Leaving on Luminosa in 9 days Costa Wine Policy ....

[MortgageChick]

We are booked for a 42 day WC Segment on Luminosa leaving in 9 days from San Antonio Chile  We sailed Costa  once before  ( Costa Mediterannea 2003) , and it is close to the bottom of my 50+ cruise experiences .  HOWEVER, the itinerary we have booked for 6 weeks is exactly what we were looking for, at a fair price, so we are adjusting our expectations accordingly.

 

I was wondering if someone can tell me the wine policy for Costa. Is it like Carnival , HAL Celebrity etc... one bottle per person allowed at embarkation only?  I would expect that being part of Carnival corp the answer is yes.  Also does anyone have any recent experience with how diligent they are scanning checked luggage and confiscating water and liquor?

 

We  have the Pranzo and Cena package, do the bar staff ignore you if you have the package?  I have experienced this on some lines, as they feel they are not going to get anything extra(tip).  We usually tip up front when we have a drinks package to make sure the waiter returns, but with the package only applying at lunch and dinner , perhaps ordering more than one glass of wine could be a challenge?  I just want to know what we should expect....part of me would like to think they try a bit harder on a World Cruise...but part of me thinks that may not be the case LOL

 

TIA for your comments and input :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jerseyflyer]

Costa is a great European cruise line. It will be different to your US based cruise line experience as Im sure you are aware as they accommodate a wide spectrum of passenger from all over the world.

 

I have had no problems regarding getting drinks when on packages. I have found the bar, cafe and wait staff extremely nice once I have had time to chat and find out more about them.  

 

We did one cruise with the pranzo and one with the basic all day drinks package and on both occasions they gave us whole bottles of wine between the two of us to save themselves time.....:)  We occasionally took the final glass out of the dining room with us to a bar.

 

We don't tip in addition to the service charge but do give physical gifts for our favourite staff, wallets, purses etc. at the end of the cruise. Wrapped with a personal message.

 

To my knowledge Costa do not allow anything brought aboard on embarcation but as I have not tried I can't comment about the leniency aspect.  The search I would hope to be very thorough just for safety reasons.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 3, 2019 by jerseyflyer

[alicat58]

Costa is strict when it comes to bringing bottles aboard. Having said that we have not really tried. 

 

Never had a problem getting drinks and the bar staff do not expect a tip when they serve you. I am not sure whether this is different when you sail in the Caribbean when there are possibly more American guests. Certainly not a European custom.

 

We have never been on a cruise longer that 14d so I don't know whether there is any difference.

 

Riana

[maryann2]

No you cannot take wine on board.

I would suggest you upgrade your drink package to brindiamo or piu gusto so you can get delicious coffees and cocktails. Then no worries with smuggling bottles on board.

I have been on a 24 day cruise and no problems being served.

 

It's a shame you feel that Costa is so bad. I also sail other lines but love the diversity on Costa.

[MortgageChick]

Hi Maryann

I am hoping that the 7 night Caribbean we did in Sept of 2003 was an anomaly and that our 6 weeks on board the Luminosa will be amazing.  The ship certainly looks lovely.  We have spent hundreds of days at sea and have for the most part been very happy...it is unfortunate that our one cruise on Costa in 2003 was a perfect storm of poor service, inferior food and rude servers. It was a 7 night out of Miami to the Western Caribbean.  Perhaps there was something else going on with the staff or some change in policy that made them apathetic.....something was just "off" that week.  Its not that I think Costa is "bad", I only have one experience with them, so I will keep an open mind and focus on the point of this voyage which is the itinerary.

 

With reference to upgrading the drink package, when I asked the cruise agency I booked with, about the different packages, i was told that on a World Cruise or World Cruise segments that Pranzo/Cena is the only package available...so I will definitely ask again. That said we enjoy pouring our own drink in our stateroom prior to dinner, and over the last 5 years I feel the  cruise lines are getting carried away with their pricing on alcohol, and their desire to squeeze every dime out of you is getting tiresome.

 

We are very open to diversity, and have sailed all the major cruise lines and many of the smaller ones as well as those that no longer exist.   My husband and I took our first cruise in 1995, with Carnival, and to this day I still enjoy Carnival immensely.  I also enjoy the longer voyages of Celebrity.  We sailed for the 4th time on Eurodam last October, and have always loved that ship, but on that sailing we noticed a lot of changes, a drop in the food qualify and the staff seemed quite distracted. Not what we have come to expect from HAL....but perhaps that too, was just a one off situation.  I hope so

Also this past week we booked our fourth sailing with Pullmantur.  While some cruisers dislike the fact that Spanish is the on board language I love it...gives me a chance to practice mine :)  

 

 

 

 

[MortgageChick]

Jerseyflyer    Can I assume you live in the Channel Islands?   I actually spent 10 years of my childhood on Jersey. My family moved to Canada in the 1970's.

 

 

 

 

[maryann2]

Glad to hear that you are trying Costa again. I love their itineraries.

Actually my favourite cruise line is Carnival and love their longer cruises but they are expensive for solos.

They used to do the 1As with 150% supplement but now always 200%.

The Costa ships are similar in layout to the Carnival ships with even some of the same furniture.

 

I didn't realise that they don't do drink packages on the World cruises or segments.

Have you tried going to MYCOSTA on the website and looking to see what is available. Even booking through a travel agent you should have access.

There will be an English host on board so if you do have any issues to be addressed I would suggest you go through them.

They seat English speakers together in MDR.

[jerseyflyer]

17 minutes ago, MortgageChick said:

Jerseyflyer    Can I assume you live in the Channel Islands?   I actually spent 10 years of my childhood on Jersey. My family moved to Canada in the 1970's.

 

 

 

 

Yes you presume correctly.  The original!  Born and bred...

Ahhh you have gone to the colonies...Jersey has a slightly dark past of taking advantage of the Acadian community in eastern Canada but we were very grateful for the Canadian food parcels sent out of Halifax NS during our German occupation.  They even got as far as my mother who was interned in a camp in Germany, deported from Jersey as her father was English! She spoke highly of them.

 

Just to clarify for others Jersey is a " peculiar of the crown" and like the other channel islands, not part of England not part of the UK and not part of the EU. It's complicated! If you moved in the 70s we probably are roughly the same age. You didn't go to St Brelades school did you?

 

 

Edited February 3, 2019 by jerseyflyer

[MortgageChick]

Nope I went to Beaulieu , St Helier....  Ive been back 3 times...last trip was 2004..so i am definitely overdue.  2 years ago connected on fb with an old school friend from Beaulieu . Shes living outside Los Angeles, so I flew down and we did a short Carnival cruise, lots of fun!

[jerseyflyer]

Wow that must have been great!  Im going on my first Carnival cruise this year out of New Orleans.

Hope you enjoy your cruise sounds super. Come and see us soon.

 

 

[MortgageChick]

32 minutes ago, maryann2 said:

Glad to hear that you are trying Costa again. I love their itineraries.

Actually my favourite cruise line is Carnival and love their longer cruises but they are expensive for solos.

They used to do the 1As with 150% supplement but now always 200%.

The Costa ships are similar in layout to the Carnival ships with even some of the same furniture.

 

I didn't realise that they don't do drink packages on the World cruises or segments.

Have you tried going to MYCOSTA on the website and looking to see what is available. Even booking through a travel agent you should have access.

There will be an English host on board so if you do have any issues to be addressed I would suggest you go through them.

They seat English speakers together in MDR.

Hi Maryann, they have just the one choice Pranzo and Cena, but  I will check the website again. Thanks, I will check with the English host on board as we have been allocated late seating , which on Costa is quite a bit later than what we consider "late " :)

[maryann2]

Just now, MortgageChick said:

Hi Maryann, they have just the one choice Pranzo and Cena, but  I will check the website again. Thanks, I will check with the English host on board as we have been allocated late seating , which on Costa is quite a bit later than what we consider "late " 🙂

You might just want to go to the maitre'd the day you board  (usually available in MDR during the afternoon) and he will probably change it. Lots of Europeans like to eat late.