Dan bo Posted January 15, 2011 #1 Share Posted January 15, 2011 Hello all Impressions from our first cruise; Costa Atlantica January 2, 2011. Our Captain was Francesco Serra and Andrea was our cruise director. Cabin # 7341 Grand suite, rear of ship starboard side. We were delighted, pleased and impressed with the Atlantica, her crew, and the food. We thought the ship was beautiful and elegant. The ship was spotless and a pleasure to explore. We were fortunate to have a grand suite with a balcony that was almost a large as our cabin. Food was more then fine to us and I'm very picky/fussy. We ate breakfast and lunch at the buffet (deck 9) and supper in the main dinning lounge (deck 2&3, we were seated deck 3). We also ate one night in the a la-cart restaurant. To me the pasta was to die for, just superb in all the restaurants. We did not buy any drink plan as neither of us a big drinkers, I bought a nice bottle of Chianti for dinner which lasted us most of the cruise and we had one or two other drinks while on board. I had NO problem with the cost and thought it was very reasonable. What we did indulge in was the espressos and cappuccinos which we had a couple of each day, again quite reasonable cost wise. We spent most of our time enjoying the ship and our balcony and just couldn't stay up to enjoy what I sure was wonderful entertainment. We normally get up for work at 03:30 or 04:30, so sleeping in for us is 06:00 which means by 21:00 we are just about done. It was nice and just what we wanted/needed time to relax. We tendered in Grand Cayman which was pretty neat and ran fairly smooth (just a tad of confusion), but no big deal. Over all getting on and off the ship was to us simple and timely. Here is a link to a slideshow of “some” of my photos on and around the Atlantica. The shots are “out-of-camera” converted to JPG from NEF and have not been post processed. As such they are not bad, but many of them would benefit from a little bit of work which I will do once time permits. I wanted to give those of you sailing on this beautiful ship a glimpse of what you are in store for. I hope you enjoy them. (I pretty sure the link will work, however please let me know if it doesn't, thanks) All photos were taken with a Nikon D80 using either the Nikkor 18-200vr or the Sigma 10-20. http://www.flickr.com/photos/d_bolger/sets/72157625829937970/show/ Thanks Dan I will try and update with some more info later in the week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G.M.T. Posted January 15, 2011 #2 Share Posted January 15, 2011 The link to the dia show did not work (could not be found), the link to your Flickr site works, but could not find the Atlantica photos. maybe it take a bit of time for the system to be updated. Ron PS. Glad you had a great cruise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan bo Posted January 15, 2011 Author #3 Share Posted January 15, 2011 The link to the dia show did not work (could not be found), the link to your Flickr site works, but could not find the Atlantica photos. maybe it take a bit of time for the system to be updated. Ron PS. Glad you had a great cruise Hi Ron .. thanks for the feedback re the link. Here is another link which "should work" NEW link to photos http://www.flickr.com/x/t/0097009/gp/d_bolger/45PTY2 you can click on slideshow top right to view them better. Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueboo Posted January 15, 2011 #4 Share Posted January 15, 2011 it works...lovely pics...suite looks very swishy ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan bo Posted January 15, 2011 Author #5 Share Posted January 15, 2011 it works...lovely pics...suite looks very swishy ! Ron Thanks for checking the link and glad you like the shots. Yes we were spoiled and loved it! Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RD64 Posted January 16, 2011 #6 Share Posted January 16, 2011 Great pics....I am glad that you enjoyed your first cruise...especially after the winter you have had so far. I will have to check out next year's Atlantica itineraries for next march Break. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyJewel92 Posted January 16, 2011 #7 Share Posted January 16, 2011 Dan -- Fantastic photos! You have a great eye for composition. Thanks for sharing them with us. I'm guessing that you were up pretty early to capture so many shots without people. Must have felt like you had your own private ship! :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
40yearcruiser Posted January 16, 2011 #8 Share Posted January 16, 2011 Thanks for posting your photos of the Atlantica! The ship looks just beautiful. We will be on the last Caribbean sailing for this season, leaving on March 18, with kids and grandkids. Then DH and I will stay on the ship for the transatlantic to Venice. Glad to hear that you had a great cruise. We're getting excited. Granddaughter has a question: is there a slide at the pool? I thought the website shows one, but didn't see any in your photos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan bo Posted January 17, 2011 Author #9 Share Posted January 17, 2011 Great pics....I am glad that you enjoyed your first cruise...especially after the winter you have had so far. I will have to check out next year's Atlantica itineraries for next march Break. Cheers! Thanks RD happy you like the shots. Yes it was a great experience for a first cruise. LOL ... back to reality ... as I type this it's -16C (~ 3F), oh well it is Canada. Cheers Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan bo Posted January 17, 2011 Author #10 Share Posted January 17, 2011 Dan -- Fantastic photos! You have a great eye for composition. Thanks for sharing them with us. I'm guessing that you were up pretty early to capture so many shots without people. Must have felt like you had your own private ship! :p Hi Nancy Thanks for the kind comments on the photos, they were sure fun to take. Yes early (hard to break old habits), but a few were shot later in the evening as well. It'd funny you say that about "your own private ship", the DW and I both had mentioned that a few time while on the cruise. Even during "busy" times we could always find quite places to just relax and enjoy the the ship and the view. 3 deck was a nice place to walk both in and out. You could walk around the back of the ship on the outside of 3 and either enjoy the view of the wake or peer into the dinning lounge. On 9 & 10 decks you can do complete laps. I hope you enjoy the ship and your cruise! Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan bo Posted January 17, 2011 Author #11 Share Posted January 17, 2011 Thanks for posting your photos of the Atlantica! The ship looks just beautiful. We will be on the last Caribbean sailing for this season, leaving on March 18, with kids and grandkids. Then DH and I will stay on the ship for the transatlantic to Venice. Glad to hear that you had a great cruise. We're getting excited. Granddaughter has a question: is there a slide at the pool? I thought the website shows one, but didn't see any in your photos. Well lets get to the important stuff first, yes there is a slide, quite a nice one that starts out above 11deck and ends on 10 deck. Unfortunately the slide isn't connected to a pool, but that didn't seem to bother any of the kids that were making very good use of it, so I hope your granddaughter will enjoy it. My apologies for not including a shot of in the set :o, I now added one. Here's the link to a larger view.:D http://flickr.com/gp/d_bolger/J19046 Thanks and glad you like the photos of the ship, it certainly is a beauty and was a lot of fun to photograph. I'm envious of the transatlantic to Venice what an experience that will be. All the best! Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tamara Posted January 19, 2011 #12 Share Posted January 19, 2011 My family was also on that sailing! Great, Great Pictures!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katkell Posted January 19, 2011 #13 Share Posted January 19, 2011 Great photo's you are very talented, mine don't turn out anywhere near as good, but then my camera isn't as good as yours. Just a comment on your cabin. You were in a Grand Suite? We were as well, 7303 starboard side, I am just looking at the difference in configuration. Ours looked to be much bigger, as we had a corner lounge and heaps of space. The bathroom looked the same, but your balcony is way bigger. We were on Pacifica, but both ships look to be pretty much similar. Maybe I need to take some photography lessons, and get a better camera Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
40yearcruiser Posted January 20, 2011 #14 Share Posted January 20, 2011 Dan, Thanks for posting a photo of the slide. It seems a little strange that it doesn't end at the pool, but the kids will like it just the same. My granddaughter is 8 and still loves playgrounds; I'm sure she will be sliding! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travel57 Posted January 20, 2011 #15 Share Posted January 20, 2011 Dear Dan, Your photos are fabulous. I am sailing on this ship March 11 and can't wait. It is definitely prettier than the Costa Fortuna and I sailed on her for 2 weeks last March. The colors on the ship are so vibrant. I hope I can recreate some of your shots with my 2 nikons, but they are not as good or as new as your camera. Thanks for the pics. Cindy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RD64 Posted January 20, 2011 #16 Share Posted January 20, 2011 Next winter the Atlantica will be doing 10 day cruises from Miami.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G.M.T. Posted January 20, 2011 #17 Share Posted January 20, 2011 Next winter the Atlantica will be doing 10 day cruises from Miami.... Where did you get this news? On the Costa Web sites the Atlantica cruises are only showup to November 2011 and they are in the Eastern Meditteranean. Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan bo Posted January 22, 2011 Author #18 Share Posted January 22, 2011 My family was also on that sailing! Great, Great Pictures!!! Hi Tamara! Thanks you, happy that you like the photos. I hope you enjoyed the sailing and ship as much as we did!! This ship is a real beauty. All the beast Dan ################################# Great photo's you are very talented, mine don't turn out anywhere near as good, but then my camera isn't as good as yours. Just a comment on your cabin. You were in a Grand Suite? We were as well, 7303 starboard side, I am just looking at the difference in configuration. Ours looked to be much bigger, as we had a corner lounge and heaps of space. The bathroom looked the same, but your balcony is way bigger. We were on Pacifica, but both ships look to be pretty much similar. Maybe I need to take some photography lessons, and get a better camera Hi Katkell Very kind words .. thank you! The camera and lens can certainly help, but I've learned a lot form others and would pass a long try and shoot from different angles, get up high or down low. Sometime the different perspective can help make a good picture a great one. Also TAKE LOTS OF SHOTS! digital is cheep, but be prepared to delete once you get home. Over the whole holiday I took just over 1000 shots (included 5 days in Florida), in the end I will keep about 300-350 on my computer and may print a album with about 200 or so. Re the cabin ... I looked at the Pacifia's deck layout and I think your cabin was larger then ours. It may have been because ours was the furthest aft cabin and thus the configuration difference and that also gave us the huge balcony. I wouldn't worry too much a about photo lessons (although they can be fun and worthwhile, I've heard) Some good free online reading on how to improve is out there and I would just take your photos, and enjoy the cruise. Cheers Dan ################################# Dan,Thanks for posting a photo of the slide. It seems a little strange that it doesn't end at the pool, but the kids will like it just the same. My granddaughter is 8 and still loves playgrounds; I'm sure she will be sliding! I'm sure she will be to.... I almost was! it looked so fun. :D Have fun. Dan ################################# Dear Dan,Your photos are fabulous. I am sailing on this ship March 11 and can't wait. It is definitely prettier than the Costa Fortuna and I sailed on her for 2 weeks last March. The colors on the ship are so vibrant. I hope I can recreate some of your shots with my 2 nikons, but they are not as good or as new as your camera. Thanks for the pics. Cindy Hi Travel57 Glad you enjoyed the shots and I am sure you will be able to capture many keepers with your nikons. LOL I am a member of a few photo forums and there the D80 is viewed as a OLD model, perspective is everything. The ship's colours are very vibrant and the decor is just beautiful!! Enjoy your cruise. Dan ############################# Next winter the Atlantica will be doing 10 day cruises from Miami.... I have not heard that either, but agree that the sailings whatever length will most likely be out of Miami, I believe ours was the last sailing out of Fort Lauderdale. Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RD64 Posted January 22, 2011 #19 Share Posted January 22, 2011 I read it at Cybercruises.com, which took me to this Soth Florida News link...dated January 15th. http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/blog/2011/01/costa-atlantica-brings-italian-flavor.html Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyJewel92 Posted January 22, 2011 #20 Share Posted January 22, 2011 RD64 - Thanks for posting that thread. Interesting article. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G.M.T. Posted January 22, 2011 #21 Share Posted January 22, 2011 I read it at Cybercruises.com, which took me to this Soth Florida News link...dated January 15th. http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/blog/2011/01/costa-atlantica-brings-italian-flavor.html Cheers Thanks for the info. Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EJKorvette Posted January 28, 2011 #22 Share Posted January 28, 2011 Wow Dan, hard to believe we were on the same ship after seeing your great photos! But there is no way I could ever get up that early. And your grand suite looked much nicer than our (very) restricted-view balcony stateroom. Would be great to spend ten days on the Atlantica, even though we have to drive the extra hour down to Miami now, and we aren't that excited about the eastern Caribbean ports of call (aside from St. Thomas). Something to look forward to next year. EJKorvette on the boards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan bo Posted January 30, 2011 Author #23 Share Posted January 30, 2011 Wow Dan, hard to believe we were on the same ship after seeing your great photos! But there is no way I could ever get up that early. And your grand suite looked much nicer than our (very) restricted-view balcony stateroom. Would be great to spend ten days on the Atlantica, even though we have to drive the extra hour down to Miami now, and we aren't that excited about the eastern Caribbean ports of call (aside from St. Thomas). Something to look forward to next year. EJKorvette on the boards Thanks EJKorvette ....LOL yes early , a curse/blessing , but we had the opposite problem and couldn't stay up for the shows. We were VERY fortunate and were upgraded when we booked with a Costa rep over the phone, very sweet and spoiled us. It will be interesting to see where we head to next, a Norwegian cruise may be in our future. All the best Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peelboy Posted January 30, 2011 #24 Share Posted January 30, 2011 Thanks. Very nice pictures. Gone were the days those affordable prices of Costa cruises. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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