hat776

Very informative indeed - could you be patient enough to say what difference there is between the two buffets ?l Also do they still have the Elegant Nights and if passengers do dress up (suits for men) ? Many thanks

First 2 questions.....how many elegant nights are there ? And are the men wearing suits? It seems that there are two Buffets - what's the difference between them ?

Now two comments,,,,, in Malta it is uphill to the actual city of Valletta but there is a panaromic lift about 5/10 min walk from where the ship docks. It leads to the Barakka Gardens with a lovely view of the Grand Harbour.

Second - next year the Sea view will not be cruising the Med. It will be replaced by the new Bellissima.

Thanks for all your information (will be on the Seaview next month)

In Italy, no Italian would go to a Restaurant and order tap water. They automatically order mineral water and usually the fizzy one.

The water we drink on a ship, including for cooking, tea, coffee, ice etc, comes from Reverse Osmosis. That's also the system we have in Malta and we joke that it costs more than beer or whisky to produce. The ship's waiters can't just open a tap and fill a pitcher with water which cost is negligible.

There have been so many grumbles by Americans regarding this free water that it seems Costa decided to put Waterusa on the cards thus allowing Americans to free water. i don't know how fair this is.

We were on the first Eclipse cruise from Southampton, UK and the CD announced that most of the passengers were Brits and the biggest complaint Celebrity has from the Brits was that they had no kettle in their cabin. So on all UK sailings the Eclipse would have kettles in the state rooms.

It seems there is a big difference between cruises starting from Italy aend those starting from the US.

I've only cruised on those from Italy where most of the passengers are Italian, French or Spanish. In the evenings I never saw any one in the MDR dressed shabbily. On ~Formal nights the men almost all wore a suit. There were a few with long sleeved shirts and ties. And the ladies were all dressed elegantly.

Nowadays, unfortunately, some people buy expensive , smart jeans and think they are suitable for evening wear. I've seen shops selling 'cocktail' jeans !!!

CC members on a Costa cruise are a very tiny fraction (if any), and those that write a review (good or bad) are even less in numbers. Just count the reviews for the last year as against the number of passengers that sailed with Costa over the same period (in the millions).

 

The Diadema only entered service at the beginning of Nov 2014, so there may still be some teething problems.

 

You have to read between the lines with regards to reviews and then fom your onw opion.

 

I personally breakdown negative reviews into 3 categories:

 

1. The Grudge Review - some one has got it in for Costa. Something happened to make them disgruntled e.g. they wanted a free cabin upgrade but were refused, so from then on everything on the ship was rubbish.

 

2. The American Bubble, passengers traveling to Europe expecting to cruise on an American style ship while taking in the culture of Europe. Then realise that there in no lobster night, no 24 hour gluttony fiest, steak like a shoe sole etc.

 

3. Real Grievency, where the passenger suffered one or more incidnts onboard.

 

Go with an open mind and with the flow. Enjoy it - it is your cruise.

I think you have summed things up brilliantly.

Maybe you left out people grumbling that water is not free - Costa are usually cheaper than , for example, Celebrity. So why not buy the water package and drink to your heart's content. We go further. We buy AI .

On the Piazza Navona you will find that ship's tours are a miniscule part of the crowds. This is a popular spot for many tours so you actually will see a cross section of the world in this square. As to St Mark's Square, on a crowded day it is just one huge "mass of humanity" which many of us choose to avoid. Be forewarded that the two large cafes located in St Marks Square are essentially "rip off" joints that charge outrageous prices for the privilege of letting you sit at their cafe. The irony is that when the square is packed with tourists those two cafes have mostly empty chairs (many tourists know to avoid these cafes).

 

Hank

And what's so fascinating is that there are so many ultra smart waiters just standing there with nothing to do.

One of the events that really made us laugh was when a group of 6 elderly women sat down on those empty chairs with no intention of ordering anything. The waiters faces were impressive and they quickly retreived the chairs.

Wear comfortable shoes and take some water with you when you visit Pompei. Some 30 years ago (when we were in our prime) we went to Pompei after having spent the previous day in the sun.

I remember getting to a huge piazza , bright sun and no shade . I just stared and simply didn't have the energy to cross it.

Thankfully, we live just off Italy and so had a second chance to repeat our visit.

The archeological museum in Naples has most of the original mosaics and artifacts found at Pompei

I think as a start you should put the names of the ports you are interested in into the search box on top - then if you need anything more specific just ask away.

It's a good thing this thread is kept going - there is so much info that it would be a shame to lose it all

Your right, sjbdtz, we did ask for an HC Villa and it is to suit my mothers needs... however as ascatsob says, my parents are separated, all be it on good terms, but the days of them sharing a bed and changing area are long gone so we booked this CV on the premise of having separate sleeping areas.

 

ascatsob, thats the image i get of the standard CV too... its a sort of shimmy up the side and fall in to bed affair.

 

And im not the only person in my party that isnt happy with the room, none of us are. I dont think it's fair that NCL can charge the same for this room when it is so obviously lacking in equipment and function compared to the standard CV's, I just feel that they are of the opinion that because your disabled you dont need to have all the little bits and bobs that everyone else gets, you should just be happy that it is accessible to u, even if it does look like a bit of an empty room... but we shall see what my TA and NCL come up with.

I would have thought that an organization as huge as NCL would have got some representatives from various associations of the disabled (be it blind, wheel chair bound, deaf etc) and got their opinions and suggestions BEFORE marketing a cabin as an HC.

Thank you for your expert help!! Hey, a covered balcony with a lifeboat view beats no balcony at all!! We are expecting a great cruise!!! :)

That's the right attitude.

What I don't understand is how many folk have cabins and don't have an idea what the balconies are like.

Is NCL being deliberately misleading ? Is there a big difference in price between one that is covered and has a lifeboat outside and a "normal" one with an open view ?

Isn't it annoying that the lifeboats are on the outside of the ship not recessed like they usually are.

I think it all boils down to the fact that this HC stateroom is the same size as a 'normal' one. As apparently it's not possible to just widen the doors there was no alternative but to remove the walls.

What I liked is that the OP has the ability of describing things in such a way that you feel you are on the cruise yourself.

I pictured the suzuki's sliding into the sea that at times I imagined I was actually on deck seeing the splash

I've never had any cause to complain about any of my NCL cruises and have only praise for them.

However, when anyone expresses any doubts about EPIC they are bombarded by the ultra NCL cheer leaders. At least this time no one has come up with excuses for NCL and trying to insinuate that somehow the OP was at fault.

I never realised that booking a cabin was so difficult. It seems that the lifeboats are increasing the problem.

Let's hope the Booking Agents are as efficient as Lusitanica is.

We also do the Ports on our own. However, I am realising it's not always as easy as it seems.

We just returned from a cruise in the W. Med with a stop at Palma.

I researched and found that a bus no. 1 stops just outside the Port and drops you off in the centre - fine. While getting off the bus we asked the driver where we get the bus for the return trip and he explained. We thought it odd as it was quite a distance from where we were dropped off. Anyway we found the stop , the bus was empty and we all got on..... and filled the bus to capacity.

As we were driving along, we saw loads of cruise passengers at the stops near where we were dropped off . Many started panicing and caught taxi's back.

We then realised that the driver knew all this and so advised us to catch the bus at the begining of the route to avoid any problems.

I travelled on the Classica last year and as an Australian had the tips automatically added to the cruise payment and was paid before the cruise actually began.

 

I tipped (in cash) at the early stages of the cruise and again at the end. As well as the automatic tip that was paid with the cruise tickets.

 

Why? To ensure that the service on board was good. It was more than good it was spectacular! In this case I got what I paid for extra special attention in the cabin and dining room and at the main bar. Nothing was ever too much trouble for either the waiter, the assistant waiter, the room attendant and the main bar. For me it was more than worth the extra cost and I just factored it into the cost of going on holiday.

 

Booked on the Romantic later this year and I fully intend to do the same. For me it is well worth the added cost to ensure that drinks arrive on time, the room is always perfect, the food order is correct and that if required specials in the restaurant are accommodated.

 

I am always happy to tip to ensure that service is great.

We have never removed the auto tip - but we feel that that is sufficient and don't tip further.

We have always had excellent service both in the cabin and in the dining room. I honestly don't think there could have been any improvement if we had paid extra tips up front. Apart from the fact that some crew might feel it is bribery and I know of some who wouldn't accept anything in advance

Not all the crew are in the tipping pool, certainly not the officers, deckhands, engineers, entertainment staff, security officers, medics, tour staff, photographers, etc.

 

It is generally the service staff, ones you see, cabin stewards, waiters, bar staff etc. and the ones you don't see, cooks, dishwashers, laundry workers etc, these are included in the tipping pool.

I don't think the bar staff are included - at least this way the staff in the buffet get some tips. I always feel sorry for them as I am sure no one ever tips them.

I do hope everyone who is in favour of incorporating the tips in the fare do realise that the fares will increase

I've often heard of crew getting envelopes with $40 in them and some have said even empty ones.

At least with automatic tips the crew in the Buffet and kitchen get a share.

NCL charged us $10 or 12 per day which is pretty high.

It seems that many lines find it hard to recruit crew in Europe unless there is the automatic tipping in place.

I agree that the crew put alot of importance on the report - a good one gives them better rosters, shore leave, promotion and renewal of contracts.

I may be cynical, but I think many of those who do remove the automatic tip actually do so to be able to fork out less.

Remember you'll be walking alot so make sure your shoes/sandals are ultra comfortable.

Socks with sandals are really a fashion no-no but sometimes it's worth sacrificing fashion for comfort.

Cream or gel that cools and relaxes feet are good.

We seem to be mixing you up as we go along.

On our last cruise on the Splendida in November there were hardly any men in a tux. Most men wore jackets and ties , a few wore shirts and ties and there were hardly any wearing casual tops.

As regards women - many wore black trousers/skirts and sparkly or smart tops. In fact VERY few wore long dresses.

Your son would be appropriately dressed in a shirt and tie.

OP - it's really a strange story. I often feel my deceased father and grandmother near me but have never seen their spirit.

I don't remember the story of how this poor woman died and don't have time to U-Tube.

Please don't think I am a wet blanket but don't you think we should all say a small prayer for this disturbed woman that she might find peace at last. Just imagine what her family would feel if they knew she was still not resting and wandering around looking for something/someone.

If it was some relative/friend I would be deeply saddened.

I think our problem is that we normally take a plane somewhere (Malta is an island) and then hire a car and tour for a week or two. We had gone to Provence when we based ourself in Menton and drove all round.

However, when cruising I don't think I would be at ease because I would be always worrying about missing the ship (even though we now have our own GPS)

That's why I like ports that we can just walik around.

We were thinking of either taking a train/bus to Aix, or taking a taxi to Aix which I understand is about eur 50.

Hank - I can't understand why MSC chooses Marseille as there are so many better places on the French Riviera.

I much prefer those Ports that if you want a lazy day you can just get off the ship and wander about for a while eg Genoa.

We had taken your advice regarding Civitavecchia and agree with you about Livorno. We love Rome and the train is so easy. In Marseille the shuttle drops you off at quite a distance from the station.

We will be in Marseille on a Sunday in November.

What suggestions for our DIY day out ? Marseille itself doesn't seem to be worth much of a visit.

It's a pity the ship docks there and not in the Cannes, Villefrance area.

Regarding the Casino at Monte Carlo - check out the opening hours. When we were there in June, it was closed and they wouldn't even let us in to have a look round.

There were cleaning staff, so maybe they close they foyer for a certain time.