Costa vs. MSC

[Skipper Tim]

Yes, there is no need to have an onboard data package with the Costa app to connect to the ship's wi-fi with quite a list of services available. Wherever you are on the ship, every bar and restaurant has a QR code at every table which once scanned by a phone brings up the menu with prices for that venue, for that moment. It is a Costa quirk that the price of the same thing varies by venue. In fact some things which are free, e.g. burgers and chips at the stern are charged for just 100m away on the other side of the buffet! 

 

There is no free connection to the outside World but at least you can buy one over the ship's wi-fi with the app.

 

At dinner, we asked for paper menus in English on the first night, which were subsequently printed off and after that they were brought to us every night without asking. I don't think people should be playing with their phones in a restaurant and the cruise line should not encourage it. 

 

The Costa app was very useful in showing the ship's exact location on a map, far more accurately than the cabin TV channel could. 

 

However there is a downside, some services have become app-only, e.g. the room service menu was only available via the QR code in the cabin. 

 

Covid has been the catalyst for hastening these changes which were going to come anyway. During Covid, they must have been disposing of much printed material after every use. Then they realised not printing all this material saved money and stuck with the practice post-Covid. 

 

As to the Costa app not working with US phones, I simply cannot believe it. If a phone is wi-fi-enabled then there should be no issue. 

Edited August 6, 2023 by Skipper Tim
typo

[At7Seas]

True, a restaurant shouldn‘t be among the places where phones are the central object, while I can accept a compromise for orders. My phone has a button to switch it off, which I am not only able to find, but I also use it. A lot of people find annoying that I am not available 24/7, but I simply want to control the technique in my life, not the technique to control my life.
 
After I first heard about the problems around the app I had difficulties to believe it as well. I was sure that connectivity can‘t be the problem, as I pointed out above, so I did a quick search and Mr. Apple has indeed quite complex geographical limits. There are workarounds on the internet including those advising things as cheating with fake identities and adresses. Not only the Costa app seems to conflict with these restrictions.

[Dancer Bob]

I agree, a cruise is no place to have your nose buried in a computer screen.

I have two Android tablets, and the Costa app doesn't work on either. The English hostesses (there were two) on my last cruise said this is normal, saying it has to do with US ADA rules. Personally, I think Costa bought a system that was deliberately proprietary in order to have a captive market, but I don't know of any way to prove it.

The only American ship I've been on recently is Sky Princess (with a group). The buffet was somewaht better than Costa, but only somewhat. Nothing else was any better, and the music, definitely inferior. Except for group activities, I found it somewhat boring.

Edited August 6, 2023 by Dancer Bob

[At7Seas]

ADA = Americans with Disabilities Act? Very strange! I am no lawyer, but Costa is an Italian company with ships sailing under Italian flag, regardless your nationality. If so it would mean that Costa can’t offer the app for American customers at all, while they have it on their US site. Disabling login for a group of customers would be pretty easy of course, but in advertising the app for US customers just to disable it would be pretty stupid. If not there arises another technical question: Apple requires an account with a lot of person details, Android doesn’t. From where Android would determine the applicable law? My phone doesn’t know where I live and I don’t even use Gmail. In fact I have most of the time two SIM cards from different countries in my phone. If my phone should determine which country’s law is ruling it would be in a serious identity crisis. I had a short look in Google Play. Reviews can be done for use in different categories, for use on telephone, tablet, smartwatch, and so on the app could be installed on. The reviews for the Costa app are limited to use on telephone. May I conclude that an app that only works on a phone only if reviews for all the other possibilities are disabled?

[Dancer Bob]

Actually, four tablets. I had a US tablet I broke the screen, had to replace it with one purchased in Mexico, that one the battery died, replaced with one purchased in Canada. This dates back to Firenze in 2022. App doesn't work on any of them, which is why I think ADA is just a convenient excuse for them not solving the problem.. I also don't trust Android not to have some sort of hidden setting and deliberate incompatability with Costa's system.

Edited August 7, 2023 by Dancer Bob

[At7Seas]

The hidden settings you refer to - if exist - need to be based on available data. Data Google has and data that differ between you and me, otherwise we wouldn‘t have different results.

 

As I said before, some apps are designed for a lot of end devices, some for one type only. The short answer whether a tablet is just a larger phone is no. The list shown on Google Play could mean that the app is simply not designed for tablets.
 
I did second line troubleshooting a very long time ago, but I am neither qualified for Android nor the available information is enough for analysing the problem, only the obvious things I can exclude. And I am not sure whether the assistance aboard is deep enough in the matter to deal with this problem. Costa has a department dealing with the app. From the FAQ on the US site of Costa: “Any issue with the Costa App not listed below? Please contact the Costa App Team via email at info @ europe. costa. it”

[maryann2]

I can confirm that the Costa app does not work on N..American phones. 

On the Toscana this March we were told that Costa is working on it.

I was able to scan the menus at breakfast for the whole day.

 

[maryann2]

On 8/5/2023 at 4:20 AM, Skipper Tim said:

We have to remember that most North Americans we meet are the higher-functioning ones - 

Ouch.

[Despegue]

That US phones are not compatible with the Costa app,is actually not Costa’s fault but due to restrictions imposed by the US Telecom companies who think that the USA is the only Country in the World.

[drsel]

Both MSC & Costa apps work very well on android mobiles. I've not tried them on any tablet

[Skipper Tim]

It still does not make any sense to me. The connection onboard for the app is via wi-fi. Surely US phones can use wi-fi outside the US!!!! I can understand US SIMs not working if the carrier does not permit roaming but a mobile signal is not required. If some form of mobile connection is required for a 'handshake' before using wi-fi then drop that carrier - it is a blatant breach of privacy and failure to offer the service contracted for. 

 

 

[At7Seas]

2 hours ago, Skipper Tim said:

It still does not make any sense to me

 

Bad enough it makes sense. Mariann2 confirmed that the menus are available for her. For the menus the phone must be able to log in to the ship’s intranet, needs a browser and if not integrated into the browser a pdf reader. These are basic very internet functions of the phone and pretty much available everywhere. Whether one may install a third party app - as the Costa app for example - can be determined by geographical limits. The same is true regarding the use of an app. Technically an app can be limited through the company that designed it, the owner of the network (in both cases Costa as soon as one is aboard) and by settings of the phone itself. And most of them have not the slightest bit to do with the SIM card, indeed most remain the same when the card is swapped. Pure by logical reasons it doesn’t make sense for Costa to exclude a group of customers from using the app, which is easy to disable based on the data Costa has. Even if it would be true what Dancer Bob reported, that the Americans with Disabilities Act would hinder US citizens to use the app, this could be communicated well and Costa would not put the app on their US site. Instead we would read something like “Sorry, we aren’t allowed to offer this service to US customers by law.” Easy and Dancer Bob himself doesn't believe this excuse. Remains the phone as Despegue stated. If the setting could easily been changed through the phone’s properties menu there would be a workaround. Constructed but thinkable examples: if an American phone has settings to do geo based security checks and not to allow a foreign based company offering paid services through an app or while the phone is connected to a foreign network the app wouldn’t work. Such a problem is the hardest to solve. Since drsel mentioned MSC: their app is available on selected ships only and not fully working everywhere and for everybody, or as MSC states “The MSC for Me app functionality may vary from ship to ship and across different countries.”

[drsel]

If you are using a Google Android phone (OnePlus ,Samsung, etc),

All you need to do is put on airplane mode (to switch off mobile data),  and then put on Wi-Fi and connect to the free MSC or Costa open Wi-Fi network (free Wi-Fi is only for using the app).

 

both MSC or Costa app will work very well with their respective free Wi-Fi on board.

 

On MSC you sometimes get the easy plus premium alcoholic beverage package with unlimited Wi-Fi for two devices for only $99 per person for a 7 night cruise 

Edited August 9, 2023 by drsel

[At7Seas]

10 hours ago, drsel said:

All you need to do...

 

drsel, this is not helpful at all! Your “solution” simply doesn’t fit to the problem caused by some phones.
 
Facts: flight mode has on board of a ship as only advantage that you don’t use by error the extremely expensive maritime phone service. It is technically nothing else but switching off all services - not only data - connected through the phone network, so you have also no possibility to call or text with land based connections when being close to shore. Many phone providers offer the option to disable selectively services and networks - this makes most sense. If you want to stop data roaming only - as you write - you should do exactly that, also your phone has an option for switching data roaming on or off. Again this prohibits accessing the in your plan included roaming data as well. You see, there are much more elegant options that lead to intelligent use of available services. Again, all this is not connected to the problem that is caused by some phones.
 
Further: aboard of both lines connection by wifi is always free. Use of data on the intranet is always free, this includes use of the respectively offered apps of Costa and MSC (MSC limited to those ships where this service is available of course), only use of internet connection is against a fee. How would you access the free digital version of the menu without wifi connection to intranet? That MSC copies the NCL free at sea package definitely has nothing to do with the problem that occurs with some phones. And the limitations I quoted MSC with prove that your claim about “work very well” isn’t true in every situation.
 
Please understand what you are advising before confusing others!

[maryann2]

I can confirm that the Costa app does not work on North American phones.

I usually use the whattsapp plan on board to keep in touch with people at home. Works well with excellent connection. Just cannot access Costa app.

 

[maryann2]

Might add that I am able to use the Carnival hub app in Europe. In UK and Spain etc. Worked on Carnival Pride , Carnival Celebration and Carnival Venezia.

[At7Seas]

9 hours ago, maryann2 said:

I can confirm that the Costa app does not work on North American phones.

 

1 hour ago, maryann2 said:

Might add that I am able to use the Carnival hub app in Europe. In UK and Spain etc.

 

As far as I know Costa relies for all board communications on Italian company TIM. Regardless where a ship is the network remains being Italian and the phone thinks through network identification being in Italy as soon as connected to the ship‘s internet. I would be very surprised if Carnival branded ships would use TIM as well.
 
Saying this there remains a huge BUT. Costa is doing a complete change, which will end the time of having an Italian network aboard. Until December 2023 all Costa ships will switch to Starlink, the Toscana is already over: https://www.carnivalcorp.com/news-releases/news-release-details/costa-cruises-installs-spacexs-starlink-wifi-technology-its. This could result in solving the problems as well.

[drsel]

On 8/10/2023 at 12:04 PM, maryann2 said:

I can confirm that the Costa app does not work on North American phones.

I usually use the whattsapp plan on board to keep in touch with people at home. Works well with excellent connection. Just cannot access Costa app.

I suppose it does not work well on Apple iPhones.

Although they have a new app for iOS also, it has very poor reviews (only 8 reviews, rated 2.5/5.0)

 

https://apps.apple.com/be/app/costa-cruises/id1252963680

 

Edited August 12, 2023 by drsel

[drsel]

 

[drsel]

29 minutes ago, drsel said:

 

A very detailed in depth & impartial video analysis.

He gives Costa a superstar status for negligence upselling/sales pressure for any drinks package, photographs, excursions etc

He also mentions the Costa app problem with Apple iPhones 

[At7Seas]

3 hours ago, drsel said:

A very detailed in depth & impartial video analysis.

 

Let’s start with a huge mistake: American cruise lines are regarded as being "the standard". For this there is no reason at all, it is an Italian ship, if at all a regional standard to compare with could be set by other European lines! And just to mention it in time, the following words were said early: “this is not a review!”
 
Whether Costa assigns a cabin or a cabin may be selected depends on the tariff, nothing to complain about and very typical for the industry. A bit more facts would be nice. What was criticised about pre cruise will be gone sooner or later, because My Costa is going through changes, the trial has started and implemented on one market I am booked on, my other upcoming cruise is still old fashioned. The 10 year old style with little information will be gone soon everywhere. In the Med embarkation in several ports is not a Costa thing, not even limited to European cruise lines, it is simply about this part of the world. Yes, again Costa is blamed for US phone limitations beyond their control. That personal registration of a credit card would be impossible is simply wrong, if this man wants personal service, he should go to the reception. And I have registered my credit card on American “standard” cruise lines at self service stations as well! No cruise director? Well, I never was on a Costa cruise without. No captain joking? Love a good joke, but is that really the captain’s main job? And I don’t know how often the crew was presented to me, so why was that missed? Perhaps visiting the theatre at a time helps already. I agree, Italian design is special. It’s world class. Not being used to it? May be. Shouldn’t be used? No. The buffet was rated reasonable only, and by some hard to understand reasons it was said to be small. Let’s be honest, who goes on a cruise for visiting a canteen? Hint: there are restaurants aboard with one seat for every single guest. For grabbing something when returning aboard the buffet is fine, but it’s no substitute for a meal in a restaurant. Again the question about tap water in restaurants. Ridiculous, who is so cheap? And the completely misleading comment about “one ½ litre bottle water per day only” in My Drinks. Mineral water in My Drinks is unlimited, as long as served by the glass. Noting to say about the cabins, they are always good and very well maintained on Costa, regardless whether it is the newest or the oldest ship in the fleet. Really, no white party - on Costa??? Oggi a Bordo! Yes, it is great that Costa is not pressuring to buy something. It is a question of respect. Staff is available for you all the time, sells everything you want, but without the pressure I experienced on American ships or MSC (although there getting a drink can be really hard). Food in the restaurants is always good, here I completely agree. That the special dining would not be useful we can discuss a lot about. On a long cruise I like these alternatives once in a while. For quality it is in opposite to some American lines definitely not needed, because quality meals are also served in the MDR. That guests sit together based on language is a strange advice, this is done. That waiters need to be fluent in English is not especially done for English speaking guests, it is the general working language aboard. That menus would be in the app is wrong, and downloading happens in the language you select - the limitations mentioned are simply non-existent. I use English menus, because they are in the very most cases better translated than the German menus. Waiters usually speak English and Italian fluently and the other languages rudimentarily. So all the advice how to rearrange service are not matching reality. And obviously the theatre wasn’t found at all. The Colosseo is not the theatre as claimed, but just an additional performance space with bar service, while the theatre itself hosts the main act - and this was missed completely. Surprise, the entertainment is always limited if one doesn’t go to the entertainment! Life is hard! How disembarkation could be difficult I can’t understand. It is definitely not different from any other ship I have been on. But this hasn’t been explained either.
 
The video went nowhere into the depth, is full of mistakes from designated vs. chosen cabin up to thinking the Colosseo would be the theatre. The problem is that the video implicates that this would be a total picture of Costa and this would be the total picture of the Smeralda. It shows snippets of a very personal experience of a cruise, of feelings, not more. Bad enough this traveller missed a lot aboard and is not aware of simple facts. He himself could have had a better cruise by simply looking at the full plan of the ship as available on the Costa website or reading the bar list. But as the video told us already in the beginning: “this is not a review!”

[Dancer Bob]

Saying Costa isn't to blame for IT problems is disingenuous. They've made a choice, in spite of knowing for at least a year some of their customers have problems, there's been no workaround.

I strongly suspect the real problem is European privacy regulations, that NA phones can't be made compliant, that anything you put on your phone goes straight to NSA.

[At7Seas]

1 hour ago, Dancer Bob said:

I strongly suspect the real problem is European privacy regulations, that NA phones can't be made compliant, that anything you put on your phone goes straight to NSA.

 

Well, with this theory you say that the data of American customers would be protected by the GDPR aboard of Costa ships - and those of EU citizens wouldn‘t be protected. I may decide to store my data in the USA - it is sufficient to give my consent by simply ticking a box.
 
The only thinkable workaround would be removing restrictions from the telephone. As Costa can‘t remove geographical limits from your credit card (such an idea only would be completely unthinkable in Europe) they can‘t do so with a phone. It will be interesting to know, whether the problem will be solved by Costa switching from Italian provider TIM to Skylink, because the IP of the ship’s network won‘t no longer be Italian.

 

[Dancer Bob]

Not exactly.I can't prove any of this, but my guess is that because NA phones are so horrendously insecure, having the Costa app might give NSA an entry point to European data, and storing data in the US is the same as giving it to the NSA (not to mention all the commercial "monetisers"). I firmly believe the US is crying so piteously about Huawei because the US has been doing exactly that for years.

The easy workaround is to go back to paper-based menus and accounts for North Americans.

Edited August 30, 2023 by Dancer Bob

[At7Seas]

1 hour ago, Dancer Bob said:

NA phones are so horrendously insecure

 

I can’t see any reason for limiting this to North American phones only. Let alone that we use exactly the same operating systems! Way easier than through an app that does not require any permission as the Costa app - which could be quite easily detected by a firewall.

 

1 hour ago, Dancer Bob said:

The easy workaround is to go back to paper-based menus and accounts for North Americans.

 

The app is no requirement, it is an extra offer. Two facts:

 

The menus are not part of the app, but simple pdf downloads, limitations of the app are not relevant. Any hardware able to access internet with is needed and either a browser able to read a pdf or a separate pdf reader are only software requirements. Access by QR code or directly typed address. Of course there are always paper menus available for everybody.
 
And there are paper accounts as well. Last time I had a B2B and there was a credit card booking neither shown on the downloaded account of the first cruise nor on the running account of the second. Prints (!) have shown that Costa had processed payments for the second cruise before the first account was closed.