Costa Cruise Line

[jaschem1]

We have cruised on the Norweigen, Princess, Royal Caribbean, Carnivel and the Celebrity three times. We want to book a Costa cruise to Mexico this April. Anyone have experiences with the Costa line? We have had all balconies, love them. Great when at sea a couple days for a great breakfast in the room.Thanks

[DaCruzNut]

Sorry to say it, but I was not very happy with Costa. I've sailed all of the lines you've listed, plus a few more, and would put Costa on the bottom of the list.

I was, mainly, disappointed with the food. I like pasta, but not thrown at me, in dozens of forms, every meal except breakfast. The other foods, other thatn pasta, were mediocre at best.

The service, I will say, was excellent.

I was also disappoimted with the entertainment.

I sailed Costa once, and vowed it wouldn't happen again. It hasn't....

[bigred]

Well, we had quite a different experience on Costa. We sailed the Costa Atlantica shortly after her maiden voyage. We had a balcony cabin ( and FYI it is the same ship basically as the Carnival Pride ). We loved EVERYTHING about this cruise ship and line. Here are some highlights. Cabin has sofa and table area so nice like a little suite. Ship was absolutely gorgeous. I took pictures of all the decor as it was so beautiful. Took Italian lessons . . . an officer taught this class everyday and whenever we saw him on board, spoke Italian to us. It was great. It is totally European service and style. If you loved Europe, you'll love Costa. The food was to die for! Yes, mostly Italian ( well, since I married Italian it was exactly what we love ) but they also have the traditional steaks, prime rib and seafood. They also had a great cigar bar that pleased my husband no end. Some people complained but we really enjoyed that all the announcements were in six languages. Since I speak 4 of them it was fun to hear! Wow, what a great mix of people from all over the world. Not the glut of Americans like most ships. So, you really met so many interesting people and learned so many new things. We enjoyed all of the entertainment BUT the high point was the last night. Our cruise director did an excellent job all week . . . a real gentleman! But the last night he let it all hang out. On Costa, the last night is Toga Party night. They give you sheets and pins to make a toga over your clothes. Then, Caesar (our CD), and his entourage march through the dining room in regal manner and lead everyone to the theater where the talent show is held. The audience gets to vote on the talent but Caesar has the final say. . . thumbs up or thumbs down. It became riotous when the audience would not allow Caesar to throw a little old white haired granny to the lions. There were scantily clad Roman girls, streamers, balloons, noisemakers, confetti and exotic drinks.

What a blast. Laughed so hard my sides ached all night. This cruise was fun, exciting, beautiful, delicious and all around perfect. We have been on 9 cruises with #10 this weekend, on 5 cruise lines. This was by far the best ship and best cruise line. Our favorite cruise though was to Alaska. Hope this gives you some idea. If you have any other questions, post them here and I will look up my cruise journal and try to answer them. Good luck with your decision.

[jaschem1]

Thank you so much. I will continue the replies. Being they have a specialty resturant, the food will be fine. There will be enough to choose from. Also, our Alaskan cruise was our favorite too. We loved the glaciers, which we took a helicopter and landed on fresh bear tracks. What a luxury. We loved panning for gold. Next time we will include the rail tours.

Thanks all, Janice