gerryuk

Just been looking at Carnival by Costa on the Venezia out of New York. The pricing per cabin is definitely Carnival rates, not Costa. There does not seem to be any option for Costa club members on here to get any perks? Does anybody know if you can use Costas loyalty programme on Carnival?

I am currently silver with 7884 points. I believe i will loose a number of points in April. I did 2 cruises with Costa last year, 15 nights med cruise and 22 nights on Toscana to Dubai. In a couple of weeks i will be back on the Toscana from Dubai to Genoa. A week later i will be doing back to back on Firenze from Rio to Kiel. The chances of me accumulating 30000 points to reach gold are nil. As a silver member i do get 15% off the published cruise fare, as i travel solo this does help to keep the costs down. The other perks include a bottle of sparkling wine when boarding and a gift during the cruise, and a free pizza. One other perks is a cabin upgrade, but the small print makes it impossible for me to get one. Although i did 2 cruises last year, i have booked 3 this year. For me to get an upgrade i would have to book the comfort plus rate which includes the beverage pack. As i hardly drink its not worth it for me to purchase a beverage pack, so no upgrade for me. I am booked on the Costa Toscana 21 night cruise from Dubai to Genoa in March, i paid just over 800 sterling for a outside cabin travelling solo. I would find it impossible to find the same fare with other cruise lines and that is why i stick with Costa. The loyalty programme, although not great, meets my needs.

If cost is an issue then you really cannot beat Costa. You will find that on most Costa cruises you can embark and disembark at most ports across their itinerary. Don't be surprised to see customers with their lifejackets on, at each port of call. Barcelona and Savona in Italy are their main ports, but it wont be a scrum to embark. Rome is a good place to start, don't be put off by the distance to the port, you can get a direct train from the station next to the Vatican for a few euros. The train takes about 50 minutes and there is a free shuttle bus service from the port entrance to the ship. If you want to do Spain towards Greece then you will have to take a longer cruise. I would also take into consideration the weather. In peak summer time it can be stiflingly hot in many ports, and avoid the European school holidays.

Did Barcelona to Dubai on Costa Toscana in November, the ship arrived in Dubai at 07.00. They asked all customers to leave their cabins around 08.00. They did tell everyone that they could remain on the ship until the afternoon. They could use all facilities including getting lunch as long as they did not go back to their cabins. I have heard Costa allowing customers to remain on the ship as late as 16.00 hours, very civilised. My flight from Dubai was in the evening so this was very welcome.

I need a fag.

Cruise lines are selling their own product, travel agents are not, there is a big difference.

Which cruise lines in the UK, mass market or not, can you not book directly with them, via the internet?

You should get the daily schedule in your cabin on the first day for the first days schedule. Its then delivered to your cabin in the evenings for the following day.

You pay 2000 dollars each for you and your partner to go on a cruise, lets say the cruise line pays the agent 11% (could be less, could be more), that's 440dollars going to the agent for 1 transaction, alone. That 440 will more than pay the wages for 1 person working in a call centre in most places in the west, like the US and UK. But cruise lines being cruise lines, would probably employ call centre staff in places like India, and you could easily employ 3 people per week for the amount the agent has got for your own transaction. It would be interesting to know how much a cruise lines like Carnival pays travel agents overall each year.

You could also argue that it would be a kindness for cruise lines to ban alcohol to save peoples livers. Alcohol causes far more problems than smoking has ever done, but it is not happening.

Hypothetically speaking, the cruise lines decide to end their relationships with travel agents. These are tough times for the industry and all the cruise lines decide that their relationship with travel agents, is eating in to their bottom line, financially. There are many posters on here that swear by their travel agents, they can do no wrong from giving obc, to getting upgrades and the like. If you could no longer book your cruise through a travel agent and had to deal directly with the cruise lines, would you still cruise or would call it a day on the high seas, just interested.

You can smoke on the balconies on Costa cruise ships. Even the new ships like Toscana, smoking is permitted on your balcony. Will be interesting to see what the smoking arrangements will be on the newly branded Costa by Carnival ships sailing in the US.

Just an idea, the buyer arranges to pay via their bank on the second - third day of the cruise. If the buyer is on the cruise and does not pay, the seller gets the police to greet them at disembarkation. There are always ways around this.

The cruise line cannot resell the space themselves though, the op holds the tickets for that cabin. If the op cannot sell the tickets on, and the cruise line wont reimburse them, then they will be a now show. I am assuming here, with the ops name and it being P&O tells me that the op is in the UK?. If P&O agree to transfer the names on the ticket then the op should try advertising the tickets at a reasonable discount on sites like P&O Facebook pages and the like.

Not sure its allowed but ask this question on the P&O board on here, you never know somebody might be interested?

Not sure i agree with this sweeping statement. For many cruisers going on an excursion is safety in numbers. There are also those with mobility issues who would prefer to go on excursions with the ship. If there is a problem on your return to the ship, the ship will wait for those on the excursion, it wont wait for those who have done their own thing. I generally don't do excursions, would rather do my own thing. However there are some places particularly In Brazil and South America where i would not want to get off the ship by myself, in those ports excursions are a must, no matter the cost.

Of course this is all moot, if you are on a Costa ship.

If you are going to the Vatican go early to avoid the que, its free to get in. The museum and Sistine chapel are not free, buy tickets online to your smart phone to get immediate entrance. There should be a free shuttle bus to the port entrance and then its a ten minute walk to the train station, its about 1 hour on the train to the Vatican, the trains are cheap, clean and have a regular service throughout the day. Don't buy train tickets online as you have to catch the train at the times stated, just turn up at the train station and buy your ticket there. The train station nearest the Vatican is St. Pietro, (direct train from Civitavecchia) and its about 10 minutes walk from there to the Vatican, you cant get lost, just follow the dome in the distance. Rome and Barcelona are tourist meccas, both have a reputation as a paradise for pick pockets. Take some common sense precautions with valuables and the like, but you should do that at every port the world over.

Are there any perks to booking a future cruise with Costa, whilst onboard one of their ships? I know some lines give obc. loyalty points and the like if you book a future cruise onboard, what about Costa?

For us non Americans, what is Als?

Do you mean outside obstructed view?, i am thinking insides have no view.

Considering many cruise ships are sailing the seven seas with reams of empty cabins that they cant sell, due to the aftermath of covid, it surprises me that the cruise lines don't do more to attract solos. I get the two in a cabin will spend more than one person argument (although its not always the case) but i would have thought that its better to have one person in the cabin than nobody. I do a lot of solo sailings with Costa, many times i will see a cruise that i am interested in but their web site will not let me book it as a solo. If i check back a couple of days or weeks later, it will allow me to book at reasonable rates. At the end of the day its your money, if the cruise line does not want you or wants to charge you ridiculous amounts to sail solo with them, shop around. There are other lines out there that a fare more accommodating.

Costa Toscana 22 nights Barcelona to Dubai in November £1.156 sterling, inside solo price. There are deals out there, not many, but they are there.