Raj.K

Can I please know from cruisers who have recently disembarked from the port of Taranto when to book our flights from Bari or Brindisi at the earliest?

The itinerary for our cruise states that the ship arrives in Taranto at 9am. Allowing for transfers by pre-booked Taxi, what would be the earliest flight we can book from Bari or Brindisi please? I think bag-drop-off closes about 60 minutes before departure for flights to even within Italy/UK/Europe. 

On ships without Yacht Club, the Premium SUITE AUREA seem not to include the drinks package. How much on top of the cruise fare does the unlimited drinks package (similar to that with Yacht Club) cost please?

We are looking forward to hearing from recent cruisers too. We are booked to cruise in June 2024.

On 11/18/2023 at 3:15 PM, At7Seas said:

 

Sure, flying to Genoa is an option. Just that it is a small regional airport and in opposite to Milan and even Nice you have only a very few direct international flights. So you need to have luck getting a direct flight. If you need to change plane in Rome you might end up paying more for travelling longer compared to taking the train from Milan, distance between Genoa and Milan is just about 150 km.

Thank you @At7Seas @SunnyDe and @dritan for all your input.

I have booked a direct flight to Genoa. Thank you. Just need to work out how best to get back from Taranto (please see my post above).

Ship arrives at Taranto at 9am. What is the earliest we can catch a flight from Bari or Brindisi please? We will check-in online but will need to check-in luggage. We can pre-book van/taxi as we are a small group. (late afternoon flights are so expensive that paying for a taxi will be worth it!).

Would a flight from Bari or Brindisi at 12pm be risky?

Also, what is the latest time we can disembark from the ship at Taranto? There are cheaper flights very late at night but that will mean loitering at the airport with luggage. So if we can stay on the ship for as long as we can, then the waiting time at the airport will be minimised.

On 12/17/2023 at 4:15 PM, Raj.K said:

Are we to expect new itineraries to be published for 2024 still? If so, does anyone know when we should expect? 

 

In particular, I only see a few Asia cruises.

 

I am required to seek annual leave approval well in advance as I cannot take holidays during certain times of the year or when some of my colleagues are on holiday.

 

 

Any guesses please? Will there be any 7+ night cruises this summer in Asia/Japan in July or August?

On 8/1/2023 at 4:22 PM, Cruiseforever11 said:

Can anyone remember when MSC released the Japan cruises that are on sale now? Has anyone heard or know when or if they are releasing Autumn 2024 and into 2025? 

It seems even the summer itinerary isn't published. There are a few short sailings but nothing in July or August. 

On 1/18/2024 at 1:47 AM, Cruzinforpeace*** said:

I just read our cruise ticket information and it says that we cannot bring scissors on board.  I like to crochet while cruising and I need to bring a small pair of scissors (4 inches or less). Does anyone know if they were able to bring scissors on board and if so would it be better to bring them in my checked luggage? I don’t even want to waste my time, asking the customer service reps. They will just parrot whatever is written on their website so I thought I’d ask in the forum to see if anybody has any experience with this type of thing.  I’ve never had a cruise line say scissors were completely prohibited but I guess MSC is truly a different animal.
 

We had all but one of our suitcases delivered to the room. After the ship left the port, in the evening, I was asked to go to an holding area to identify our suitcase, asked to open it so security can inspect contents (as x ray had shown a pair of scissors in it)! 

5 minutes ago, eric4395 said:

Apologies this should be MSC Divina I enquired about.

Though the YC services and privileges are the same on all ships where this class of cabins are offered, the YC restaurant is at he opposite end of the ship (to where the YC cabins and the lounge is) on the Fantasia Class Ships (Fantasia, Divina, Preziosa and I think Splendida (I have not been on)).

If you have mobility challenges this can be a little inconvenient, otherwise not too much of a bother particularly if the weather is warm/nice as you can simply walk across the open deck areas to the other end. Otherwise, you'll have to come down a few decks to the decks where the shops/bars are and then walk to the other end to take the lift up again. 

Hope that makes sense.

We have only been with MSC in YC (Fantasia (1), Divina (1), Preziosa (5), Seaview (1) and Virtuosa  (1)), so not able to compare. But food is generally good and well presented. Not exactly fine dining Michelin star though is my view, but close.

Amongst the things you might enjoy include: attentive service, unlimited drinks (but each drink to a max value, not sure if $14 or $16), unlimited access to the spa, priority boarding/tenders, exclusive lounge, restaurant, pool etc. 

Are we to expect new itineraries to be published for 2024 still? If so, does anyone know when we should expect? 

In particular, I only see a few Asia cruises.

I am required to seek annual leave approval well in advance as I cannot take holidays during certain times of the year or when some of my colleagues are on holiday.

On 11/12/2023 at 11:58 PM, dritan said:

I have disembarked from Taranto last summer.  I checked train times on trenitalia and was able to walk to the station from the ship ( about 10-15 mins), got the train to Bari and then a tram/train to the airport from there.  ( the train to Bari was around 80 mins and then 15 min journey time from Bari Centrale to the airport.  Not too bad.  Costa did not offer a shuttle to Bari.

 

I have also booked a cruise that is starting in Taranto next year.  We are flying into Bari the afternoon before and catching the train to Taranto and staying overnight there. 

 

I've done the journey to Savona many times and most regularly get a flight to Milan and either stay near airport overnight  and get a Costa shuttle from airport to ship the next day.  Or I stay in Milan if we are staying a few nights and catch the train to Savona directly from there.  

 

I also love the option of Nice for a short pre cruise stay.  I've got the train to Savona from Nice and it's a beautiful journey.  I've also got the Costa shuttle from Savona to Nice airport and it's a stunning way to end the holiday. 

Thank you. 

Flights to Genoa are not showing yet for June 2024. Will this be an option to Savona?

4 hours ago, SunnyDe said:

I would always advise arranging flights and transfers through your travel agent/Costa where possible, so that they are responsible for getting you to and from the ship on time. But I recently returned from a cruise departing from Savona and did not have this option (it was a last minute booking). So I decided to travel to Savona five days earlier than cruise departure and explore the area. I found flights from Manchester to Genoa. I pre-booked all train travel via Trainline (the app seemed easier than Trenitalia) including Genoa airport to Savona. The first part of that journey is a five min bus transfer from the airport to Genoa station, then by train to Savona. Tickets were about £6 each, Italian train tickets are cheap. Bear in mind, you will only have 5-15 mins to get from the bus stop at the railway station to the platform - ideally you need 15mins to find the lifts and the right platform. When you get to Savona, there are taxis which will take you from the train station to the port for £15-£20. A wise taxi driver will drop you at the embarkation point by the harbour rather than go through to the tunnels as embarkation day creates queues of traffic. We stayed in Savona for two days, then two days at Ventimiglia as it’s easy to get a train into Nice from there. We didn’t miss any of our pre-booked trains but it wasn’t easy lugging around cruise sized cases! I had printed out all the train tickets which meant I didn’t need to “check in” on the machines on the trains/bus. But if you are using electronic or open tickets, do remember to do this. The ticket inspectors are many in number and will fine anyone who has not used those machines onboard. It happened to others on the same bus as us. Anyway, this issue, plus lugging cases up and down carriages and the risk of missing trains, finding the right platform and the lifts - all very good reason for getting your transfers included when you book. Also it was hard work trying to guess how long it would take to get through passport control etc or to get a taxi. I often overestimated the time to be safe and as a result spent a lot of time waiting and drinking coffee in Savona railway station, I certainly know my way around that station now!

Thank you for all the detail 🙏

53 minutes ago, Island2Dweller said:

Taxi will need a mortgage

😂

Flights to Genoa not showing for the month of June 2024 yet. Will look for trains from Nice and Milan too. 

11 hours ago, Oggiabordo said:

The drive from Nice to Savona along the coast is beautiful !

Thank you.

Would you say take a taxi/bus/train from Nice to Savona? 

Any insights on how good/bad and value for money of the speciality restaurants please on the Fascinosa? Can suite guests use their drinks package in the speciality restaurants?

I think the answer is book via TA for a better price. Ensure that the TA is very responsive and has excellent customer service.

Any tips on the best way to get to/from the ports in Savona and Taranto from the London, UK please? We are looking at travel early June 2024.

Thank you.

On 7/4/2023 at 6:02 PM, Ryan82 said:

With the diamond card can you choose either Butchers Cut or The Galaxy Restaurant for your complimentary dinner?

I think you can. We decided to book the "duo package" well in advance of the cruise which gave us dinner at both Butchers Cut and Galaxy and used the complimentary dinner for a second night at Butchers Cut.

I have not been on a Grand Suite with Costa. What is it like, say on the Fascinosa?

How does it compare to Yacht Club on MSC, Haven on NCL or Celebrity Retreat?

34 minutes ago, At7Seas said:

Sounds similar to my case, just that at some point Costa gave free cruises as extra if I booked again within a given timeframe. Exactly this limited time was running out in my case. In the very end the right Costa branch called me back. I suppose that in this case you need to book directly with Costa if you decide to take the OBC and your TA will remain out of this booking.

Thank you.

I'll wait to hear from the TA and take it from there. It seems the TA price will be better even if I don't get the OBC. Will wait and see.

I went on Costa in 2019 for the very first time (last minute booking) and so only a balcony cabin was available. I was to have tried their Grand Suite in 2020 but this was the cruise that was cancelled.

I wanted to try the Grand Suite to see how different it is to MSC's Yacht Club and RCI's Grand Suites. We have only cruised in Yacht Club with MSC (10 cruises and so Diamond Members). If the price is close to MSC'c I may as well just get the refund from Costa and not bother booking with Costa again.  

A cruise was cancelled during the pandemic and so I have a voucher for the deposit plus onboard spending credit via a voucher.

I am told by Costa that the voucher cannot be used with a Travel Agent and the On board credit will not be available if the voucher cannot be used. So they say that if the travel agent is offering a good price, I can ask for a refund of the deposit and directly book with the agent. 

So it turns out I need to workout what's best value for money.

I have booked all my Costa Cruises directly with Costa, but booked RCI and MSC mainly via Travel Agents who give me a discount on top of any loyalty discounts. 

Like other cruise companies, can a booking made direct with Costa be transferred to a travel agent, with the Costa Club discounts? 

We have just returned from a cruise on the Preziosa (Hamburg - Norway 15nights - 19 June to 4th July). We decided to take a taxi from the airport to the port. Taxi driver will ask if you want the toll road or travel via the city. We went via the city as I understand it is slightly cheaper (no toll) but a few minutes extra travel time. It only took us around 40 - 45 minutes at EUR 50 each way. 

As we were 4 adults travelling with many suitcases, we needed an Estate car with large boot space. Saloons, Estates and mini vans were all readily available outside the airport. Don't know if a Saloon car would have been any cheaper.

On 7/4/2023 at 6:46 PM, Ryan82 said:

Cruise is August 6th so maybe I will have to call. Although its on Preziosa and that doesn't use the App. Maybe when I can print etickets it will have diamond on them. Who knows 😁

If you booked via a TA you will need to contact them and they will sort this out with MSC and for your tickets to be issued about a week before the cruise (or reissued prior to the cruise).