I know Costa Cruises don't get that good representation on this site so thought I would add my positive experience I have just had onboard their flagship, Costa Toscana.
Am posting this here as well in case people don't bother reading the review section of this site.
Just back from a great week on Costa Toscana, Booked this cruise whilst onboard the same ship when it was in Dubai. Booking onboard gives you a discount off the cruise fare price, rather than Onboard Spend which other cruise lines offer. At the moment it is 10% so can be a quite significant discount.
With Costa on most of their cruises you can board at any point it stops at generally, so I chose to board in Marseille, as flights were best suited for this board point for me. One benefit of this is that there are not usually thousands of people all trying to board the same day, yes the main board ports will be busier of course. When I arrived there were no queues and I was processed very quickly and was onboard within 10 minutes of arriving at the port.
The lifeboat drill can now be done electronically via the app as with most other cruise lines.
Toscana is the latest delivery and Costa's Flagship in the fleet, she is stunning from the outside to look at with a wrap round promenade deck which you can walk all the way round. There is lots of outside seating areas including some very quiet and secluded ones towards the bow. At the back is the Infinity bar which is just the best bar to relax and watch the sea go by.
Internally the ship décor is a big step change from the older Costa ships, Toscana I would describe as more beach inspired with bright vibrant colours, don't expect subtle colours on the stair cases or in the cabins.
Without fail, all the staff I came into contact with were genuinely friendly, and were always happy to chat when they had time. All the staff speak English and Costa have a Language Host onboard who can help with the more complicated queries for those that the bar or waiting staff can't help with. I would say that it is very impressive for most of the bar and waiting staff to speak their native language, plus English, and enough Italian, Spanish and French to get by with for their positions.
Toscana has a suite restaurant which was outstanding, sometimes the menu gets a bit lost in translation but the ambiance, service and food were superb.
The main shows are in the Colosseo which is over 3 decks in the middle of the ship, this seems a victim of its own success and in order to get a good seat you need to be there at least 30 minutes before the show starts, however the shows put on there are fantastic, very energetic and the staging / effects of the venue are outstanding.
The suite itself was fantastic, a separate lounge and bedroom area that could be shut off with sliding doors to make 2 separate areas. The lounge has a single sofa with can be made into a single bed using the sofa as the bed, no pull out bed, or metal bars to deal with. Above it is a upper berth which looked a good size. Lots of wardrobe space and 2 balconies.
Must admit I had breakfast on the balcony every day, one thing that Costa excels at is room service breakfast. Very well presented and freshly cooked.
Had a thoroughly good time on Toscana and can't wait for my next Costa cruise!