Just returned from 10 day trip and overall it was good for our family of 5. The greatest disappointment was that we missed Alexandria because of high seas but did Palermo instead. Whilst everyone was deeply disappointed, we understood it was an act of nature. Some good and bad points about Costa and Pacifica. Good Kids under 18 sharing with adults are free. Efficient check in, disembarkation and always arrived early or on time in every port. Crew pleasant and mainly English speaking, particularly the Philipinos. Happy hour 4-6 alcohol two for one. Teen club got the thumbs up. Outside cabin spacious, aisles spacious. Bad Tours overpriced. Fortunately we did most independently. Food nothing to rave about and more limited venues than on other ships. Pacifica's buffet wasn't open at night- only for pizza and salad. Piped music on each floor was hideously monotonous. Our floor played only one song in a continuous loop 24/7. Decor rather garish and overdone. Every square inch was decorated in clashing styles- a bit like Italy meets Vegas. Smoking allowed in most rooms. Kids awake at all hours of the night and morning. Even the teen club didn't kick in till after 11. Sometimes we felt that non italians were discriminated against. If costa is marketing aggressively around the world they should not make non Italians feel like foreigners. However, all announcements were in italian, english, French, German and Spanish and there were always english speakers at help desk.

Overall we enjoyed our cruise and thought it great value for money. A word of warning about Civitavecchia- there is no cruise terminal, only a tent and it is a nightmare to find by car. Port directions and facilities need to be dramatically improved.