Shelledpea

Last time I enquired it was $50/€50 onboard Credit and double Voyagers club points with occasional extra discounts at discretion plus the option to transfer to the agent of your choice if desired upon your return home

Hi All,

We are Flying Home from Barbados in December but we are not due at the airport until 5.30pm for an 8pm flight.

I am wondering if there is any way that we can transfer our luggage from the ship to the airport, as we disembark, so that we can continue our last day unimpeded? I have previously used Bags & Go in Barcelona in a similar situation and found it well worth the payment as we could enjoy a leisurely days sightseeing before our journey home.

We are sailing onboard MSC Seaside in Yacht Club, MSC are offering a tour that ends at the airport for flights departing after 5pm but in my mind that means I'd be stuck at the airport from 3pm until 8pm and having paid £65 / $84 for the privilege when I'd much rather have done some sight seeing and had a nice meal....

Many Thanks in Advance

Shelley

On 2/4/2022 at 10:52 PM, hamrag said:

That's interesting, the UK Daily Mail print for all our days was 60+ pages and felt like a pretty full version.

Mum had The Mail whilst we were onboard Fantasia in January and it was the full paper including adverts, so a heavy tome of wasted paper daily.

I was onboard Fantasia from 14th to 21st January sailing out of Barcelona. We were in Yacht Club and when I spoke to the concierge he said there were 1400 people on board and of those 41 were in the Yacht Club. I spent most days on deck with the pool to myself and it was akin to being on a private yacht...

Hi,

My partner and I are sailing on MSC Seaside in November and I was wondering if MSC are still doing Funpasses for use on the F1 simulator and the Ziplines. Last time we sailed together on MSC Seaview they were priced at £90 per pass and gave £180 of credit to be used. 

I was looking to purchase one each as we got full use out of them on a 3night sailing and this time we are onboard for 14nights

If they are no longer available could anyone provide prices for the F1 simulator and Zipline ~ if it makes a difference we are in Yacht Club

Many thanks

Thank you all,

As my mum has limited mobility I think we will take the safe option and book a private transfer especially as we need to be at the airport for 11.10am.

I have taken the cheaper option of the train into Santa Lucia for our outwards journey and we shall take the rest of the journey at a gentle pace as we are in no great rush to get the ship as we have an extremely early flight

On 12/26/2019 at 10:14 AM, greg2014 said:

Hi Shelly. I am going for this cruise in reverse direction in March 2020. Could you say sth about Khor Fakkan ? Is this port location suitable for exploring city on foot ? Is any shuttle bus provided ?

All I saw of Khor Fakkan was the port area ~ It was a day of torrential rain when we docked and as I'm from Manchester I have enough of rain at home! We used the day onboard chilling out and listening to the thunder. Sorry I'm no more help but on the upside hat was their one day of rain for the year so you should be ok..

On 12/25/2019 at 8:31 PM, YVR GAL said:

Hi Shelly. I am a Canadian booked on the Diadema 11Jan20.  Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Oman. I am thinking of the hop on hop off in Muscat and Abu Dhabi.  What are your thoughts? Do you think it would safe and easy to walk around or should I book tours.  I hear the English speaking tours can cancel at the last minute due not enough travellers. Thanks

ssgrant444@gmail.com 

Hi,

In Abu Dhabi the ships shuttle drops you right in the centre of town next to the world trade centre. From there we walked down to the Corniche and went to the public beach. It felt extremely safe and was very easy to navigate ~ the HOHO buses are very expensive.

We disembarked in Dubai so I am not sure where the ships shuttle takes you to but again the HOHOs were available and again they were pricey, we used the metro from our hotel. It is approx £4.50 per person for a day pass and you can ride it all the way out to the Atlantis on the Palm past all of the sights and just get off and on as you choose.

As for Muscat it was a beautiful we booked a tour independently before travelling that combined a dolphin watching boat trip, a sea tour of the area where we saw sea eagles, herons and the beautiful scenery and then afterwards we went snorkelling for an hour in a secluded cove that was rich in Corals and marine life. It cost 22 Omani Rials per person and included drinks. Muscat was the highlight of the cruise for me. 

On 12/22/2019 at 9:34 PM, Norwegian Cruiser 73 said:

We are booked on the Diadema out of Dubai the coming winter and looking forward to try Costa and the Diadema. We mainly sail MSC but have also sailed in RCL and Celebrity. How long was the buffet open in evening? Did you manage to find a reasonable quiet place /lounge onboard without very load music and finally, was the pools heated? 

 

Thank you very much and all the best from Norway 🇳🇴 

 

Hi,

I mainly sail MSC also so this was a change for me ~ as I've said previously go with an open mind.

The buffet was open from approximately 6.30pm till 9pm each evening and only one half, but the food is replenished quickly and it is always hot. There is generally a carvery station, a food of the world section, pasta station, grill and vegetables and then bread, cheese, fruit desserts etc. There are no drinks waiters in the buffet you have to go to the counter and get your own drinks (none of the handy "press for service" buttons that I have become accustomed to...)

Of an evening we found the outside bar at the aft of deck 5 (Through the Teodora Lounge) extremely pleasant and the music was never loud enough to obscure your conversation ~ it has comfortable rattan furniture and was our favourite place onboard.

No the pools aren't heated but it was so warm that they were refreshing. They also made a couple of the jacuzzis on deck 5 cool as the pool decks were so crowded so it was nice to have the extra space and relative quiet of the loungers there.

On 12/22/2019 at 1:40 AM, gerryuk said:

Hi Shelly,

Was thinking of going on this cruise from Dubai back to Europe, A couple of questions......

I am assuming like me you hold a British passport, please confirm that all the visas for the non European leg are done via the ship and you don't need to get visas before boarding?, although I will get a visa when arriving at the airport in Dubai as I will stay there a couple of days before boarding. But what about visas for places like Jordan, are these done on the ship with the relevant authorities?

I have done a couple of Costas to South America and the make up of the ship was mainly Italians and Brazilians with a very light scattering of Brits on board, and a good mix of young and older cruisers, What was the demographics on board this ship? Thanks.

Hi Gerry,

Sorry for the late reply but life got in the way

Yes all visas were sorted by the ship including the Jordanian, we just had to present ourselves onboard at an allocated time to meet the Israeli authorities. This was done by deck and took less than 5 minutes as queues were not long. 

We met probably 20 brits onboard but the rest were mainly italian with a smattering of other Europeans and a few Indians. It was mainly an older crowd and less than 10 children (all very young).

Hi Jakob,

I'd say go with an open mind. The main dining has none of the quality or the flair of Celebrity and but you'll never go hungry. Sometimes the descriptions were extremely wide of the mark. We found the food in the buffet of an evening hotter than that served in the dining room and I feel that Costa have done the right thing in reducing the number of buffet serving stations as you can see the the food being replaced on an extremely frequent basis.

The serving staff did an extremely good job when you realise they had 30 - 40 people to serve, top up drinks for and take orders from on  their own which I found odd... They have a busser but that person does nothing but run food from servery to station ....

If you look at Costa on a pppn it is extremely cheap ~ we did 19 nights with basic All Inclusive for £864 each and you get exactly that. If you do your port excursions wisely ( Book your own and do your own thing!) then it can be an extremely cost effective way to travel.

Make sure you sign up for Costa Club ~ the benefits are myriad and it costs nothing plus we found the pizza at pummo D'oro areally really good and with discount they were  €4.50 each with a dessert. As we had booked a premium cabin various item on rroom service were also free ~ I can recommend the chicken sandwich .

FYI I mainly sail MSC but have also cruised with RC, Carnival, P&O, Celebity, OV, Marella/Tui & NCL plus a few non mainstream brands 

Hi all,

Looking at options and I was wondering if anyone had any idea how much a taxi would cost from Venice Cruise Terminal to Treviso Airport  ~ the private companies I have looked at are coming in at around €66 ( £56)

Many thanks in advance

Shelley

HI all,

OH & I sailed from Dubai onboard Costa Diadema. 

We experienced the highs and the lows of the Costa service style.

We visited:

Palermo

Pireaus

Heraklion / Iraklion

Haifa

Transited the Suez Canal

Aqaba ( & Visited Petra )

Salalah

Muscat

Khor Fakkan

Abu Dhabi

Dubai

We overnighted in Dubai before returning to the UK

Ask anything you need to know

Shelley

Hi all,

Just looking for some advice on how you found the service and any other relevant information you may have. We are disembarking Costa Magica at some time after 1.30pm (It docks at 1pm) and our flight is  not until 10pm so we were looking at the collection and drop off service at €12 per bag.

If any one has used the service recently could you tell me how your experience and the ease of use  please

Many Thanks

Shelley

Thankyou & I will do

Hi all,

Just looking for some advice on how you found the service and any other relevant information you may have. We are disembarking Costa Magica at some time after 1.30pm (It docks at 1pm) and our flight is  not until 10pm so we were looking at the collection and drop off service at €12 per bag.

If any one has used the service recently could you tell me how your experience and the ease of use  please

Many Thanks

Shelley

8 hours ago, Janet&Carl said:

Are you watching the facebook costa cruise fans page - there was a great post yesterday with pictures of the menus and what was included in each package. 

No, I'm not but thanks for mentioning it ~ I'll go & take a look!

I'll rephrase my question ~ I don't fancy paying for the Piu Gusto upgrade on a 19 night cruise when I know I'll probably only drink 4 or so cocktails, but if I fancy the cocktail of the day would it be included? (Only asking because it would be on MSCs Easy package)

Yes I'm happy to pay as as I go and I also know that there are a few non alcoholic cocktails on included on the Brindiamo package...

Hi All,

We've booked our upcoming cruise with the Brindiamo package and I feel that should be enough for us without upgrading to the Piu Gusto package, but I was wondering if the Cocktail of the day would be included (Only because MSC do include that with the easy package). If not there's plenty of choice without, but if it is then I'd be extremely happy! Any ideas???

Many Thanks 

Thankyou for all the info. I'm now thinking of looking at ships tours and seeing if there is anything interesting

Many thanks, 

I'll email Roopesh and see if they will allow us in that day. Thank you so much for true quick response 

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone had any experience of getting to the beach from the Cruise terminal in Salalah.  We are wondering if anyone has contacted the Hilton Hotel there and arranged a day pass themselves or whether we would need to book through the cruise company?  Also I've heard the it is quite a distance from the port to the town and that taxi prices have to be negotiated before hand ~ is this correct?

Many thanks in advance 

Shelley

I've just received an e-mail from Costa stating that our stop on 20th November onboard Diadema has been changed from Khasab to Khor Fakkan. We were planning on going on a boat trip and going snorkeling near Telegraph Island but now I'm wondering what my options will be as Khor Fakkan seems very much an industrial port.

If anyone has any suggestions I'd love to hear them

Dear Guest,

we are writing to inform you that the itinerary of the cruise of Costa Diadema  in November 2019  has slightly changed.

Here below you can find the new itinerary with evidence of the change.

--- PREVIOUS CALLS REMAIN UNCHANGED ---

                                             --- NEXT CALLS REMAIN UNCHANGED ---

We would like to take this opportunity to wish you a pleasant holiday on board our ship. 

Dancer Bob,

Can you clarify are you talking chocolate as in drinks because if they are giving away free chocolate I think my other half will not be moving from the chocolate counter until I roll him to bed!

But drinks sound awesome I must say

As for the brindiamo package I have it on my 2 upcoming cruises :

“Brindiamo” Beverage Package Apéritifs & Vermouth Tio Pepe / Aperol / Bitter Campari / Martini Rosso, Bianco, Dry / Pastis / Pernod 45 / Ricard / Campari Soda / Crodino /

Flûte Asti Spumante Martini & Rossi, Prosecco DOC “Valdo”

Beers International Draught Beer Beer (alcohol free)

Fruit Juices Pear / Peach / Apricot Pineapple / Orange / Grapefruit Soft Drinks and Mineral Water Sodas / Tonic water/ Bitter Lemon

Lemon Iced Tea Peach Iced Tea Syrup with water by glass

Mineral Water Sparkling or Natural

Hot Beverages Illy Espresso Decaffeinated Illy Iced Coffee Illy Caffè Shakerato Illy Cappuccino Illy “Corretto” “Dammann” Tea Selection

From the Chocolate Bar Coconut, Mint, Meringue, Hazelnut, Strawberry, Pistachio, Orange, Cinnamon, White, Extra Milk, Extra Dark, Light, Hot or cold Chocolate

Wines by glass DOC White Wines DOC Red Wines

Grappa Nonino Selezione Speciale Vuisinar Segnana Bianca Cognac Cognac *** Cognac V.S Whisky Ballantine’s, J&B Johnnie Walker Red Jim Beam Canadian Club, Jameson Dewar’s White Label Gin Beefeater, Gordon’s, Gilbey’s Vodka Smirnoff, Stolichnaya, Gilbey’s Rum Bacardi Bianco Bacardi Gold Bacardi Limón Myer’s Brandy Vecchia Romagna E.N., Fundador Tequila Jose Cuervo Fortified Wines Harveys Bristol Cream Sandeman Ruby Port Bitters Averna Cynar Jägermeister Fernet Branca Branca Menta Montenegro Ramazzotti Amaro Lucano

Bacardi Breezer Lime, Grapefruit, Orange, Pineapple

Liqueurs Disaronno Drambuie Peachtree Kahlua Tia Maria Limoncello Sambuca Southern Comfort

Cocktails Alcoholfree Colibrì Fruit Punch Pink Panther Squok Shirley Temple

I do think that this is a decent selection of drinks..... Still undecided on the Piu Gusto upgrade for our 19nt cruise but I'll decide after the 3 nighter in October 

I've heard a few times now that Salalah isn't worth visiting. We're looking at a boat trip in Khasab and going for a trip round Yas Island  to see the F1 Circuit  in Abu Dhabi  ~ we were going to go visit the waterpark but from friends we've heard it's not worth the money especially as Siam Park in tenerife is Half the Price & twice the size and we've already been there 🙂