Help-Thinking about Costa cruise-your opinions

[joetrizeo]

I truly have not ever seen in 10+ cruises so much rudeness and dislike of 'americans' and I guess Canadians that speak English, anywhere. Even towards the last couple days the announcements, which consisted of 5 languages each and everytime, ceased in English. I got shoved, my husband got shoved, our friends' 9 year old very polite son got shoved (several times). I don't care who you are, you don't shove people. Nowhere. The staff was highly disorganized most of the time, and I think that didn't help the rudeness impatience, although with all those sea days, what's the hurry???

 

One other thing that really bothered us was the fact that the English speaking passengers were made fun of and heckled at Karaoke and in the guest talent show. Never seen that, anywhere and no call for it. Ok, take our money then make fun of us???

 

wow this pisses me off to no end.

Everyone is well informed at how america is the most generous nation ever on the face of the earth. but you always hate and resent the one who is on top.

foreign aid, liberation, peace, support

but no, it's all thrown away, why? conspiracy theories, lies from the media and a general ignorance on behalf of other people in the world combined with our own 'anti-american' politics and fighting that is going on in washington.

a divided government produces a divided world view!

bash america in our own media and what do you think's gunna happen?

 

get on board, it's the cool new hip thing to do! hate america! and why? because people are brainless sheep that can't think for themselves and just do it because 'my friend said it!'

 

america's the most tolerant nation in the world for other races/heritages from the simple fact that we must be to survive in the most ethnically diverse nation.

don't expect the same tolerance from other nations, expect ignorance.

[njs]

Have sailed both Carnival and Costa and see many similarities in the ship design. Looking forward to our cruise on Costa this Christmas (did Carnival glory last Christmas)

I think you have to cruise with an open mind about each cruiseline - they all have their little differences - thats what makes them special to individuals.

Yes. there are definitely more Europeans on the Costa line, and it takes awhile to get used to the many announcements in 5 different languages but that doesnt make me not cruise costa. As far as the pushy Europeans, I have found that a well placed heel jammed into the foot of the offending party behind me, makes them back off quite quickly:D Soooo. pushy people dont tend to bother me ~ I just get even;)

 

Personally my kids think Costa has the best pizza (and yes we have toured Europe by land with them, so they are used to different eating experiences)

[cruisingjon]

Yep, though Costa Cruise Lines' (Costa Crociere S.p.A)history goes back a long way, at least back to right after WWII, Costa was purchased by Carnival. Carnival also owns Carnival Cruise Line, Princess, Holland America, Windstar, Seabourn, P&O, Cunard, Ocean Village Holidays, and Swam Hellenic cruise lines.

 

As you can see, Carnival owns most of the cruise industry but seems to want to maintain the variety of the different cruise lines.

 

I have no Carnival experience but I do know that the new Costa ships are built on the same platform as some of the Carnival ships... not an uncommon thing in the cruise ship building industry. Carnival also trades it ships around.. for instance the old Holland America Westerdam is now the Costa Europa.

 

But yes, the Spirit Class ships are Carnival Spirit, Pride, Legend, Miracle, Costa Mediterranea, and Costa Atlantica.

 

Destiny Class are Carnival Destiny, Triumph, and Victory and Costa Magica, and Fortuna.

 

There are going to be lots of different opinions concerning Costa on this board because Americans like American things and Americans are the most frequent visitors to this board. Costa does not exclusively cater to the American-centric vacation style. It is a European company and there are quite a few non-American clients on board so they have to cater to a variety of people. I personally found that delightful. We had a great many Canadians, Germans, and Brits, along with many Americans, on our cruise and I never noticed anyone acting rude or nasty. I am sure there are jackasses in every nation but they must have all stayed home that week :D

 

Thanks for the info, I see you are from Nashville, I am from Portland TN. we just got back off of Mariner a couple of weeks ago and really fell in love with that ship. Are looking at our 2008 cruises and thought we might try some lines we have not tried b4 and found Costa on accident.

 

Thanks for your info

[emjsea]

Costa does not exclusively cater to the American-centric vacation style. It is a European company and there are quite a few non-American clients on board so they have to cater to a variety of people. I personally found that delightful. We had a great many Canadians, Germans, and Brits, along with many Americans, on our cruise and I never noticed anyone acting rude or nasty. I am sure there are jackasses in every nation but they must have all stayed home that week :D

 

Exactly! On my Costa cruise, the only loud boors I encountered were the Americans. Also I like formal night and there were two on the Costa cruise. The Brits we met and dined with were wonderful.

[bboyack]

Joe, its true, we save the whole world and get treated like crap. That is a whole other story and we need to stop tossing money away overseas, but I was surprised at how much some folks hate us.

 

We knew there would be lots of europeans on board, but we sure didn't expect the treatment we got. An incident occured a few nights before the end...we sat during dinner next to a table with an american couple and a canadian couple. A lot of the passengers were getting off in Dover, England. Anyway, the canadian guy (he is a royal police officer to boot) came to dinner that night and I thought he was going to pop a vein. I guess he and his partner had met a couple earlier in the trip from England. So that day the other couple asks them if they were going to the Captain's Gala party that night. I guess the Capt was giving the party for those debarking at Dover So our friend goes to the pursers desk and asks if his invitation got misplaced. The clerk told him that no, the party was only for non americans debarking in Dover. I thought the guy was going to bust a gut. He said to them "I am not American, I am Canadian, but what difference does it make', well it didn't end there and I gave him my email because I want to know what happened.

 

Also lots of problems with communication. Most English words do not translate to Italian, French, German or anything. So it was really, really hard to communicate.

 

Yes, there are jackasses in every country and we did encounter a few American jackasses, too. But for the most part they were European and there is just no excuse for rudeness and pushing and shoving. If you are standing in a line, and can't move, don't shove. Plain and simple.

 

It was a different kind of ship for sure, but value to dollar it was a great deal.

[fatcat04]

Thanks for the info, I see you are from Nashville, I am from Portland TN. we just got back off of Mariner a couple of weeks ago and really fell in love with that ship. Are looking at our 2008 cruises and thought we might try some lines we have not tried b4 and found Costa on accident.

 

Thanks for your info

 

Small world.. my momma was born and raised in Portland and her side of the family has lived up there forever. :D

 

Been to many a football game up there too. The train is the best part!! Go Purple Panthers!! :)

[cruisingjon]

Small world.. my momma was born and raised in Portland and her side of the family has lived up there forever. :D

 

Been to many a football game up there too. The train is the best part!! Go Purple Panthers!! :)

 

That is too cool. Yes our Purple Panters were a pretty sad exapmle of football last year, we only won 2 games, it wasn't pretty. Hopefully this year will be better.

 

There is nothing like sitting at the game and hearing and watching the train pass with horns in full blow as he passes the stadium, very cool.

[fatcat04]

That is too cool. Yes our Purple Panters were a pretty sad exapmle of football last year, we only won 2 games, it wasn't pretty. Hopefully this year will be better.

 

There is nothing like sitting at the game and hearing and watching the train pass with horns in full blow as he passes the stadium, very cool.

 

I haven't kept up with them for the past few years. My cousin played for Portland.. back when they had their championship team. That was an exciting time. He graduated that year and I just haven't kept up since then :)

 

But there is nothing like the train... :D

[frbob]

i j

For the most part, the German passengers were the most rude people I have ever encounted, male or female, young or old. They barge ahead in lines, pushing and walking ahead of you while you're waiting for an elevator, get all of the deck chairs by tying towels on them, or laying a hat, or whatever. They are like pigs in a feeding frenzy on the bufet lines. They are loud, obnoxious and have no regard for other passengers or the crew. This is the second time I have encountered these people on a trip, and I have learned that they are an ignorant, classless people who have never developed a respect for other's rights. Evidently history has not been a learning process for them.

 

I agree with AlbertusMagnus. The German passengers on this Mediterranea crossing were, for the most part, very rude and inconsiderate. In addition to the comments by AM, above, many apparently couldn't find the shower in their cabin or didn't have the money to have their dirty, smelly clothing cleaned. They smelled something awful! Plus, they can't stand Americans. Happy days!!!

[snaebyllej]

I agree with AlbertusMagnus. The German passengers on this Mediterranea crossing were, for the most part, very rude and inconsiderate. In addition to the comments by AM, above, many apparently couldn't find the shower in their cabin or didn't have the money to have their dirty, smelly clothing cleaned. They smelled something awful! Plus, they can't stand Americans. Happy days!!!

 

OK, that's it! Now I'm finally going to have to dust off my keyboard and respond.

 

We were on the Mediterranea crossing, and I don't remember a single case of rudeness from Germans or anyone else. On the other hand, the RyanAir flight from Italy to Ireland after the cruise... But that's another story.

 

Now I can get back to my nap...

[Thrifty]

We spent 32 days on a cruise from Savona to Singapore and the German contingent was the least conspicuous of all. The French were noisier, although they were a delight when met individually. Even the Americans were reasonably well behaved. A racist passenger would have been hard put to find anyone about whom to complain except one Italian crew member who may be related to a Costa executive.

[volleyballmom87]

We went on Costa Med for our first cruise. We booked it on a whim after a hurricane destroyed the resort near Cancun we were supposed to go to. We made a quick and hasty decision based on price and ports. Then we began to read the reviews.... We went on the trip with low expectations and determined that we would have a good time, and guess what?!? We had a great time and we more than pleasantly surprised. We were avid all-inclusive fans (and in the future will probably do that again - no bar bill at the end). But this was a great way to see other islands that we may want to spend more time on in the future.

 

We had read terrible things about the food. NOT terrible - on par with all-inclusives, but I cannot compare them to other ships yet. Service in dining room was excellent even though they were catering to an EXTREMELY demanding family next to us....so I can tell you that you can get ANYTHING you want in the dining room. Our server had to search the ship over because the little girl wanted choc. chips for dessert, and she got them. The wife wanted something special every night, and she got it.

 

I highly recommend Costa (in the caribbean) to first time cruisers that are unsure if cruising is for them. You can either stay with what you know at that point or try other lines.

 

Bottom line... You get FAR more than you pay for with Costa!!! The prices are so competitive in the Caribbean because they are not a well known entity in the US markets. If you sell it cheap....they will come.

[lkb125]

Been offered a very good deal on Costa,to the Carribean.Has anyone got anything to say, good or bad about them? Have sailed on Carnival and Princess in the past. How is the food?, are they ok with restricted diets? Will they work with someone who has a limited diet? Love to hear your viewsThanksBocagal

 

I just sailed as transatlantic on Cost Mediterina (sp) I had a great time Costa is not my favorite cruise I like RCC and Celebrity better but I thought Costa gave good service, Costa is owned by Carnival, and I think they do a fine job. Enjoy Lorelle

[mom j]

We are planning a Mediterranean cruise on Concordia in February 2008. What is the weather like at that time of year, we also are from Nashville. Any help with Costa and Mediterranean in February would be appreciated.