Costa Cruises 12/16/05

[Mr PG]

We are frequent cruisers ,so when Costa introduced a discounted three day trip to Freeport we jumped on it. There were some forums that berated everything from food to service we had severe concerns, so here goes.

We booked a veranda on the 10 th deck foreward, not the largest but had a couch and mini bar. the embarkation went quite smoothely with the ladies being given a rose at check in. The cabin attendant introduced himself and we indicated our desire not to run out of ice, which he accomplished, and replaced towels and glasses promptly as we had dinner

The boarding buffet and the layout was a problem, the food was not that exciting, pizza, hot dogs hamburgers somekind of fish balls. I would blame some the passengers and their unruly and misbehaved children, that were picking up food with their hands and then putting it back on the buffet. They were also making quite a mess at the ice cream dispensers, and there were no ice tea machines in service. The crew met us in white gloves and showed us to the room, they probably should have been picking up dishes. We requested an early seating and were informed there was none but to check with the maitre d, it was a painless experience and we were given a table for two, which we requested. Our dining room experience was flawless with food quantity and quality on a par and some items above the standard of RCL Princess,and Celebrity. I again fault some parents on the lask of dress code in the dining rooms , tee shirts from towing companies, sandals, and those pants that are typical these days that look like those worn in the our gang comedy series, and people trying to push stollers into the dining room an hour after the seating. I suspect a discounted cruise attracted some people.... There was still alot of smoking allowed, and one had to go thru that to get to the stern dining room.

We never ate in the buffet again and ejoyed great service in the two dining rooms. The shows looked entertaining, Freeport was nothing and if proprly done they could have included another port of call since the ship spent a lot of time aimlessly wandering the coast.

The ship itself was well decorated, there was no 24 hour coffee and room service was adequate, The shops had a meager supply but evidently the shipment failed to arrive. The pools were filled with running children, disinterested parents, and some brought toddlers to the "adult" pool in defiance of the signs in four languages. I saw a "post" that the waiters would not turn in a order on large tables untill everyone had ordered, breakfast confirmed that on disembarkation day, they should have filled tables insted of letting everyone select a seat,

What would I change, DRESS CODE, ROWDYNESS, Timely shutting of doors in DINING ROOM.

Would we use "COSTA" again YES, would we pick our itinerary YES, were we satisfied YES. For those who dressed their little toddlers and themselves ,for those who took the time to bring a jacket (tuxedos would not be neccesary for such a short cruise), and those that behaved in an appropriate manner THANK YOU!

[CruiseFever]

Thanks for trying really hard to put a positive spin on your cruise experience. I wonder if those unruly kids, etc were the result of it being an inexpensive short cruise? I've found that to be the case often on short cruises and do much like you...stick to the dining room...and away from the crowds.

 

I like the rose for the ladies on embarkation, nice touch.