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Costa Fortuna

We gave this a 1 only because of the spacious and well-organized ocean view cabins. However we will never sail on Costa again.  There were numerous problems from even before we sailed - 

*user-unfriendly website One example: the option for buying Internet package disappeared about 2 weeks before sailing - "yes, there's a problem. It's not working" forcing anyone who hadn't bought already to buy much more expensive package onboard OR, as in my case, to spend two days fighting them and finally getting the package as offered on the site) 

*misleading presentation of shore excursions (large picture of Urquhart castle - the only picture promoting that excursion - and it was the # 2 listing on Excursion STOPS but lower down in the small print it says "viewing" but even that didn't happen,

*Frontline staff is not given authority to make decisions and supervisors who never seem to be in their office 

*Cabins not throughly cleaned before new cruisers arrive (we found an empty bottle in a shelf by the bed and sunglasses on the floor by the bed and our friends found food in the fridge)

*I could give many examples (I did write a 2-page letter to Costa with examples) but I can summarize the problem by saying there is a lack of leadership and a lack of confidence in employees. Nothing can move forward when the frontline person at Customer Service or Tour office repeats the mantra "Sorry, Madam. you cannot do/ have X," when in the end, after finally getting access to a supervisor, it turns out that I can. Frustration and more frustration. 

*iPhones from the United States cannot download their app once you have left the United States! Something about licensing - but they fail to tell you that beforehand. You need the app for just about everything.

*Tours are in two languages -also not mentioned beforehand

*Food not availabe all hours during the day and in the evening after around 9pm, only for purchase.

*Water at lunch and dinner must be PURCHASED. 

* They do not have a Corking policy. You can buy only their wine.

* Very few options for vegetarians, vegans and people who do not eat pork or seafood

I will stop here.

Never again on Costa

Mykonos

We chose this cruise because it visited the Countries and Ports we really like. I contacted Costa on 29th February the day before flying into Singapore and they told me the cruise was going ahead as originally planned. We had heard via (Facebook) that Cambodia and Vietnam ports had already been canceled, and I suspected that Thailand and Malaysian Ports were also going to be canceled as well.

We arrived in Singapore the next evening, only to be advised this was true, and that all guests were notified via email whilst we were all flying towards Singapore. This was very poor customer service on behalf of this Cruise line, as they put profit well ahead of their Customer Satisfaction and Care protocols. 

We arrived onto the ship on 3rd March, to a throng of staff wanting to sign us up to drinks packages Starting at 110 Euro per 40 x 200ml soft drink cans. This equated to AUS$5  per drink, and as we were told that NO table water would be available in the dining rooms for meals except breakfast, we were then encouraged to purchase two packages for the entire 16 days cruise.

Two days later we arrived into our first Malaysian stop and the day was just stunning, we then moved onto Phuket Thailand when the drama then unfolded. Thailand denied access into Phuket, this then caused a domino effect with all ports thereafter denying us access. Costa advised all passengers that we were heading straight back to Singapore, where we would be bussed straight to the airport, and flown home 9 days early. Even Singapore didn't really want us!  To Costas credit, they did organize our flights home early and gave us a cruise credit for the missed ports, however, Costa should have canceled this cruise before any guests had jumped onto a plane two days prior to our departure! They lied to me that ports had not been canceled, and didn't fess up until we all started boarding the ship. Being a regular Princess customer and knowing their very high customer Care standards, we were very disgusted with Costa in providing very minimal communications with their passengers and saw us all as captive guests to touch with every passing day. Would I cruise with Costa again, NO they have burnt me badly with their total lack of Customer Care, seeing all passengers as a fountain for their wealth, and very poor communication skills, they have seen our backs for life!

COSTA is a very disorganised company!

We were really excited to be going on the Costa Fortuna cruise ship. We arranged for the appropriate visas for Cambodia, travel insurance and up to date passports as these were required documentations BY COSTA, otherwise you would be denied boarding the cruise. Well to start off, we were NOT EVEN ASKED for these documentations upon arrival and second, WE DID NOT NEED TO DO THE VISAS AS COSTA WOULD HAVE ARRANGED THE VISA WHILE ON BOARD. 

The food was horrible, at the buffet and for 2 weeks it was same for breakfast, lunch and dinner and the so called bacon they served was burnt that it looked like it was cremated. Coffee was only served at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Other cruise we did had coffee and snacks available 24/7. Bad luck if you went on an excursion and returned late as after 2pm doors were closed and reopened at 7pm. 

Hand sanitizers in the eating areas were often empty or broken. With the Corona virus around you would think that COSTA would have someone at each point where the sanitizers were to insure people used them before entering the buffet area but not one attended was ever present

Now, for the dinner reservation at the fancy restaurants, well the meals were not that spectacular either, you had to pay for the water where it was free in the buffet. 

The constant Italian music, daily games which were more like you play at a kid’s parties were in Italian. The nightly shows in the theatre again were in Italian and again were not spectacular, people walked out numerous times. 

Restrooms are so hard to find they were hidden outside in a corner because they blended in with the wallpaper.

The staffs at the reception desk were arrogant and not very helpful and would get irritated if you asked them a question. Every day an argument would occur between guests and staff. Take the case of the daily mandatory fee of 10 Euros per person per day for services in cleaning the cabins {doing the beds and showers}. I guarantee that the sheets had not been changed not once in the 14 days we were there

With so many of us complaining, a meeting was arranged with an English speaking lady from hospitality. When asked about the visas we were asked to do for Cambodia, she replied that Costa does not ask guests to do visas as they are arranged by COSTA FORTUNA for a fee of 40 Euros for everyone whether they were going ashore or NOT. When I presented a copy of the email I had received from Costa her response after reading was, THAT’S UNFORTUNITE FOR YOU Yes it was unfortunate as it all cost us $150 each person. 

Another question was raised by a fellow passenger regarding the so called 10 Euros per person for room cleaning. We were told it is a gratuity fee that goes to the cleaners. We already paid $ gratuity. Passengers were not happy and when they complained, we were told, “IF YOU DON'T LIKE THE SHIP YOU CAN GET OFF. For a couple of seconds everyone sat there looking stunned at what they heard then all hell broke loose. We were in the middle of the ocean, where did she expect us to go.

At the end of the cruise all English speaking guests were to attend a meeting for brief instructions on the day of disembarkation We were ALSO instructed and I quote again, TO RATE COSTA FORTUNA a 10 because if we DON’T, the crew members will NOT RECEIEVE THERE BONAS. Costa Fortuna THAT IS BRIBERY. NOT going to do what you asked. Worse cruise ever. 

COSTA FORTUNA WAS A BIG MISTAKE. So if you’re thinking of doing a cruise with them you better think twice.

WORSE CRUISE EVER

Part of a package of 4 Cruises.

We are a couple in our mid 70s who have been on several cruises and this is our first Costa Cruise.

Cabin - spacious.

Crew - overworked but wonderfully friendly, courteous and helpful.

However,

*No ice- bucket in cabin in spite of it being a Premium Balcony - whatever Premium means in the Mediterranean. The fridge was not called. 

*We only had dinner at the Michelangelo on the first night.

Menu had an item Char Kuay Teow - the first time it was presented at the table it was stodgy fried rice. On the second attempt it turned out to be gluggy yellow noodles. No one in the dining room or galley knew what Char Kuay Teow ought to be.

We requested for water and were told we had to pay for it - yes, plain water. Never had another meal there during the 2 week cruise.

*Insipid coffee and God knows from where tea is provided during breakfast and evening tea sessions. No coffee, hot water or tea at other times - machines are off and tea packets and mugs removed.

* So called maintenance work. In fact, there were preparing the ship for the European summer. Sanding of wooden bannisters near the public pool areas in spite of people being around. Chisseling away rust - clanging away does not make for a wonderful holiday experience.  Followed by paint fumes - anti- rust, primer and overcoat. For 4 nights we got notices that the cabin balconies would be subject to maintenance work - imagine what a glorious time we had with the crew walking past the cabin balconies on a regular basis. We advised to close the curtains from 8.30 am to 3.30pm - just nice to be gloominess.

*(Not the fault of the Cruise Line) Most of the passengers have not understood the word courtesy - please, sorry, excuse me (in any of the European languages will be understood and welcomed. Queue  - many have not heard that word either. Behaviour of many reflects what some travel writers refer to as, " The village visiting the city". Though mzny villagers are more refined than city folks.

*Food - plentiful but the few same items seem to be presented in the different themed areas. Example - roasted chicken in the Burger section, and in the grill section and in the main buffet area and in the Indian/oriental corner.

* Embarkation - all the cruises we have been on have crew directing new passenges to their cabins. We had to find our own way.

Will we go on a Costa Cruise?

No.

Paid for balcony but regular maintenance work made it impossible to enjoy

We booked this Far East Asia cruise six months ago after seeing it advertised in our local newspaper. It was included in a package with return flights to Singapore and was priced very reasonably. We always check reviews before making holiday bookings (cruises, hotels etc) but in this instance we didn't until after we had booked.  After reading the many negative reviews about the Costa Fortuna we became a little concerned but decided to go with an open mind, simply "take things as they come" and be prepared for the worst. Big surprise!! The cruise proved to be one of the best out of the several that we have done. We thought we must have been on a different ship to the one all the negative reviewers had been on.  Even though we didn't check any reviews before making the booking we did check out everything else possible about the cruise and ship online before the cruise commenced.  We cannot believe that people weren't aware of the 10Euros per day mandatory service charge, or that you had to pay for water in the restaurants etc (we didn't because we had pre-booked a Piu Gusto drinks package) or that they didn't realise it was an Italian cruise line, hence lots of Italian dishes (which were varied and tasty) .... all this information is readily available online!!! 

Our balcony cabin was roomy, comfortable, very clean and the fridge worked fine. Only complaint was that the cabin's air-conditioning didn't work as well as we would have liked, especially in the mornings. The public areas of the ship were nice and cool but our cabin sadly wasn't.

The crew on the whole were friendly and helpful but like can happen on any cruise ship one or two appeared to have a bit of attitude, however that certainly didn't stop us enjoying the cruise overall as most of them always greeted you with a smile. The bar staff were amazing and we also loved the way the wait staff took our drinks order, keyed it in on their little gadgets and bingo a few minutes later the drinks arrived from the bar.  The cocktails could not be faulted and were definitely not short on alcohol content!!

We were more disappointed in some of the passengers than in the crew when it came to manners.  The way in which some passengers treated the crew was plain rude . No "pleases" or "thank yous" when they were served food and drinks and this was not just by the European passengers either but across many the  nationalities on board.  

The theatre shows were great; sure, not all of them but the entertainment was varied and there was pretty much "something for everyone".  

We would definitely do another Costa cruise on either the Fortuna or one of their other ships in the future.

Pleasantly surprised!

Positives.

Staff.  Top class.

Waiters - Excellent  especially - Dining  Melvic Z and Jansen Nicolas  along with others we made good contact with and there was several of them. Thank you boys and girls

   - bar.  Sheila, Jennifer, Araminda    and lots of others whose names I didnt remember!  

Shows - Excellent and fresh- no repeats!  and wide variety  all done by staff who also had other duties. The energy!!!!

Music - lots of it and various styles and in many venues

Communication - excellent altho in up to 7 different languages.  ( remember its an Italian ship) so obviously everything was in Italian then other languages followed.

Service desks- excellent.

 Dining rooms - excellent choices, flavours and presentation and energectic entertainment was a hit with all

   -Buffet.  Many choices and styles of food and never a shortage in quantity or quality!

Variety of drinks with in each package was very good.

The range of coffees, teas and juices was great.

Only one type of beer avail by the glass

The effort that went into keeping the Ship free of the CV-19 was commendable.

Some of the ports of call were extremely good. Others interesting.

Some activities had the gloss taken off only due to the language barriers.

Negatives

wine- Maybe better  quality?

Why not water available free as duty of care? the water available from the Buffet  was not nice as it was heavily chlorinated not filtered, and not always available.

I was of the understanding the buffet area  was open for longer hours than it seemed to be, Some one apparently did complain and it was open longer for the 2nd part of our trip.

No quiet zone any were except in your room to chill out in.Only place was on deck 5 with the smokers - no thank you.  A quiet lounge/seating area with soft music and view outside would have been magic

Difficult at the service desks from time to time to hear while the music was blaring!

Internet. super expensive.

Rating?  still 10/10 from us

Its an Italian /International Ship

We were really excited to be going on the costa fortuna cruise ship. We arranged for the appropriate visas for cambodia, travel insurance and up to date passports as these were required documentations by costa, otherwise you would be denied boarding the cruise. Well to start off, we were not even asked for these documentations upon arrival and second, we did not need to do the visas as costa would have arranged the visa while on board. 

The food was horrible, at the buffet and for 2 weeks it was same for breakfast, lunch and dinner and the so called bacon they served was burnt that it looked like it was cremated. Coffee was only served at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Other cruise we did had coffee and snacks available 24/7. Bad luck if you went on an excursion and returned late as after 2pm doors were closed and reopened at 7pm. 

Hand sanitizers in the eating areas were often empty or broken. With the Corona virus around you would think that COSTA would have someone at each point where the sanitizers were to insure people used them before entering the buffet area but not one attended was ever present

Now, for the dinner reservation at the fancy restaurants, well the meals were not that spectacular either, you had to pay for the water where it was free in the buffet. 

The constant italian music, daily games which were more like you play at a kid’s parties were in italian. The nightly shows in the theatre again were in italian and again were not spectacular, people walked out numerous times. 

Restrooms are so hard to find they were hidden outside in a corner because they blended in with the wallpaper.

The staffs at the reception desk were arrogant and not very helpful and would get irritated if you asked them a question. Every day an argument would occur between guests and staff. Take the case of the daily mandatory fee of 10 euros per person per day for services in cleaning the cabins {doing the beds and showers}. I guarantee that the sheets had not been changed not once in the 14 days we were there

With so many of us complaining, a meeting was arranged with an english speaking lady from hospitality. When asked about the visas we were asked to do for cambodia, she replied that costa does not ask guests to do visas as they are arranged by costa fortuna for a fee of 40 euros for everyone whether they were going ashore or not. When i presented a copy of the email i had received from costa her response after reading was, that’s unfortunite for you yes it was unfortunate as it all cost us $150 each person. 

Another question was raised by a fellow passenger regarding the so called 10 euros per person for room cleaning. We were told it is a gratuity fee that goes to the cleaners. We already paid $ gratuity. Passengers were not happy and when they complained, we were told, “if you don't like the ship you can get off. For a couple of seconds everyone sat there looking stunned at what they heard then all hell broke loose. We were in the middle of the ocean, where did she expect us to go.

At the end of the cruise all english speaking guests were to attend a meeting for brief instructions on the day of disembarkation we were also instructed and i quote again, to rate costa fortuna a 10 because if we don’t, the crew members will not receive there bonas. Costa fortuna that is bribery. Not going to do what you asked. Worse cruise ever. 

Costa fortuna was a big mistake. So if you’re thinking of doing a cruise with them you better think twice.

Chose Costa because we’ve tried Royal Caribbean  and P& O so wanted to try a different cruise line and because of the value for money it offered. 

Almost cancelled because of coronavirus ( more a fear of being isolated in our ( inside) cabin for 14 days, rather than catching the virus) and because of all the negative reviews that we didn’t read before we booked it, but SO glad we didn't!  This cruise was so much fun! 

Staff were excellent and couldn’t do enough for us from the cabin steward to the ships doctor and everyone in between! Particular mention to the bar staff in the Grand Bar, Mark Anthony, Dani, Armando and Glady  who went above and beyond to ensure we enjoyed ourselves and our cabin steward, Mark, who was constantly there to direct us to our cabin. The entertainment and restaurant staff were fantastic and full of fun, particularly the lunchtime staff who made us feel SO special! Guest services staff were also wonderful despite doing a difficult job; lost my iPhone on second day which would have been disastrous for me but they pulled out all stops and eventually it was found on a tender and returned to me. Also had occasion to use the hospital and the elderly doctor in particular was charming, helpful, reassuring and solved the problem without making us feel like a nuisance ( which happened on a previous P & O cruise). A word of warning though- take out travel insurance; hospital visit was expensive!

Most tours can be organised from the ports which is a much cheaper way of doing things; Costa tours are expensive. 

In summary, this was a fantastic ship and cruise and was great value for money. Costa Fortunas main strength lies in its wonderful staff who are hard working, full of fun and energy and obliging and I would not hesitate to cruise with them again.

Fun cruise!

I had high hopes about my first cruise with Costa. Needless to say they were wasted.

This 2 week cruise was part of a six week package which incuded 4 weeks with P&O.

Information about the Costa cruise line was sparse as my booking agent had not had dealings with them before.

So here's your feedback.

Pay for water! 

No free tea or coffee after breakfast! 

Surly staff who don't like to deal with English speaking passengers. 

Very few announcements in English. 

Very class oriented ship. 

Everything is in Euros, in Asia? 

Mandatory service charge of 10 euros EACH per day that no-one knew about before boarding, supposedly to encourage staff to work harder.

Any redeeming qualities are far outnumbered by the bad. I have personally not had a worse cruise.

And this mob want to break into the Australian cruise market? 

Not a chance Costa. We won't want you.

We won't be sailing with Costa again, ever!

This American's First Costa cruise, my (long-winded) take on Costa

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