Looking at Costa from Venice Suite vs RCCL

Hello. We are frequent cruisers (X, Princess, HAL, NCL) and are booking a 7 night Greek Island Cruise out of Venice in October. We booked RCCL Rhapsody of the Seas- as an aside we use a big warehouse store for our travel and they do not handle Costa. As I looked at options further I saw that Costa Luminosa sails on the same day and that a suite was less than our aft balcony with no 'extras'. Doing some research I also see that the suite offers a dedicated restaurant, drink package, mini bar (assume it is no charge) and other benefits. Tried to research a bit and understand that

Costa will be largely an international pax complement vs RCCL.

This is intriguing to me (the sister ship Delizoisa (sic) also leaves the next day with some similar savings.

Would greatly appreciates thoughts on this (these) options vs. RCCL and the other mainstream lines we are familiar with.

I will likely solicit advice later on the respective ship itineraries (this will be first time for us in Greek Islands) but first things first as they say.

Many sincere thanks in advance for your valued insights.

First and foremost, Costa is multi-cultural at least five different language's although all the crew speak English.

Food is certainly different from the lines you usually cruise with but with a suite we also get a few extra dishes (Lobster/Shrimp/Steak) any time, the intenditore (50 euros a day included) gives us better choices of wine and drinks up to 9 Euros, mini-bar to your choice, selected tours and spa treatment, & we also dine in the club restaurant, and priority boarding & disembarkation On most cruises you can have your cases picked up from home and delivered to the ship & back again.

You get a butler & & special crew member who will book all on board and extras you require.

Suites are not as good as other lines but more than adequate, Jacuzzi bath and shower extra dressing room and room extras.

A suite on Costa normally is cheaper than balcony on other lines, with all the extras makes it one of the best deals going in our Opinion.

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Hi Chisoxfan, Oakland A's fan here :)

If the Costa itinerary (ports and times in port) looks good to you, I think Costa is a good choice and a great value compared with other cruise lines. Since very few of your fellow passengers will be English speakers it will be tough to strike up a conversation with people, if that's important to you. Food is all Italian, the pasta is great, proteins may be disappointing from an American perspective. Every bar serves espresso, something we really liked. Our cruise (don't know if all of them do this) had an English host who made himself very visible and actually called the cabin mid-cruise to make sure everything was going OK.

Thanks for the replies. The aft balcony on RCCL and suite on Costa are close to a wash price wise so it is hard to turn down the Costa suite. We aren't big at socializing on board so no problem there. I don't think I could ever tire of good pasta and the drinks and 'special restaurant' sound good also. One 'issue' (minor) is that I will have to find a TA for this booking.

So far the ones I checked online have the exact pricing of Costa with no benes which seems unusual.

Costa policy seems to be different for each Country, we never get any discounts/OBC/ or anything else in the UK, so we book directly we Costa who seem to be the same prices as all other T.A's.

We have done 24 with them and to be honest the price always suits us, compared with other lines we cruise with.

What we save on the actual cruise used to pay for the AI drinks or a few tours, but we have grown to really enjoy Costa's attitude and service.

We did use a site that encourages 'bidding' and appears that we could save approx 300 over Costa prices. This means the Luminosa suite with benefits is a little less than RCCL aft balcony with none.

I spent the evening reading additional posts on Costa and was concerned with some of the extreme negativity from some. Granted the Costa boards don't have anywhere the volume of the mainstream lines so there are much fewer reviews.

What I expect... a suite that is not comparable to mainstream lines but is an upgrade from a 'typical' balcony....food (particularly with a dedicated suite restaurant that is comparable to mainstream lines albeit with a more European flair..... cleanliness- complaints about this are concerning in particular. I understand the crew and pax will speak numerous languages but just want to make sure I can reasonably

'find my way around'.

Still looking for more input particularly from those who have cruised Costa and Princess, HAL, x, etc.

Hi

I am not sure that you will find many people who have cruised with Costa and other lines on the Costa Boards. There are only a few of us who post regularly.

I have now been on 2 suites on Costa(upgrades) and one mini-suite (apparently glorified balcony).

Our first suite experience was on the Diadema and we had no suite benefits other than the room. We were on deck 12 in one of the Samsara suites. It was huge! the bathroom had a jacuzzi bath with shower and there was so much storage space we did not use half. There was also a lovely sitting area with a table and chairs. The balcony had a jacuzzi and was air conditioned as it was fully enclosed. It was massive and had great chairs on.

Our second suite experience was a year ago on the Fascinosa. Lovely large room, lots of storage space, dressing room area and similar bathroom to the above. We had the full suite benefits with this one. I cannot see the use of the butler though she topped the minibar up daily. The Itenditore package was included and the full minibar is part of the package. The balcony was a little bigger than a normal balcony.

Our min-suite was booked through Costa and was on the Neo Riviera. There were no suite benefits as these are only for suites and not for mini suites. We had a large bathroom bit Jacuzzi bath and shower over the bath.

The included drinks package really allows you just about everything on the drinks menu. You might find some of the wine on the separate wine list will not be included. The wines included were superior to the standard Piu Gusto. I am by no means a wine buff but I like wine and have done a basic tasting course in my dim and distant past.

The club restaurant is included for all suite guests. The food is identical to the MDR apparently BUT the restaurants are much better and you have lots more waiters available. You'll be looked after. Having poured over many cruise reviews on CC I think the food I have eaten on Costa looks not that disimilar to what people post. In fact I think the presentation is ofetn better. The portions are small, European style. Having multiple courses make up for it. In the club restaurant you will also have on the always available, beef fillet with Bernaise sauce and grilled prawns.They will do the fillet to your taste. If you look at my recent review on the Neo Riviera I have posted some photos of some of the dishes.

All the staff speak good English and in fact they seem to speak English to one another most of the time.

I have never been on a dirty Costa ship. They always have staff cleaning all over the ship whether it is pool deck of bars. You will often see them cleaning the hull when in post as well.

We will be on the Luminosa in a week sailing out of Venice. We have once again had an upgrade. We booked a premium balcony and were upgraded to an aft panorama suite on deck 6. I'll take some photos and post them on return.

You won't find the multiple speciality restaurants you have on other lines on Costa. I don't think the theatre entertainment is up to much but we hardly ever go anyway. We usually find some entertainer(s) who we like in a bar and that is where we will go regularly.

The daytime entertainment is probaly not as varied as some lines but we get off the ship in every port and only hang around on sea days. We take our own entertainment for that(me my Kindle and hubby his small laptop with documentaries or films).

I often read the reviews people write and stand amazed. I do not know what their expectations are. We cruise frequently but we also go on other holidays and we go to London some times so I don't think we have low expectations of our Costa cruises. I am trying very hard to get hubby to try another line but Costa wins for us in the Med.

If I can help with any questions just shout.

Alicat

There are only a few of us who post regularly.

A dying breed.:halo:

Costa is one of the cleanest cruise lines. Cgeck out the CDC or is it US Coast Guard checkups.

All crew menbers you come into contact will speak English. Also most European passengers will speak some English, try finding a Brit or American passenger on P&O or RCI who could hold a conversation in German. Of course you will always get some bright spark trying to do a Basil Fawlty by speaking louder.

Just go, it's only money, either you will love Costa or hate it.

I always look look on the bright side when on a cruise, I could have been at home and dear MIL coming to stay. :loudcry:

Thank you Alicat58 for your thorough response. I spent last night looking through CC boards and TA and what scared me were the complete 'horror' stories by travelers who said they could not wait to get off the ship. Much of this angst seemed to be aimed at indifferent customer service but the stories were often detailed in their documentation and frustration. CC boards for all the mainstream lines are peppered with dissatisfaction but usually over small issues and I don't remember posters ever saying they could not wait to get off the ship which was the theme of several Costa reviews.

While I am very attracted to the drink package and a suite value proposition I am reluctant to 'take a chance' on our first cruise to Greek Islands. I am pretty certain what the RCCL experience will be like. If I encounter problems (which can happen on any cruise line of course) I am reasonably certain that I will be able to get a satisfactory resolution. Not sure of this on Costa.

That is not to say I discount your positive experiences or am not appreciative for the time you spent trying to help a fellow passenger.

We have a way before the cruise and I plan to continue to look at the Costa option.

To get into a specific comparison, the only other line I've used in Europe is NCL. Compared to them, Costa is definitely as clean--if not better because we had such a good room steward. The pasta, espresso, and fun factor were better on Costa. NCL had better proteins in the dining room, and I happened to like their entertainment better. Here's a link to the review I wrote of the Costa cruise

https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=570238

Dying breed indeed.

I just looked at the reviews for the Luminosa and can see why you are reluctant to go on her. I just find it odd that more than one reviewer in the same month can have such a different experience from another.

I agree with Ejincali that the theatre entertainment is not great.

JMhamburg has recently done a good review on the ship. I looked at his blog as well. Might help you. Also Ejincali and a few others have reviewed some of the other Costa ships.

Like people from the USA cruising to the Caribbean we go to the Med as it is on our doorstep. Not sure where you are from but USA bookings get the water included deal. I looked at the prices for AI and Costa is far cheaper than other lines. That also goes(mostly) for the daily service charge.

Good luck again with your research.

Alicat

I spent last night looking through CC boards and TA and what scared me were the complete 'horror' stories by travelers who said they could not wait to get off the ship.

For me the negative reviews / hoorror stories can be grouped into 3 basic areas:

1. Somene who complains that everything was bad, there are in this frame of mind because either they didn't get a free upgrade or a certain perk.

2. North Americans coming over to Europe to get a taste of European culture during the day and wanting to go back to an American Bubble on the cruise ship with lobster and eberone including all passengers speaking English.

3. Passengers with a real greivance that has not been rectified.

Q.E.D.

Hi there:)

I don't post very often as we don't cruise that much, but I hope I can give you some useful feedback, as we have cruised on Costa and Celebrity.

I have to preface by saying that we haven't cruised with Costa for 6 years, as we live in Australia and they don't have a presence here.

In 2011 we cruised with Costa from Venice to the Greek islands. The ship was Costa Victoria, and we had read the horror stories, just as you have, about the food, the passengers, the service, the poor ship features, etc. etc. We decided to go and just take things as they were.

We had an absolutely fantastic time. The food ranged from average to very good, certainly we had not-so-great meals a few times, but really, so what. Most of the time the food was good, the pasta dishes in particular were excellent, as was the seafood. Service was outstanding, our butler was the best we have ever had and suite perks were great. Some of the passengers were a bit over the top at times, but again, no big deal.

In comparison, cruising on Celebrity was also excellent. Our first Celebrity cruise (2012) was to Bermuda on Summit. A beautiful, elegantly understated ship (more so than the "glitz" of Costa), excellent food and service. Suite perks were pretty good. In 2015 we sailed Solstice out of Sydney to the Pacific islands. Again, the ship was beautiful, however food quality and service levels were not what we had experienced previously. We were disappointed with the average quality meals served, considering the premium paid. The cabin attendant and butler were just run off their feet and always looked flustered and rushed-I felt bad asking for anything. We usually waited 15-20 minutes for drinks on the "all-inclusive" package-bars were very understaffed.

Next year we will be visiting Europe and looked at Costa and Celebrity again. We have a Costa Deliziosa cruise booked, in a suite. It was just under 5K aud. By comparision, a balcony on Celebrity is 7.9K

For us, it is absolutely no contest. Taking into account price vs value, and previous experiences, Costa wins hands down in this instance.

Happy to answer any questions you may have about our experience.

Cheers.

I've been on Holland America, Princess and X. HAL- I'm only 68, I hope I've got at least 30 years before I'm old and decrepit enough to fit in (I travelled with groups, for group activities). Princess and X, not much better.

RCCL I wouldn't refuse to go back for a cheap winter getaway, but not worth a special trip. NCL the same.

I was on a Costa TA with a large group of Americans, as soon as I saw them I thought "these old geezers should be on Holland America". I saw a couple of negative reviews I think were from them. I only agreed with "lots of dancing", otherwise, everything was debatable, misleading, or just plain wrong.

From your fixation with cheap-cheap-cheap, I doubt you will like Costa ambiance, an American ship sounds a better choice.

Okay bottom line, Costa's ships are full of Italians, they push in whenever they can, get into lifts before we have got out, shout & even dance the night away.

I also hate pasta Italian wine & the buffet.

I would rather be on Cunard, Princess, P&O where everyone is English or American.

BUT.

Of our four/five cruises a year we will have to board a Costa ship at least once just to make the comparison of why we hate it so much, just because we are Perla Diamate like good service and being treated as special, have a butler to un-wrap our cases help us put stuff away if asked and spoil us. Not to mention the outstanding extras, we just have to put up with all those foreigners & particularly 'Brits' who will moan at anything.

Oh forgot to mention their outstanding deals.

Okay bottom line, Costa's ships are full of Italians, they push in whenever they can, get into lifts before we have got out, shout & even dance the night away.

I also hate pasta Italian wine & the buffet.

 

I would rather be on Cunard, Princess, P&O where everyone is English or American.

 

Also the chance of bumping into Alicat58.:halo:

Also the chance of bumping into Alicat58.:halo:

GMT you are so cheeky! Anyhow I am not fully British. You'll pick up on the Sef Efriken accent a mile off. Also we cruise only about 4 times a year. ;-)

Dancerbob you have not added your Cunard experience when you wanted to jump ship.

How do you do the "Quote message in reply" ? It made a no entry sign when I tried to tick the box.

Also the chance of bumping into Alicat58.:halo:

 

GMT you are so cheeky! Anyhow I am not fully British. You'll pick up on the Sef Efriken accent a mile off. Also we cruise only about 4 times a year. ;-)

 

Dancerbob you have not added your Cunard experience when you wanted to jump ship.

 

How do you do the "Quote message in reply" ? It made a no entry sign when I tried to tick the box.

Sorry Alicat. MIL is coming to dinner so I had to take it out on someone.:hearteyes:

With regardrs to include quote on a message, just click on the " Quote box, a new window will appear with Reply to Thread with the previous message quoted.

I've been on Holland America, Princess and X. HAL- I'm only 68, I hope I've got at least 30 years before I'm old and decrepit enough to fit in (I travelled with groups, for group activities). Princess and X, not much better.

RCCL I wouldn't refuse to go back for a cheap winter getaway, but not worth a special trip. NCL the same.

I was on a Costa TA with a large group of Americans, as soon as I saw them I thought "these old geezers should be on Holland America". I saw a couple of negative reviews I think were from them. I only agreed with "lots of dancing", otherwise, everything was debatable, misleading, or just plain wrong.

From your fixation with cheap-cheap-cheap, I doubt you will like Costa ambiance, an American ship sounds a better choice.

I value and appreciate the responses to my post but am a bit taken aback by your comment particularly regarding 'my fixation on cheap-cheap-cheap'. I am not certain how you arrived at this conclusion or that the negative reviews you read had to be by the 'old geezers that should be on Holland America'. In fact you stated you wouldn't mind going back to RCCL or NCL on a 'cheap' winter getaway so apparently you are the one fixated on this.

We have greatly enjoyed travel throughout Europe (I actually work for a German company) and the opportunity to be with other cultures on a cruise is a positive in our minds.

Like most passengers, regardless of nationality, we are most concerned with cleanliness, quality of food, reasonable service and customer responsiveness- these are the issues that have been bashed in many reviews and things I am seeking constructive comments on.

I apologize in advance to the other posters for being confrontational but after reading their kind and thoughtful posts with the clear intent to help a fellow cruiser, your message seems completely out of context. Glad that you are still happily kicking up your heels at 68.

Hi again

Just to say which ever line you choose sailing out of Venice is amazing and we are not going to be able to do that for much longer. Have some time in Venice either side of your cruise, it is such a magical place.

Choose a cruise that includes Kotor. The sail in and out is stunning.

Athens is Athens. If you have never been you will want to see go to the Acropolis.

For the rest, does not really matter. The whole area is beautiful and cruising is such a joy.

Good luck with your choice and I hope you have an amazing time.

Alicat

Hi chisoxfanb,

Joking aside there is only one way to either prove or dis-approve all the moaners who constantly de-cry Costa, give them a try.

The food certainly had deteriorated and in some cases did not come up to the wonderful menu's of the late 90's, yes choices have been reduce from 5/7 per course to just 2/3 but if I the fussiest eater going can always find something to choose am sure you will be pleasantly surprised. Once two years ago on the Diadema, I only partly ate several courses, on the third day the Maître 'd came to our table and offered to have cooked anything of my choice cooked the next evening.

As for cleanliness I have more dirt under my finger nails than on a Costa ship.

I am never going to say we could not find fault but I have done that on Cunard/H & A/ Princess one could always find something to moan about.

You sound like you are indeed doing your research which will always bring up up-happy reviewer's more than those who enjoyed the experience.

We have cruised extensively on many different lines since 1968, every one I would love to be able to do again given the choice, even the not so good ones.

Give Costa a try if you don't like them don't go again.

Hi again

 

Just to say which ever line you choose sailing out of Venice is amazing and we are not going to be able to do that for much longer. Have some time in Venice either side of your cruise, it is such a magical place.

 

Choose a cruise that includes Kotor. The sail in and out is stunning.

 

Athens is Athens. If you have never been you will want to see go to the Acropolis.

 

For the rest, does not really matter. The whole area is beautiful and cruising is such a joy.

 

Good luck with your choice and I hope you have an amazing time.

 

Alicat

Thank you Alicat (and other posters) for taking so much interest in my 'plight' and offering such sincere feedback!

The RCCL cruise does stop in Kotor but not the Costa, but fully agree you can hardly go wrong in this area.

We know this is just a primer and spending days in Milan, Florence, and Venice, 7 additional nights for a cruise from Venice is all I can fit into my vacation planning (we also are doing a ten day {Panama cruise in Jan so we are really stretching things) but we figure life is too short and better to do this travel with health remaining and income stream while still working.

We have been on something like 14 cruises and never had a 'bad' (or close) to 'bad' one and we are hoping to keep the streak going.

That said, while I think prudent planning and investigation makes sense, I don't want to be caught up in a frenzy of 'over

thinking' through endless researching and trying to select the best of everything. I know the best travel experiences often crop up by chance. Just looking for a balance of solid planning a bit of joie de vivre.

Hi chisoxfanb,

Joking aside there is only one way to either prove or dis-approve all the moaners who constantly de-cry Costa, give them a try.

The food certainly had deteriorated and in some cases did not come up to the wonderful menu's of the late 90's, yes choices have been reduce from 5/7 per course to just 2/3 but if I the fussiest eater going can always find something to choose am sure you will be pleasantly surprised. Once two years ago on the Diadema, I only partly ate several courses, on the third day the Maître 'd came to our table and offered to have cooked anything of my choice cooked the next evening.

As for cleanliness I have more dirt under my finger nails than on a Costa ship.

I am never going to say we could not find fault but I have done that on Cunard/H & A/ Princess one could always find something to moan about.

 

You sound like you are indeed doing your research which will always bring up up-happy reviewer's more than those who enjoyed the experience.

We have cruised extensively on many different lines since 1968, every one I would love to be able to do again given the choice, even the not so good ones.

Give Costa a try if you don't like them don't go again.

Agree trying Costa is the only way you will truly know. Of course, you could take a different ship or different itinerary and have a vast difference in experiences with the same cruise line. One cabin could be better than another based on a mechanical problem or even noisey neighbors. Weather can change and passenger compositions.

The internet is a mixed blessing for info as their is almost too much. I eat out often when I travel and it is amazing to see restaurant reviews on TA going from 'the best dining I ever had' to 'I wouldn't feed this food to my dog'. So all you can do is try to form a consensus of opinion and hopefully find people that are informed and thoughtful where you can put additional credibility to their insights.

I am not certain we will try Costa on this cruise but will definitely look at this option in the future as we hope to continue cruising for many years.

So what did you choose? We are going out of Venice Oct 7,18 on the Delioza.