didn't happen, it was just salad and pizza. Dinner. Mmmmmm. Nice menu with a lot of Italian dishes. Lots of seafood, pasta, soup/salad and don't forget the desserts. No one left hungry. Oh, I also loved the wine list. Good value for wines priced between $17-$25.00. The staff at the restaurant were wonderful, very professional.