Romantica Dec 2007

[cruisinscots]

Thinking of booking new year cruise from Dubai. Never sailed with Costa. Previous cruises with RCI, P&O, Cunard & Celebrity. Has anybody sailed on the Romantca or been on a Costa cruise from Dubai? Would appreciate any comments regarding the ship or itinerary.

 

Thanks

[drb]

We cruised in the Carribean on the Romantica and loved the ship. It was, however, 11 and a half years ago. We found the ship intimate and friendly and loved the dining room as we were seated at a four top in a narrow area off the main dining room and it was just a great feeling. We had an inside cabin towards the rear of the ship and really felt the vibrations from the engines but we did not care 'cause we were cruisin. Our fellow travelers were about 70% non-north americans and we enjoyed that as well. I really liked it better than the Constellation. And compared to the Enchanted Isle, (God rest her soul) .......... well, there is no feasible comparison with a 50yr old ship :) I wish the Romantica were back in this hemisphere.

I'm sorry there is not much hard information in this post but I have such a fond feeling for that ship I could not resist a reply.

[alohavictoria]

I sailed the Romantica October 2000 on a 10 night Mediterranean cruise. Had the grand suite and I would definitely go on her again to the UAE. I'm also looking at that cruise or similar timeframe. I had the Grand Suite which is a wonderful room (or shall I say rooms). The demographics were: 75 people spoke English and I think there were only other 4 Americans on board - and absolutely loved it. How better to see Europe than with Euopeans? We had a wonderful maitre'd who swore he's never do a Caribbean cruise - well I took a Costa cruise to the Craibbean cruise in feb 03 and guess what - he was there and boy did he take care of us. I have really enjoyed my Costa cruises. The Romantica has some quirky floor plans - I remember having to walk through the casino to get someplace. Only other option was to go up or down the stairs. But other than that the service was very good, the English Hostess was wonderful and the food was exceptional. We didn't know it but it was a Taste of Europe cruise where famous chefs from restaurants all over Italy prepared their dishes. A pleasant surprise.

The only downside was that there were some excursions I had to change because there were not enough English speaking people. I don't think you'll find that with the UAE cruises because they are advertising those to the UK. By the way, did you know that the Europa is also doing UAE?

Check out the Costa website for the UK. They are also going to Asia and other itineraries not currently advertised to Americans