Mediterranea Review 12/15-22/2007

[abitaturbodog]

Thank you for the excellent review!! We will depart on the Med this Saturday:) I was wondering if you have any information of the Spa/ gym?? Also, did you eat at the "Club Medusa" and if so your thoughts?? I was on the Magica two years ago and I could not understand all the bad reviews?? I agree it was the Americans and Canadians that were the most difficult!!

 

My DH went to the gym said that there was a lot of good equipment and it wasn't very busy whenever he went. I know that there are a couple of yoga and pilates classes if you're interested.

 

Again, my DH took my boys to the spa showers a couple of times before dinner. They had 5 or 6 shower heads in each shower and the boys loved it. Other than that, we didn't use the facilities.

 

We also didn't eat at the Club Medusa because we were enjoying the food in the dining room so much! I've heard that it's now a la carte, so you pay for each course that you want. It ends up being much more expensive than the fixed price with entrees starting at $15. If you go, let us know what you thought.

 

I hated to bash on the North Americans, but it was a fact. I think because we're geographically isolated from other countries we just don't have the poise or tolerance in dealing with other cultures. Plus, we're very ethnocentric--it's the American way or no way!

 

We loved our multi-cultural cruise experience and can't wait to check out the Fortuna in March.:)

[spunke]

Thanks again for the information. I was unaware of the change in price for the Club Medusa, on the Magica it was $20/pp for everything but wine:( What was your impression about the dress code during the formal nights?? On the Magica it wasn't stressed like it might have been on Celeberty! We are packing and my wife is going crazy!!

 

Thanks again for the time

[G.M.T.]

going on the costa med. 3/29, can't wait, 1st time on costa. I was wondering what language the nightly shows are in and comedians? English I hope. I don't know how they could do the shows in 5 different languages. I think I read all the announcements are in 5 different languages even in the carribean? Thanks for any replys

In fact Costa uses 7 languages, but more about that later.

 

Costa tries to fit the show acts to refelect the passger mix, i.e. high proportion of English speakers, then comedy act will be in English. Otherwise Costa will stick to non speaking acts, singers are nearly always English / Italian (to get one into the Amore mood), in the crew show they may sing in their own mother tongue.

 

The Toga night is done in 5 languages.

 

I heard the following Costa rumours with regards to the 6th & 7th. Languages that may be put into use.

 

The 6th. is International Sign Language, this could be used by comedians in future and all nationalities would understand them immediately without any translation being required. It is envisaged that each passenger would be supplied with a card showing the basic International Sign Langauge upon embarkation. It is recommended that passengers should study the said card before see the comedian, otherwise they would still be trying to decipher the punch line from the first joke and miss the rest of the act.;)

 

The 7th. is "Body Language" that will be used by the Table Dancers in the Casino from 11:00 pm onwards.:rolleyes:

 

Ron

[abitaturbodog]

The only real dress code on our sailing was, "No shorts or tank tops in the dining room." I found most of the passengers to be appropriately dressed for each evening, including formal nights.

 

One evening was Italian night and the theme was red, green and white. Another evening was Caribbean and flowered shirts and dresses were all over the place. Of course, toga night was the most fun! It was a strange feeling to be wearing a sheet in public for dinner.

 

On formal nights I saw everything from full length gowns to capris. There was a lot of variety and everyone looked like they were having fun!

[ecpc1302]

My DH brought cash on board, but he just told me that you can get cash with your ship card (Costa Card) and that they can cash traveler's checks at the casino cage. He believes that they do charge a small percentage or fee for using your Costa Card.

 

I didn't hear many people talking about winning in the casino and I know DH didn't! The dealers were very nice and we enjoyed talking to them while playing. Good luck and have fun!

 

Thanks.

Elsie:cool:

[bettyboop16]

Abita,

Glad you enjoyed your cruise. We will be on the Mediterranea in 2 wks(1/19).

Since you were on the ship recently...can you suggest a place/lounge to have a CC meet & greet? I don't want to try for an outside area since you never can tell about the weather.

Does Costa provide bath robes for all cabins?

Does Costa charge to cash travellers checks?

Thanks, Betty

[abitaturbodog]

Abita,

Glad you enjoyed your cruise. We will be on the Mediterranea in 2 wks(1/19).

Since you were on the ship recently...can you suggest a place/lounge to have a CC meet & greet? I don't want to try for an outside area since you never can tell about the weather.

Does Costa provide bath robes for all cabins?

Does Costa charge to cash travellers checks?

Thanks, Betty

 

Hi Betty--You're in for a treat on the Med!

 

I think the best place to meet would be the Casanova Lounge. This is a large lounge on the 2nd deck that's easy to find and open all day and night.

 

We had an inside cabin and did not have bathrobes. Now, that might be because of our cabin selection. I'll post this question in it's own thread to find out.

 

I don't believe that they charged to cash travelers checks, but I can't be sure because we didn't use them. Sorry I can't be more exact.

 

Let me know if you have any more questions!:)

[njs]

Thank you for the excellent review!! We will depart on the Med this Saturday:) I was wondering if you have any information of the Spa/ gym?? Also, did you eat at the "Club Medusa" and if so your thoughts?? I was on the Magica two years ago and I could not understand all the bad reviews?? I agree it was the Americans and Canadians that were the most difficult!!

 

Definitely eat at Club Medusa ~ my family of 5 thot it was one of the best meals we had ever had:)

[bluehorizonlover123]

Thank you so much for your wonderful review. We leave in 76 days on our first Costa cruise so it is nice to know what to expect. Do you know anything about soda cards. How does Costa work those?

 

Are you saying you didn't dress your boys up fancy for formal nights? They just wore dockers and a collared shirt. Interested to hear about that. It seems that Costa is more lax with formal dress code. Let me know how you dressed for formal night also.

[abitaturbodog]

Thank you so much for your wonderful review. We leave in 76 days on our first Costa cruise so it is nice to know what to expect. Do you know anything about soda cards. How does Costa work those?

 

Are you saying you didn't dress your boys up fancy for formal nights? They just wore dockers and a collared shirt. Interested to hear about that. It seems that Costa is more lax with formal dress code. Let me know how you dressed for formal night also.

 

Costa doesn't have soda cards. If you're big soda drinkers you can bring your own soda on board in your luggage and store it in your cabin fridge. The cans of soda were about $1.85 with tip. The boys and girls drinks card includes soda, but it's a lot to pay if you're only going to use it for soda.

 

Costa's dress code says "no shorts or tank tops in the dining room." This is the rule for each night, regardless of if it's formal night or not. As long as you stick to this, you'll be fine.

 

No, we didn't have the boys dress up fancy for formal nights. Usually they wear a pair of dockers and a button down shirt and maybe a tie. But this time I, with school and the holidays to deal with, I didn't have a chance to get them button down shirts. (The thing about kids is that they outgrow everything 3 months after you buy them!) So they went with polo shirts instead, and fit in quite nicely.

 

I have to get dressed up each day for work, so I don't enjoy doing it on vacation. For formal night I always wear a long black skirt and some type of sparkly top. I know, it's not very exciting but it works for me.:)

 

Costa had a more relaxed atmosphere in the dining room, although I didn't see anyone in shorts and I only saw 1 tank top. Otherwise, the passengers were very nicely dressed.

 

Which ship and sailing are you going on?

[bluehorizonlover123]

Did you husband wear a suit for dinner. I think mine would be very happy not to have to wear a suit to dinner for the 2 formal nights. I will bring my long black dress and I have 2 frilly nice tops that I can wear over it for each formal night. We are going on Med. for spring break.

[abitaturbodog]

Yes, my DH brough a suit for formal nights. He wears one everyday for work, so it's kinda like his second skin.

 

I think your DH could easily wear dark pants and a sports coat to formal nights. Heck, he probably doesn't even have to wear the coat!

 

Your black dress w/sparkly tops sounds perfect! And don't forget to wear your toga on the last night!

 

I felt much more relaxed on the Med than I have on Carnival. On Carnival I feel like everyone's looking to see what you're wearing, but I didn't feel this way on Costa. I don't know, maybe it's just me. Or maybe it's because there are people from so many different countries on board that they don't have the hang ups that we Americans have.

[bluehorizonlover123]

You must tell me what does one wear under a toga and how in the heck to you get it on. I will be so embarassed to have my arms showing. Do tell me how you wear one. LOL.

[G.M.T.]

Costa doesn't have soda cards.

arbita,

 

Of course Costa has soda cards, the so called (but expensive I beleive=:

 

BOYS & GIRLS CARD

20 alcohol free drinks form the following selection: Soft drinks, Virgin Delights, Fresh squeezed citrus fruits, Iced Tea, Milk shakes, Assorted Sirups.

 

http://www.costacruise.com/B2C/USA/before_board/services/SpecialServicesProducts.htm?&catid=SPCK&catname=Special+Gift+Sets

 

Ron

[racingraysswimmom]

Thanks for the detail review. Any chance you have finished scanning the daily papers and menu's? I think afew of us are very anxious to view them and we really appreciate you taking out time for us.:)

 

Thanks again!

Spring breakers on the Mediterranea March 22 Easter Cruise

[MARKBUICK76]

You must tell me what does one wear under a toga and how in the heck to you get it on. I will be so embarassed to have my arms showing. Do tell me how you wear one. LOL.

 

 

You can wear underwear or shorts. They have a toga class that teaches you the different wats to tie it or you can just wing it.

[coy860]

[

We’re Off: We drove to Fort Lauderdale and parked at the Park and Drive. I had read on CC that they only charge $60 for a week’s parking if you pre-pay online. The parking lot is located right off of I-95 and very easy to see and to get to.

 

Once we parked, the shuttle drove right to our car and the driver loaded our luggage. It was about a 2 minute ride to the port and the driver removed all of our luggage from the shuttle too. I would definitely use Park and Ride again for the service and price

 

 

<How easy was it to find the shuttle upon disembarkation?

Is Valet parking available? Did you come back to the same exact pier you left from?

Thanks>

[abitaturbodog]

arbita,

 

Of course Costa has soda cards, the so called (but expensive I beleive=:

 

BOYS & GIRLS CARD

20 alcohol free drinks form the following selection: Soft drinks, Virgin Delights, Fresh squeezed citrus fruits, Iced Tea, Milk shakes, Assorted Sirups.

 

http://www.costacruise.com/B2C/USA/before_board/services/SpecialServicesProducts.htm?&catid=SPCK&catname=Special+Gift+Sets

 

Ron

 

Ron--You silly goose! You didn't read the rest of my paragraph. It was: Costa doesn't have soda cards. If you're big soda drinkers you can bring your own soda on board in your luggage and store it in your cabin fridge. The cans of soda were about $1.85 with tip. The boys and girls drinks card includes soda, but it's a lot to pay if you're only going to use it for soda.:D

[abitaturbodog]

Thanks for the detail review. Any chance you have finished scanning the daily papers and menu's? I think afew of us are very anxious to view them and we really appreciate you taking out time for us.:)

 

Thanks again!

Spring breakers on the Mediterranea March 22 Easter Cruise

 

I'm sorry, I've been very lazy about scanning the daily schedules. But I will promise to get them done tomorrow (Monday).:(

[abitaturbodog]

Blue--We all wore plain white t-shirts under our togas. That way our arms were covered. I saw a couple of folks with the t-shirts on, but was surprised that the large majority of toga-wearers didn't have undershirts on! I wonder if they had anything at all on?!:D

 

Coy--The parking lot is super-easy to find. It's on the east side of I-95 and you can see the big sign for it once you get off the interstate. I always like to Google Earth places so I know exactly where they are. You might want to do that too.

 

You catch the shuttle to the far right of where you get off the ship. So once you leave customs, start walking to the right for a couple hundred feet. There are no signs, and we just asked people what they were waiting for. In retrospect, we should've asked the driver when he dropped us off where we should catch the return shuttle. (I'd do that if I were you.)

 

The ship returned to the same pier as it left from. As far as I noticed, there isn't valet parking. Maybe someone else can comment on that.:confused:

 

I just looked at the parking lot website for my MIL who's cruising next week and noticed that the price for 7 days has gone up to $72. But it's still a better deal than the port's parking lot, which I believe is $15/day.

[G.M.T.]

Ron--You silly goose! You didn't read the rest of my paragraph. It was: Costa doesn't have soda cards. If you're big soda drinkers you can bring your own soda on board in your luggage and store it in your cabin fridge. The cans of soda were about $1.85 with tip. The boys and girls drinks card includes soda, but it's a lot to pay if you're only going to use it for soda.:D

 

Arbita,

Just testing to make sure that you have not complete wound down for your up coming cruise. :o

 

Ron

[abitaturbodog]

Oh, a test? I love tests! Can I cheat?

[abitaturbodog]

Blu--You should join us on the Fortuna 3/16/08! I see that you don't have a cruise for 2008 booked yet....

[G.M.T.]

Blu--You should join us on the Fortuna 3/16/08! I see that you don't have a cruise for 2008 booked yet....

Arbita,

Thank you for thinking of me.:p (nearest thing to a kiss).

 

DW said she wanted to go some place exotic. I suggested the Table Dance Bar in Key West, then I found out she said exotic not erotic. Need a new hearing aid.

 

Seriously, we are awaiting the 2009 Costa catalog, there are several far flung cruises that we would like to do but at present most of them are served by the older Costa ships. After being on the Med we have been spoilt. Maybe we'll settle for another Transatlantic and do the exotic places when the new Costa ships (all 5 of them) come on stream.

 

The catalog id due out mid Feb.

 

Ron

[abitaturbodog]

Thanks for the catalogue tip...I just ordered one online.