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Mediterranea, Magic or Mayhem


bazbov
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Hello everyone, after a very busy summer i'm back and we have just returned from the Costa Mediterranea.Our first time on this ship. I have posted my review on the reviews page but also putting it here. Hope everyone is well and that you all had a good summer. Enjoy the review.

 

 

 

 

 

Mediterranea,Magic or mayhem.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wehave just returned from a 13 night cruise aboard the CostaMeditteranea.

 

 

Weflew with Iberia from Madrid to Stockholm and had a few days inStockholm before boarding the ship. Below is OUR opinion on the shipand cruise.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Embarkation.

 

 

Wearrived at Stockholms Fryhamnen cruise terminal using the metrosystem from Odenplan, a little after midday. We had stayed at theIbis styles which was basic but clean and welcoming. The metro wasvery easy to use, even with 2 large suitcases and the walk to theterminal from the station is signposted and took us about 20 minutes.

 

 

Embarkationhad already started and as we are Perla diamente members we wereushered straight through to the boarding/security area, had ourphotos taken for our cruise card and directed to the buffet to getsomething to eat. Our cabin would not be available until 2pm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Buffet.

 

 

Weare not really fans of buffets as we prefer to have waiter serviceand to take our time whilst having a meal. We had an Intendetoredrinks package

 

 

whichmeant we could have any drink costing 9 euros or less. Our cruisecards had not been collected as they were in the cabin but we justshowed our reservation slip and were assured there'd be no problem.

 

 

Therewere plenty of tables available as we were the first group on board.We selected what we wanted to eat from a very limited hot choice andfrom a somewhat confusing layout where different stations servingcold items, desserts, self serve collection drinks area and tea andcoffee area are scattered.

 

 

Donaldhad ordered a glass of wine which without the package would have cost5.75€ inc 15% service charge and i ordered an iced tea 3.30€.Halfway through the meal a young lady server arrived and gave Donalda bill to sign which was charging for the iced tea. We againexplained we were on the highest drink package level and we couldhave any drink for 9€ and less and showed her our reservation slip.She told us that it was for drinks by the glass only and as iced teawas served by the can, we had to pay for it.

 

 

Wepolitely refused and asked to see a manager who re-iterated that inthe buffet we could only be served drinks by the glass. To oursuprise, other passengers were being brought beers, and other softdrinks, pepsi, orange, 7up etc which were in cans and bottles andnothing was said. We signed the bill but it was never ever charged toour account, so somewhere there was a lack of communication. We onlyused the buffet area 1 more time and found it to be like other cruiselines, mostly chaotic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cabin.

 

 

Ata little before 2pm we went to see if our cabin was available. Forthe first time ever we were lucky enough to be able to get afantastic deal on a grand suite including butler service. This wasfor less than the price it would have cost us for an inside cabin onan American/ British ship.

 

 

Therewas a longish hallway with huge long table which led to a seatingarea with settee and chairs. Fully stocked no charge mini bar whichwas replenished if you asked. One wall was covered in huge glasswindows with ocean view with access to a huge wrap around balconywith 4 recliners and 2 chairs and a table. A seperate make updressing area with dimmer switch lighting.The bathroom had his andher sinks with a hydromassage bath and overhead shower. The bedroomhad a gigantic bed with plenty of wardrobe and storage space. Ourfirst steward Fidel we found to be very pleasant and kept the roomspotless but his contract was ending in 3 days. The replacementsteward Ronald, was very personable and nothing was too much troublefor him, he looked after us very well. The Butler, Dave was alsofriendly and although we did'nt use his service much, he did leave acontact number. We did have occasion to call him for 2 emergencies.

 

 

 

 

 


  1. Water was in the bathroom when we returned late at night,Within minutes 7 people arrived and dealt with the problem. Water had collected inside the outer cover of the bath and had overflowed.
     
  2. On our last night, whilst packing, we noticed that some of our clothes were stained and damp. Water had dripped from a cooling vent inside the wardrobe. Dave arranged for this to be repaired and for our clothes to be immediatly laundered.

 

 

 

 

 

Wearranged to have breakfast in the cabin on two occasions. This wasdelivered by Dave. Service was white glove and prompt and everythingwe ordered was delivered.

 

 

Youcould have all meals served in the suite at no extra charge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whilstwe did enjoy the suite very much we felt that for us we would nothave liked to have paid the full asking price so unless we get a veryspecial deal again, i doubt whether we'll get a full suite again.

 

 

Becausewe have reached Costas top tier of their loyaly programme regardlessof what cabin we choose, we get 1 Laundry service, free collectionand delivery of luggage from our home (within western europe)

 

 

Breakfastat no charge in the cabin. Exclusive use for ALL meals in the clubrestaurant. 75€ obc, reserved seats at shows in theatre, day spause (where available) plus some little extras. We feel this is goodenough for us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Restaurantand meals.

 

 

Onthe Costa Meditarranea we had most meals in the club medussarestaurant.

 

 

Breakfastwas serve yourself from a cold buffet and/or a waiter service themedhot breakfast, choice of American Spanish Norwegian German Belgian orEnglish style breakfasts. Omelletes and eggs cooked to orderavailable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lunchwas a help yourself cold buffet station with salads cooked meatscheeses and various seafood treats including on 1 day a deliciousLobster salad.

 

 

Youthen had a choice of several hot and cold starters, Mains anddesserts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dinnerconsisted of waiter served hot and cold starters, Pasta, a selectionof entrees, cheese, and desserts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Allof our meals whilst not high gourmet were better than what we wouldeat at home and there was always something you could eat. Food whilstnot served really hot was not served cold and was very appetising.Service was fantastic and our Main servers Wyam, Trang and Karin werean absoloute delight, indeed all the staff in the Club medussa are acredit to Costa.

 

 

Mostpassengers in the restaurant were extremely friendly with a veryinternational mix. French, German, Spanish, Swiss, Russian, Italianand a very few native British. We always looked forward to meal timesand had so much fun with our fellow comrades.

 

 

Youcould of course always opt to eat in one of your other assignedreataurants or the Buffet, pizza or grill.

 

 

Buffetbreakfast was continental only. Drinks are charged for unless youtake a package. This includes Water tea coffee except for meal timesin the buffet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Barsand Drinks.

 

 

Therewere plenty of places to get a drink from however when the ship wasreeally busy especially sea days, service could be a little slow butif you are patient somebody will come.

 

 

Drinkson average cost no more than in a 4 star hotel or theme park. We dontreally drink a lot of alcohol but there are some delicious non alcococktails which cost about 7€ plus 15% service on ALL drinks. Inorder to help with drink package versus pay as you go here is anapprox example.

 

 

Basedon some alco drinks

 

 

Morning.

 

 

2cappucino at breakfast 6€

 

 

midmorning coffee 2.24€

 

 

nonalco cocktail 6€

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lunchand afternoon.

 

 

Glassof wine 5.50€

 

 

1ltrbttl water 3.50€

 

 

afterlunch coffee 2.24€

 

 

alcococktail 8.25€

 

 

 

 

 

 

evening

 

 

predinner sherry 5.50€

 

 

glassof wine 5.50€

 

 

afterdinner port 5.50€

 

 

 

 

 

 

totalpay as you go 50.23€.

 

 

Brindiamodrinks package (ship branded drinks no alco cocktails) 26.99€

 

 

PioGusto package (ship branded drinks including alco cocktails) 29.99€

 

 

IntenditorePackage (premium branded up to 9€ drink.) 45.99€

 

 

Pricesare per person per day. Prices are inclusive of 15% service.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Allof the bar staff we encountered in the lounges were friendly and allhad a smile.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Entertainment.

 

 

Theentertainment team were very friendly and they had the usual shipboard activities from craft classes to port talks during the day. Notas much as on the American/ British lines, but i can never be boredwith people watching, chatting, reading and charity crochet.

 

 

Eveningentertainment ranged from theatre production shows (very good)

 

 

guestartists (very good) Disco and musicians in various bars around theship.We found all of the music on this cruise to be very good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

TheShip

 

 

TheCosta Mediterranea was kept spotlessly clean and the crew all workedhard constantly.British and American passengers may find the glitzydecoration a little overwhelming but it grew on us.

 

 

Mealtimes are a little later than these passengers may be used toespecially second seating and the buffet closes earlier, which for usis a good thing (less waste) There is a compulsary 10€ pppd servicecharge that can't be removed. In all honesty we find this a fairsystem and dont begrudge paying this at all. We have NEVER receivedenough bad service to warrant removing this charge. You may encounterthe odd person but this in no way should stop payment to the vastmajority of the staff who look after you so well. The passengers onboard are mainly from Western Europe and some may not speak english.A few local words and a smile and gestures will open conversation andyou will be greeted with a wave and a smile should you next encounterthem. We got really friendly with Maryvonne and Claude a delightfulFrench couple who we hope will now be friends for life. We had such alaugh with them and looked forward to meeting up with them throughoutthe voyage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Theports.

 

 

Portsvisited were Stockholm. Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Harwich, Le Havre,Vigo, Lisbon, Barcelona and Savona. As we had been to these ports onmany occasions we only took 1 excursion. Hornfleur from Le havre. Itwas a charming town which we both fell in love with and would visitagain in a heartbeat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conclusion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wasthe Costa Mediterranea magic or mayhem. There was a little mayhemespecially in the Buffet area but on the whole it was magic and wewould sail on her again. It did'nt capture our heart as much as theCosta Neo riviera Our favourite ship. We have previously sailed withP&O and Princess and had very good experiences with them but wehave grown to love the Costa brand and the glitz. We have neverreceived bad customer service and any problems have always been dealtwith efficiently and friendly service even from Costas sales officewhere Simona and Amanda have looked after us so well.

 

 

Ournext cruise is back on the Diadema which is 2nd favouriteand then we are giving the Costa Victoria a try.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanksfor reading and whoever you sail with Happy Cruising.

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Thank you for taking the time to write this lovely review! I've recently booked my first Costa cruise (also in a suite), and have been trying to learn some more about the cruise line. Your review was a huge help in knowing what to expect. Glad you enjoyed it!

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I've been on Mediterranea several times, I agree with Bazbov. I'll be back for the Suez Canal repositioning next March, a Premium cabin with Brindiamo package. Although I don't use alcohol, I've found the Brindiamo package to be good value.

The service charge is clearly stated in the Terms and Conditions- everyone treats them seriously and reads carefully, don't they?

If you like the Mediterranea, you should be very happy on the Deliziosa/Luminosa twins, which are the latest incarnation of that hull design.

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