7 Nt Eastern Med on the brand new Costa Serena (8 th Cruise). Embarkation in Venice was hectic and unorganized like on any Costa Cruise, as the just don't tell passengers that there simply is NO need to check in - the form delivered with the travel docs needs to be filled in an go aboard, thats it... Venice harbour was closed due to a holiday so the ship was parked at Maghera and all 3800 pax were tendered to the Serena - surprisingly the bags were there when we arrived
Cabin - quite large, very good stowage, unusually large bathroom and shower with curtain
The ship... 3800 pax (ship was absolutely full) on a 112000 ton ship feels sometimes quite cramped, especially in the Buffet restaurant. 3 pools filled with saltwater but only 3.5 ft deep, one pool is adults only - thats the one with only kids in it (nobody cares) and they do nothing else but dive into the pool 10 times a minute... Sufficient deckspace and deckchairs - so never a problem to get one and sufficient towels as well. Ship was kept very clean all the time except for some rust in the pool where the color was just falling off (after only 8 weeks in service !). The decks are just plain steel covered with blue paint, which gets really hot (no wood).