Costa vs. MSC

[Skipper Tim]

Very interesting, thank you drsel.

 

I must say my experiences of MSC are quite different to those of Emma. Native English-speakers aboard my three MSC cruises were in a tiny minority, perhaps 3-5% on the first two transatlantic cruises and nearer 15% on the last European-based cruise. Dinners took ages on all of them! The first sitting is timed at 90 minutes with a 30 mins reset period while the preferred 'un-rushed' but very late second sitting was at least two hours. Water, tea and coffees were never included except self-service in the buffet. 

 

Unlike Emma, to me, dinner, at a fixed table of guests, whom one gets to know gradually, is the heart of a cruise. I wish they did it in hotels. An 8-table is my preference. 6 is too small if a couple dine elsewhere for the night it leaves quite a hole, while 10 or more means the table cannot have one conversation. To 'get-in, eat and get-out' is the antithesis of my idea of a cruise. Dinner is the main event. 

 

We depart the UK this Tuesday, fly overnight, have a night in Santos then join the Favolosa on Thursday. The only loose end not yet tied up is the mandatory Covid tests Costa still require for South America departures over 15 days and within 24 hours of arrival at the terminal! This is proving problematic. It appears I will have to sort this on the ground in Santos. 

 

Anyway, I think the things that Emma did not like about Costa are the things I have already experienced on MSC, other than the buffet closing between meals and the lack of included pizzas. This 'nickel and diming' I am sure is a consequence of the Carnival ownership. I have my rum-runners ready. 

[At7Seas]

I watched Emma's video and have some comments.

 

Very true is that dinner is on Costa ships is much more important than on any other cruise line I have been on. This is typical Italian and who loves good food and likes to celebrate it finds here an ideal ship. Just the statement that it lasts three hours is too much, since it is held in seatings (at least in the MDR) and this just does not fit. One gets an Italian style menu, which of course is based on the Italian starter, pasta (or also called first main), second main, dessert plus optional things. Just as in a restaurant in Italy. One should know this, but the waiters usually explain the menu to those who are not familiar with Italian style dining. Great food, served as it should in Italy. MSC is neither an Italian cruise line, nor has it Italian food. It fills the stomachs of guests with mediocre food, often badly prepared, not in the Italian setup, but the originally French three-course setup. I never sent so many food back as on MSC, a single course I did with on Costa and I cruised so much more with them.  Who calls MSC food Italian style should visit Italy ashore to get known what Italian food is. And whether one prefers a small table or share a large is a personal question, I tend to larger ones and when I had to sit alone by covid rules it was a terrible experience. Costa offers to put guests on table sizes they prefer and if it doesn’t turn out the right way asking for larger or smaller table is always possible and at least regarding changing seating I always got the desired place in the late one.
 
Language is no problem at all on Costa. English is not widely spoken by native speakers, but is spoken by all staff and although I am German native speaker and German is one of the standard languages on Costa I address to people in English, because I know that is definitely spoken and in most cases better understood. The English contact person is not an act to help English speaking guests when they got lost in-between all these Italians, but is an extra service of Costa to employ native speakers of all main languages as contact persons to make communication even easier. Announcements are made in Italian first, always followed by English and the other languages are sometimes ranked according to the numbers of passengers aboard. Starting with Italian on an in Italy registered vessel does not upset me. Newer MSCs are registered in Malta and there English is an officially used language.
 
Personally I don‘t understand the water question at all. I pay in restaurants at home, in Italy or on Costa ships for water - nothing else on Costa. Only in the buffet and at the burger stations they have chilled tap water for free. There is no tap water in the MDR at all. By the way on my last MSC cruise there was only bottled water in the MDR available as well. To end this with US booked Costa guests have free water with lunch and dinner, without booking a drinking package their cruise card shows “water USA“.
 
Smoking on Costa is completely banned inside now, the smoking lounges no longer exist - the video is already a bit older. In opposite to MSC, where people still smoke in the casino, which makes it horrible just to pass along. MSC is much more non-smoker unfriendly than Costa. Saying this at the fresh air smoking is much more widely allowed on Costa than on cruise lines designed for the US market.
 
Costa is very proud on their unique designs, so it is correctly stated that these ships are pretty different from all others.
 
Food availability is on Costa from mostly 7 am until 5 am. Sometimes breakfast even starts earlier, depending on the times calling a port. This should be enough. The buffet is not open all that time, but for breakfast, late breakfast without the hot items, closed for cleaning shortly and for a long time open again for lunch. In the afternoon there is the Italian equivalent of teatime and in the evening it is open again for the few people not interested in a full dinner in the MDR. The demand for the buffet in the evening is very low and I am not surprised that the opening times are short. Italian style cruising and going in the evening into the buffet does not really fit.
 
That you pay for pizza and for ice cream on Costa is old news, I don‘t know how it comes as surprise again and again. But honestly, the pizza they prepare in the pizzeria is worth the small extra fee, in Italy you can‘t get them for this price and the quality is remarkable. Many club members even get one for free. Just in opposite to the terrible slices offered by MSC - and ordering an entire pizza there costs money as well. I am no fan of ice cream; I prefer the pastry made by Costa, all fresh and tasty.
 
Nothing to add about what is said about cleanliness on Costa, on MSC I never was impressed about.
 
The master drill is done much more effectively on Costa of course, why it is stress to get the life jacket is beyond my understanding. And it starts depending on boarding, if busses or planes are delayed the start is postponed as well. There comes an announcement that it will start soon and this could be taken as hint to go already to the cabin, also by using the elevators… And of course it is only for those “embarked today”, as always communicated.
 
The last statement about both being Italy at sea with the difference of MSC being welcoming and Costa more being Italian, whether you like it or not, does not make sense to me. Costa is pretty much like being in Italy. The majority of guests on their vessels underscores this. Who ever complained that there are too many Italian restaurants in Rome? MSC is international mass market and stating that they would be Italian, but it is not even a cheap copy.

 

[CupKayke]

Your post is SO incorrect I don't even know where to start but I'll say this for a FACT -   I just got off a Costa ship and they had an indoor smoking lounge.  I can post pictures of the outside of the lounge and of my husband smoking inside the lounge if you don't believe me. 

 

Other things I 100% disagree with from my 9-day journey on Costa through South America which I stepped off the ship on March 18th (I believe)... 

 

The food on Costa is not good.  It's not necessarily bad but it's not what you think it's going to be.  There are no long, amazing Italian meals like you speak off.  They have things like Chicken Stroganoff on the menu and when they bring it to you, it looks like cow brain - jellied and gross.  Every time you order, this is sorta how it works out.  I think the food is, for the most part, catered toward Brazilians.  That's fine.  We never complained but having traveled to Italy on many occasions and had amazing meals throughout so many regions, I completely disagree with your post above.  Please do not let people think they are going to get authentic Italian cuisine on a Costa ship.  That's a joke.

 

Language is a HUGE problem on a Costa ship if you speak English.  We were the only Americans onboard for our 9-day journey.  We were the only English-speaking guests onboard until we got to Rio and two Australians boarded.  We were told this by the hospitality desk and by the tour desk because they ended-up canceling several of our tours because they were only going to be in Portugese.  Frankly, Costa went above and beyond and WAY out of there way to modify their tours for these two English-speaking Americans.  We were thankful however... we both agreed Costa should ABSOLUTELY NOT be selling these cruises to Americans and their website should not even be offered in English.  WHY?  Because you cannot use an "American iPHone" to access their app - where all the menus are located, where your daily bill is at, where the activities are listed, etc.  They have one restaurant (speciality) where the only way you can order in the restaurant is with the Costa App.  We sat and spoke for a very long time on several occasions with their lovely IT guy from Isreal and he told us he feels so bad when anyone with an American iPhone gets onboard because they can't use it on the Costa ship.  Also, Costa bans A LOT of American websites.  He said he has no control of over it.  I even went to the hospitality desk.  I was not able to access my blog the entire trip.  The ONLY website I could access to keep in touch with family was... of all dang things... Facebook.  Eh.

 

Water is an issue on Costa for SOME people.  We had a suite.  We had four bottles in our room daily and we could go to any bar and get a bottle (small or large) free all day long.  However, if you had to eat at the buffets (we did not have to because we had a suite but we did twice)... you cannot get your own water.  They have it roped off.  There are attendants there and they will hand you a small glass of water.  It is INSANE to me but it is what it is.  If we had not booked a suite, I would have been floored having to do that on a regular basis.   There was no fee to have an attendant hand you a glass a water - but only during breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  There is no water outside of those times so you better have a drink/water package or a suite (it's free for suite guests). 

 

I agree food is available all day, basically.  We were never hungry.  The meal times are plenty long enough for someone to eat.  They do start later meals than American cruise ships but they still have regular meal times.  We thought it might be the humidity or just the lack of food we like overall but we did skip meals.  We were still never hungry.  They had a burger place that was open from like 10pm to 6am (or so we were told by our waiter) but we never tried it.   I think it is $5 for a bacon double cheeseburger and fries - that's what he told us multiple times but we were never hungry on this cruise.

 

There was nothing different about our Costa ship that is any different than any other ship.  There was no design shift that they should be "proud" of - quite frankly, it looked like an old Carnival ship to me - very old.  ALL THE WINDOWS need replaced badly.  I believe this ship is going to drydock in August so there's that.  I just cannot agree with you saying their ship design is so very different than any other ship when it is the exact same as the other ships we've been on. 

 

You do pay for pizza.  The margherita pizza is good.  It was on sale because they never had any patrons so you basically got a large pizza for $4.50.  The other toppings were strange for an American and we tried several pizzas but in general, you do pay.  It's not any better or worse than the free pizza on Carnival.   There is no free ice cream and the gelato is just so-so.   We don't cruise for the pizza or the ice cream so there is that.

 

The ship is clean.  It's just like all the other ships.  It's a good working cruise ship and is kept to the same standards as any other cruise ship we've cruised.

 

I don't know what you are trying to say about the "Master Drill" but if you are talking about the muster drill, you do have to PUT ON your life jacket and stand in line and check in and they are serious about it.  THey even scan your id cards.  No phones allowed (I took two pictures and got told no-no) and then everyone must be quiet why they talk.  Yes, people were blowing the whistles.  LOL  ALso, for the record, the next day we had a letter in our cabin telling us we didn't attend and we had to go to some room. I took the letter to the hospitality desk and she had us both sign the letter saying we attended.  Also, I told her I took pictures so I had proof.  I think she thought that was funny.   I know Costa has a past so maybe that's why they are so serious about the muster drill but come on, it's the year 2023... 

 

Lastly, COSTA is NOTHING like being in Italy.  That is the funniest statement I've read.  I love Italy.  LOVE Italy.  We have been to so many regions in Italy.  Costa is like being on a cruise ship with SOME Italians.  Our boat sailed from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Rio, Brazil and back down to Uruguay and back to Buenos Aires.  This Costa boat never had a zero count.  They loaded passengers in Buenos Aires, Rio, and Montevideo.  The majority of the passengers from Buenos Aires were warm, lovely, much older Italains.  I loved these people. They were so sweet and wonderful.  The majority of the passengers from Rio were younger Brazilians and wealthy Brazilians.  They seemed to hate the English speaking Americans.  Everywhere we went, most people spoke Portugese (the Brazilians), or Spanish (the Argentenians and/or Italians).  We had arranged a private tour in Argentina before we left and we were told 70% of Argentenians have Italian ancestry.  This is probably why they are so nice.  However, it's still different on the ship.  This is not an "Italian" cruise ship when it is sailing in South America - there were many meals that were a "Brazilian mix" or "Brazilian delicacy" and the cruise we took for 9 days was catered toward Brazilians with a smaller mix of Italians.  

 

I just saw your post and wanted to set the record straight.  I was thinking of writing a full photo review of our cruise but I didn't want to encourage any Americans to ever book Costa (as we will never do so again) so I was being quiet on the boards but I couldn't let the misinformation stand. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 8, 2023 by CupKayke

[At7Seas]

Everything I wrote is based on personal experience and otherwise accessible facts only.

 

All ships I had been on past covid (four Costa cruises) had dismantled the smoking lounges. The last I saw in 2019 on the Fortuna.
 
It is true that the use of expensive ingredients has been limited. But this definitely had no impact on the quality of food. Pasta tends to be very cheap anyway and still can be very tasty. Yes, there are a few international meals on their menu, add the destination dish, but still the vast majority dishes is Italian and these are from both national and regional Italian kitchen. Catering towards Brazilians? I hadn’t been on that cruise, but never experienced something like that. I know that they did it for the Chinese market, but these cruises weren’t to book in Europe.
 
What makes American IPhones that special? Technically you open a pdf on the local network to see the menus. Why can’t these phones open a pdf? My laptop can’t read QRs, but the link provided typed into the address line of my browser gave me access to the menu from my cabin. Strange. And yes, when geoblocking is used a website can’t be opened. Happens when abroad and the owner doesn’t want access from other countries.
 
For most people a drinking package makes sense. Costa has one of the cheapest in industry and it offers a lot. Waiters handing out water in the buffet had been a covid measure, which had been abolished in June 2022 in Europe, why it is in use in South America now is beyond my knowledge.
 
Try to eat out a pizza for 4.50 in Italy! I did never see anything strange regarding the toppings offered by Costa, everything typically found in Italy as well in the ever-different combinations.
 
To know where the own life boat is doesn’t seem to me being a bad idea. That the card reading didn’t work in your case is not pretty, but at least they did what Costa normally does, they looked for a good solution for everybody. MSC acts differently. I foresaw a possible problem. I asked long enough before sailing and got a clear answer. The answer was wrong. So I was blamed for asking in advance. And while we are comparing Costa to MSC, both have sunk vessels. Just that MSC Cruises wasn’t used as name, because this name was introduced afterwards.
 
Surprise! Many guests from Argentina and Brazil in South America! Try a Costa cruise to Norway from German ports, I am sure you’ll find more Germans than South Americans! And still Costa is a product made by Italians for Italians with the largest nationality using them throughout the fleet and all year round being Italians.

 

[drsel]

2 hours ago, CupKayke said:

I just saw your post and wanted to set the record straight.   I didn't want to encourage any Americans to ever book Costa (as we will never do so again)

Thanks for your detailed analysis & comparison. I will heed your advice!

[Skipper Tim]

Great to have agreement 🙂 

 

I have spent 44 nights on three MSC ships and am looking forward to 15 nights aboard my first Costa ship, boarding Thursday. I know all cruise lines vary their offering according to geographic region and the time of year - which may explain some of the discrepancies laboured-over in the posts above. We will be starting in Brazil and ending in Spain. Since booking, the on-board currency has changed from $US to Euros and I understand that at least half the crew must be Brazilian for the ship to operate in Brazilian waters. The ship may be in a state of flux.

 

I look forward to updating this thread according my experiences. You can also follow our journey on FaceBook: tmillea1. 

[At7Seas]

On 7/27/2022 at 11:49 AM, Raj.K said:

Also, MSC now include gratuities in the fare whilst Costa charges additional EUR 11 per night per passenger.

 

Definitely not true!
 
Costa was the first to include charges on markets where law determines to do so.
 
MSC’s service charge has been reshaped recently and can no longer be cancelled. The charge is $ 14.50 or 12.00 € per night currently as the US site of MSC states. Only exception are bookings in the UK, there MSC quotes including service charge. Law to do so for example in Germany, Austria and Switzerland is not obeyed by MSC.

 

[Raj.K]

18 hours ago, At7Seas said:

 

Definitely not true!
 
Costa was the first to include charges on markets where law determines to do so.
 
MSC’s service charge has been reshaped recently and can no longer be cancelled. The charge is $ 14.50 or 12.00 € per night currently as the US site of MSC states. Only exception are bookings in the UK, there MSC quotes including service charge. Law to do so for example in Germany, Austria and Switzerland is not obeyed by MSC.

 

Well, MSC seem to include gratuities in UK advertised fares and Costa explicitly mention that there is the additional cost per adult for each night which is not included in the fare advertised here in the UK.

[Skipper Tim]

UK & EU consumer law states that all fees & charges must be made clear at the time of booking - but not necessarily included. Still, it is a cultural thing as to whether you consider compulsory extra charges sharp practice or not. In those markets where customers are outraged at compulsory extra charges, they are included, just as the Italian lines include table water for US customers and probably the making of towel animals too 🙂 

[At7Seas]

Looking only what happens in the UK does not give a full picture as my reference to the MSC US site proves already. And if you read exactly I wrote that the UK is treated differently from the rest of the word.

 

UK and EU law is clear, but this does not take away the fact that there are national laws going beyond this point to tighter consumer protection, which is perfectly allowed regarding EU law. This is applicable by bookings through a branch in these countries or through a website registered there. And exactly there MSC does not comply to national law, while Costa does.

[drsel]

6 hours ago, Skipper Tim said:

UK & EU consumer law states that all fees & charges must be made clear at the time of booking - but not necessarily included. Still, it is a cultural thing as to whether you consider compulsory extra charges sharp practice or not. In those markets where customers are outraged at compulsory extra charges, they are included, just as the Italian lines include table water for US customers and probably the making of towel animals too 🙂 

No towel animals or art auctions on ANY Costa or MSC cruise. These are exclusively on American lines--RC, Carnival, Norwegian, etc

[maryann2]

1 hour ago, drsel said:

No towel animals or art auctions on ANY Costa or MSC cruise. These are exclusively on American lines--RC, Carnival, Norwegian, etc

I had towel animals three times on my recent Costa Toscana cruise. 

[Skipper Tim]

Well, I am now aboard the Costa Fabolosa, having joined in Santos, Brazil yesterday and currently docked in Rio de Janeiro. After all the whinging about having to pay for pizza, I was shocked to see pizza in abundance at the buffet! We had dinner and breakfast in the two different MDRs and the service and food amazingly good so far - even the presentation on the plate has been excellent. 

 

Having saved the rather tasteful water bottles from the Iberia flight to Sao Paulo (they look a little like half-size Bombay Sapphire bottles), I was disappointed to see that the filling of water bottles in the buffet is forbidden 😞 I filled them from the tap in my shower room instead - tastes great and I can keep them in the minibar. 

 

My mother and I were the only two guests that showed at the 'English speakers welcome'! We were told that there were a total of 18 people aboard who classed themselves as English speakers but this included all the nationalities not covered by the other operating languages of Portuguese, Italian, Spanish and French, e.g. Russians, Romanians, etc.. So far we have only heard one English voice but he was in a party of four Italians and was multilingual.

 

Our two table mates didn't show for dinner and, as we prefer a larger table, I have asked the Maitre D' if he could 'make' a larger table of English speakers. I believe some more are joining at Rio today. He said he will see what he could do. We shall see.

 

Any questions please fire away. We are aboard for another 15 days, heading up the Brazilian coast, crossing the equator and Atlantic and ending in Barcelona. It should be a comprehensive taste of Costa!

[At7Seas]

That they serve pizza again in the buffet is a surprise to me, good to hear. Until perhaps ten years ago pizza slices were served every noon in the buffet (I never went there for dinner), but this was abolished at some point. During my last cruise on a sister of the Favolosa a couple of months ago there still was no free pizza.
 
And yes, Costa does not want guests to fill bottles directly from the tap in the buffet, but I never experienced someone having problems filling bottles from the glasses provided. I personally can understand this from hygienic reasons, because some tend putting the opening of bottles they drank out directly around the nozzles of the dispenser. This is not exclusively Costa BTW.
 
Enjoy your cruise!

[drsel]

16 hours ago, Skipper Tim said:

Any questions please fire away. We are aboard for another 15 days, heading up the Brazilian coast, crossing the equator and Atlantic and ending in Barcelona. It should be a comprehensive taste of Costa!

Wow you are going to have a fabulous time!

I agree with At7seas that filling water at the buffet should be done by using the glasses, for the sake of hygiene.

This is the same on MSC and other ships.

 

Please ask your rooms steward if they make/ provide towel animals (and how many) on such a long cruise.

We have never received towel animals on any of our MSC and Costa cruises.

 

At Barcelona you must buy the 5 day unlimited Barcelona Go City  pass which includes all the attractions and is excellent value for money

Edited April 15, 2023 by drsel

[greg2014]

I was travelling with Costa in South America twice (before COVID) and on both cruises pizza was available in buffet free of charge - when on European cruises of Costa not. I am afraid that it is connected with different product of Costa during South America cruises. Buffet opening times were much longer, menu also was a little bit different. Because of Brazilian law, big part of crew were from Brazil, so it could be the reason of communication problems for English speaking guests (most of guests for South American cruises were from Brazil, Argentina etc. - maybe except transatlantic cruises and Costa was focused on them).

 

During my last cruise from Santos on first European stop (as I remember it was Tenerrife) almost all Brazilian crew have been replaced with "typical" for Costa cruises - from Asia countries. 

Edited April 15, 2023 by greg2014

[drsel]

4 hours ago, greg2014 said:

I was travelling with Costa in South America twice (before COVID) and on both cruises pizza was available in buffet free of charge - when on European cruises of Costa not.

. Buffet opening times were much longer, menu also was a little bit different.

During my last cruise from Santos on first European stop (as I remember it was Tenerrife) almost all Brazilian crew have been replaced with "typical" for Costa cruises - from Asia countries. 

Now we know that Costa serves free pizzas in the buffet only on the trans Atlantic cruises and cruises around South America, whereas MSC serves free pizza in the buffet on ALL their cruises. 

 

Both MSC and Costa choose room stewards, waiters and kitchen staff from Indonesia, Philippines and India because they can pay them much less and still their TAX FREE income in foreign exchange would be upto 1000% more than what they would have received for the exact same work and exact same hours in their own home countries.

Also the minimal income they receive in their home countries is fully taxable whereas income received in foreign exchange is completely TAX FREE .

 

At least bartenders on both Carnival and Royal Caribbean have told me that they average around 4000 US dollars per month TAX FREE, which is 1000% more than what bar tenders in their home countries earn

Edited April 15, 2023 by drsel

[At7Seas]

1 minute ago, drsel said:

Now we know that Costa serves free pizzas in the buffet only on the trans Atlantic cruises and cruises around South America, whereas MSC serves free pizza in the buffet on ALL their cruises. 

They choose crew from Indonesia, Philippines and India because they can pay them much less and still their income would be upto 1000% more than what they would have received for the exact same work and exact same hours in the own home countries

 

????????????????????????????????

 

Costa always serves pizza! At least I am not that cheap that I would prefer a free mediocre MSC pizza over Costa's exvellent quality for 4.50 - 13.00 €.

 

That all cruise lines employ staff from low wage countries is not new at all. What is staff from Zimbabwe for MSC is from India for Costa.

[Skipper Tim]

After 15 nights just completed aboard the Costa Favolosa and my previous 44 nights on MSC' s Musica, Fantasia and Armonia, I will offer an opinion on the original subject, 'Costa vs. MSC'.

 

My experience is that both are mass-market lines aimed at the multi-lingual European and South American markets. They both have beautifully decorated ships and great service. Both pretend to be Italian - their claims are founded but the operation is distinctly international and especially catering for a mix of non native-English speakers of European languages: Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, German, French and finally English for the rest of the World. 

 

Then their similarities end. MSC's food is at least two stars up from Costa's. On the 16 days on a Costa ship I have had the worst food in my life since being an impoverished student, getting on for 40 years ago. The presentation is generally beautiful and menu descriptions flowery and inviting but the ingredients are incredibly cheap and very rarely is anything pleasant to eat. MSC's menu descriptions in English were totally unreliable but the food was always good quality and there were everyday standbys to suit even US tastes in case nothing appealed (steak etc.). 

 

On deck the service on Costa is strictly clearing away empties and wiping down. On MSC, there was always waiter service drinks delivery in addition. 

 

MSC's entertainment was more varied and engaging. Looking through Costa's daily programme, practically everything listed is a sales pitch: 'tour of the spa', 'tour of the speciality restaurant', all the paid activities etc.. MSC always had some of these mixed with genuinely free and interesting activities and talks. 

 

The cabin 'attendant'/steward on MSC was relatively smartly-dressed and visited twice per day to service and prepare the cabin. On Costa you get one visit from someone in a grey overall with a little name plate on the wall saying if there is anything you need, "call reception"! 

 

At risk of being a snob, I must say that many people on my Costa cruise behaved as if they had never been in a lift (elevator) before, did not know how to use cutlery, could not follow the gentle dress code, arrive on time to dinner, keep their talking volume down or generally follow the basic norms of a civilised society. How these peasants could afford the fare, I do not know. 

 

If I ever cruise with Costa again, it will be to make an entertaining documentary, certainly not for pleasure. As my mother put it succinctly, "If that had been my first cruise, I would never cruise again". 

 

MSC are far from perfect but Costa makes MSC look great. 

[drsel]

On 4/30/2023 at 1:37 AM, Skipper Tim said:

 MSC's food is at least two stars up from Costa's. On the 16 days on a Costa ship I have had the worst food in my life since being an impoverished student, getting on for 40 years ago. 

the ingredients are incredibly cheap and very rarely is anything pleasant to eat. MSC's menu descriptions in English were totally unreliable but the food was always good quality and there were everyday standbys to suit even US tastes in case nothing appealed (steak etc.). 

 

MSC's entertainment was more varied and engaging. Looking through Costa's daily programme, practically everything listed is a sales pitch: 'tour of the spa', 'tour of the speciality restaurant', all the paid activities etc.. MSC always had some of these mixed with genuinely free and interesting activities and talks. 

 

The cabin 'attendant'/steward on MSC was relatively smartly-dressed and visited twice per day to service and prepare the cabin. On Costa you get one visit from someone in a grey overall with a little name plate on the wall saying if there is anything you need, "call reception"! 

 

At risk of being a snob, I must say that many people on my Costa cruise behaved as if they had never been in a lift (elevator) before, did not know how to use cutlery, could not follow the gentle dress code, arrive on time to dinner, keep their talking volume down or generally follow the basic norms of a civilised society. How these peasants could afford the fare, I do not know. 

 

If I ever cruise with Costa again, it will be  certainly not for pleasure. As my mother put it succinctly, "If that had been my first cruise, I would never cruise again". 

 

MSC are far from perfect but Costa makes MSC look great. 

Oh my gosh, It's shocking to read all this! I didn't expect Costa to have gone down so much. It wasn't so bad before.

Thankfully, I have not booked any more Costa cruises and I do not plan to do so unless something drastic changes.

Edited May 1, 2023 by drsel

[drsel]

On 4/30/2023 at 1:37 AM, Skipper Tim said:

 MSC are far from perfect but Costa makes MSC look great. 

Skipper Tim, this is the Costa forum, so most of the people reading your review are huge fans of Costa.

Costa has very low fares for transatlantic cruises, but I honesty feel that MSC is better value.

If anyone wants something better than MSC, then they will have to pay much more for a Celebrity or Princess cruise

Edited May 1, 2023 by drsel

[Skipper Tim]

1 minute ago, drsel said:

Skipper Tim, this is the Costa forum, so most of the people reading your review are huge fans of Costa.

Costa has very low fares for transatlantic cruises, but I honesty feel that MSC is better value.

If you still want something better than MSC, you will have to pay much more for a Celebrity or Princess cruise

Yes, I am waiting for a Celebrity repo cruise at the right price!

[At7Seas]

On 4/29/2023 at 10:07 PM, Skipper Tim said:

After 15 nights just completed aboard the Costa Favolosa and my previous 44 nights on MSC' s Musica, Fantasia and Armonia, I will offer an opinion on the original subject, 'Costa vs. MSC'.

 

After having done post pandemic four Costa cruises, one on MSC and two on two other lines, in total three mass market cruise lines and one niche market line, I need to add a few thoughts. Earlier experiences I keep out of this comparison, but despite changes since the stop of service my conclusion remains the same.
 
The crowd on a Costa sailing is always diverse, especially South Americans are seldom found on their ships on sailings not connected to that continent. Try a sailing from a German port to Norway in summer and you hardly will hear any Spanish, not even a single announcement is done in Portuguese. The complaint that Costa is no typical US line is for 100% correct of course, who wants to hear English only should use a line that is specialised on English speaking markets only. From my European view I am very happy that not everything is made to fit the average US taste. Who wants that should cruise with a line that offers this. Costa is an Italian product made by Italians for Italians and those speaking other languages are welcome.
 
MSC is not the slightest bit Italian. A Swiss company with the very old ships registered in Panama, the between old and new ones in Malta. Nothing at all reminds to Italy besides the names. It gives a hint that Italians are found in relatively small numbers aboard compared to Costa, although the Italian language is one of the official ones used aboard of both lines. Just for the good order: the seat of Costa SpA is in Genoa, Italy and their ships are registered in Italy.
 
The food on Costa is way better than on MSC. Costa follows the Italian way of cooking, not only the traditional meal composition of antipasta (starter, literally before the pasta), primo (first main, mainly the pasta course), secundo (second main, a fish or meat course) and dolce (dessert, literally sweet), but also the way of cooking. The Italian kitchen is and was always the art of making something very tasty from the things locally available at reasonable price, expensive ingredients are used if at all in small doses. Not without reason there are traditionally two main courses, the pasta course is for stuffing the stomach cheaply before the more expensive things as fish and meat are put onto the table. Costa perfectly fits into this way of cooking. One also could complain that there are so many Italian restaurants in Rome. Surprise: steak is no typical Italian dish, but available on request. I looked at one of the menus I still have stored on my laptop. Grilled beef paillard was among the free and always available “Grand Classics”, a tomahawk steak at a fee.
 
My last MSC cruise (I think definitely my last MSC cruise, which I only had booked because on this route there was no alternative at all) the food was not only cheap, but also terribly prepared. As pointed out before a good meal needn‘t to be expensive, but it should be prepared well. I am not used to return food, but on MSC I returned so much food as never before in my entire life. With my B2B on a Costa a couple of months ago I was happy to see a menu repeating, on MSC my thought was “not again”! While normally at table on a cruise the discussion is about what to take from an abundance of choice the discussion on MSC was what could be eatable at all. But two men at my table had always the same excuse for the terrible food: “MSC is cheap”. A very bad experience was that the buffet returned to the unhygienic circumstances we were used to before covid, while Costa still kept up the service in the buffet, which works so much better. Again dirty plates and cutlery have been typical for MSC. On de-embarkation day I took a train back home and the probably canned soup I had on that train was more tasty than everything I got aboard of MSC and I had my first fresh roll since boarding with that soup. Obviously MSC has reduced my expectations on food during the cruise significantly.
 
Just a sentence about NCL, the third mass marked line I sailed with since service resumed. In the included restaurants the food was made from relative cheap ingredients and regarding the taste it was not on the level of Costa, in the paid restaurants food was of excellent taste and made from expensive things, while the problem of having no fresh bread was the same as on MSC - except in the paid restaurants again.
 
Costa entertains the guests through all the ship, one has a very good possibility to choose the preferred style. For me personally it might be a bit less loud, but really bad things I did not experience too often. Entertainment on MSC does hardly happen, except the silly kindergarten level pool games, that are held indoors as well and every day karaoke. To be honest the pool games Costa offers as well, luckily the karaoke is very limited. There is hardly any music in the MSC launches, where Costa is famous for life music. The shows in the theatre are held on Costa every single evening and cover a variety of styles. Costa shows are regarding the quality shows on a quite good level, I saw quite a lot of lesser acts at sea and not too many better. Already from the daily program it is possible to make a choice, if I don’t want to watch artists I can make this decision from the program. On MSC only a title was offered, which normally told anything at all. But they needed most of the daily for promoting things sold against horrendous prices. The quality was pretty poor, perhaps it is the best news that MSC did not offer shows when the ship was in port during the evening hours, it limited the possibility to be disappointed.
 
I don’t need my cabin made up twice a day, I don’t make that much dirt. Costa since ever offers cabin service once a day. But to be honest, on my recent MSC cruise my cabin was made up once a day as well. At least I never had on a Costa (or any other line) mould and rust in my bathroom, this exceptional price deserves MSC.
 
With a very few exceptions the waiters on MSC were not interested in doing their work. Standing and waiting instead of turning head and looking around once a while whether there could be a guest interested in ordering something. And most weren’t even close to the end of their contract. I never experienced such a slow service at sea, I never was ignored so often. Add the fact that the waiters often queued waiting at the only available computer. Costa has introduced handheld computers, they scan cruise cards for an order and don’t need to type in things into the system they have written on a paper before.
 
Of course there are well-cultivated people all over the world and I don’t want to judge over anybody writing here. But when I read a call to use cutlery correctly from someone for the UK it amuses me as European. Even more when this person is happy with US market cruise lines. Especially from these countries I have seen so many people unable to eat in a cultivated way. Writing this I am aware of some small differences in etiquette. As being German on Costa I am served fork and spoon with spaghetti, while I eat my spaghetti the way Italians do. Costa is aware of these differences and still I adapt to the place I am. However, the public on MSC is for a pretty huge part just primitive. I wore on a casual evening simply jeans and a summer shirt when someone commented “poor guy, did you have to dress up to go to the restaurant?” Compared to his shorts and dirty T-shirt my look was quite different indeed. And dressing up on special evenings is reduced everywhere, while some lines have abolished it completely Costa reduced the advice to “elegant” recently. Although I am not charmed by letting al cultivation go down the drain this is part of our time and not typical for Costa. And if I may be very strict for a moment: although I had fun with the interpretation of dressing Italian in Mafia style this was not exactly what was suggested. Coming too late for dinner is a problem with guests from countries that handle time very relaxed. Depending on the mix of the crowd aboard this can be more or less, but it remains annoying. While I often saw closed doors of the MDR during the first shift the late one is disturbed very often. On a cruise under strict covid rules the doors were closed consequently, but bad enough this has not been followed up. Since we compare here with MSC: regarding this problem there is no difference at all between these lines.
 
Worst things to say about MSC is that they blame their customers for everything. I asked MSC about one procedure in advance to plan my day in a port. The answer I got was not true and never had been. Who was wrong? I! MSC translated names and I was unable to understand that it was the name of a place and took it for the port, exactly as the MSC paper told. Who was wrong? I! MSC informed that they did not provide a shuttle bus in a port and what paperwork would be needed to leave ship. I forwarded this to the company I arranged my excursion with. The information was completely wrong and I missed two hours of my excursion, just because I couldn’t get to my car. Who was wrong? I! A lady from Australia said it perfectly: “I am no container and don’t want to be treated as one!” Of course there went things wrong on Costa ships, this happens always and everywhere when people work. But on Costa they try to find a solution that works for their guest, they don’t blame their customer and leave them alone.
 
Something I missed completely in this review: excursions. Compared to local providers Costa has sometimes excursions that are cheap or sometimes at comparable levels of offers made by local suppliers. In other cases booking individually can be cheaper, sometimes even a third of the price can be saved. The quality is always depending on the local guides, regardless how you book an excursion. MSC is very constant in pricing - they are always terribly overpriced. I managed to make an excursion recently for 45 € instead of 175 €, same destination, but I was an hour longer there with my privately booked excursion. Another time I booked at the same rate privately as MSC charged, but for me as single guest with own car and driver and a private guide at the destination and without being forced to spend time in several souvenir shops.
 
Costa has some shortcomings. Yes. On once the bad service ashore they are working and my last questions and requests were handled in reasonable time and with results I am content with. Organisation generally could be a bit better to reduce the source of problems. Dislikes I have with the menu can be solved by simply talking to the waiter, I am not eating a lot of sweet things and got my cheese plate every evening, despite it vanished from the standard menu - every evening in variations and not always the same as lately with MSC. That some things need to be paid for is no surprise, but there is definitely no need to pay all the time extra for having tasty food. The sound level could be lowered a little bit. Yes, there is space for improvements. But this I can say about all cruise lines I ever have been on. On Costa I was always treated with respect and especially as single traveller the value I get for my money is good. There are undoubtedly better lines - at quite a price. I personally prefer travelling twice with a good cruise line than travelling once with a very good line for twice the price.
 
MSC doesn’t reach the quality level of Costa by far. I have been on simple ferryboats that were better. Although MSC is cheap they aren’t worth a single Euro.

 

 

[jimdee3636]

@At7Seas

I enjoyed your comprehensive comparison of Costa and MSC, and I like it that you're not shy about expressing your opinions!

 

Since you're German, I'm wondering if you're familiar with the Hapag-Lloyd cruise line, particularly the Europa 2 ship (which is reportedly trying to appeal to English-speaking guests and not just their usual German clientele). It looks like a beautiful ship, and I've heard that the culinary and service standards are very high. I've also heard that virtually all the crew members can speak English as well as German. Any information (or opinions) you may have would be greatly appreciated.

 

Jim

[drsel]

9 hours ago, At7Seas said:

In other cases booking individually can be cheaper, sometimes even a third of the price can be saved. The quality is always depending on the local guides, regardless how you book an excursion. MSC is very constant in pricing - they are always terribly overpriced. I managed to make an excursion recently for 45 € instead of 175 €, same destination, but I was an hour longer there with my privately booked excursion. Another time I booked at the same rate privately as MSC charged, but for me as single guest with own car and driver and a private guide at the destination and without being forced to spend time in several souvenir shops.

Dear At7seas, how did U manage to get the excursion @ 45 euros? Which website? Thanks!