drsel

Yes, I am sure that MSC entertainment is much better than Costa.

Costa Med has poor reviews & Costa ships in general are not in the same league as the American ships (RCCL, Celeb, Carnival, Norwegian).

https://www.cruisecritic.com/reviews/review.cfm?ShipID=281

But would the entertainment on the 2nd Splendida cruise be a carbon copy of the 1st cruise, being in the same region ???

Onboard entertainment ia ALWAYS the winner!. The ports are secondary & usually the best place to be is on the ship!

Also, other cities can be done by land tours (much cheaper).

Only problem is Costa Mediterranea is much more expensive than Splendida, but I doubt that it is better than MSC Splendida

Costa Mediterranea 7N itinerary is Dubai (1N)--sea--Muscat (2N)--Sir Bani--Abu Dhabi--Dubai (1N)

1st cruise MSC Splendida 7N itinerary is Dubai (1N)--Abu Dhabi--Sir Bani--sea--Muscat--Khor Al--Dubai (1N)

2nd cruise MSC Splendida 7N itinerary is Dubai (1N)--Abu Dhabi--Sir Bani--sea--Bahrain--Doha--Dubai (1N)

That is why I am wondering if I should do the 2nd cruise on the SAME Splendida ship after 1 week (to see Bahrain, Doha) or another ship Costa Mediterranea-- for different entertainment, (but same ports--Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sir Yas Bani, Muscat, Khor Al)

Fabulous, thank you so much

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Thanks so much.

1a) How many nights had shows on a 7 day cruise?

1b) What were the activities on the nights without shows?

2) Since early dining is at 18.30, I assume that the first show would be around 19.30 and a repeat of it at 21.00 for the late diners?

3) It would be boring to do a 2nd cruise and have to watch the exact same shows again

6a) We just loved all 4 shows on Celebrity Constellation, so I understand that Splendida shows are even better?

6b) Were any shows in English ?

7) Kindly upload the daily program guides and activities bulletin

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Hi, We are planning two 7 day cruises from Dubai, with a 1 week gap between the 2 cruises.

One cruise covers UAE & Oman, while the other covers UAE, Bahrain & Qatar.

A few questions--

1) Are there 2 GRAND SHOWS of 30 mins EVERY NIGHT?

2) What are the show timings?

3) Will the SAME SHOWS be repeated in the 2nd 7-day cruise, (with a different itinerary / ports) or would the shows be DIFFERENT, cos the itinerary is different.? (Bahrain & Qatar in place of Oman)

4) What are the early & late dinner timings?

5) Did they force you to pay the Euro 10 service charge per person per day or could you REMOVE it & tip as you please?

6) Were the evening/night shows of Broadway or Las Vegas standard (like Celebrity, RCCL, Norwegian) or much inferior?

7) Besides shows, what were the other organized ACTIVITIES, lectures, classes, games & programs?

8) How was the FOOD in the buffet & main dining room?

Thanks, drsel:)

Your address Pin code will be a problem and won't be accepted on another country site

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Its the attractive glossy brochures that drive their sales. Its their marketing tool. I get really excited seeing them. They get me really in the mood for cruising!

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Please give all 3 prices, American, Belgium and Costa email offer

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Was the Costa email offer cheaper than the (cheap) Belgium price?

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Dear experts

What is the of each & every activity at Chankanaab ?

Zip line

Laser tag

Unlimited buffet lunch

Unlimited drinks

Photos of snorkelling, kissing the sea-lion, dolphin, manatee, etc

Guided tour of the Botanical garden

Tequila factory & tasting

Shared minivan or taxi (per person)

Dolphin encounter/ swim/ Royal swim

Manatee encounter/swim

If the OBC u have is more than the price drop, then do NOT change to the lower fare without OBC.

Cos u will lose your OBC albeit paying a lower fare.

Dear expeienced cruisers,

Does anyone know--

When is Carnival likely to have the next More the Merrier sale?

The last one was 10--12 Jan 2017

Thanks, drsel

Costa prices are hugely DIFFERENT for different continents & regions.

Dear Costa expert cruisers,

I notice Costa prices are hugely DIFFERENT for different continents & regions (for the same cabin, same ship, same sailing).

Any idea why this DISCRIMINATION?

Do other cruise lines (Royal, Celebrity, Carnival, Norwegian, MSC, Princess) also have differential pricing for different regions, or is it only Costa?

Thanks, drsel

Thanks, bazbov & GMT.

I notice Costa prices are hugely DIFFERENT for different continents & regions (for the same cabin, same ship, same sailing).

Any idea why this DISCRIMINATION?

Do other cruise lines (Royal, Celebrity, Carnival, Norwegian, MSC, Princess) also have differential pricing for different regions, or is it only Costa?

Costa NeoClassica GRAND SHOWS

Dear experienced Costa cruisers,

We are planning to book a Costa NeoClassica cruise from Mumbai to Male & also the return cruise from Male to Mumbai.

Just wanted to know--

1) Did they force you to pay the COMPULSORY Euro 10 service charge per person per day or could you tip as you please?

2) Were the evening/night shows of Broadway or Las Vegas standard (like Celebrity, RCI) or much inferior?

3) What per cent of nights had GRAND SHOWS, or were the shows held each & every night?

4) Besides shows, what were the other organized ACTIVITIES, lectures, classes, games & programs?

5) How was the FOOD in the buffet & main dining room?

Thanks!

Dear experienced Costa cruisers,

We are planning to book a Costa NeoClassica cruise from Mumbai to Male & also the return cruise from Male to Mumbai.

Just wanted to know--

1) Did they force you to pay the COMPULSORY Euro 10 service charge per person per day or could you tip as you please?

2) Were the evening/night shows of Broadway or Las Vegas standard (like Celebrity, RCI) or much inferior?

3) What per cent of nights had GRAND SHOWS, or were the shows held each & every night?

4) Besides shows, what were the other organized ACTIVITIES, lectures, classes, games & programs?

5) How was the FOOD in the buffet & main dining room?

Thanks!

Quick craps lesson:

On the first roll of a sequence of rolls: 7 or 11 wins, 2, 3 or 12 loses, 4 to 6 or 8 to 10 becomes the "point" for subsequent rolls in the sequence.

 

If there is no win or loss on the first roll, the shooter continues to roll until either the "point" (win) or a 7 (loss) occurs.

 

Then a new sequence begins.

 

You bet either "pass" or "don't pass" right before the beginning of a new sequence. The pass line is betting with the shooter, while the don't pass line is betting against the shooter.

 

The two bets are almost complementary: If pass wins then don't pass loses; if pass loses then don't pass wins - with the exception that if the pass lost due to a 12 on the first roll, the don't pass only ties instead of winning.

 

If the pit boss at roulette is not allowing red/black, they probably will also not allow the pass/don't pass at craps. Of course, the obvious way around either method is to use two people to bet the opposite sides - or were they also objecting to that?

 

At roulette, I wonder what they would do if you put 38 promo chips on each of the numbers including 0 and 00 and then collected 35 regular chips from the winning number!

 

Enjoy

Larry

If the pit boss doesn't allow Red/Black, he certainly won't allow you to put 38 promo chips on each of the numbers including 0 and 00 and then collected 35 regular chips from the winning number!

:)

The same thing happened to several people on our Conquest cruise out of Galveston this past Nov. They were checking the bags very carefully and if you had anything larger than 750 pp it was confiscated.

What if you carry 4 pouches X 180ml each (instead of 1 bottle of 750ml) in your check in bag?

The same thing happened to several people on our Conquest cruise out of Galveston this past Nov. They were checking the bags very carefully and if you had anything larger than 750 pp it was confiscated.

What if you carry 4 pouches X 180ml each (instead of 1 bottle of 750ml) in your check in bag?

Huh? I can't even usually find a similar price much less a 'fraction' of the price. Hell, a simple FLA beach condo can cost me as much for a week as the entire cruise fare.

I guess you haven't done Thailand--Phuket, Ko Samui, Pattaya & Bangkok. Amazing value for money land holiday!

With speed boats to the islands for snorkelling or relaxing.

Picked Port Days because we still have the option of staying on the ship if we wish. :)

But the activities on ship are MUCH LESS on Port days, as compared to Sea days

Easy for us to do the poll. It's sea days all the way. I love the islands and its great to see new things, but the ultimate relaxation are the sea days. And int he last few cruises - as we have already been to many of the islands, we now make a port day into a "sea" day, but just staying on the ship. Many times, the ship is the best entertainment around.

I fully agree!

Thanks for the replies bazbov, G.M.T & tomvet!

I do have some friends in the UK. I'll try booking with my Indian address first. If that doesn't work I'll try putting my friend's address in the UK. Hopefully I'll be able to use my Indian credit card. Otherwise I'll have to use my friend's card.

If I am able to book it somehow is there any risk of being denied boarding at the port?

Thanks again!

Hi, carspg,

I hope you managed to book & enjoy your cruise. Just wanted to know

1) Did you manage to book the Costa cruise from the UK site, using a UK friend's address?

2) Did Costa accept payment from an Indian Credit card?

3) Did Costa let you board without fuss, or did they demand EXTRA PAYMENT?

4) Was there any problem at all at the time of boarding?

5) Did they force you to pay the COMPULSORY Euro 10 tips per person per day?

6) Were the shows of Broadway or Las Vegas standard?

7) What per cent of nights had GRAND SHOWS, or were the shows every night?

8) Besides shows, what were the other organized ACTIVITIES, lectures, classes, games & programs?

9) How was the FOOD in the buffet & main dining room?

Thanks!

Here are a couple of photos of the C1 balconies you requested on your roll call ;):

Thanks for the pics.

How would you compare the organized activities on a port day v/s sea day on Connie? Are they roughly the same, or are there much less activities organized on a port day, in order to entice you to do the shore excursions?

Thanks, drsel