Birthday on the Diadema

Wehave just returned home from a weeks cruise around the Med on theCosta Diadema. This was my annual birthday cruise and we have cruisedon the Diadema before, this was our 3rd time. I shall postcomments on how we found our cruise experience to be but this will bea lengthy review. I shall be posting menus, and current drinks pricesas well as extracts from the daily whats on programme. For those whodo not like detailed lengthy reviews you have been warned (Grin).

Aswe are Perla Diamente (top level tier Guests) one of the perks isthat our cases are collected from our home and delivered to the ship(only within Europe) so armed only with hand luggage we set off fromAlicante train station to Barcleona the day before the cruisedeparted. The journey takes 5 hours on the fast train and it is acomfortable ride. We stayed this time at the Crowne plaza firacentre, only 2 stops from Sants which is one of the main hubs andfrom the hotel is only 3 stops from Drasanes which is the cruiseterminal metro stop. The Crowne Plaza was a comfortable stay and wehad booked an executive room which was very comfortable.

Thefollowing day we departed the hotel and made our way to the cruiseport. There are shuttles running from near the colombus monument whchdrop you off outside the terminal at a cost of 3€ single or 4€return. On the shuttle bus we met a couple of Italian people whorecognised us from our last cruise, This happened quite a lot oftimes on this cruise both with passengers and staff and was awonderful surprise.

Outsidethe cruise terminal, you showed your travel documents and you weregiven an embarkation number, ours was number 1 (another perk) youthen made your way inside the terminal where you filled out a healthquestionaire form. You then went to check in where you handed in yourhealth check form and tickets, your photo was taken and you were thentold that your cruise card would be on the bed in your cabin andgiven a time when embarkation would begin. We were then escorted tothe VIP lounge (another perk) dont get too excited, it was just asmallish room with a table of snacks (crisps,(chips) biscuits,(cookies) various soft drinks, (soda) and water. We were told thatsomebody would be up to escort us to the ship embarkation point at1.30pm. We were the only people in the VIP lounge and if i'm honest,i did miss the hustle and bustle of the other passengers, butunfortunately because of current health issues i now don't do well incrowds especially when people tend to push and shove or dontconcentrate on where they walk. It doesn't take much for me to losemy balance, so i tend to wait until crowds disperse.

Anywaya few minutes before 1.30pm we were indeed escorted to theembarkation line where crowds of people were standing around waitingto be boarded. Even with the anouncements that boarding would beginwith number 1 followed by 2,3,4,etc people were still trying to boardwith higher numbers, to no avail, The young lady who was escorting usmade it quite clear that they had to sit down and a clear path wasmade for me. I think i would have fallen if this had not havehappened, so thanks Costa for this definate improvement. Theobligatory ships embarkation photo was next and then we were onboard. Our cabins were ready and we went to the cabin to collect ourcruise cards, then up to the restaurant club diadema (yet anotherperk where all perla diamente and suite guests get to take all theirmeals on board.) Because this cruise was so busy they had to allocate2 seating times instead of dine as you please, 1st seating was at6.30pm and 2nd at 9.15pm. We were 2nd seatingbut if you got peckish beforehand you could always have a littlesomething from the buffet area.

Justinewas the Maitre'D in the club Restaurant and we are old friends, wehave watched him grow through the rank and file and he has now beenpromoted again to assistant Matre'D throughout the whole ship. We arethrilled for him and for those of you who know him, i'm sure you'llagree his promotion is richly deserved, for those who don't know him,if you ever get the chance to meet him, you are in for a treat. Heand his team looked after us (again) so well, and we are proud tocall him a friend.

Idid take some menus and i will copy what was available under anotherheading. This may take some time as i have not mastered the art ofthumbnailing and pasting, so i'll have to type everything.

Therest of the afternoon was spent reaquainting ourselves with the ship,some parts have been re-decorated, The ship is very big and glitzybut she does feel very welcoming. I have taken a video of the shipand for the first time i will attempt tp post it on a very well knownvideo web site (LOL) this will be my first attempt, so please do bekind and patient. We then got ready for evening dinner and went tothe show in the theatre, reserved front 3 rows for Diamente and Suiteguests up until 5 minutes before the show starts, this is nowrigourously enforced and you will be asked for your cruise card. Itis amazing the number of passengers who when challenged argue withthe host/ess even though it is clearly marked. I would'nt want theirjob for the world and i take my hat off to them. A nightcap after theevening meal and then bed. Goodnight day 1.

Portsof call.

Becausewe have sailed this route many times, we decided to mainly enjoy theship. The majority of passengers do tend to go ashore and on portdays you do feel as if the ship belongs to you, at least for a littlewhile.

Costatend to embark and disembark passengers at the vast majority ofpoints called, which makes it easier for passengers to embark at apoint thats closer to where they live. Their main hub is savonna inItaly. So on this cruise it's like a loop. Savona, Italy, Marseille(France) Barcelona (Spain) Palma de Mallorca (Spain) At sea. Palermo(Sicilly Italy) Civatevecia for Rome, (Italy) and then back toSavona. We chose to embark and disembark in Barcelona.

Thistime the only port of call we got off, was in Marseille, The shipsshuttle bus cost 10.95€ return journey. We only got off herebecause we had arranged to meet some French friends of ours who wemet on our last cruise. They live about 2 hours from Marseille andkindly met us. We had a fantastic time catching up on all the newsand had a wonderful meal in a restaurant sat outside on the terrace.The weather was very kind to us with clear blue skys and a warmtemparature of about 20c, 68-70f.

Cabin.

Becausewe were only on board for a week we opted to stay in an inside cabinin a premium category. It was perfectly acceptable and had plenty ofstorage space, 2 large suitcases fit under the bed.

Ourcabin steward Marie looked after us very well and it appears thatCosta too are now trying to slowly introduce the Morning, Evening, orboth cabin service. Their explanation is they are trying to reducethe effect of detergents on the environment. Marie made the choicefor us and put both.

Weare very tidy people and try to make the cleaning staffs job aseasily as possible, they work incredibly hard and for very longhours. Whilst walking up and down the cabin corridor we are oftenhorrified at the way some passengers leave their cabin, the words pigsty come to mind. At the moment Costa charge a service fee of 10€per person per day, this is shared out between all non salaried stafffrom the person who cleans the public areas up to your dining roomattendants. It is clearly stated that this is NON removable and so itis easy to factor this into the cost of your holiday.

Believeme, these guys and girls are worth every penny of this servicecharge. For us, these cruise staff make our holiday and we appreciateevery single one of them.

Everysingle staff member we encountered were hard working and friendly. Asmile and a cheery greeting goes a long way and we gained an insightinto the lives of these dedicated people.

Entertainment.

Entrtainmentranged from spa and health talks, excercise classes, games on deck,dance classes and quizzes during the day. Perhaps not as much as onan American /British ship but there is something for everyone. Forme, i'm a people watcher, i find people of different cultures andcountries fascinating. It doesn't matter if i can't understand whatpeople are saying. It's how they interact with each other that speaksvolumes. I can easily spend the day just watching people. I also havesome home hobbies and can often be seen doing some crochet.

Eveningentertainment consists of different bars having musical bands, duosand solos. On this cruise every single entertainer was very good witha good choice of music style. The various dance floors always hadpeople dancing and enjoying themselves.

Thetheatre shows were a good mix ranging from production shows, Tenor, aone man circus show and a sort of balletic acrobatic show which hadthe audience on their feet, including us, for a standing ovation,seriously it was that good. There is also the late night disco whichalways had a crowd, unfortunately that doesn't really get going untilwell after midnight and because of health issues or too muchfood(LOL) i usually have to retire by then. I did stay up for thewhite night party and that was amazing fun but i did suffer for itthe next day(grin).

Iwill type some of the activities from the daily Diario in anothersegment so please be patient.

Foodand Drink.

Forthe price we paid for the cruise (just over 50 pounds a day) rememberyou get Breakfast, Lunch, Afternoon snacks and dinner, plus youraccomodation,your different ports of call and your entertainment,this offers incredible value for money and nobody in their rightminds could expect Gourmet meals for this amount of money.

Wehave cruised with Costa a lot now and for us they are now ourpreferred cruise line. We don't know what they have done butcertainly on this cruise the food went up another level. We wereastounded at the quality. I don't know if it was the same in the mainrestaurant but certainly in the club diadema and the food from thebuffet had certainly improved.

Itwas average to good before but this time for us it was good toexcellent.

Inthe club restaurant you only get the Italian experience whilst thebuffet has a more international choice, for me when i'm on holiday,ido like to be waited on and have the gleaming cutlery on white tablecloths. Sometimes however i do fancy a little something differentespecially Asian food, but i don't like waiting in line. Justine(Maitre'D) must have over heard me and to my horror but delight hecame over and told me not to order anything from the menu as he hadsent 1 of his waiters to get me a selection of Asian food from thebuffet, it was delicious, yet i was a little embarrassed that 1 ofthe waiters walked to the buffet to get me it. That's going above andbeyond. On another occasion i had chosen the lamb from the menu andwas saying to Donald (my darling other half) that if i was at homei'd be gnawing on the bone (grin) It was so tender and sweet. Again imust have been overheard because lo and behold a plate with 2 extradouble cut chops appeared in front of me.

Onthe final night of my cruise it was my birthday and as another perkof the loyalty club you receive a birthday cake, it was huge. Imaginemy surprise when another birthday cake appeared, this time from thechefs and staff of the club restaurant decorated with the words “wewill miss you” The chefs and staff of the restaurant then toastedme with champagne. I was extremely humbled and touched (i cried)again thats going above and beyond, and i thank them all. We enjoyedevery single meal.

Somepeople criticise the high cost of drinks which can work out expensiveespecially if you do like to drink. However you can't expect to paythe same amount of money for a drink as you would pay in your localpub/bar. Prices are comparible to a 4 star hotel. We are not reallyheavy drinkers of alcohol but we do like an occasional drink and idiscovered the delights of Hugo Spritz rosa (elderflower syrup toppedup with prossecco and some sort of red liqour) so i'd have a coupleof those as well as soft drinks water tea and coffee. Donald would dothe same but he liked tha black russian.

Wehad reserved a piu gusto package at 29.49€ per person a day.Remember we are not huge drinkers but we kept a list of all we drankand if we had not purchased the package we'd have spent 822€. bypurchasing the package we spent approx 398€. please remember that15% has to be added to all drinks purchased and the prices shown doreflect this.

Iwill type the menus and drinks list in a seperate section.

Disembarkation.

Asanother Diamente perk we get laundry up to 25 items washed, driedand folded. We also get the luggage delivered back home. The luggagedoes have to be wrapped in cellophane and i really hate doing that.When i had done it and called for it to be collected from the cabin,i was asked why i hadn't let them wrap it for me, apparantly i'm theonly person on the ship with top level status who did this and i hateit, so i know what to do next time (giggle)

Wehad a leisurely breakfast and Lunch on board and then sans luggagemade our way back to Barcelona Sants to Alicante. The train left at4pm and we were back in the house at 10.30pm. The cruise is over andwe do miss it. We had a fantastic time and can't wait for our nextone aboard the Costa Victoria in June.

Ihope you enjoyed reading this. As i said Menus, drinks andentertainment will appear soon. Happy cruising :D

Hi Bazbov

Happy birthday. Very glad to see you had an amazing time on the Diadema.

I also like the Spritz you mentioned. The red one is Hugo Rosso and has elderberry cordial rather than elderflower. Both YUM>

We are just back off the Victoria and I am in the process of writing a review. That is between working my way through multiple tissues because I picked up the virus from heel on the last day of the cruise.

Looking forward to reading the rest.

Alicat.

Bazboy, belated birthday greetings and welcome home.

A nice, concise review, as always.

I have misplaced my glasses so had to read the review up close, I see you like Hugo Spritze - but I thought you mentioned gin a lot or was that grin. Where are my glasses?

Hi Bazbov

 

Happy birthday. Very glad to see you had an amazing time on the Diadema.

 

I also like the Spritz you mentioned. The red one is Hugo Rosso and has elderberry cordial rather than elderflower. Both YUM>

 

We are just back off the Victoria and I am in the process of writing a review. That is between working my way through multiple tissues because I picked up the virus from heel on the last day of the cruise.

 

Looking forward to reading the rest.

 

Alicat.

Alicat, Thank you, looking forward to your review on the Victoria, get well soon xx

Bazboy, belated birthday greetings and welcome home.

 

A nice, concise review, as always.

 

I have misplaced my glasses so had to read the review up close, I see you like Hugo Spritze - but I thought you mentioned gin a lot or was that grin. Where are my glasses?

Hiya G.M.T. or is that G&T and what size glasses are we on about? Hows the MIL? and hope you are all well.

Hiya G.M.T. or is that G&T and what size glasses are we on about? Hows the MIL? and hope you are all well.

We always talk about big glasses, dear MiL is doing well (as can be expected - so long as she keeps taking thae tablets).

We are off in 4 weeks, 14 days far east, not with Big C but with the big X Celebrity.

Hi bazbov,

We just missed each other as we were on the Diadema over Christmas getting off in Barcellona on the 31st.

I certainly endorse your praise of Justine and his team, what a great guy he is. My wife complained about the mixed salad lunch time saying she missed her carrot & radishes, each day after small plate of said treats were brought to our table.

We are back on this Sunday, I will pass on your regard's sorry can't remember your name but sure Justine will know.

Great review, although to be honest we found the noise level in the piano bar far to loud, & was unable to find anywhere to sit for a quite drink & chat with people we had met.

We always talk about big glasses, dear MiL is doing well (as can be expected - so long as she keeps taking thae tablets).

 

We are off in 4 weeks, 14 days far east, not with Big C but with the big X Celebrity.

Glad to hear that all is well and we hope that you have a great time on the big X, we look forward to hearing all about it. Happy cruising.:D

Hi bazbov,

We just missed each other as we were on the Diadema over Christmas getting off in Barcellona on the 31st.

 

I certainly endorse your praise of Justine and his team, what a great guy he is. My wife complained about the mixed salad lunch time saying she missed her carrot & radishes, each day after small plate of said treats were brought to our table.

 

We are back on this Sunday, I will pass on your regard's sorry can't remember your name but sure Justine will know.

 

Great review, although to be honest we found the noise level in the piano bar far to loud, & was unable to find anywhere to sit for a quite drink & chat with people we had met.

Hello Tenpin and thanks for your kind words. Hope you find somewhere more quieter this time around. Justine may not be around in the club restaurant as much this time because of his promotion, however i'm sure he'll still drop in from time to time. Just mention Barry and Donald to Randy and i'm sure he'll know us(Grin) hope you have a great time. Happy Cruising.:D