tomvet

Very easy to do. Principe train station is across the road from the terminal in Genoa - about 6 minute walk. Take train to Milan Centrale. From there a Terravision coach to Bergamo Airport. Train takes about 2 hours. Bus takes 1 hour.

I wouldn't take the train to Bergamo and then the bus from there to the Airport as the Milan/Bergamo train nearly takes as long as the bus, you need to make an additional change and you will have extra waiting time.

When we did this route, with three kids under 4! We took the train to Milan. Left our luggage at the train station. Took the metro to the Duomo and visited it and the roof top. Came back to station, retrieved luggage, had late lunch/ earlier dinner at the train station and then took bus to airport - very painless and paced!

Dear Tomvet, I read your awesome review of the Costa Favolosa. My best friend and I (from the US) are boarding the Favolosa on September 8 in Warnemunde for a 13 day cruise ending in Rome (Civitavecchia) on September 21. I've only been in Europe once so am rather lost regarding hotels, trains etc. I take it from your review that we can take the train in Berlin to the cruise terminal, do you recommend we stay in Berlin the night before or another city? We want to fly round trip (the cost is half) so plan on flying or taking the train from Rome after our cruise back to Berlin or wherever we fly to originally.

 

Any advice would be appreciated, or should I instead post it on the Costa board itself?

Jackie

why not fly open jaw into Berlin and home from Rome - most airlines will allow this. I would spend a few days before embarkation in Berlin. Then take train to the port. If you must backtrack to Berlin there are loads of low cost airlines that will get you there from Rome - Google Ryanair.

You could also fly to Hamburg - another city worth visiting - we flew to there and took the train to Rostock and stayed o/night there. We did a post cruise stay in Hamburg.

Tom-- great report and photos, Nice Family.

 

I hope to take the Baltic cruise in May. I don't drink. What beverages are complimentary? I am interested in orange or apple juice in the AM and iced tea for lunch and dinner. Are they complimentary? Thanks.

At breakfast very watered down orange and very sugary apple juice is served along with grapefruit and cranberry.

You are out of luck at lunch only free drink served is water - not even tea / coffee. Tea / coffee only available at breakfast and for La Merenda - Italian afternoon tea from 1600 - 1730.

Thank you for your answers. I will go from NY. In statistic this flight is quite often delayed for about 30 min, max 1.5 hours. I couldn't imagine that I'm at the port gate at 9 pm and they say I couldn't board. Why? Call center says I must board before 8 pm but I'm not sure it is true. I will try to contact somebody in ship and ask. Do you know any contact way to somebody on Costa Magica, guest or staff?

Because everyone else is onboard, the ship's manifest has been finalised and submitted to the authorities with you marked as a 'no show' and the person responsible for immigration related activities finished for the evening and is not contactable.

If the person at the dock says 'sorry ma'am, your late, too bad!'. What can you do, who are you going to call? It may be harsh and you may ask why would he be so unhelpful - simples, because he can! He has is work done, you were wrong, why should be put himself to the trouble? Lets just hope, he does have a grain of empathy however, that is a scarce trait amongst Costa staff - the most empathy I have ever got is a shoulder shrug! Then again, I have never arrived late for a ship!

Costa can be very rigid in these sort of things!

I have to say your attitude is a tad 'Gung Ho' and good for you, because that is what may get you through this successfully. As I say, I would never put myself in that position! At a minimum, I would have timed my arrival in PTP sometime the day before and stayed in a nice place and have a leisurely morning prior to embarkation rather than a sleepless night before my flight wondering if the plane would be ok, hoping the weather would be ok, and then sitting on the plane in dread it would be diverted etc etc. Am I a pessimist? or a realist?

Western Med itineraries are a bit better too with Menorca, Ibiza, Corsica and Sardinia featuring more prominently!

No:rolleyes:. I will wait till Monday and if I don't get answer for my email I will cancel my future cruise and book with Costa . They have same cruise same days almost same price.

My expectation is MSC will do sweet fanny adams for you. However, if you think Costa will be any better, think again. Perhaps it is an Italian thing but both or off the ship, both lines have no idea of the concept of good customer service. The most satisfaction I have ever got from them are platitudes and a Mediterranean shrug. Push the issue further and they get rude, offhandish and simply had the situation back to you with a 'thank you for your opinion'. Costa thanked me once for my opinion and I challenged the guest relations manager that it was not opinion that it was fact, the incident did happen, when, where and what time etc with photos. Her response was 'is there anything else I can help you with today'. I stated that lets get this issue sorted before we move on to anything else. Her response 'is there anything else I can help you with today'. My response 'Lets get this sorted first'. Her response 'is there anything else I can help you with today'. And round and round we went and nothing gained on my part. They are trained not to give an inch and to frustrate the you and situation! It all becomes too much trouble that you soon learn not to bother and that is exactly what they want you to do - not annoy them!

First of all, welcome to the forum!

 

Pete and others have already answered to you and very well. Thanks to them.

 

Meanwhile, let me, as an European, just to talk a little bit about the most notable of those cultural differences that seems to be the ones that most likely will upset more the Americans in this forum:

 

1) Water at dinner - Here in Europe you're expected to pay for your bottled water with your dinner, and that is the MSC rule as well. Seems that Americans have a 7 or 14 bottles of water cupon book at their base price. Some may also have other drinks package that include water. At 1st night ask your waiter that you want your water all nights and then they will be more than happy to have it awaiting you everyninght.

 

2) Coffee - Here in Europe it is custumary to go to the nearby bar to have espresso coffee after the meal and that is the MSC rule as well. You wont have free or specialty coffee served at your table, but all the bars and lounges will have an esperesso machine. If you want an American coffee, just ask the bartender for a "Americano" and they will be more than happy to provide. Otherwise if you simply ask for a coffee you will receive the smallish 40ml version of the Italian espresso that in the US is called just an "Italian".

 

3) Dinner experience - Here in Europe, dinner, and especially holiday dinner is largely an experience by itself. A great conversation accomanied with the good food (not necessarily pipping hot). Expect a somewhat longer dinner service time than on the American lines. It's not a bug... For us it is a lovely feature!

 

4) Lines - Well... I have to admit by my own experience that us, the Europpeans, are usually worse than you, the Americans, at waiting patienthly our turn on a line of people... Forget me, but that is the very fact of life... By the way... That is something the cruise line can't control. It will depend on the vibe and demographics of your actual sailing...

 

5) Small faillures compensation and general information - Well... I hope all will go well with you and your sailing... But be advised: For us, Europpeans little small faillures everywhere else are just understood as facts of life. Don't expect more than perharps the proverbial apologies from them is some minor thing goes on. General information is sometimes lacking here in the latin Europe too, but indeed... Fortunately, at least on MSC I haven't experienced it by myself! Nearly all the staff will understand at least some basic English. Reception or guest services personnel will speak fluent English.

 

With my 4 happy cruises with them I'm more than happy to say that all will be good on your sailing! Enjoy the different Europe, The wonderfull and Eternal Rome and the other wonderful places yo'll visit!... Have a good sailing!...

 

Hope to have helped a little bit! Have a great evening / day!...

Here in Europe!!!!????!!!! Is it any wonder Brexit took place? :eek:

Here in Northern Europe where we have an excellent water supply we drink tap water with our meals and don't expect to pay for water in restaurants resent somewhat the MSC approach of having to purchase water. Of course it has nothing to do with culture, even though MSC would like you to think that it is, it is all about creating a profit centre!

Here in Northern Europe, we love to finish our meals with tea and coffee! Our cafes dont stay open until after long late dinners. As regards an Americano, if you take milk with your coffee, ask for it on the side and if your preference is cold, make sure you ask for it cold otherwise you will get warm milk with a scum that will float around in your coffee - yuk!

Here in Northern Europe, we like our meal times to last about an 45 mins to an hour and our food served piping hot!

I am glad you referred to latin Europe and here in Northern Europe we strive towards perfection, we call small failures niggles or a lack of attention to detail, we don't do platitudes and the Mediterranean shrug grates!

Europe is a big place - funny how 27 of us can remain in one big happy family!

Well it is not in a dire position you'll be glad to know. Neither is it in one of the best locations. It is located in the forward recess and is 5 cabins away from a hump wall. it will as a resulted have a reduced field of vision, especially in the forward direction , but not too bad. It is as close to the wall as I would deem to be reasonable

 

here is an image of what I mean by limited field of view (vision)

 

 

it shows the affect on the 3 cabins closest to the wall

 

The deck 12 overhang can affect deck 10 , but it will hardly have any affect, but can cast a shadow when the sun is high in the sky

 

Hope this is useful for you.

 

 

Pete

After all that the OPer is in Cabin 10088 and not 11088. As for fields of vision views - isn't life too short? :confused::confused:

I can't wait to get to the end of this.

I think the fact that the phone was used at a time that the owner was not present and when the phone was in the room and the only person who had access was cruiseline staff - I think that would be sufficient for MSC to commence an investigation!

Were you off the ship at the time the call was made!

You might get away with a litre of water!

The person who devised that schedule is nuts. One hour and 20mins to get from plane to ship! That said the airport to the dock is only about 5kms so travel time from one to the other is not where you will lose time. But what if the aircraft goes tech or weather delays take off or landing or worse still forces a diversion!

The only thing you have not stated is that perhaps you have a fly-cruise package with Costa, if this is the case, then you will be fine as this is Costa's doing and if they get you into a mess, the must get you of the mess.

By all means plead your case to Costa but they are not exactly known for their empathy of for following through on promises. Get any advisory in writing from them and even then, that may not be enough. You could easily get a 'no problem Ma'am, you can board anytime up to 2200' and then when you get to the dock, the person there has another story and their apology is that person one ill informed you and a shoulder shrug!

Having said that, the Magica picks up at other ports along the route so there will be persons transiting Guadeloupe and their all aboard time will presumably be 2230. It would be a very harsh person that would deny you boarding at 2100 / 2200 considering the gangway is open for another 1-1,5 hours - that said, I would never put myself in that position.

What was the prize?

I would not risk it! It is bumpy but there is also a risk the jeep may roll, albeit small. The probability of anything happening is low but the severity of if it does occur is great so why carry guilt, sorrow and what ifs for the rest of your life just to have a single day you wanted - Dubai is a great place, there are just as exciting, interesting and safer things to do! Try an Abra cruise down the creek, the Dubai museum, trip up Burj Khalifa, afternoon tea at the Burj al Arab!!!

2014 - Pacifica - Repositioning from Kiel to Savona.

Yes, they normally have 3-4 different types of pizza, and MSC has hands down the best pizza at sea.

..... says she who has just experienced four cruiselines ...............:rolleyes::rolleyes:

Clearly you have not tried Costa's Pizzeria!

I have booked our cruises on Pacifica, Favolosa and Serena on Costa's German site without a bother using my Irish address. When it comes to entering the phone number I merely change +49 to +353.

Other EU law they cannot legally prevent an intra EU sale.

Sidari- we had a similar situation on Lirica 4 years ago. We missed our disembarkation port (Cork) and had to sail the whole way to Amsterdam where we disembarked and MSC flew us home. It took an age for them to confirm they would fly us home. My point was that if they weren't please let me know so I could make arrangements myself. The kept saying they flights were booked. I said great can I have the booking confirmation please. The guest relations manager could not as she was awaiting permission from Genoa! :eek::eek:

MSC regularly mess folk around by changing the location of the ship. There has been

1) Moving Armonia from the Red Sea to the Canaries

2) Moving Opera from the Canaries to Cuba

3) Moving Lirica from the Med to Chiina

4) Now Fantasia!!!

Only thing is that Costa does it too! Reason give 'Operational Reasons' aka 'Greed! More money to be made elsewhere'!

So it sounds like late Oct/early Nov is ok!

 

When do the days start to get shorter? We are adding a land tour to Jerusalem at the end.

There are no guarantees when it comes to weather but in the main, the weather will still be pleasant and quite warm as you head further south. We also did the Western Med towards Malaga and the Canaries from Genoa and it was blue skies all the way. It was windy so the seas were rough but aside from that it was all very pleasant. better the rain we got incessantly in the Eastern Med in April!

The last Saturday night / Sunday morning in October is when daylight savings ends so then you will really notice it.

You will have very short days in Israel. I was there in Oct 2014 - very early mornings and it will start to get dark at about 1530 - it will be chilly too!

NZ$150 for the transfer per kid! :eek::eek::eek:

We cruised in 24 to 31 Oct in 2010 and fabulous weather - maybe cool in the shade. We were in Rome on Dec 1 last year in lovely sunshine - the sun doesn't get very high in the sky so lots of shadows and narrow street are always in the shade so these can be a little cool - open spaces are great in winter sun.

Why would you buy OBC? I can accept somebody putting money in one's account as a gift. But the buy it for yourself, I cannot see one advantage only to give the cruiseline use of your money unless they give free credit for money lodged. Maybe people are betting on currency fluctuations> :confused::rolleyes:

Why not put the money into your credit card account and have it there when the bill comes through. At least you still retain control of your own money.

It doesn't have to be on the cruise reservation, but does for any airline tickets

No it doesn't. I have never booked an airline ticket in my firstname middlename surname either for myself or any of my family.

On two occasions I did run into trouble when booking airline tickets

1) with BA when I booked my wife as MR Firstname Surname and she doesn't have a name that could either be male or female

2) with Icelandair I put the Firstname into the Surname field and vice versa - that cost €100 for a name change!!!!

Talk nicely to Guest Relations manager, tell them that you have a 'special' i.e. something that MSC don't offer, tour booked and that you need to get off early to meet it and you would be mooooooooooooooooooooooooost grateful if s/he could facilitate your disembarkation on an early tender. Of course embellish the 'special' aspect of the tour - this is the whole reason that you are on the cruise in the first instance - just to do this one special thing etc etc.

:D:D Failing that you could engineer a complaint earlier in the cruise and after the customer service has done absolutely nothing to resolve the issue, you hold your resolve and then as they hand you back the issue and smugly ask, how can MSC help you, carpe diem and tell them that it appears that they cannot help you with item 1 but could they possibly help you with an early tender - it would restore full enjoyment of your cruise. :D

I find MSC will acquiesce to most requests, if it does not involve a involve a cost i.e. they will not give you something gratis nor will they discount something but something like an early tender, they will.

We used the baby and mini club on Opera last Novemeber . Our 4 year old was in the min CLub and our month short of 2 year old twins went to the baby club. I was given a pager to attend if they were upset, needed changing etc.

Yikes! What row number would the non-reclining seats be, can you recall? What model of plane flies out of Dublin? Ken

No idea never flown Emirates from Dublin but on aircraft where there are a double row of emergency exits i.e. two over wing exits the 1st row does not recline - makes sense as it would impede those exiting through the second row.