Mediterranea- 4/3 (I didn't believe the posts)

[wannacruz]

Hi everyone,

 

My husband (51) and I (44) just returned yesterday fron the 4/3 Mediterranea cruise. This was our 20th cruise and first time with Costa. We are by no means hard to please and to tell you the truth have never had any complaints with any of the other cruises we went on. We have previously sailed with Holland America, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Carnival and will be trying our first Princess cruise on June 11th.

I have been following Cruise Critic for years and always look forward to reading everybody's comments on their cruise experiences. When I booked Costa (we are Italian) I noticed there were alot of mixed reviews regarding the food. I have to be honest - I thought that the negative food reviews were maybe from people who were just hard to please. We have never had bad food on ANY of our cruises. It actually took us years just to try Carnival because of the bad reviews that I had read (and IMHO Carnival is very good!).

Let me start by saying all the positives about our cruise. The ship is absolutely beautiful. They were constantly cleaning. We had a panorama suite which was a beautiful room. Very spacious, great storage space, beautiful bathroom with 2 sinks and a great tub w/ jacuzzi and a beautiful balcony. No complaints in those 2 areas in the least.

Embarkation and Debarkation were probably the smoothest and most organized of any of our cruises. We were at the pier by 12:00 and were on the boat by 12:15.

On a whole the personnel were extremely friendly and courteous (with the exception of one person at the excursion desk who was a complete pickle pus. Never once smiled and was very rude - she obviously does not seem to like her job or the public. I couldn't remember her name but she had long dark wavy hair and wore datk rimmed glasses. The only problem with the service that we encountered is that there is a huge language barrier. Nobody seemed to understand quite what we were trying to say/ask. It took awhile - but eventually we ended up understanding each other somewhat.

The excursions were pretty well organized too. Just be careful if you book the excursion online. We booked an excursion called the San San Yacht in Ocho Rios. The explanation was that it was a boat ride where they showed you the houses of the rich and famous. They then took you to a beach were you got to stay for a couple of hours. I printed out the description online and brought it with us. We received our tickets in the room. A day later (2 days before Ocho Rios) I looked at the description in the brochure they sent to the cabin. It said that you go to Dunn's River Falls. We've been to Dunn's River Falls and did not want to go again (my husband has bad asthma and it was acting up). We wanted to cancel due to the fact that we would not have booked the excursion if the Costa web site was acurate and stated that we would be going to the falls. They refused to let us cancel and get our money back. The reason they said was due to the fact that the web site was not part of the shore excursion desk. I said - What do you mean - It's the COSTA web site - isn't this a COSTA ship? I got nowhere - $120 down the drain. Luckily the waters were rough and they cancelled the entire excursion (lucky for us!).

We didn't enjoy the entertainment at all. Not the usual RCI or Carnival shows which we enjoyed.

About the food - Oh God! It was pretty darn bad. I have to admit that we did have 2 good dinners out of 7. The choices in the dining room and buffet were not varied and everything was pretty bland. We were not expecting 5 star but we were expecting at least 2-3 star. Desserts were pretty non existant. I did not go to the midnight buffet - but we were told we didn't miss much. Everybody that we talked to (and we talked to many people) complained alot about the food. The good thing is that we did not gain much weight. Again the staff in the dining rooms were wonderful - the food just stunk.

Well, to each his own I guess. Just because we (and many others) didn't like the food is not to say that other people won't. I do know that we won't be going on another Costa ship. Even though everything else was good, the food is pretty important to us. If anyone has any other questions, please feel free to e-mail me.

 

 

Jackie

[ElvisLover1]

We just returned from this cruise as well and all I can say it our standards must be pretty low!! We didn't think the food was great but we did think it was good. I must abmit it was a bit bland at times but it was always hot and fresh. I also agree with the dessert selection, it was very limited. I am not a big dessert eater so that didn't bother me in the least. We ate all our meals in the alternative dining room ( buffet) and enjoyed the food every night except one. The fish dishes were especially good. My kids and husband liked the pizza and ate is almost every day! We also didn't have any problems with a language barrier. Every crew member we encountered spoke at least a little English and were always able to help us with what we needed. Our cabin was comfortable and spacious (a balcony cabin) and the time we spent there was enjoyable. We didn't book any excursions through Costa, we handled them on our own and saved ALOT of money. The ship is absolutely beautiful and incredibly clean. I am sure it didn't appeal to everyone as it is decorated quite vibrantly but we thought it was gorgeous. We traveled with our kids (ages 5 & 9) and they loved the kids club. The staff there was excellent. They provided tons of fun activities for the kids and they even have two nights when you can drop them off for dinner so you can have dinner on your own if you'd like to. We had a great experience and would not hesitate to cruise with Costa again.

[ILov2cruise]

Maybe it's only the Italians who find fault with the food, Maybe we expect more from an Italian cruise line. I speak Italian and so did almost all of the staff so we were good. Shows were not good compared to other cruises we have been on. We also stayed in a PS suite #6176, best bathroom of any ship.

[wannacruz]

ILov2cruise:

 

I think you hit it on the head. Being Italian I've always wanted to go to Italy to see the beautiful country as well as eat the wonderful food. If the food on the Mediterranea is what Italian food is like in Italy, I'll just go there to sightsee!!

[ILov2cruise]

I am from NYC (moving back there in 6 weeks). On our costa cruise 90% of people on board complained about the food. I can t understand how these people thought the food was good. Is italian food elsewhere so different. Canned seafood on top of pasta does not make a seafood sauce. I have never eaten sauce from a jar. Everything here is homemade.

[Fedora]

I'm told by people in the industry that Costa serves a totally different menu when its ships cruise European venues --- apparently that food is more "truly" Italian --- in other words, they Americanize it when in the Caribbean. Doesn't really surprise me as I lived in Mexico for years and it's hard to find good "real" Mexican food in the US --- it's all Americanized.

 

I sailed the MEDITERRANEA in March and had no problems communicating --- all spoke some English and those who had a limited English vocabulary tried harder to communicate.

 

I am not a dessert eater, but every dessert served at out table (8 people) received raves. I had several and they were excellent. There were a number of different buffet stations, if one took time to look around --- I think some people just went to the main one and didn't look around for the others.

 

Midnight buffets were not the best I've seen, but they were there every night. The afternoon tea was delightful.

 

I sailed with a large group and the concensus was good --- we will use the same ship for a repeat conference next year. Obviously things like this are subjective and what one person likes, another may not. That's why it's important NOT to rely heavily on the opinions of others on these boards. It's a nice way to share information, but things like food are a personal thing and I doubt any one of us can fully know if someone else's tastes wills suite me completely.

[tarbear555]

Wow! I sasiled on the Atlantica the same week (03/04-10/04) and thought the food was exceptional! It seems that you are all thinking in the fact that it should be Italian, and I guess in a lot of ways you are all right. But if just look at the quality of the food, not what nationality it should be, well I think the food was pretty darn great! There weren't many complaints at all on our ship. In fact, I had lobster tail on the friday night and thought it was the best lobster tail I've ever had!

 

It's unfortunate that you guys didn't enjoy your food. Better luck next time!

 

Happy Cruising!:D :D :D

[wannacruz]

That is great that you had such good food on the Atlantica! I wish we chose that ship! Although it's a matter of taste, it was not good for us or the many people that we talked to. I am not trying to make anyone mad - just stating our opinion. Obviously according to the many posts I have read for the past few months many people thought the food was good and just as many thought it was bad. Putting aside the fact that we were expecting Italian food, the food was still below our expectations. It's not like we went on 20 cruises and complained about each one. We have gone on 20 cruises , however and have NEVER had a complaint except this on the Mediterranea. Maybe compared to the lines we have been on (HAL, RCI, Celebrity and Carnival) Costa just came in dead last . It's funny though - I was so upset when I read the negative food reviews on Cruise Critic before we left. I really thought that the people that gave the food the thumbs down had NO idea what they were talking about. I just wanted people to know that the people who were negative on the boards about the food weren't very far off in their opinions. By the way - the lobster tails WERE the only thing in our opinion that was excellent.

[tarbear555]

Yah I actually had read somewhere that the food on the Atlantica was better than the Mediterannea... I guess that wouldn't make much sense seeing as they are basically the same ship... Well maybe if you ever did want to give them another try you would consider the Atlantica...

 

Good luck! ;)

[rocktheboat]

Might be sister ships but the chefs are different. I have not read any bad food reviews for the atlantica only for the Med.

[wannacruz]

Seeing that I've read a few different posts about the difference in food on the Atlantica I would definately consider giving that a try!! Everthing else about our trip was really good and the price is definately lower than any of the other lines as far as comparable rooms goes. We definately had the nicest room we ever had on any cruise! Thanks for the suggestion!!

[michigan tim]

Funny how the perspectives are different. My wife and I were on the 4/3 Mediteranea and could not find fault or flaw anywhere (well, OK, it got cloudy for awhile in Ocho Rios). We had the late sitting and went to the dining room each evening. We enjoyed the variety of dishes and thought it was all at least very good (perhaps I'm a bit too domestic, but I'd never tried tuna tar tar or octopus before). We had lunch at the buffet a few times, those mussels steamed in white wine and garlic caused me several return visits and garnered multiple compliments to the guys preparing them. Everyone we spoke with thought the food was great? A man at our table who was less than an adventurous diner ordered steak every night, the staff was happy to oblige and he was very satisfied. One couple that had been on 27 cruises in the last 2 years said that the only one they considered better was Disney.

[rachly]

hi jackie~that's precisely what i am concerned about on our upcoming costa magica cruise in july-the food! i've heard that the food is better on the europe destination. i surely hope so, since to tell you the truth, we do enjoy dining on fine food, especially when one is paying many $1,000.!! surely hope we did the right thing, since this is our first with costa as well...

[wannacruz]

Hi MichiganTim:

That is really something - being on the same exact cruise and having 2 completely different experiences and views (right down to the people we talked to!!) Obviously different strokes for different folks. The real shocking thing is hearing about the couple who went on 28 cruises and this was their 2nd best!?! WOW! This was our 20th cruise - as far as the cruise itself - we rated this as one of our best - as far as the food - by far the worst!

[Jo42]

Rachly, I'm travelling on the Magica in May and will report back on my return. I have travelled with Costa in the Med before and the food was excellent so I'm not worried - but only time will tell!

[chip brady]

We sailed out of Ft Lauderdale on the med Feb 27th. This was our 7th cruise. It was without question, the nicest ship we have ever been on! However, Costa should let someone else run it. Their entertainment was the worst we have ever seen on a ship!!

I have never complained about any of our cruises before, but this cruise was horrible. My wife and I love to eat and we are not hard to please, but the food on this ship is absolutely the worst we have ever had!!!

Only at one stop did we spend longer than 5 hours there. Getting into a port like San Juan at 4 o clock in the afternoon and leaving at 1 a m was not acceptable.

To those of you who enjoy Costa. More power to you. We will leave space for you because we will never travel Costa again. Even if it was free!!!!!!

 

Chip Brady

[Hei1980]

For all the soon to be Costa Cruisers:

We were seated with 163 Germans for second seating in the dining room. At the end of the cruise, we asked their TA, who was great, what his clients thought of the cruise? He said anyone who did not enjoy this cruise was stupid! My Mother didn't raise no stupid kid! Again, we loved every minute of our 14 days.

[rocktheboat]

Have got to agree with you, food and entertainment really sucked.

 

 

Costa is not the only ship that pulls into P.R. so late. When we were on the Century we pulled into P.R. at 4 pm. But we knew the times when we booked the cruise.

[wannacruz]

Hei1980-

 

Even though you just repeated what supposedly was said by someone else, in my opinion the fact that you even repeated it was ignorant. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I don't consider those of us who didn't enjoy the food stupid at all - just like I don't consider you stupid for making that ignorant comment!

[Hei1980]

Again, we loved every minute of our 14 days.

[wannacruz]

Hei1980 -

 

I get it - you work for Costa! :)

[Hei1980]

LOL, I wish I could work for Costa but being 74 years old, not many places would hire me!

That is what the Cruise Critic is all about, the pros and cons on cruising. If you hate the food, you hate the food, no big deal.

We have cruised so often have lost count? (or losing count ties in with being 74?) BUT each cruise we take I always ask the crew members this question, "Which passengers find the most fault with their cruise?" The answers are always the same and it hurts.

1. ) People who are senior citizens (remember I'm 74)

2. ) People from NY (I'm from NY)

3. ) People who moved to FL from NY

4. ) People from the Northeast

After talking with fellow cruise mates there is a pattern with faultfinders and it is 1.2.3.4.

[GOLDENBONNY]

We sailed out of Ft Lauderdale on the med Feb 27th. This was our 7th cruise. It was without question, the nicest ship we have ever been on! However, Costa should let someone else run it. Their entertainment was the worst we have ever seen on a ship!!

I have never complained about any of our cruises before, but this cruise was horrible. My wife and I love to eat and we are not hard to please, but the food on this ship is absolutely the worst we have ever had!!!

Only at one stop did we spend longer than 5 hours there. Getting into a port like San Juan at 4 o clock in the afternoon and leaving at 1 a m was not acceptable.

To those of you who enjoy Costa. More power to you. We will leave space for you because we will never travel Costa again. Even if it was free!!!!!!

 

Chip Brady

WELL, I THINK YOU COULD SEE HOW MUCH TIME YOU SPEND IN EACH PORT BEFORE YOU BOOK THE CRUISE?WHY DID YOU BOOK IT?THANK YOU FOR LEAVING US A SPACE WE DONT NEED PEOPLE WHO COMPLAINE AROUND:eek: