Firenze in September 2021

[alicat58]

Anyone booked?

 

Had an email last night stating itinerary changed. All Italian ports now. No idea where we depart from even. We really wanted to go on her prior to her going East.

 

If it is only Italian ports, will we be the only Brits on the cruise. Near enough always hardly English speaking people. Not bothered us ever but will this be different. Only Italians?

 

Alicat

[dritan]

This new itinerary for Costa Firenze isn't on the website(yet?).  The others which were announced last week are on there now and our Costa Luminosa itinerary got changed a few days back to reflect last week's announcement.

I wonder if they will find their way onto the website soon as the only ones are the previous itineraries including the Spanish stops and only from mid Sept.

 

Would you mind sharing the new itinerary?  I'm booked on an MSC from Civitavecchia and would be tempted to do a Costa either before or after - if the days worked out. 

Thanks

[alicat58]

Hi Dritan

 

That's just it! We don't have an itinerary. The cruise prior to 12/9 has vanished. From 12/9 onward it is still the original. I only know it goes to Savona, Civitavecchia, Naples, Palermo, Messina and Cagliari. 

 

We're going to phone tomorrow and see if the later cruises are going to the ports shown on the website. 

 

Alicat

[latin princess]

I was booked on the one starting 3rd September but when the new itenery came through on my Costa planner it said start and finish in Sardinia. This would be difficult to get to so I have changed mine to Deliziosa from Venice same week. Funny thing is I have 2 cruises booked with Costa that I have changed at least three times each and now am back to same ships and  roughly same route as originally booked just 18 months later 

[alicat58]

We manage to change out cruise to start 24/9 the original route. From other social media I think it is because Spain has closed their ports from cruise ships till 12/9.

[latin princess]

Unfortunately I had to change mine as couldn't get leave from work at any other time in September or October ( apart from what is booked for another cruise)

[maryann2]

I had an email yesterday saying that the Costa Firenze is relocating to Dubai in November.

 

(  Following the agreement announced last May 27 between Costa and the Commissioner for Italy at Expo Dubai 2020 to become Gold Sponsor of the Italian Pavilion, Costa Firenze, the latest ship of the Costa, which will enter service on July 4th from Savona, will continue to operate in the Mediterranean till the end of next November, and then during the winter 2021/22 she will be positioned in Dubai for cruises in the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar.)

 

I was booked on Pacifica from Dubai to Savona March 2022 so now changed to Firenze.

[alicat58]

Interesting. She was supposed to go to the Asian market.

[latin princess]

My Pacifica cruise in October has now been changed to Firenze again lol. Hope I turn up and get on the right ship. So many changes. Poor lady on costs phone line took her ages to find the terms and conditions for rebooking as each time it's different

 

[gerryuk]

On 6/2/2021 at 4:27 PM, maryann2 said:

I had an email yesterday saying that the Costa Firenze is relocating to Dubai in November.

 

(  Following the agreement announced last May 27 between Costa and the Commissioner for Italy at Expo Dubai 2020 to become Gold Sponsor of the Italian Pavilion, Costa Firenze, the latest ship of the Costa, which will enter service on July 4th from Savona, will continue to operate in the Mediterranean till the end of next November, and then during the winter 2021/22 she will be positioned in Dubai for cruises in the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar.)

 

I was booked on Pacifica from Dubai to Savona March 2022 so now changed to Firenze.

Same here, received email a couple of weeks ago. Today got a email stating that my cruise on Fascinosa from Barcelona to Guadalupe at the end of this year has been changed to Costa Diadema and i will get the same cabin or above. I have also recieved a email today stating that my 2 week round trip from Barcelona via Istanbul in September on the Costa Diadema, has been cancelled outright.

I would strongly advise those with bookings not to book hotels / flights until nearer the time of departure and Costa guarantee that your cruise is actually going.  

 

[alicat58]

And she is coming back to the Med in Spring next year apparently. 

 

We are still hopeful to go on her at the end of September but will wait with flights and hotels till much closer to the time.

 

The way things stand with "freedom day" one does not know what to expect.

[latin princess]

Yes I am waiting until closer to the time to book flights for my cruises. Hotels I have booked on free cancellation offers 

[gerryuk]

Well last week i received a email telling me my round trip on Costa Diadema from Barcelona via Istanbul in September had been cancelled. Yesterday i received another email telling me that they made a mistake and the cruise is going ahead. Thank the lord i did not booked hotels and flights, oh the stress of it all.

[drsel]

You can book hotels with no advance payment and free cancellation on a well known site.

 

I would book airfares only when I am sure the cruise is sailing, after it has already started sailing that particular itinerary.

Airfares will not go up much even one month before sailing

Edited June 29, 2021 by drsel

[SpeedySal]

I have booked Firenze for early October and I see that they have extended the dates now so fingers crossed.

[drsel]

10 hours ago, SpeedySal said:

I have booked Firenze for early October and I see that they have extended the dates now so fingers crossed.

I am wondering whether to book Costa smeralda or Firenze.

Which do you recommend and which ship do you think is better regarding shows, entertainment and activities onboard?

they are both operating simultaneously from the same port at the same time

Edited June 30, 2021 by drsel

[SpeedySal]

Firenze is a new cruise ship and I don’t know if it has even been launched yet so we have no reviews from cruisers as far as I know.

I think most of us are excited at the prospect of getting back to cruising, I know I am, and trying a new ship is great fun. 

 

As well as  booking Firenze  for early October, I couldn’t wait until then so I have also booked Smeralda for early September so you can see I am eager to cruise on her again. 

 

I think you’ll be able to find  some reviews of Smeralda on here which you may find helpful (so please excuse me for not posting one now) but comparison with Firenze  isn’t possible yet. The Smeralda  is big enough to cater to a wide variety of tastes and the only thing I remember being disappointed with was the theatre layout and the shows on offer there but this may well all have changed anyway. 
 

I remember one reviewer on here who posted a review was:

notesfromthebarn.blogspot.com 

so I hope they won’t mind me sharing it again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[alicat58]

We have cancelled this cruise. Really don't want to do the ships excursions and no point staying on board for a week.. We have been on the MSC Virtuosa on 3/7. Also a new ship and absolutely beautiful. Only ships excursions , so we stayed on the ship the whole time. Just not our thing.

 

Hopefully we will be able to cruise on her in the future. Specially when she does the current route again.

 

😪

[SpeedySal]

Alicat,  so sorry to hear you have cancelled your Firenze cruise but it is so difficult knowing how you might feel being able to do ONLY the ship’s excursions. It may feel quite claustrophobic if you cannot leave the ship on your own even for a short port visit if you don’t fancy the excursions.

 

At least you have been lucky enough to have had a cruise earlier! Would be really interested in what you thought of MSC overall compared to Costa if you felt like giving your opinion some time (I think there is already a thread here somewhere on this subject) or a review of MSC Virtuosa if you feel inclined and have the time. I am also interested in how well the Covid protocols were carried out and whether you felt happy and were able to relax? The MSC Virtuosa looks beautiful.

 

 We have changed our October cruise on Firenze to Toscana for early spring next year as the departure port will be more convenient for us and perhaps things will have opened up a bit more and passengers will once again be able to leave the ship independently in the ports.

 

We are also going to give MSC a try and we have booked an October Med cruise on MSC Grandiosa. 

 

[alicat58]

Hi Sal

 

We have been on Grandiosa, Virtuosa and Seaview. The ships are beautiful. We prefer Grandiosa and Virtuosa. 

 

I think it depends where you sail when comparing with Costa. I would say the MDR food in general is better on MSC. They are a bit more adventurous. Like Costa was years ago! Hubby thinks the Costa buffet breakfasts are better but he has a few favourite pastries on Costa.

 

As far as Covid safety is concerned we felt very relaxed. Everyone bar kids under 12 had to be double vaccinated. No teens allowed unless vaccinated. We had a LFT in port before embarking and another half way through the cruise.

 

Virtuosa is a big ship and only had about 1300 guests I think. Lots of seats blocked off to ensure social distancing. Everything spotlessly clean. Service in the bars excellent. We had a drinks package included which was good but we upgraded and had the most amazing cocktails and wines. A lot better than on Costa.

 

I have responded to Stockjock on the MSC board I think and was totally shot down for my comments by other MSC cruisers.

 

We have been loyal to Costa for many years and only just started trying other lines. We are currently booked on Celebrity for another UK cruise. They are the only ones allowing fully vaccinated people off their ships to do their own thing. To be honest it is not about being claustrophobic. We just like to do our own thing and have a nice meal where we visit.

 

Ask away if you have more questions.

 

Alicat

[SpeedySal]

Thanks very much for this , Ali, it is really appreciated. Good to know your thoughts and it is very helpful to get some upfront info.
 

Yes, claustrophobic was probably a poor choice of word as I think I was trying to say not beIng able to leave at the ports unless on the ship’s excursions is quite a large, albeit totally understandable, loss of freedom of choice. Like you, we have always tended to do our own thing but unless things change by October, we will be trying out the organised excursions.

 

We are really looking forward to trying MSC and the Grandiosa looks very impressive. We have read some mixed reviews regarding MSC but we also have mainly cruised with Costa and frankly we have always enjoyed ourselves and found little to complain about! I feel sure we’ll find plenty to enjoy with MSC, too. 

 

I am very encouraged to hear about the cocktails and particularly the wine 
being better than Costa!  Frankly, this was one area which we did find disappointing with Costa as it always seemed quite a struggle, even when we were in the club restaurant and on the Intenditore package, to get a decent wine served with dinner. We mostly gave up. 

 

I find your comments regarding safety measures very reassuring.   By the way, I imagine you did the Status Match? Nice to start off with a ‘welcome’ discount! 

I hope you’ll have a great cruise with Celebrity and would love to hear something about it in due course. Meanwhile, thanks so much again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[latin princess]

On 8/24/2021 at 8:37 PM, SpeedySal said:

,

 

 We have changed our October cruise on Firenze to Toscana for early spring next year as the departure port will be more convenient for us and perhaps things will have opened up a bit more and passengers will once again be able to leave the ship independently in the ports.

 

We are also going to give MSC a try and we have booked an October Med cruise on MSC Grandiosa. 

 

Am trying to decide if to cancel and rebook my October cruise on Firenze the issue being that Italian gov require UK citizen to quarantine for 5 days on arrival into Italy . This is up for review on 30th but don't think it will change. If it doesn't I will have to rebook. Am boarding in Barcelona but as the cruise has 4 Italian ports I don't know where I stand.

 

Trouble is I really wanted to sail on Firenze this annual leave year but the next cruises in her seem to be April 2022( I already have 2 cruises and a land based holiday pushed back to that annual leave year) oh well first world problems 

Edited August 28, 2021 by latin princess

[alicat58]

Latinprincess I have seen somewhere the 5d quarantine does not apply once you are on the cruise. Best check directly with Costa whether that is correct though.

 

Good luck.

[Stefan_Varong]

I'll be on a NCL cruise in the Western Mediterranean between Spain and Italy in October and guests arriving from the UK and boarding in Barcelona were informed a few days ago that they are not allowed to leave ship in Italy.

[latin princess]

I have emailed Costa UK and if I don't get a response will phone them towards end if the week after the next decision from Italian Gov on such things