Costa Crociere Reviews 293

What was great, was the fact that the ship (Costa Venezia) was not fully booked. Since covid they kept the maximum of passengers on 50% which we loved. We wouldn't go if there were the actual 5200 people on board of this ship!! Even now at times it was still very busy, especially at deck 10, the Lido restaurant. What caused large queues there was the fact that you weren't allowed to dish your own plate so you had to tell the cooks what you wanted. No fun to wait in line for 30-45 minutes so we moved to Canal Grande restaurant were we had our own table and a 4 or 5 course menu that was being served. Sittings were at 19.00 and 21.30 hrs. The Costa cards worked great with (dis)embarkation and at the bars etc. We had an inside cabin on deck 2 which was small but good and clean. Luckily no noise from the hallways at all and also we noticed almost nothing when sailing at sea. Due to the attack in Istanbul on 13 November the itenerary was changed and we unfortunately skipped Istanbul and Izmir and moved to Bodrum. Got Rhodes instead and then Mykonos, Pyraeus (Athens) and back to Istanbul. Disembarkation and luggage was well organised. Luggage had to be put outside of your cabin the previous night before midnight and you found it back in the cruiseterminal after disembarkation. Elevators were very great, never seen a system like that! Animation team was enthusiastic and did their utmost. Not all shows in the theatre were great but overall OK. Shows took about 30-40 minutes. There were hostesses of many nationalities with daily office hours and shows and information were also on the TV. Also in the Costa app and in the daily journal outside of the cabin there was lots of information to be found. The pools were very small and very cold, only the jacuzzi's were heated. What was very weird is that in the disembarkation meeting, our Dutch hostess asked for a review with a 9 or a 10 because in America, the numbers 7 and 8 are still very disappointing and the team really needed a 9 or a 10. What the heck?! Asking for a good grade?? Let people decide for themselves, don't be fake!
Overall, we had a special first experience with Costa Cruises as it was our very first cruise ever.

In the Dining Room, food is not tasty at all. In the buffet restaurant, you line up for everything, tea, coffee, water. The kinds of bread has not changed anywhere for 10 days, no verity at all, buffet mainly same with exception of different pastas daily which are all the same taste. In the school cafeterias food is better verity. Only 1 kind of cheese 10 days long, sometimes none.
If you do not buy shore excursions, Costa dumps you on a port with mainly no shuttle no taxi available. You have to walk miles to get off the port. Casablanca, a disaster, taxi drivers are all crooks, they scream shout to sell you 50€ per person city tour in old dirty cabs, city is dirty dusty and smelly. I was in Costa 4 years ago, the difference is like day and night. I will not sail on Costa again. Carnival bought Costa and cut down on everything. We didn’t enjoy it at all.

Just got back from a cruise on diadem.Never again.First four days spent trying to get to my cabin on deck 2.had to go to deck 1 walk along then back up to deck 2 every entrance to my cabin was blocked of.my friend and I are both disabled and unable to walk far.Eventually they moved us to deck six.Much easier.Then on a trip in Naples on returning to the ship ,when my walker was taken from the coach the front wheel was broken so impossible to use.Then the fun started two people from reception were very rude and unhelpful.They spoke to us as if we were crazy.We may be old but not senile.So the cruise was ruined.I will not be booking with costa again.Disgusted

Hi,
We had booked a cruise with Costa Cruises for Northern Europe in September.
We also booked the flights (non refundable) for this cruise since it was not going to leave from my country.
Some months after we received an email notifying us that the cruise is cancelled.
I made a claim with Costa to claim the flights.
This was done in April 2022 (via emails and telephone calls).
Every time I chase for the refund they tell me:
"We totally understand your feelings and we are very sorry about the delays.
Our accounting department will manage your refund as soon as possible."
Now its been almost 4 months when originally they told me it should take 40 days.

Is anyone else experiencing same situation?

Thanks,
Jean

Costa Toscana 10-17 June 2022 Mediterranean. Service, meals, staff product knowledge and information led to this being a stressful and unsatisfactory cruise. More stress is now being incurred by having to deal with a very poorly trained customer service team who have not given due consideration to my direct claim, answered all points raised or even bothered to investigate some of the more serious issues. Here is the first email sent to them listing concisely the most important issues - there were others but, I felt that these were the most relevant and I have given praise where diserved . Their replies have been mostly irrelevant, hostile, virtually calling me a liar and they are now refusing to address the issues or reply further - disgusting!!!.:-

"After looking forward so much to our cruise, it is with regret that I have to inform you that things were not all as they should have been.

The first restaurant, L'Anfore, we were allocated had a 21:30 sitting instead of 21:00 but this would have been OK except our order was not even taken and no drinks were offered until 22:00. When received the food was not up to the standard I would usually expect from Costa. We reported our concerns to Jesus the Maitre'd and the waiter, and we were promised a better experience the following night. Unfortunately, although the service was a little quicker the food was really not good particularly the so-called Paella which was returned uneaten by our friend who never leaves food. I appreciate that tastes vary but, this was not the issue the quality of the cooking was sub-standard. We advised of our dissatisfaction and went to reception to request a change. It seemed that there were almost too many staff in this small restaurant but, that none of them were being given any real direction - it felt like a training ground for both serving staff and the chef.



We were moved to a 19.00 sitting at La Maramma which was an improvement with regard to organisation, service and most meals until our final night. It appears that the ship were hosting an educational visit to the detriment of their paying guests. We were kept waiting over an hour to receive our antipasto. Some dishes had to be returned as inedible and alternatives requested, the staff did not explain to guests awaiting the next sitting that there was a problem with their service so we were rudely applauded by other passengers when we finally left the restaurant. We were not the only table affected by this disgusting situation.

On the whole the food on the buffet was better than the evening meals offered both in quality, choice and temperature.

Generally a lot of staff training is still required on this ship - none of the serving staff appeared to know their product hence me continually having to insist that we received items included in our package.

Information was lacking - with nothing showing on the daily program we were asked to attend an information meeting for disembarkation with just 10 minutes notice. I assisted my disabled Mother and our elderly friend to get to the meeting area as quickly as possible but, although only 5 minutes later than requested, nobody was there to give us any information. We asked at reception and arranged dis-embarkation for 09.00 and were merely told to leave our luggage outside the door before 01:00, meet on deck 6 to dis-embark on deck 3. At no time were we then advised we needed to collect our luggage and it seemed clear that it would, as is usually the case, be delivered for collection in the terminal. Plenty of staff showed us to our shuttle and not one mentioned or queried the fact that we did not have luggage with us. Leaving my Mother in the terminal our 85 year old friend and I were required to return to the ship to collect our luggage, I asked for assistance but, was given none. This is disgusting - our friend was quite unwell from the additional exertion and the increasing heat of the day. Elderly and disabled should not expect to have to transfer their luggage. In addition this was done with no consideration for safety with luggage blocking the aisles of the shuttle bus.

There were other irritating occurrences that should not have occurred but, they are not as significant as the aforementioned. It has put us off booking with Costa again and we feel that we deserve a fair refund in recognition of the lack of dinner service and information as well as assistance when disembarking the ship.

On the plus side the cleaning staff and entertainment could not be faulted.

I believe that a fair recognition of both our dissatisfaction which marred our longed for holiday, and the disgusting way we were treated during the final evening and when dis-embarking, would be 200 euros each.

I trust you will reply to us as quickly as possible."

I am so disappointed- it’s the higher management that’s the problem! No decisions on the chalk face can be made so there’s a “herd” mentality. The poor workers in the ships are trying their best but it’s the management that needs re-educating.

Costa Cancelled my familys cruise just 3 weeks after they confirmed it. They didnt inform us about it. I realized it in the Costa app when the Port of origin was changed from Stockhol to Savona. Called them and they didn have any idea of why the didnt informed us about it. 2 months and waiting for my money back.
As many travel companies Costa try to borrorw the customers money for free. I have informed Costa that i demand 18% extra on my payed bill for the service of borrow my money.

Never Costa Again. Shold change name to Borrowa Cruises.

Cruise nr: 27105670

One month before the cruise you suddenly decide that we won't be able to take it, unless we buy a return ticket with you for an additional 900€ per person. Which we did not even need. Like at all. We have booked this cruise more than 2 years ago. And a month before the trip you do this? What a great move. You wouldn't even explain anything at all, only saying that it is «an internal decision». And would not ever speak to me directly, referring to the agency I have booked through. Which, by the way, did not get any useful information out of you either.

I have tried to at least get the plane tickets refunded that we have already bought to get to Italy. 118€. You would not even do that. I think that this is absolutely disgraceful for a company as big as you and this was a truly terrible experience.

1) Last minute idiotic «internal decisions», which don't make any sense and which totally screw up somebody's big plans.

2) No decency to at least explain the decision, nor talk directly to the customer.

3) Wouldn't even compensate the financial loss (which is peanuts for a company with billions in revenue), let alone compensation for a TRULY inconvenient situation.

DIS-GUS-TING.

Still waiting for my refund 78 days after my “free”
cancellation ?
I get polite answers when I write, but every time “thank you for your patience”
This was my second cancellation during the pandemic, first time i had to wait almost 6 months for my refund.
Advice: Do not book, do not pay anything before you are quite sure you want to go.

To all people considering Costa Cruise.
My uncle in Denmark had his trip cancelled by Costa in april 2020, and despite having been in contact with Costa for more than 8 months he still havent received his refund as promised.
I strongly advise AGAINST purchasing cruises at Costa. You will never get your money back if something goes wrong!!!!

Barcelona to Rio on the Fascinosa far exceeded my expectations. Service in bars and restaurants was very good - the crew liked you talking to them (which we did) and I’m sure we received better service as a consequence. Much more informal than the Princess & Cunard cruises I’ve been on, with 3:4 gala nights over the 16 night cruise where you could choose to dress more formally if you wanted to. Quality of food was very good - however if you choose to eat in the buffet everyday and pile your plate with everything available then you will likely find it repetitive! Entertainment in the bars (singers/bands/piano players were excellent) and had a real Brazilian vibe. However the entertainment in the theatre was generally disappointing. Shows are not variety performances and generally consisted of one act for approx 40 minutes. There were two standout performances - the two tenors and an acrobatic act. Another downside are the trips. The tour of North Lanzarote was very good and well priced but trips generally are too expensive and could be done by yourself at half the price. Cabins were of a good quality and again cabin service was good. There weren’t many British people on. board but that was no problem - everyone spoke English and announcements were also made in English). There is also an English liaison available particularly for British guests who was also very good

We were on a Mediterranean Cruise savona, Naples, Palermo, Ibiza, Mallorca, Barcelona.

We had chosen the outside cabin and drink package.

Everything is about getting more money out of the tourists. Those with a drink package are not as interesting to serve as those who have to pay for the drinks. (Something with commission)
In the buffet restaurant, the food is far below standard in relation to the American and everything is on plastic service.
Huge human chaos.
Internet on board is expensive.
We got about 5 hours of continuous sleep when we lived on 8 decks at the back just inside the pool bar where we were constantly awakened by chairs being pushed around.
The staff were passive when we complained and only after we turned the biss seriously after 5 days were we moved the last night.

They are a large commercial factory. They only lack beach vendors and flower sellers.
All announcements in the speakers are for you to spend more money.
There were very few serviceminded staff on board. Typically those you gave drink money.
You feel like cattle in a huge cattle factory.

Exterior cabin is recommended as you can have an open door at night if you live in a quiet place.

My wife and I have just ended a 3 week long cruise with our 10 year old daughter travelling with Costa Deliziosa from the Caribbean across the Atlantic sea to the Mediterranean. It was the first time we ever tried a cruise ship and we were looking forward to a fantastic trip. Unfortunately that was not how it ended and we sit here now 3 weeks later with a disappointed feeling towards Costa. The trip was full of a number of big disappointments and a feeling of really bad service from Costa’s side. The main disappointment was the issues and problems we found ourselves in because we travelled with a child, which is the reason I am writing this complaint.
Now I know that most of the people travelling a cruise are elderly people and that was as expected. I believe there were about 10 children in about 2000 passengers aboard the ship. But what we expected was some activities and facilities for both adults and children. The 2 pools were extremely small and the water was so cold that my daughter was freezing after a couple of minutes. Only a very few people actually used the pools. Other than that there were some ping pong tables and foosball tables that were not in the best state and you had you had to pay to use the ping pong table. There was an arcade room on the ship but the machines were not working, so we asked an employee, a very arrogant young woman, why it did not work and when it would be fixed. She just said that there was an issue and we would have to wait and see. When I insisted on an answer she took me very irritated to her manager, which could explain that they were facing IT issues and they couldn’t say when it would work. The week later it was working, but when my daughter and I paid to start a machine, it went black and I spent the rest of afternoon explaining the staff that it went black and that I wanted my money back. The ship had a club for children between the age of 4 and 12 and the employees working there were very nice, but since there were no other kids the same age of our daughter, it was a little boring to stay there. Other than that there were no other activities for our daughter. Costa was advertising for a special ride with a 3D car on the ship, but that was closed for maintenance during the old trip.
When we booked the cruise we ordered a drinking package for our daughter so she could drink what she wanted for lunch and dinner. Now our daughter does not drink soft drinks, but would like juice instead. Not expensive fresh pressed juice, just normal plain juice and we thought we had that covered with the drinking package. At lunch we were than told that they didn’t serve juice and had to go to the bars. We then went to the bar to get juice but were told that we had to pay for the juice. We then argued with the bar personal which was not very friendly and were told we had to pay and take it up with hospitality service desk. We than spoke to them, but they just said that it was included and we should just say that. They did not want to do it. At evening the same thing happened. The waiter said that juice was not included in the drinking package and we were then arguing again. We finally got a juice but were told to go the hospitality desk again. When we talked to them we were told that the waiter was wrong and that they had misunderstood but the next day we had the same problem and we had to argue again. That evening I was very angry when we talked to the hospitality service desk again. The people there didn’t really wanted to do anything and said that we had to talk to the restaurant. After insisting we finally got to talk to a manager that got hold of the restaurant manager and we were promised that it would be fixed now. Finally my daughter could get juice at the dinner. But at lunch we had the same problem and were told to go to bar. Here we argued with some very rude bar people one time and another time, they charged us without saying so. We complained a couple of times more to the hospitality desk without any luck and was finally told by a manager that we could pay and then come to the desk and get it refunded. But my daughter was now not very proud of the situation and she felt that it was her problem. So we stopped the discussion about the lunch. Like my daughter said “It is okay with the juice, I will just drink water”.
But we were shocked of the treatment from the staff and how rude some of the personal was. The people in the bars and the ones serving drinks at lunch were so rude and several times they were shaking their heads because we argued. There was a feeling that the process was more important than the customer. The hospitality desk was more focused on getting rid of you and we were so frustrated that people didn’t want to listen to us and help us. They tried to push the problem to you instead of solving it. How difficult could it be to give my daughter a costa card so she could get her juice when she wanted to.
Normally when we are staying at all-inclusive resorts there is ice cream. Most kids like to eat ice cream when they are on vacation. The Costa ship only had one place where you could buy scoops of ice cream and not very cheap. It was not included. At dinner the food was quite good but the desserts were not very children friendly, so we asked if our daughter could get ice cream instead, but our waiter said that that was not possible. After a week we had seen several other people eat ice cream at dinner and we asked again, but got the same answer. Some days later we again saw people eat ice cream and we then went to the restaurant manager and complained and suddenly my daughter could get ice cream. That was good but also unacceptable that the service is so poor towards a family with a child, so she only got ice cream at dinner the last week.
It was not because we wanted something extra and something more expensive that we had paid for. We just asked for juice and ice cream for our child. That we had to use so much time arguing and complaining was really shocking and the lack of understanding and missing service destroyed the first part of the cruise.
At the same time the ship missed going to the Bahamas, 2 places in the Dominican Republic and to Cadiz in Spain did not help on the experience. We know that it was because of weather and not Costas fault, but the 4 places was the most interesting places of the cruise and the places where we had bought excursions, so the cruise ended up being a big disappointment. Of course for the places we missed to see but mainly because of the bad service from Costa towards a family travelling with a child and the general service on board the ship where most is excluded and that you have to pay extra for most things.
We got a 20 % discount on our next Costa cruise because of the missed ports, but only to be used in 2018, so what is that worth. And frankly that I don’t think we will ever choose Costa again. And I will not recommend families travelling with kids or people who expect good service to choose Costa.

In 2011, my wife and I went on our first cruise together – Costa Luminosa – which to this day remains a memorable trip. The year later, we were supposed to have been on a larger family trip on Costa Concordia around the Mediterranean – something that was sadly obstructed 2 weeks prior to departure, due to the horrible accident. Costa quickly relocated everyone and we settled with a trip to the Emirates instead and boarded Costa Favolosa in Dubai, although we had to pay more than double for the flight tickets (from Denmark).

So all in all we have had 2 very pleasant cruises with Costa and therefore we went ahead and booked a journey from Venice with Costa Deliziosa just after Easter (this year). Obviously our expectations from previous trips were high – or at least that Costa would live up to the standards of the 2 other vacations.

But sadly this was FAR from the case… I don’t know if Costa is kind of in free fall after the massive amount of money they have had to pay for years of court cases regarding Concordia, insurance payments, loss of a ship and getting it out of the water, but one thing is for sure – a cruise with Costa is NOTHING like it used to be – and that is highly disappointing to a returning guest, who even brought other guests to your cruise for this trip.

To start with, it is very clear that the service level has dropped tremendously! The majority of the staff is far from welcoming and happy – probably their 2 most important tasks, in order to make sure the guests have the time of their lives. And let me remind you here that I am ONLY writing things, which have decreased (direct comparison) to our 2 earlier trips. And it honestly seems like the staff (in almost all positions) just want to get it over with and go back to their families.

Then, one of the highlights about these cruises used to be the amazing after-dinner shows in the impressive theater - but not anymore… Before, there were many different acts, which would perform something new every day. This meant stand up shows, different singers, different types of dancers, puppeteers, etc. – the list goes on. Now instead, the same dancers and singers basically perform every single night – shows that all are kind of the same and without a proper thread throughout them. Furthermore, there are also VERY limited bands to play at the bars on the ship, which meant that you would basically follow the same 3 acts around from bar to bar – and several bars would be empty most of the time. It is not like we, as customers, pay less than 5 years ago for instance – but as returning customers we actually have the possibility to compare.

Smaller things that have been adjusted are: Drinks packages include way less drinks etc. now; for instance fewer cocktails, no freshly squeezed juice, nothing included from the chocolate bar (not even hot chocolate) and more. And outside the drinks packages are things like the pizza desk and breakfast in the room – things ripped away from customers expecting the same things as last time.

That brings me onwards to when the ship is docked – we had very limited time in each place, but people were almost forced to buy excursions in order not to lose valuable time in each place, as you would otherwise not be able to leave the ship till an hour later (out of perhaps 4-5 our till you have to return to the ship). The ship has several exits and if you have to be transported by a smaller boat to shore, then at LEAST have 1 exit, where people without excursions can make a line to exit – the alternative is simply too low and greedy.

Then comes the last thing, but actually the worst of them all! A small phrase on the contract states that a “Service charge” will have to be paid at the end of the cruise. It doesn’t state for what or how much, just that you can check in the “yearly brochure” on their website – no URL link or anything. When buying a cruise, you expect everything to be included – that is the whole idea, and if the price of the cruise is too cheap to sell, well, then the fees should have been added to the total to start with, so that I, as a customer could consider if I wanted to pay that or not go.
But instead, a LOT of customers had this less pleasant surprise on the ship – and I can say “a lot”, since I spoke to many about it (the queue at the Helpdesk was full of people angry about it). And I am not talking pocket money. No, 10 euros per person per day – that equals 280 euros if you travel with 2 kids and 140 if you travel as a couple. People were furious onboard and swore NEVER to return to Costa. And what made it even worse was that the Helpdesk neither had the “yearly brochure” in English nor knew ANYTHING about what the 10 euros was actually for!

I don’t know if the Costa company is in general doing very bad, since they have to lower their standards in several aspects and surprise their customers with an (onboard) unexplainable charge, well hidden in a brochure that cannot even be delivered in English. And we are talking 200.000 euros that Costa earns with this “small addition” per WEEK! But I have for years recommended Costa to many around me, but this recent cruise has only left me upset and with a terrible taste in my mouth – why had I even recommended this trip to our friends in the first place?!

I hope to get proper feedback on this post and wish to one day be pleasantly surprised by a cruise ship once again.

Rip off
Badly explained
I tried to get a refund before I left and on my return. Woman at reception desk rude and unhelpful. Once I emailed I was offered a mi inal discount off my next cruise
Apparently you're supposed to go to the Internet centre if you're unsure how to use it. Th centre is hardly ever open and who wants ta to do that on holiday ! I think myself and my teenage children wifi savvy. It's set up in a way to make money out of you. My wifi bill ended up being about e150 for 1 week !! No wonder the cruise was cheap.

Also mayhem in the main restaurant at night. You can't book a table , you can etc. Then there's no table. Nightmare.

Apart from that. - great cruise and holiday !

Be aware that Costa charges different prices for the exactly the same cabin depending on which country you live/book from. I made a survey last autumn 2016. Most expensive for residents in Scandinavia, Switzerland and Austria. Cheapest in Romania, Serbia and Italy.
Example: France price € 1895, Italy 1468, Romania 748!

Very disappointed. After a great 2015 Christmas cruise, our 2016 cruise aboard Diaderma was a huge disappointment. Meal times were nothing short of a cattle market. Christmas Eve being the worst meal I've had in a long time. We ate in the Adularia Restaurant which was clearly unable to cater for the number of guests. Queues of frustrated guests trying to get a table. Once we did finally get a table, the meals came out luke warm, some even cold. The delay in between courses sometime approached 1 hour. On one evening after being left for over an hour waiting for dessert, I tried approaching the restaurant manager who clearly didn't want to know and walked away mid conversation! Very poor customer service. Out of 7 nights on board we had one decent meal - and that was when we paid extra for it at the Samsara restaurant. With the exception of the professional dance troop, the evening dancing entertainment was also poor. Second rate tacky music circa 1970/1980. I'm sure Costa can do better - they just missed the mark on this cruise.