HAL cruisers - ever sailed on Costa?

[Wayfairers]

We are looking at westbound transatlantics in the fall of 2018 to get us back to either the US or to South America. Found a HAL cruise on the Nieuw Statendam that takes us to FLL and some Costa cruises that take us to South America. We’ve never sailed with Costa and really don’t know anything about them. I will post specific questions on the Costa thread, but wanted to get info from a HAL cruiser since that is our favorite cruise line. How did it compare?

[OverandUnderwater]

I am an old HAL cruiser, knowing the company quite well so will be able to do a compare. I am on the neoClassica out of Mumbai next month and happy to report back. The ship I'm on though is one of their older ones which is being sold in March but I should still be able to give you some good advice.

[FredT]

OK... Two Costa cruises, six HAL.

 

Costa is a lot more like Princess or NCL. Bigger ships, more "to do". Food is a lot more "European". (For example, you order shrimp in a meal you get the WHOLE shrimp, not just the tail) Decor is a lot more "garish", and service tends to be a lot more loud and boisterous.

 

I dont know if they still do "toga nights" in the MDR, but that (and a couple of "sing along" nights there made me cringe...

[mysticsailor]

The policy I disliked most about Costa (Mediterrianea) was the loud announcements in multiple languages, which also if memory serves me correct, were piped into the staterooms. I found that very annoying. The other difference noticeable from the HAL ships I have sailed on was the crowded and noisy main dining room. Also the Lido service did not hold a candle to HAL. I quickly noticed that Lido beverage service was noticeably better near the surveillance cameras! The three of us all agreed that main dining room service was slower than HAL. This was 2012.

 

I had no complaints about the food (I was happy with the greater vegetarian options) compared to HAL but both my traveling companions and a nearby table said, 'never again.' This cruise was shortly after the Concordia crisis and Costa was newly sailing out of the U.S. Perhaps their low fares soliciting passengers then accounted for a decreased food budget and that could have temporarily caused food complaints not the norm.

 

The ship was spotless and employee attitude definitely on par with HAL. If you cruise with them please post your impressions.

[alwaysfrantic]

I have been on both and we enjoyed Costa. More to do, entertainment wise. There is always a lovely cheese plate offered at dessert. The cabins were similar; plenty of storage and space. One thing that stood out was Costa has some women working as room stewards; I have just never seen that on HAL. The dining room staff were friendly and attentive. I have no complaints.

[Heartgrove]

I am an old HAL cruiser, knowing the company quite well so will be able to do a compare. I am on the neoClassica out of Mumbai next month and happy to report back. The ship I'm on though is one of their older ones which is being sold in March but I should still be able to give you some good advice.

 

Word is that the Costa neoClassica is to be broken up after it's sale in March.

[tonyd285]

We have sailed with Costa couple of times, as well as with Holland America, Norwegian and Celebrity. We prefer Holland America and Celebrity and think they are both a step up from Costa and Norwegian. Costa can be a great value and has some wonderful itineraries but the food on Holland America (and Celebrity) is significantly better. Never had a problem with the cabins, the entertainment or the public areas on Costa. The service on Holland America seems to be more responsive and customer friendly. My biggest problem with Costa are the constant announcements in what seems to be every language used on the planet.

[DFD1]

Sailed Costa three times in the past. Enjoyed all three cruises...which were.....don't laugh....between 1970 and 1972....So, that's probably not much help.

 

Hope you go and have a great time.!!!