Just Returned From the Mediterranea

[superchick]

I wanted to thank everyone who posted information in regards to this cruise ship. Everything was wonderful. The Staff, the food, ship itself. If you have any questions, please ask. I will be happy to try to answer them. For those who are going soon, you will not be disappointed. Please do not believe all the negative reviews. I was a worried for nothing!

[CruisinMatt]

I'm glad you had a great time!!! :D

[Silver Anniv]

The Mediterranea is a great ship, wonderful food, fantastic staff, we had a great time last year, glad everything is still the same.

It's a shame more people who had a good experiences don't post here, so others won't have to worry!

[Ms.Bee]

superchick, hi.....glad to hear you had a wonderful cruise!! I am Ms Bee and will be sailing the Mediterrania on 4/3. We have a great thread going now on the boards. Can you answer a question for me?? What kind of band did they have at poolside during the days at sea? Just wondering if the music was good and what kind of music?? I know we will enjoy the BIG SHIP and we are so excited to see her. Thanks for the positive review.........Ciao, Ms Bee;)

[Fedora]

I just returned from cruising on the MEDITERRANEA (3/20/05) and it was marvelous --- much better (IMHO) than RCCL, which is my friend's cruiseline of choice. At any rate, the few times I was up on the pool deck when a band was playing it was a mixture of Latin/Caribbean music. The music was good and extremely danceable. It was hard to sit at the table without at least moving around a bit --- and the dance floor stayed well occupied!

 

And I will say I feel the entertainment crew on this ship did an exceptional job. For instance, one night mid-week I was poolside near midnight and the staff made a serious effort to get everyone out there and dancing. They were friendly and very "joyful" in their approach to their job --- but they were not pushy. If you said no, they left it at that.

 

I also found entertainment in the lounges interesting --- the piano lounge held a variety of things --- one of the funniest for me was the Mr. Pizza contest. It reminded me of the live shows we got on TV in its early days --- I could easily have seen Sid Caeser doing this one. It was hysterical --- of course in truth, it depends on the participants --- but I'm sure the staff inspired them to do their best!

 

Also, you must look at the cherubs over the dance floor in the piano bar (I think it's called the Roero Lounge. I seriously wanted to grab a ladder one morning at 4am and diaper these guys --- just to see how the staff would react. I laughed until I cried the first time I saw the ceiling in there.

 

Some of the lounge music was a bit more electronic than I'd like, but the real problem tended to be they had the amps up too high and it was too loud. On the other hand, I found most of the performers talented and considering the number of live performers they had in the different locations, I don't think one can complain. There was a guitarist who was very good --- he alternated with the piano bar fellow in the Roero Lounge.

 

I was not impressed with the Time Machine --- one of the production numbers in the main theater midway through the week --- but the rest of the performances were great. The best piece in the Time Machine was a recreation of a scene from HAIR and it was exceptional. The rest seemed a bit amateurish.

 

This cruise was wonderful --- if you can't find something entertaining while aboard this ship there is probably nothing that will make you happy. ;)

[rocktheboat]

Why wouldn't you believe all the negative reviews. Were we not telling the truth.

 

Seems like in the last year Costa has made alot of changes for the better. When we cruised Costa Med last April there was no poolside music and only 2 shows were in English.

The food could have been alot better. We expected Italian food, we got Italian style. Big difference. I can t see the food changing that much so I will have to say that some of you don't know the difference between REAL Italian and Italian style.

I also think the Alantica gets much better reviews than the Med.

Since it seems things have changed I would maybe give Costa a shot again.

And am glad you had a great time. Despite the food and shows being bad we did have a nice time. We loved the ship, the service was great and we were in a PS cabin which had the biggest bathroom I have ever seen on a ship.

[Ms.Bee]

Fedora, thanks for the nice reply on the ship and it's entertainment!! The pool side band should do very well for us (the Bee Hive)!! The ship sounds lovely and we are so excited to see her and the CHERUBS!! We sail on 4/3!!! Ciao, Ms Bee

[mtl kid]

:) I was on The Victoria Feb 2003 and The Med Feb 2004 and then The Atlantica Feb 2005.

HAVE SAILED ON OTHERS BUT WILL ONLY FOCUS ON THE COSTA LINE.

The best entertaiment staff was on The Victoria

The Nicest Ship was The Med

The Best food was on the Atlantica.

The Best Dressed List was on The Victoria.

The best childrens program was on The med

The Best Grand Midnight buffet was on The Med

The Best Maitre D was on the Victoria..Maitre D Salvatore

The Best Show was The Toga Night on the Victoria.

The Best production show was "Around The World" on The Victoria.

The Nicest Pool Area was on The Victoria

The Nicest Afternoon Tea was on The Atlantica

The worst poolside entertaiment was on The Med

The Victoria always will have the best memories because of the one Central large pool where everything happened, shows, music, dancing and almost all the contests.

The most elegant room was The Concorde Plaza on the Victoria.

The best Casino was on The Med.

The prettiest casino dealers was on The Med.

The best Pasta Bar was on The Victoria.

The least entertaining Cruise director was Paul on The Med, just to calm!

There were little things that were not the best but all in all the TOTAL experience was the best on Costa.

The best Cruises were all the COSTA cruises.

[Chaparral97]

Fedora....Since you brought up the lounge music.............

 

I gotta say, the guy who did the "tribute" to Sinatra was pretty cheesy. I LOVE Sinatra, Martin and the Rat Pack in general but a little guy with an Italian accent trying to sing Frankie's greatest hits was a bit hilarious. My wife and I had a big chuckle about it. :cool:

 

I cruised back in Feb (Valentines day) and had a wonderful time.

[Cruise4Andy]

Superchick:

 

WELCOME BACK! I am happy that you had a wonderful time and enjoyed your cruise to the fullest!

 

Maybe we see each other on one of the future Costa Cruises! ;-)

Welcome to the "Costa Lover's Club" (CLC)!

 

 

Andy

[Fedora]

Well, in the first place, I didn't pick the cruise just for Italian cuisine. Secondly, I think most of the cruise lines serve what I call "modified" versions of the "real thing" --- regardless of which country's food they may be serving. IMHO, trying to serve as many people as most cruiselines serve on these large ships and keep everyone happy is an enormous job which does not allow for 100% authenticity of cuisine. The majority of people don't want truly "authentic" --- they want what Americans have come to KNOW as authentic. I think that's why the cruiselines have gone to having separate upper scale restaurants aboard. It allows for a higher, more personalized style. I've not eaten in many of them at this point so I cannot personally testify as to how successful they are. But the people I've talked to who have dined in the private restaurants aboard ship seem to have been pleased with the meals.

 

If you look at the original dowagers of the seas (Ille de France and the Queens), for instance, they were heavily into the categorization of passengers by deck, etc. Each "group" had its own dining facilities and food presented in those diningrooms was considered "appropriate" for those cruising in that category. As you went higher in the status levels, the food improved accordingly.

 

Today there are no such limitations. You can purchase the cheapest cabin on the ship and still mingle with the folks who have suites and eat the same food. With that type of change you are faced with presenting food that will be pleasing to the broadest number of people being served --- and that will seldom be truly gourmet.

 

In the end, as with everything, these are subjective calls. It is all in the eyes of the beholder. What makes me happy may drive you nuts and vice versa. So what I look for, generally, is those things which most everyone appreciates: clean cabins; good service; excellent and well-maintained facilities; reasonably good entertainment (here again --- subjective); and a variety of activities which allow a little something for everyone. Based on that alone, I think the Mediterranea does a fine job. And I still maintain that I prefer Costa to RCCL and several of the other lines --- both for general service and for the food. Just 1 person's opinion.:)

 

 

=====================================

Why wouldn't you believe all the negative reviews. Were we not telling the truth.

 

The food could have been alot better. We expected Italian food, we got Italian style. Big difference. I can t see the food changing that much so I will have to say that some of you don't know the difference between REAL Italian and Italian style.

I also think the Alantica gets much better reviews than the Med.

Since it seems things have changed I would maybe give Costa a shot again.

And am glad you had a great time. Despite the food and shows being bad we did have a nice time. We loved the ship, the service was great and we were in a PS cabin which had the biggest bathroom I have ever seen on a ship.

[Fedora]

Well, I didn't say all the lounge acts were the best in the world -- just that they had a variety of them!

 

In truth, all I heard of the Sinatra impersonator was a walk-through one night on our way to the buffet. And I have to agree with you --- Sinatra he was not! On the other hand, their was a wonderful Italian singer in the Osiris Theater one evening (can't remember his name at the moment) and he did a great job of just being himself --- had a marvelous voice and good sense of humor. This was his first trip on the Mediterranea --- apparently has performed on the Victoria for a number of years.

 

I think for the quantity and variety of entertainment which they offered, they did a good job. The last couple of cruises I've been on, outside of the theater presentations there appeared to be, at most, 2 other acts available in the lounges --- the Mediterranea offered a few more options there, and the majority were reasonably good.

 

Fedora

 

=========================

Fedora....Since you brought up the lounge music.............

 

I gotta say, the guy who did the "tribute" to Sinatra was pretty cheesy. I LOVE Sinatra, Martin and the Rat Pack in general but a little guy with an Italian accent trying to sing Frankie's greatest hits was a bit hilarious. My wife and I had a big chuckle about it. :cool:

 

I cruised back in Feb (Valentines day) and had a wonderful time.

[superchick]

I not sure of the spelling, he was very good, just being himself....

[mtl kid]

The singer you are reffering to was one of the male lead singers on the Costa Med last year. Although he was not that bad I think he reached his peak as "one " of the male leads but not a headliner on a cruise ship. On his own merit , he was o.k. but Sinatra he was not. The thing is that we heard some of the other male signers in sideline shows and alot of them were actually better than he was.

 

 

However to each their owm , some people at the show actually enjoyed hin....

[Cruise4Andy]

Fedora:

 

I agree with you 110%... Well said! And here again I also prefer Costa and both times my wife and I had an absolutely wonderful time in all aspects. Both the Mediterranea and the Atlantica are simply a "10" on the scale in my opinion.

 

 

Andy ;-)

[sailwi]

I was on the 3/20 sailing and overall it was a good vacation and cruise.

I would rate Costa similar to Princess and a half star below HAL, most of my issues were due to the crowds which I didn't think about this being spring break for schools when I booked the cruise.

 

Food was good not great but honestly I have never found cruise ship food to be gourmet on any of the ships, don't know how you can cook outstnding food for 1,000 people at a sitting. Soups, appetizers were the best, entrees were a little hit and miss and the salads were very uncreative. I think Euoropeans taste in salads is very different than Americans. Food in the buffet was good and choices were varied throughout the week, I did enjoy the daily antipasta salads and the carved meats (beef, veal, etc).

 

Service was good but I didn't feel any of the crew went out of their way to make you feel welcome like I have experienced on HAL again it may have been due to the ship being at capacity. I did have a person at guest services who assisted me in my hour of need, I packed my pants on Saturday night and had a clothing emergency Sunday morning. The gift shop was closed since we were in port so they lent me a pair of shorts to get off the boat and get my pants out of the luggage for the trip home, will never do that again.

 

Embarkation and deembarkation went smoothly, I used the Costa transfer from Ft. Lauderdale airport and that took over an hour from the time we got our bags until deliveried to the ship use a cab cheaper and faster.

 

Now a few negatives. Costa chnaged the itenterary at the last minute since Grand Cayman would not allow ships in on Good Friday. I understand that the harbor is beyond their control but Good Friday happens every year so I think they should have known about it and communicated earlier than when we arrived aboard. The change in days and times in port meant I lost deposits on 3 excursions I had made on my own, not huge money but annoying. Something for people to keep in mind if they schedule a Western cruise the wek before Easter next year.

 

The tender situation in Grand Cayman was awful. We were only in port from 2-6 due to the itenterary change and many people who came to get numbers at 2 didn't get off the ship until 4. We went on a Costa excursion so we got off at 2 but the overcrowding and lack of professional seamanship of the local tender crews was disturbing.

 

I don't know if this true for all lines but you get your luggage tags at 2 and they don't tell you what time that means until the Today came at 7. If you wanted to know you could go to guest services and ask, maybe it's the European way but it doesn't seem effecieint to me.

 

I would definately go on another Costa cruise definately a good value and the positives far outweighed the annoyances from the change in the schedule.

[Fedora]

Can't say anything about the Good Friday port change as I didn't have to deal with it. I can say, however, that we were early in almost every port (a week earlier) and I was told that is pretty much the norm for this Captain.

 

Food: I'm sorry --- salads are salads for me. No, they were not terribly imaginative, but then my salads at home aren't either. The rest of the meal was exceptional, when you consider the number of folks they were serving. And frankly, at least the salads were really fresh -- not a wilted piece of lettuce in the bunch. As for the food --- I found the available options were more than sufficient. If you require gourmet meals --- pay the price and go on a high-end cruise.

 

Personally, I found the staff far more agreeable and willing to accommodate than I did on either RCCL or Celebrity. Frankly, my last cruise with RCCL I felt rather shorted by the steward and resented what was "demanded" as a tip --- I didn't feel our room steward on RCCL provided service worthy of a tip. Jennifer, our Costa steward, on the other hand, went out of her way to provide the few things I requested (an extra mattress, after the first night, and a bucket of ice in which to soak my foot --- which was there every evening, even though I only requested it the 2nd night!) and did so in a very professional manner. We did not ask much of Jennifer, but she provided a highly professional level of service. Dealing with her was a true joy. She was a sweetheart who tried hard to provide whatever we needed.

 

Opinions on these things will always vary --- it's the nature of the beast. However I feel comfortable enough with Costa that I will use them to book a group which I am a member of --- they've asked me to arrange a cruise for them and since many of them have not cruised before, I want to make sure this FIRST experience is a good one for them. Therefore I will most likely book the group on Costa. It may not be the diamond level that some require, but I am secure in the knowledge that it will provide my friends with a quality experience of an exceptional nature --- and it will leave them wanting to cruise again in the future. And to me that is worth more than any gourmet meal which only an exceptional few may find appealing.

[lsfla]

We were on the 3/20 sailing as well and had a wonderful time.

 

Food: very good. We enjoyed all of our meals. Ate lunch in the buffet most days and in the dining room at night. The only thing I didn't like was the menu for dinner was the same in both places. Would have liked to see different things in the buffet in case the dinner menu didn't appeal to me and I wanted a choice. However, in the dining room they always had items to fall back on if you didn't like the daily choices: Pasta with fresh pomodoro sauce was quite good. We also ate in the Cafe Medusa. Excellent food although the menu was very American, other than the carte de jour, I was expecting more of a mediterranean menu. Service was outstanding in all the dining venues....

 

CREW: Great crew. Our cabin steward, Laura, was incredible. Would have loved to lure her away from Costa and take her home with me. Always pleasant and cheerful and always available. The activities staff was a lot of fun and we enjoyed interacting with them. Officers were visible occasionally but not interactive. DH had to see the doctor and was pleased. He does speak limited english but the nursing staff is fluent in English and DH speaks Italian so all was well.

 

Embarkation and deembarkation: Arrived at 1pm and just literally walked on the ship so that went well. Had priority deembarkation on return so that was smooth as well too.

 

However, when in ports it was mass chaos getting on and off the ship. There was no method to the madness. I feel that is the only area that Costa is really lacking in: organizational skills. In Grand Cayman, the tender situation was a disaster. We arrived at 2:15 in the theater (15 minutes after starting time) and were given tender #13. We sat there for 2 hours!!!!! By the time we got off the ship and got a cab and went directly to the turtle farm it was closed!!!!! Costa did nothing to make this situation better for anyone and I think they could have handled it much better.

 

The itinerary change was also a disaster for us. Imagine my surprise checking in and being told only then that there was a change. They should have let us know sooner. We had prebooked dolphin swim in Cozumel for Tuesday and now we weren't going to be there until Friday. We had also rented a car. Fortunately, after many long distance calls, we were able to change both.

I don't know if this true for all lines but you get your luggage tags at 2 and they don't tell you what time that means until the Today came at 7.

 

Checking kids in and out of the kids club was also chaotic and time consuming. Almost missed dinner one night because of this.

 

Organizational skills aside, everything else is great. Beautiful ship. Immaculately clean. We really enjoyed ourselves.

 

Would definitely cruise on it again....

[lsfla]

ROFL!!! We played trivia in the Piazza Casanova... looked up one day and couldn't stop laughing when we saw the cherubs. DH even took a close up photo of one that is hysterical....

 

This is definitely a ship that the more you look the more you see!:rolleyes:

[Fedora]

Did you see my post about the cherubs over the dance floor in the lounge? I am still cracking up over that.

 

There is SOOO much to see on the Mediterranea --- and there is truly a lot of wonderful art and architecture, in addition to all the fun details. I think what I loved best was the feeling of lightness and fun that I got from the decor and staff. They made it all right to enjoy everything and to have a great belly laugh over something you'd never find anywhere else. :D

[vacationib]

I have been thinking of joining family and friends on the Meditarranea on Jan 8th. I have done a lot of cruising on Celebrity and NCL. Has anybody cruised these cruise lines and how do you rate Costa to these other lines.

 

Thank you for your ideas.

 

Linda Remember...."Life is good... Vacation is Better"