Love Princess and RCCL - Will we like Costa for Europe?

[GarysGirl]

My husband and I are considering a fall Costa cruise with stops in Italy, Greece, Turkey, and Egypt. The itinerary is very appealing to us, but we know nothing about Costa, so I was hoping for some advice on this forum.

 

We are in our late twenties and have cruised many times before (7 for me, 15 for him). We have previously sailed with Royal Caribbean and Princess, both of which we like very much. The Princess cruise I found with a similar itinerary costs more than twice as much, so that's why we're looking into Costa.

 

I'm curious as to why Costa costs so much less than Princess for a similar itinerary. The Princess cruise is on the Grand Princess, and the Costa Cruise is on the Atlantica, if anyone is familiar with both ships. We're pretty low-maintenance travelers and are usually just happy to be on vacation. As long as the ship is clean and the food is decent, we'll be fine, but I'd like to know why Costa is so much less.

 

My other concern is language. I expect that the majority of passengers on this trip would be European, and I'm fine with that. But, does anyone know if the ship's excursions are offered in English? Particularly in Egypt, we will want to book excursions, and it would be a waste if we didn't understand anything that the guides said! I know that we could book on our own, but I'd much prefer to take the ship's excursions, as it makes the planning so much easier.

 

Any other comments on the general atmosphere, food, service, etc., would be much appreciated, especially any comparison to Royal Caribbean or Princess. Thanks in advance!

[njs]

My husband and I are considering a fall Costa cruise with stops in Italy, Greece, Turkey, and Egypt. The itinerary is very appealing to us, but we know nothing about Costa, so I was hoping for some advice on this forum.

 

We are in our late twenties and have cruised many times before (7 for me, 15 for him). We have previously sailed with Royal Caribbean and Princess, both of which we like very much. The Princess cruise I found with a similar itinerary costs more than twice as much, so that's why we're looking into Costa.

 

I'm curious as to why Costa costs so much less than Princess for a similar itinerary. The Princess cruise is on the Grand Princess, and the Costa Cruise is on the Atlantica, if anyone is familiar with both ships. We're pretty low-maintenance travelers and are usually just happy to be on vacation. As long as the ship is clean and the food is decent, we'll be fine, but I'd like to know why Costa is so much less.

 

My other concern is language. I expect that the majority of passengers on this trip would be European, and I'm fine with that. But, does anyone know if the ship's excursions are offered in English? Particularly in Egypt, we will want to book excursions, and it would be a waste if we didn't understand anything that the guides said! I know that we could book on our own, but I'd much prefer to take the ship's excursions, as it makes the planning so much easier.

 

Any other comments on the general atmosphere, food, service, etc., would be much appreciated, especially any comparison to Royal Caribbean or Princess. Thanks in advance!

 

I think I would try Costa in the caribbean (where the majority of passengers are English speaking) before trying them in Europe. The clientele on Costa is quite different thatn Princess or RCI (and I dont mean that in a bad way) You will definitely be in the minority in Europe and tours for each language are based on the number of people to choose that excursion. In the caribbean we chose to do the submarine excursion in cozumel. There werent enough english-speaking to sign up so we went with a german group. Not a problem until we started seeing the reef and fish etc. The german guide went on and on and onnnnnnn.... so our english guide got very little chance to talk to us. :(

Do a search on these boards and you will find many reviews for the European experience on Costa. If the issues others raise dont bother you, then by all means, save the money and go with costa. The Atlantica was our first cruise and I loved that ship. Our next 2 cruises were on larger ships and we like the size of the Atlantica better so thats why we went on the Mediterranea this past christmas. What ever you choose, enjoy your cruise:)

[njs]

sorry - double post. Am I the only one having problems submitting replies

[njs]

not sure why the boards dont show my answer so will try again:confused:

[bmazza]

my parents just came back from a 3 week cruise thru the Med and ended up in Dubai, they were on the Costa Europa which is smaller then the Atlantica but they loved it, they did several excursions and had no problems at all, they said that most of the time they had someone with them that would translate if need be but that several of the locations the were in the "locals" did speak english and many spoke very good english.

hope that may help you in your decision.

to add a little more, I have done costa, princess, RCI and NCL and I love Costa. Started out 30 yrs ago on the Carla C and it was wonderful

happy sailing:D

[funkylady]

Hi, we've just got back from our eastern med. cruise on the Costa Concordia. I realise this is not the ship you're thinking of going on but wanted to briefly tell you of our experiences. The ship itself was superb and very clean. The Phillipino staff were very friendly and efficient. The Italian staff at reception were a little abrupt but were trying to do the best they could considering the variety of nationalities on board.

Food was varied and interesting but very mediterranean.

We greatly enjoyed all our ports of call and didn't have any trouble getting on English-speaking excursions. Our guides were very knowledgable and friendly. Our excursions were Olympia, Ephesus and Pyramids of Ghiza.

We loved the international mix of people, it is a new experience, but can be a little frustrating at times if you are not multi-lingual!

Hope this is helpful to you.

[GarysGirl]

Thank you for all of the replies! We're still looking at all of our options, but so far it looks like we'd probably be happy with this cruise. Thanks again!

[maddie36]

Hope the following is a help in making up your mind.

We cruised on the Mediterranea last July before the school holidays. What may annoy you are any of the following : all announcements in several languages, over the tannoy and at all entertainment venues and during all shows. Depending on the cruise you choose the ship will have at leave two embarkation points (i.e. Venice and again Bari) which means large groups of people joining and disembarking twice during your cruise and smaller groups getting on at any port as these ships just go round and round all summer. As you probably expect the majority of passengers are Italians. Most of them in very large family groups from great granny to infants in buggies - they all eat together even on the late dinner sitting which makes for one hell of a noise. They also seem to order what they want in whichever order they want it whether or not it is on the menu. There did not appear to be any well organised childrens activities so kids had the run of the ship and all pools. Italians do not understand the word 'queue'. Unlike Princess or P & O ships there appeared to be very little so******ing in the bars before or after dinner - much drinking of coffee. The disco was full of small children as they never seemed to go to bed. Think 'Butlins' and that probably sums it up.

 

The ship was beautiful, cabins well fitted out and the staff friendly. Food was okay. Choose a balcony where you may find peace and quite but you could also be smoked out from the adjacent cabin!

 

We enjoyed ourselves but am glad I went with my sister and my husband stayed at home. The ports of call were the most important factor in choosing this cruise .

 

All in all you get what you pay for. Princess and Costa are like chalk and cheese.

[maddie36]

Just read the previous post. Not sure what the word beginning with s..... was thought to be by Cruise critic but it was a word that meant getting together as in social !

[G.M.T.]

Think 'Butlins' and that probably sums it up.

 

We enjoyed ourselves but am glad I went with my sister and my husband stayed at home.

Ah Butlins - that brings back memories - all those Red Coats (female).

 

I can understand CC blanking out a word (was it "social" with a bit of "ise" and a bit of "ing"). After all you said yourself that you were glad you sailed with your sister and left the old man at home. ;)

 

All those good looking Italian guys on board- amore.:rolleyes:

 

Hi-de-Hi

Ron

[G.M.T.]

My husband and I are considering a fall Costa cruise with stops in Italy, Greece, Turkey, and Egypt. The itinerary is very appealing to us, but we know nothing about Costa, so I was hoping for some advice on this forum.

 

We are in our late twenties and have cruised many times before (7 for me, 15 for him). We have previously sailed with Royal Caribbean and Princess, both of which we like very much. The Princess cruise I found with a similar itinerary costs more than twice as much, so that's why we're looking into Costa.

 

I'm curious as to why Costa costs so much less than Princess for a similar itinerary. The Princess cruise is on the Grand Princess, and the Costa Cruise is on the Atlantica, if anyone is familiar with both ships. We're pretty low-maintenance travelers and are usually just happy to be on vacation. As long as the ship is clean and the food is decent, we'll be fine, but I'd like to know why Costa is so much less.

 

My other concern is language. I expect that the majority of passengers on this trip would be European, and I'm fine with that. But, does anyone know if the ship's excursions are offered in English? Particularly in Egypt, we will want to book excursions, and it would be a waste if we didn't understand anything that the guides said! I know that we could book on our own, but I'd much prefer to take the ship's excursions, as it makes the planning so much easier.

 

Any other comments on the general atmosphere, food, service, etc., would be much appreciated, especially any comparison to Royal Caribbean or Princess. Thanks in advance!

GaryGirl,

 

All reviews and advice are always subjective as they< are based on other peoples views and experiences.

 

You are both young. Be adventureous. JUST DO IT.

 

Have a good cruise.

 

Ron