Impressions of our first cruise ..Atlantica Jan 2 - With Pictures!!!!!

[Dan bo]

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.

[G.M.T.]

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

[Dan bo]

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

[blueboo]

it works...lovely pics...suite looks very swishy !

[Dan bo]

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

[RD64]

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!

[NancyJewel92]

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

[40yearcruiser]

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.

[Dan bo]

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

[Dan bo]

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

[Dan bo]

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

[Tamara]

My family was also on that sailing! Great, Great Pictures!!!

[katkell]

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

[40yearcruiser]

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!

[Travel57]

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

[RD64]

Next winter the Atlantica will be doing 10 day cruises from Miami....

[G.M.T.]

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

[Dan bo]

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

[RD64]

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

[NancyJewel92]

RD64 - Thanks for posting that thread. Interesting article. :-)

[G.M.T.]

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

[EJKorvette]

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

[Dan bo]

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

[Peelboy]

Thanks. Very nice pictures. Gone were the days those affordable prices of Costa cruises.