Costa Deliziosa Review
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My husband and I (50s) and our daughter (20s) chose this cruise because it was a favorable price for a Christmas cruise, on our bucket list. We had cruised with Costa once before in 2010 and enjoyed it overall. Booking the cruise, I was surprised that we would not receive and previous guest credit for our other cruise, since they only give credit for 3 years, but more on that below.
Embarkation: Unlike other cruise lines we typically use, embarkation was between 1 and 9 p.m. Since we didn't have any early boarding privileges, we meandered on our drive, arriving around 3:30. There weren't any lines for any aspects of embarkation, and we were on the ship quickly. Room was ready and luggage arrived shortly after. Because of the later embarkation time, muster was scheduled between the two dining times. This was a fiasco! Our poor waiter was trying to get all of our meal served (on the first night, which is always slower anyway) before we had to rush back to our cabins, get life jackets, go to our station. Muster was very disorganized (aside from the fact that they scan cards, which is good), and we were subjected to heavy fumes. People were coughing, putting scarves over faces, etc., and someone almost passed out. When we tried to let someone know about this, the muster helpers were very nonchalant, and non-helpful. Didn't inspire much confidence for a true emergency.
Ship and Cabin: Deliziosa is similar to the Carnival Spirit class ships, which are my favorite. They seem to be just the right size and have a good crew: passenger ratio. I rarely felt crowded into long lines. We had a balcony cabin. On Carnival, it would have been considered an obstructed view, but we were not told this at booking. However, we have stayed in these cabins before and the price was acceptable. The balcony is a standard size, fitting 2 chairs and a table. A downside of Costa was that they allow smoking on balconies, and we had a smoking neighbor. The room had plenty of storage space for the three of us, including in the bathroom. Our cabin steward, Adamson, was stellar (a nice change from our recent Carnival cruises, where service was subpar).