CupKayke

We will also be stopping here in March 2023. Interested to see if anyone has suggestions...

Good to know. I've also used the water from the taps on all previous cruise lines. There are some reviews here on CCritic saying this is not possible on Costa and the water is brown/rusty colored. Of course, some of the reviews are horrendous. I find people like to complain more than praise so I'm taking them with a grain of salt.

We did have an incredibly good fare prior to the upgrade... 🤷‍♀️ However, it was worth it to us.

You are welcome

Well... this makes more sense... our tour pre-airport included 3 hours at a mall and I was like.... WHAT?!! Now I get it. Thank you!!!

Agree with dog. We are taking our ship tour/transfer to EZE. Safe. Reasonable price.

We will be in Rio in March 2023. We plan to go up Sugarloaf Mountain, sightsee past Copacabana Beach, and then go up to see Christ The Redeemer. Can't wait!

We were on Westerdamn to Alaska in June and the boat apparently can hold up to 2300 passengers and they were listed as SOLD OUT for at least three months pre-sailing and yet only 1200-1300 passengers onboard. We were told they were still training and hiring staff. They were DEFINITELY still training and needed to hire more. I'm sure all the lines are struggling with getting enough staff on and trained at this point.... I'm just happy life is returning to a new normal and cruise ships are back in the water. 🙂 Also, the steakhouse was empty the night we visited. It was delicious and worth it, IMHO.

Hello! Just read your Costa Firenze blog and enjoyed it. Thanks for the information. I plan to read more of your Costa blogs from the past. Just a couple of questions... - Was your ship sail time on Embarkation Day 7pm? If so... you weren't allowed to embark until 4:30pm? This is a bit concerning for us as we've never sailed on a ship that left past 4pm. Next year, in March with Costa, we have an overnight flight from Miami to Argentina and we arrive in Argentina at 4:50am on embarkation day.... with a 7pm sail time.....and of course no embarkation time at this point. No wonder I didn't see an airport transfer available. This is going to be a tricky situation for us that I will have to figure out. - I see you are wearing life jackets at muster? Costa is requiring this? Seems strange considering COVID and none of the other lines require this wearing of a life jacket. - Curious if you were in a suite or a regular balcony? I couldn't tell by the map and the room number. - Do you happen to have a picture of the room service menu? Also, thank you... you've been a wealth of information. I feel better about booking Costa. Frankly, after you posted the daily activities, I feel a bit excited. Thanks again! -Kay

Thank You Wansbrough! I'm actually SUPER IMPRESSED with the offerings! Fantastic!

Yikes. It's just so strange that a ship charges for WATER. That is a steep price for one bottle of water. I've seen TV shows on cruise ships built even 10 years ago and their water quality far exceeds any water you can get on land or in a bottle... so it's so odd that Costa's water isn't drinkable? or is it?

The upgrade is definitely not based on veteran cruisers as we have only sailed with HAL one time previously.

This is what Costa wrote on another website: "All our guests receive in their minibar bottles of beer, soda, juice, and water. Our Preferred Club guests receive extra M&Ms, Pringles and small bottles of liqueur. All our guests enjoy 24-hours room service and minibar refill." This is what I've read.... The 24-hour room service is $9.95 an order if you aren't in a suite. I read on another thread water was 2 Euro each so 2 dollars each also for now. Don't know if this is true or not. Also, I read someone's thread and they suggested you bring your own water bottle and refill it with the ship's water though there are apparently times when the water is not available and there were some complaints about the water quality (which is crazy for a cruise ship). Having sailed on so many other mainstream ships, this does seem odd to me but I suppose we'll find out. We have the premium package because I drink iced tea and water all day and my husband drinks alcohol. I would be concerned if I couldn't find water and some of the reviews really rip Costa apart for this so I'm hoping that's not the case on our cruise. We shall see 🙂

I'll be following this thread but really... I just checked to make sure our boat had a walking deck. That was the most important factor for me. 🤷‍♀️ When are you going to be cruising with Costa? I plan to write a detailed, day-to-day review with every bit of information I can soak-up once we return. It is a little maddening not really knowing anything but then again... it makes for an adventurous trip! 🙂

You are welcome. 🙂 I have heard amazing things about Denali. I also know this cruise was amazing. I really am not one to know what to do when it comes this type of option since everyone thinks differently. We had a great time on this cruise and I'm not really interested in doing a land tour but if we did.... we would fly to Anchorage (from Seattle), rent a car and go North to do Denali on our own for a couple of days... and then go south to Alyeksa, Alaska and stop in Girdwood and visit the famous Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center and visit Whittier. To me, that's PLENTY of Alaska and then some... but then there are those that will say "you MUST visit Denali for NO LESS than 5 days." Okay, sure. 🙊 I say do what is best for YOU. 🙂 Happy Travels

Our airfare is actually protected so I'm not incredibly worried. You no longer need to have a COVID-19 test or be vaccinated to enter Argentina... as of June 14, 2022. You can Google and there are many articles stating that Brazil welcomed back Cruise Ships as of March 2022. Brazil Finally Welcomes Back Cruise Ships - Travel Off Path As a further note, they've even relaxed several of those initial requirements they made... testing during the cruise is no longer required and travel insurance is no longer required. Here's to hoping we can all travel to South America next year..... I'm trying to stay positive. 🙂

You really should consider the Bering Sea Crab Fisherman's Tour in Ketchikan. We don't like ship excursions either and we LOVED this - you can read about it in my review (link in my signature) or on their website. You will NOT be disappointed.

Maybe consider a shorter trip... we booked an 8-night cruise going from Buenos Aires up to Rio, then 2 other Brazil stops, a day in Uruguay, and back to Buenos Aires. We will be in South America a total of 8 full days and we will be actually in cities exploring for 5 of those days.... plus the day we fly in which is also our embarkation day so technically, we will be in the city that day too. It also looks like our ship offers a "pick you up at the airport, take you around sightseeing, then embarkation" type of excursion which we've never seen a ship do that before so we may do that too.

I know at least two lines are already booking for South America next yaer. NCL is doing South America next year in March as is Costa Cruise Lines in March 2023. We were booked on NCL and cancelled because I couldn't find flights that met our needs. We are now booked on Costa going from Buenos Aires up to Rio, 3 other stops including Uruguay, and back to Buenos Aires March 2023. They better be going. We already booked flights. ☺️😄

I will somewhat agree the Mendenhall Glacier with Whales... we saw at least 15 bald eagles on the van on the way to the boat plus we saw at least 4 or 5 whales at a distance... but that was sorta "Wah Wah" I would also recommend the Bering Sea Crab Fisherman's Tour....of course... I'm not sure that's really "wildlife" but it was the single best tour or excursion we may have ever taken off a boat. I did an in-depth review of it in my trip report with pics (link in my signature). You will see and hold starfish, shrimp, various types of crabs, octopus, etc... plus the bald eagles.... that was such a surprise and so wonderful. I didn't write about the eagles in my review because I wanted others to be surprised - it was amazing. I seriously have never wanted to recommend a tour so much in my life. Amazing.

Since you may actually want to venture out in Victoria... just walk off the ship and there will be a company there (yellow jackets if I recall) and a line of people waiting... they are selling a transfer to downtown and back for $13 per person. They take cash or credit cards. It's a double decker bus. They drop you off in the middle of downtown where lots of people are eating or walking and they pick you back up at the same location. They say the buses run every 10-15 minutes. You might enjoy a walk around or down the street to see the Parliament Building and the Empress Hotel.

Here's the pic from 2011

You are welcome and thank you!! Funny that you mentioned my sweater. It's one of my favorites. In 2011, I wore that sweater all day in Seattle. I have several pictures of myself wearing it while we did a foodie tour around Seattle. I specifically wore it again in Seattle for our embarkation photo - because it is still in fabulous condition and still fits! 🙂 It is a Liz Claiborne sweater. I'm not sure where I purchased it. Also, the pictures may be deceiving as the sweater is actually sleeveless... I was wearing a long-sleeve white cotton shirt underneath the sweater.

I am so glad I asked. Thank you all. I had just assumed this was a no big deal thing!!

Hello! We are new to NCL and my roll call is dead... also, I'm trying to book flights to and from South America just shy of eight months in advance and I have a question for anyone who might know the answer... Our final destination on our cruise is Rio. We arrive in Rio on Saturday March 18th in the early morning. The cruise does not "end" technically until Sunday Morning March 19th. So... is it okay or possible to leave the ship Saturday night to catch a late/overnight flight back to the states? I'm assuming this is no big deal but honestly, I've never done this before and I don't know the answer. I could call and bother NCL but there is Cruise Critic.... Thanks for any answers! - Kay