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Why Costa?


CruiseNTheWorld91
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My wife and I are Diamond Members on Royal Caribbean and love it. However, we are really interested in going to the Middle East from Dubai in 2018 on Mediterranea. We've never cruised with another line but Royal doesn't offer this destination. Can anyone offer me a comparison and perhaps some things we will like better/worse than what we are used to with Royal? Also, any thoughts on the destination would be welcome as well! Thanks!

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GMT took the words right out of my mouth. I will be on Mediterranea Dubai-Savona March 2018.

If you like Royal Caribbean you will probably find the food no better than OK. Entertainment will be multi-lingual. Ejincali's review seems pretty fair, but Dubai might have a bit different demographic.

Edited by Dancer Bob
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I think there are only two reasons for english speakers why to chose Costa over Royal and that is price and different itineraries / placement of the fleet.

 

I really wasn't a fan of my three cruises with Royal and got a x% off next booking as an apology for them messing up every single time. But I can only think of one part that Costa does better.

All those little touches like dinner in the buffet and the lighting and drink service in there so much better on Royal.

By far better drinks and bar scene, serious entertainment as well.

What Costa can do though is parties and disco. Their white night or whatever they call it has been the best party I ever encountered on a ship and they have a serious nightclub with a proper space and a real DJ.

 

On Costa you pretty much get what you pay for and especially with so much cruising experience I would absolutely recommend doing the Costa trip for the itinerary. One of Costa's biggest weakness crowd management and information is not such a big influence when you know from other trips when approximately a ship is cleared by the authorities, what is included and how to spot and avoid extra charges and so on.

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My husband and I (Americans, but rather odd ones) booked Costa for our second cruise, after enjoying our first on Carnival Fascination. As much as we enjoyed that Carnival cruise, we felt we were not the right demographic--the music was too loud, the "fun ship" thing was a bit too much for us, there was too much smoke in the bars, and we were disappointed because we had hoped for better music and dancing opportunities (our fantasy was to dance every night--partner dancing like swing and tango, salsa and chacha). Carnival had great service and food, and we liked a lot, but it wasn't "us." (Though I doubt that would stop me from booking another cruise on them someday).

 

Costa was recommended for the dancing and music, and we were delighted. The vibe was much more sophisticated, volumes were a bit lower, smoking inside the ship was not permitted except in a sealed cigar lounge. The food was Ok to Good, with maybe one bad meal for each of us over a week. In the end, that is a price we are willing to pay again to get to experience the live musicians playing music we can dance to (and even doing so on purpose, after seeing what we liked to dance!).

 

Costa Diadema was a very good deal in terms of the price we paid versus the value we received. It did not bother hubby and I at all that we were in the minority of English speakers--we mostly like to spend time with each other, relax, read, eat nice (or nice enough) food, and dance together. Staff was not pushy in trying to sell us extras, which was appreciated (and we spent more on the ship as a result).

 

We did not find Costa Diadema disorganized. Everything flowed very well. There was a tendency for people not to respect queues which grated, but that is a cultural difference that American visitors have to accept.

 

I don't know what Royal Caribbean is like. I wish I could offer more direct comparisons.

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