FlyerTalk Forums - Costa -- bad rap?

Costa Victoria -- Eastern Caribbean -- April 8th 2001.

This was my first cruise. I had been "warned" about Costa (after I had made full payment), and was prepared for the worst when I arrived. To make matters worse, I had my parents along, who have sailed twice before, and most recently on the Celebrity Mercury -- a tough act to follow.

Although I had never witnessed the "boarding process" for a cruise before, I am a travel professional. In my opinion, Costa does a great job of getting people on the ship in a timely manner. We only waited about one hour, and were approached twice to see if we had questions, etc.

When we got aboard, I was immediately impressed with the fit & finish. It has an avant -garde Italian look to it. Lots of glass, corlorful fabrics, etc. The ship was stabilized, quiet, blah blah blah -- that stuff didn't concern me much. it was a non issue on this ship.

Our cabin was very clean when we arrived, although there was definately a slight odor of sewer gas in the bathroom -- and in all bathrooms on this ship. Having never been on another cruise, I don't know if this is a fact of life on cruise ships or not. In any case, the bathrooms were very functional, tons of hot water, etc.

Our cabin was about 150 sq ft. This was adaquate for dressing & sleeping, but you definately would not want this size if you intended to spend a lot of time in there.

We went up to deck 11 for the pre departure buffet lunch. This was pretty good. Nothing gourmet -- but tasty nonetheless. We ate under the canopy on the back of the boat -- one of my favorite places.

Dinner is served in one of two dining rooms on the ship. They're both nearly identical. There were always 4-5 appetizer choices, 2 salad choices, one optional pasta course, 4 "daily special" main courses and 2-4 other entrees that are avaialable every day, an optional cheese course, and 4-6 desserts. If it swims in the ocean, or walks on the land, Costa had it on the menu at least once that week. I can recall lobster, veal, lamb, calamari, swordfish, steaks, halibut, oysters, chicken, etc,etc.

The food was on par with some really good resort restaurants I've been to. Everything was well prepared and delicious. Two or three things I ate that week were the best I had ever eaten of that particular food. Two of them were pasta dishes, and the other was a seafood bisque soup. This is an Italian cruise ship, but you could easily go all week without eating any Italian food (I don't know why anyone would do that though!!)

I didn't see any of the entertainment, besides the bands playing in the bars and by the pool. The bands were equivalent to what you'd hire to play at a really nice wedding or corporate function. People who are expecting top notch entertainment might be disappointed, but I'm not the type who would go on a cruise ship to sit and watch that stuff! It's pleasant, but not a high priority for me. I had a great time in the casino, and actually won enough money to pay for my entire trip.

There were a couple of shops, and a beauty parlor on the ship. My mother commented that there were a lot more shops on the Mercury. Again -- I don't care about this stuff, but I saw all types of clothing, logo items, typical duty free items, etc. A t-shirt is cool, but who in the world feels the need to save $1-2 on a bottle of liquor, compared to prices at home, and then haul it thousands of miles? Crazyness. Duty free is for the birds.

The ports were all plesant enough. Old San Juan was worth a couple of hours of my time, but someone (like me) who has been in Europe many times would find it very tame. St Thomas is good for shopping and beaches. St John is stunningly beautiful. It has very large National Parks, and would appeal to the part time tree hugger types (like me). If you want to go camping in the Caribbean, this is the place. Casa de Campo in the Domican Republic is AMAZING. Easily the biggest surprise of the trip, Casa de Campo would be enjoyed by anyone who went there. It's basically a huge resort, with multiple hotels, condos, private homes, an art school, etc etc etc. I was equally surprised by Nassau. Many people told me that Nassau was terrible, so I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Nassau is GREAT. We snuck onto the private beach at the Raddison Cable Beach Resort, and gambled in the casino next door at the Marriott. The Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island would give any hotel in Las Vegas a run for it's money -- it's AWESOME.

Here are some perspectives on Costa. This is definately cruising "Italian Style". This means that things are done in a way that appleals to Europeans. Not BAD, just different. Costa room attendants don't dig through your stuff like they do on other cruise lines (so I've heard), they don't make little towel animals, and they don't make up your room every time you leave for 10 minutes. Europeans would find that creepy!

The service is ATTENTIVE, but inobtrusive. In Europe, if you want something in a restaurant, you snap your fingers and wave -- that's the norm over there. It isn't quite that way on Costa, but you get my drift -- they're trained to cater to European people. I thought it was different, unique and made the trip more interesting. If you've been to Europe, and were disgusted because everything was different compared to home, you should not try Costa. If you'd be interested in experiencing a cruise that caters to the tastes of another culture, Costa is wonderful! I think "different" is a GOOD thing, not a bad thing.

Another point to be made is that Costa is a mid-market cruise line. If Carnial Cruise Line was run by Italians, for the Italians, this is what it would be like. Carnival ain't the Ritz, people! I can afford the Ritz, but I'm not a Ritz type of guy -- get it? Its not about how much it cost, its about VALUE for my money. For the $674 I spent, I give the cruise a "10" on a scale of 10. If I was asked to rank the overall experience compared to all other cruise lines, I'd give them a "7" out of 10, with Crystal, Seaborne, Radisson being a "10", Holland, RCI, Princess, & Celebrity being "8-9", and Carnival, Norwegian, Costa being "7".

The last important consideration is the "parents" rating. As I said, my parents had just been on the Celebrity Mercury, for which they had paid almost DOUBLE what Costa's price was. I was afraid that they'd spend the entire trip comparing the Mercury with the Victoria, and that the Mercury was so much better blah, blah, blah. At the end of the trip they both admitted that they were very skeptical at first, but by the 2nd day had agreed that the Victoria was a better deal for the money. Now it's been 2 months since the cruise, and they're both telling people that not only was it a better value, but that the overall EXPERIENCE was more enjoyable as well.

Have fun! Different is GOOD! Never skip the pasta course! Have breakfast on the back of the ship! Always go to the bow on deck 7 during port manuvers!