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Samsara Cabins


BVILady
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I do not understand what the advantage is of Samsara Cabins. I had been under the impression that they are balcony cabins and have unlimited access to the Spa (what does that mean, does it include free yoga, pilates and spin-classes, sauna.....) and access to a special restaurant. Now I am reading on Inside Cabins "Unlimited access to the spa in Samsara cabins" I had previously not seen any rate for Samsara for inside cabins. The location below the pool-deck and the Spa doesn't seem to be to any advantage either. Anybody here who can enlighten me, since calling Costa is just very difficult. Thanks in advance.

 

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Only been in a Samsara cabin once, it was an upgrade, services weren't included. It was an ordinary cabin with slightly upgraded furniture, nothing worth paying extra for. Not sure whether the Samsara Restaurant is even still available.

Edited by Dancer Bob
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Last time then I was cruising on Costa Pacifica, Samsara Restaurant was extra paid restaurant for everybody. I had Samsara cabin but all meals had in MDR. In the past it was dedicated to Samsara cabin only but now it is history.

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I never sailed in a Samsara cabin myself, these are within the two classes Costa defined premium cabins within the spa area and offer just very few additional perks. Indeed they come as inside, balcony or suite. Costa sells them as top of the notch, but the only interesting perk for me would be a bathrobe in the cabin - but therefore I would never pay that extra price of course. The once very limited included treatments are abolished since long. The Samsara restaurants are not available on all ships and where they are open to everybody - against a fee. This means you’d also get allocated to a table in a MDR as Greg already pointed out. I had the less pretty experience to sail once with a woman at dinner table who thought to be better than everybody else, because she married to a man who was able to finance her and a girl she was able to impress a cruise in the spa area (bad enough not the Samsara restaurant every night as well). Luckily the rest of the company was very different. Just a word about the two tiers: I sailed on the Fortuna in both a classic and a premium cabin. In size and equipment I experienced no difference at all, while I experienced the place within the ship was better with the classic cabin (it was way more silent at the end of a corridor). The main differences I experienced between classic and premium is what is included in the constantly changing price models.

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On 8/15/2021 at 4:56 AM, Stefan_Varong said:

I never sailed in a Samsara cabin myself, these are within the two classes Costa defined premium cabins within the spa area and offer just very few additional perks. Indeed they come as inside, balcony or suite. Costa sells them as top of the notch, but the only interesting perk for me would be a bathrobe in the cabin - but therefore I would never pay that extra price of course. The once very limited included treatments are abolished since long. The Samsara restaurants are not available on all ships and where they are open to everybody - against a fee. This means you’d also get allocated to a table in a MDR as Greg already pointed out. I had the less pretty experience to sail once with a woman at dinner table who thought to be better than everybody else, because she married to a man who was able to finance her and a girl she was able to impress a cruise in the spa area (bad enough not the Samsara restaurant every night as well). Luckily the rest of the company was very different. Just a word about the two tiers: I sailed on the Fortuna in both a classic and a premium cabin. In size and equipment I experienced no difference at all, while I experienced the place within the ship was better with the classic cabin (it was way more silent at the end of a corridor). The main differences I experienced between classic and premium is what is included in the constantly changing price models.

Thank you for the information, very little on Costa on Cruise Critic.

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On 8/15/2021 at 5:56 AM, Stefan_Varong said:

I never sailed in a Samsara cabin myself, these are within the two classes Costa defined premium cabins within the spa area and offer just very few additional perks. Indeed they come as inside, balcony or suite. Costa sells them as top of the notch, but the only interesting perk for me would be a bathrobe in the cabin - but therefore I would never pay that extra price of course. The once very limited included treatments are abolished since long. The Samsara restaurants are not available on all ships and where they are open to everybody - against a fee. This means you’d also get allocated to a table in a MDR as Greg already pointed out. I had the less pretty experience to sail once with a woman at dinner table who thought to be better than everybody else, because she married to a man who was able to finance her and a girl she was able to impress a cruise in the spa area (bad enough not the Samsara restaurant every night as well). Luckily the rest of the company was very different. Just a word about the two tiers: I sailed on the Fortuna in both a classic and a premium cabin. In size and equipment I experienced no difference at all, while I experienced the place within the ship was better with the classic cabin (it was way more silent at the end of a corridor). The main differences I experienced between classic and premium is what is included in the constantly changing price models.

Thank you Stefan, when I had looked at it first I think it was about $ 3000 more then premium and I decided not to go for it, considering that I could always have a meal in the Samsara Restaurant and use the Spa for whatever surcharge applicable. Glad I didn't but was still kind of on the fence, trying to live healthy. But you can always pick the healthiest meal off the Menu anywhere anyhow 🙂

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17 hours ago, BVILady said:

Thank you Stefan, when I had looked at it first I think it was about $ 3000 more then premium and I decided not to go for it, considering that I could always have a meal in the Samsara Restaurant and use the Spa for whatever surcharge applicable. Glad I didn't but was still kind of on the fence, trying to live healthy. But you can always pick the healthiest meal off the Menu anywhere anyhow 🙂

 

Very understandable! The regular spa entrance fee is 35 € a day, so as long as you don’t plan to spend your time very often in the spa I don’t see the advantage. I for my part never used a spa aboard. I live in a region with many thermal baths and can use a much wider offer at a fracture of the price every day at home and have the benefits of using the hot mineral springs - pretty hard to have on a ship.
 
Just a word about the speciality restaurants: they have the same menu all the time, not changing every evening as in the MDR. So it could be pretty boring after a while. In general the menus are very Italian, mostly inspired by another region every night. In general not the most unhealthy food, but also vegetarian and special needs food is available with every dinner. And whether the meals in the Samsara restaurant are healthier? I don’t know. Here is the actual Samsara menu at 30 € for a maximum of six courses per person:

 

ANTIPASTI

  • Crab cake with tropical fruit salad and coriander, chilli vinaigrette;
  • “Causa” rellena with maine lobster and wasabi;
  • Drunken sea scallops marinated with sake liquor and pomegrenate;
  • Shoyu & lime oyster with crunchy cucumbers;
  • Mango ceviche with Tropea onions and ají amarillo chilli sauce;

ZUPPE

  • Hawaian fish soup;
  • Coconut and orange flavoured pumpkin soup;

PASTA E RISOTTO

  • Penne di Gragnano with white tuna, ginger and chilli;
  • Coconut risotto with spicy “moscardini” octopus;
  • Fettuccine with lime, cashew nuts and marinated red shrimps;

SECONDI PIATTI

  • Monkfish with chorizo and lemon grass potato cream;
  • Roasted gamberoni with sesame flavored gazpacho and tempura of zucchini;
  • Beef tenderloin with tamarind sauce, deep fried okra and ginger mashed sweet potato;
  • Duck breast in Teryaki sauce, mashed taro roots and sautéed bok choy;
  • Lamb rack roasted in sesame & coriander seed crust, filled with feta and sun-dried tomato, figs, rosemary and red wine sauce, spinach flan;

DOLCI

  • White chocolate mousse filled with papaya jelly;
  • Semi-frozen passion fruit served with lime marmalade;
  • Warm mango “tatin” with vanilla ice cream;
  • Melting chocolate and ginger cake with malaga ice cream.

 

Edited by Stefan_Varong
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On 8/21/2021 at 2:26 AM, Gen X Life said:

Thank you for the information, very little on Costa on Cruise Critic.

 

Yes, on Costa you find only a few English-speaking guests, while on many other lines they are the majority. This is reflected on CC of course. I am afraid that Costa as Italian company with a very international crowd doesn’t fit into the comfort zone of many Americans. Some reviews show as well that Costa is too European for many.

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