Cruise Critic Sailing Aboard Costa Toscana 9/18 - Ask Us Your Questions

[CruiseCriticAaron]

Hi all -- Cruise Critic will be sailing aboard Costa Toscana on September 18, roundtrip from Savona, Italy. Feel free to ask us your questions here about the ship or the trip, and we'll do our best to answer!

[Wansbrough]

23 hours ago, CruiseCriticAaron said:

Hi all -- Cruise Critic will be sailing aboard Costa Toscana on September 18, roundtrip from Savona, Italy. Feel free to ask us your questions here about the ship or the trip, and we'll do our best to answer!

 

Would you be the Aaron formally of From the Deck Chair?

It will very interesting to see what you make of Costa Toscana, we have booked her for a Christmas cruise this year and although not lovers of bigger ships we are excited by everything we have seen and heard so far. We had tried to get a Sea Terrace but sadly they were all gone by the time we got seriously interested enough to book.

 

[CruiseCriticAaron]

On 9/16/2022 at 6:14 PM, Wansbrough said:

 

Would you be the Aaron formally of From the Deck Chair?

It will very interesting to see what you make of Costa Toscana, we have booked her for a Christmas cruise this year and although not lovers of bigger ships we are excited by everything we have seen and heard so far. We had tried to get a Sea Terrace but sadly they were all gone by the time we got seriously interested enough to book.

 

That's me 🙂

Costa Toscana has been a very interesting experience so far. There are plenty of things to enjoy about the ship, which is gorgeous. Very bold in terms of color choices and design. I also was interested in one of the Sea Terraces; I hear they sell out quickly.

 

Costa Toscana is definitely a big ship but it feels smaller thanks to the sheer number of bars and lounges onboard. It's easy to find a place to call your own, and one that suits your style: busy or quiet, indoors or outdoors.

 

The only issue I've run into is there are so few English-speaking passengers onboard that my shore excursions keep getting cancelled due to lack of participation. Crew on the ship, however, all speak English, and many passengers do, too.

 

A few images of the ship:

[Dancer Bob]

How much experience do you have on Costa's other ships? Toscana and the later ships seem to be a geat departure in design, from what makes Costa unique.

Much of the furniture in the photos looks quite uncomfortable- backless stools, poorly shaped chairs.

[CruiseCriticAaron]

This is my first Costa ship but yes, you're correct: Smeralda and Toscana are a larger departure from the other ships, which were mostly designed by Carnival's former interior architect, Joe Farcus. The design on Toscana is crisp and modern.

 

I am happy to report that, despite the look, the furniture on Costa Toscana is quite comfortable. I had the same impression as you -- I didn't expect it to be. There's only a few spots I've found that have been uncomfortable.

[CruiseCriticAaron]

One issue I will point out, for English-speaking passengers: I've had every excursion I pre-booked online cancelled due to lack of English-speaking participants. The only ones available are guideless tours and transfers. So it definitely pays to do your own research on what you can do in port, because you're going to be on your own a lot.

[Wansbrough]

22 minutes ago, CruiseCriticAaron said:

One issue I will point out, for English-speaking passengers: I've had every excursion I pre-booked online cancelled due to lack of English-speaking participants. The only ones available are guideless tours and transfers. So it definitely pays to do your own research on what you can do in port, because you're going to be on your own a lot.

As long as we can communicate with the ones that matter (the crew) then it suits us perfectly not being able to speak with other passengers, we seldom take ships tours anyway as we prefer to do our own thing. One thing I will say about Costa is that they have great vibe onboard their ships.

[CruiseCriticAaron]

On 9/21/2022 at 11:10 AM, Wansbrough said:

As long as we can communicate with the ones that matter (the crew) then it suits us perfectly not being able to speak with other passengers, we seldom take ships tours anyway as we prefer to do our own thing. One thing I will say about Costa is that they have great vibe onboard their ships.

Absolutely agree with your comment about the vibe onboard: it's energetic and overwhelmingly positive. Everyone is here to have a good time.

[BVILady]

On 9/21/2022 at 4:44 AM, CruiseCriticAaron said:

One issue I will point out, for English-speaking passengers: I've had every excursion I pre-booked online cancelled due to lack of English-speaking participants. The only ones available are guideless tours and transfers. So it definitely pays to do your own research on what you can do in port, because you're going to be on your own a lot.

wow that is worry-some for me, have booked all excursions on the World Cruise 2023 - will be difficult to replace them with online bookings having to rely on the ships internet. Wondering how the German speaking passengers fare, I could switch to German if necessary. Are there a lot of Germans onboard, or you might not know. In my age and traveling alone the ship-excursions are just making the most sense.

 

[Dancer Bob]

The passenger mix you describe would be specific to this cruise? You said you have no experience with Costa's other ships and itineraries?  It seems quite unusual to have no English-speaking at all. I believe Toscana will be based in Dubai this winter, different passenger mix?

Pondering on this some more, I wonder if this reflects the situation in Italy several months ago when many bookings were made, travel restrictions for non-Italians?

Edited September 22, 2022 by Dancer Bob

[CruiseCriticAaron]

On 9/22/2022 at 11:37 AM, Dancer Bob said:

The passenger mix you describe would be specific to this cruise? You said you have no experience with Costa's other ships and itineraries?  It seems quite unusual to have no English-speaking at all. I believe Toscana will be based in Dubai this winter, different passenger mix?

Pondering on this some more, I wonder if this reflects the situation in Italy several months ago when many bookings were made, travel restrictions for non-Italians?

It could be the time of year -- I would expect to see more English-speaking passengers perhaps during the summer and winter months where holidays are more common. There were, however, a few more English-speakers that got onboard in Valencia.

 

Because of the itinerary, which offers embarkation in several ports of call, I'd imagine the passenger mix is quite different from voyage to voyage. I'd estimate that Italians were the primary folks onboard, followed by French, German and Spanish-speaking passengers. It was a nice group of folks, even if we didn't all speak the same language.

[CruiseCriticAaron]

On 9/22/2022 at 9:50 AM, BVILady said:

wow that is worry-some for me, have booked all excursions on the World Cruise 2023 - will be difficult to replace them with online bookings having to rely on the ships internet. Wondering how the German speaking passengers fare, I could switch to German if necessary. Are there a lot of Germans onboard, or you might not know. In my age and traveling alone the ship-excursions are just making the most sense.

 

Lots of Germans onboard - if you can speak it fluently, you shouldn't have an issue. I speak a bit of French and thought about switching to a French excursion.

[CruiseCriticAaron]

We're back from Costa Toscana! Here's our rundown of hits and misses from the trip, and what North American passengers should know to make the most of their time on this great ship.

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/7113/

[maryann2]

19 minutes ago, CruiseCriticAaron said:

We're back from Costa Toscana! Here's our rundown of hits and misses from the trip, and what North American passengers should know to make the most of their time on this great ship.

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/7113/

Thank you.

Looking forward to sailing on Toscana from Dubai to Rome in March 2023. 21 Days.

[Wansbrough]

13 hours ago, CruiseCriticAaron said:

I'd estimate that Italians were the primary folks onboard, followed by French, German and Spanish-speaking passengers. It was a nice group of folks, even if we didn't all speak the same language.

Its one of the reason that we are attracted to Costa, just love the international onboard feel.

[Wansbrough]

On 9/28/2022 at 4:25 PM, CruiseCriticAaron said:

We're back from Costa Toscana! Here's our rundown of hits and misses from the trip, and what North American passengers should know to make the most of their time on this great ship.

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/7113/

I think you written a fair review of what we recognise as a Costa expereince. The musters can be a bit hit and miss even in the days when we had to stand in line on the prom deck.

I don't recall reading what you thought of the MDR food?  We enjoy it and it really works for us as my wife is vegan and Costa have a seperate dedicated vegan menu in the MDR.

[CruiseCriticAaron]

On 9/30/2022 at 3:21 AM, Wansbrough said:

I think you written a fair review of what we recognise as a Costa expereince. The musters can be a bit hit and miss even in the days when we had to stand in line on the prom deck.

I don't recall reading what you thought of the MDR food?  We enjoy it and it really works for us as my wife is vegan and Costa have a seperate dedicated vegan menu in the MDR.

I though the MDR food was just fine - no complaints at all. Was it haute cuisine? No. Was it varied and tasty? Absolutely.

[Edinburghgirl1]

Are there any other eateries included apart from MDR?  Is it anytime dining?