Back from the Med. 3/1 - 3/8 Eastern Itn. - Review

[InAShoeBox]

I am going to try my best at a review here....

 

We are in our early 30s travelling with 2 daughters, 3 1/2 yo and 11 months. My parents also travelled with us.

 

We live in Florida and drove to the port in our own vehicle. We pre-paid parking at the Park-N-Fly though my husband dropeed us and luggage off at the terminal and then went to park (though they say it was self-park online it was actually valet...more about this later). He got back and we went on in to get on the boat.

Embarkation was a BREEZE...we all commented on how organized Costa was in this regard, we were on board within 10 minutes of getting in line! (during this process we assigned our credit card to our Costa cards)

We got on board and went directly to our cabin (7143) and there found our 'Today' and our room keys and met our room steward Restituto. He showed us the room and we asked him to clear out the fridge (it's an actual mini-fridge) which he did later that evening. We then went up to deck 9 and had lunch.

We had asked for an early seating dinner and were given late so my mom went down and got us reassigned to early. She said the process was VERY well organized and was no trouble at all.

KIDS: Our older daughter enjoyed the Squok Club and went everyday! We only wished they would have had better operating hours, it seemed like we were always coming or going. She also enjoyed the pool very much, but fair warning she fell more than a few times, remind your young ones to walk and wear slip resistant shoes! Not a bad idea for the adults too!

Our youngest was pretty much along for the ride, we're lucky enough that she is very laid back and was happy just looking around and flirting with the other guests and staff members who gave her attention! She did not use the pools and I did not see any signs saying un potty trained children are forbidden from the pool. We saw several diapered kids in the pool area. We never used to 'kiddie' pool since our 3 yr old can already swim unassisted.

FOOD:We all enjoyed the food. We ate all together in the dining room twice for dinner, the first night dragged on and almost took 2 hours. One night just my husband and I went and everyone around us including ourselves were finished within an hour. The staff in the dining room was very nice and accomodating. They just seemed very short staffed (??) during dinner that first night. We ate in the dining room 2 mornings and it seemed over staffed....never ate there for lunch!

We obviously ate most of our meals on Deck 9, the pizza was wonderful! I can't say I was ever disappointed, I was always able to find something. We did eat at Club Medusa. My husband had the lobster and enjoyed it very much, I had the chicken and was pleased with it as well. For the prices though we would not choose this again. The service was outstanding and every detail and need was met it was just overly priced in our opinion.

CASINO/ENTERTAINMENT:we went to the casino several nights, we had fun. My dad commented today how he thought it was nice to see lots of people winning on the last night (I saw people winning all the time) he is used to seeing the machines suck people dry on the last night! We didn't go to many shows, only a few but enjoyed what we saw, the music in the lounges was nice and we always saw lots of people dancing. Toga night was fun, we didn't dress up, and I would say maybe saw 30% dressed in Togas, it was so great to see them. The talent show was hilarious, a must see!

PORTS:I would say we enjoyed all of the ports with the exception on La Ramona/Casa De Campo, my mom and I stayed on the boat with the girls and my husband and dad went ashore. They enjoyed riding the buses around but said they weren't really impressed. We all agreed a shorter day there would have much preferred to allow for more time in Grand Turks. We didn't do any Costa excursions. In San Juan we walked to the fort and then walked back to the ship. In St Thomas we hired a driver to take us on a 2 hour tour and then we walked around the shops and back to the boat. Grand Turks we shopped the stores and enjoyed a drink at Magaritaville, would have liked more time here though to be able to drive around the island. The water here is breathtaking!

OVERALL: We all really enjoyed ourselves. It's not over the top and it wasn't disappointing. Of course there are little things I like on other ships more than this one, but it wasn't anything that ruined this cruise for me or would keep me from going on another Costa cruise.

Diembarkation:This was very speedy as well, we showed our passports and were getting our luggage in not time. Very easy to find our luggage (which surprised me) and then we got to the point where Costa was no longer in control and we were herded through customs. What a nightmare. I certainly didn't see our tax dollars at work here. They only had two customs agents working trying to get hundreds of people through. We finally got through and my husband went to get the car....remember it was valet instead of self park when he went to the park-n-fly at the start of our week. Well now they had them all on a bus and drove them around the parking lot looking for cars....can you imagine this nightmare....he finally did make it back and we were on our way, the porters by the way were awesome and a greta help in getting us and all our luggage out to the curb!

 

OK, well that's all I have...ask anything you wich and I will do my best to answer or offer suggestions.

[Rosieo]

We are also driving to the port. Do you think the park-n-fly is the easiest place to park? Do you know where else to park?

[InAShoeBox]

We are also driving to the port. Do you think the park-n-fly is the easiest place to park? Do you know where else to park?

 

We all agreed next time we would just park at the port to save the hassle, I am not sure how much it costs (park-n-fly was $72 for the week, pre-paid through Costa's website).

[InAShoeBox]

Sorry, I forgot to add..we did bring booze on board....I had two bottles of champagne in my luggage and my parents had wine, tequila and long island iced tea mix (all in checked luggage). We had no problems with it at all.

[Rosieo]

Any chance you know the age limit for the adult pool?

[InAShoeBox]

Any chance you know the age limit for the adult pool?

 

The 'Today' doesn't give an age, it only says ADULTS, so I would assume it to mean 18 and older, we didn't use this pool (only the bar) and I never read a sign if it were posted.

[Rosieo]

Thanks, I am glad you had a great trip! We leave in 2 weeks and I just can't wait!!!

[tweety33]

When did you have the lifeboat drill? First day or second, time?

Glad you had a great time, we can't wait.

[InAShoeBox]

When did you have the lifeboat drill? First day or second, time?

Glad you had a great time, we can't wait.

 

It was on the day we left at 4:30pm. It was pretty easy and very well organized (alot better than other experiences we have had).

[tweety33]

What more can you tell me about the busses they drove around in at La-Ramona? Was it any kind of a tour? Did they get the bus at the terminal? How much? Did it drop them off in town? What was there opinions of being in town? Did they feel safe all the time? Did you hear of anyone who took the 3 hour ship tour of Dominican Republic? How much time did they need to do what they chose? Thank you for any answers.

[jerseygirl3]

My parents were on this cruise as well (booked very last minute, about a week before sailing) and I spoke briefly with my Mom yesterday and she said they had a great time.

 

Can't wait to hear all the details.

 

Jo-Ann

[InAShoeBox]

What more can you tell me about the busses they drove around in at La-Ramona? Was it any kind of a tour? Did they get the bus at the terminal? How much? Did it drop them off in town? What was there opinions of being in town? Did they feel safe all the time? Did you hear of anyone who took the 3 hour ship tour of Dominican Republic? How much time did they need to do what they chose? Thank you for any answers.

What more can you tell me about the busses they drove around in at La-Ramona? they were fairly new and air conditioned

Was it any kind of a tour? no, it was simply a take you and drop you off, the first part was to Casa De Campo ($7 per person/rountrip) and then they came back to the port and took a similar bus to downtown La Ramona ($5 per person/roundtrip)

Did they get the bus at the terminal? yes, both of them

How much? see above

What was there opinions of being in town? Casa De Campo - it was nice, but it was a bit of a 'tourist trap', it is a gated community, no locals or anyone on a private vacation strictly cruise passengers.

La Ramona - it was authentic but very dirty and my husband says he wouldn't go back.

Did they feel safe all the time? they felt safe at Casa De Campo although in La Ramona they didn't feel so safe, there was a lot of police and military presence here, my husband was glad the girls and I had stayed on the ship.

Did you hear of anyone who took the 3 hour ship tour of Dominican Republic? no, I didn't

How much time did they need to do what they chose? they were gone for a few hours

[belcherwm]

Thanks for the review.

 

What did you guys do during the day on the boat? Any activity that you would suggest besides major pool time?

[bluehorizonlover123]

Great review really enjoyed it. Our plane on the way home leaves at 1040am from FLL. Do they really check the color tags as you get off the ship or can we walk off even if our color tag hasn't been called yet. Don't want to miss our flight.

[InAShoeBox]

Thanks for the review.

 

What did you guys do during the day on the boat? Any activity that you would suggest besides major pool time?

 

Bill,

 

The cruise always seemed to have a lot of activities going on, since I had an 11 month old to tend to I didn't get to really participate in any of these things, I am not real into that stuff anyways. I enjoyed grabbing a table out on the pool deck in the shade with a glass of iced tea or bar drink and read magazines and did crosswords. We often found ourselves strolling the decks and basically just seeing what was going on. It will depend on your likes, but there is always something or nothing to do aside from the pool (I never even got in it).

 

Have a great time!

[InAShoeBox]

Great review really enjoyed it. Our plane on the way home leaves at 1040am from FLL. Do they really check the color tags as you get off the ship or can we walk off even if our color tag hasn't been called yet. Don't want to miss our flight.

 

we did wait for our tag color to be called but they never checked to see which color we had. I think your concern would be if the luggage was actually down there and waiting on you if you got off early also US Customs was a joke, they were very short staffed and that's what took us the longest during disembarkation.

[G.M.T.]

Great review really enjoyed it. Our plane on the way home leaves at 1040am from FLL. Do they really check the color tags as you get off the ship or can we walk off even if our color tag hasn't been called yet. Don't want to miss our flight.

There is a facility whereby you can leave the ship early at about 06:45 am if you have to catch an early flight.

 

Only 600 passenger can participate, you have to register with the Customer Service Desk once you are board, you have to be a US or Canadian passport holder and have to carry off your own luggage.

 

Have a good cruise.

 

Ron

[Hopes4]

Great review really enjoyed it. Our plane on the way home leaves at 1040am from FLL. Do they really check the color tags as you get off the ship or can we walk off even if our color tag hasn't been called yet. Don't want to miss our flight.

My advice for you would be to sign up for the self disembarkation and to ask for a print out of your bill the day before (checking your folio on the TV isnt good enough as I learned too late - get a print out early). We had a problem with our bill and it took a good hour and a half to get it sorted out. Then all the lines for customs were stopped for over a half hour due to the luggage area being too crowded. Our color luggage tags said we could leave at 8:15 - we werent out of the terminal until much later. I had almost booked a flight for 11:40 - we never would have made it, we were just passing through security around that time. I'm not saying you will have any problems, this is the first time we did. With that early of a flight though, just take some precautions - better safe than sorry! You dont want to end a wonderful vacation with stress.

[Zarigh]

Someone asked about parking, We are using United Airport parking. Their rates are less than than the Park and Fly on the Costa web site. We are paying 58.74 for the week for uncovered parking. You can get covered parking for about 10.00 more for the week. They are 5 minutes from the port and shuttle you back and forth. Their website is www.unitedairportparking.com

Parking at the Port is 15.00 per day according the Port Everglades web site.

We sail March 29th. The date can not get here soon enough for me.

 

Hope this helps.

[monicajay]

Our color luggage tags said we could leave at 8:15 - we werent out of the terminal until much later. I had almost booked a flight for 11:40 - we never would have made it, we were just passing through security around that time. I'm not saying you will have any problems, this is the first time we did.

 

Hopes4,

Sorry to hear it took a long time for you guys to get off. We also had white tags, 8:15 am and waited in the Osiris theatre as instructed. When called, we followed the lady, got off the ship, picked up luggage, cleared customs, waited for car rental shuttle, shuttled to the airport, picked up rental car, drove to Sawgrass mills mall and we were standing at the mall's doors waiting for the 10:00 am opening.

 

We would have had no problem getting a 10:30 flight.

[Ramblinboy]

Hi everybody, we were on the same cruise as Christa and Monica. We took the Costa excursion in La Romana that was "the Real Dominican Republic" We were in 4x4's (well, actually trucks that had padded benches facing each other) and toured a sugar cane field, a local cigar factory, a flower nursery and a souvenir shop/art studio/bar in downtown La Romana. It was a very interesting tour (including the rum served up with the 7-up in the cane field). I would not want to be wandering alone in La Romana, though, it appeared to be a very poor and sort of tough town. We felt quite safe with our Dominican tour director and driver.

We had Red luggage tags to get off the ship and had a 11:10 flight out of FLL. We had no problem making the flight and were at the airport a little after 9:00. I agree that the US customs was ridiculously slow.

Never bored on the ship - with everything from dance lessons, cooking demonstrations, Italian lessons, belly flop contests and music of all sorts - it was a buffet of entertainment most of the time. Plus, you had the beautiful ship and the sea. Much better than cold, snowy Chicago.

Have a great trip !

Dave

[tweety33]

Finally someone who took this tour, I've been trying to find someone for monthes now.

What exactly is a 4x4? Do you mean a pick up truck? How many people do they hold? Did it have the canopy over it? Did a lot of passengers do this tour? Was there a line of trucks following each other if lot were booked? Was it easy to climb into the vehical, we have one member with a cane. Did you get out and walk around the sugar cane fields? Did the tour give you a good sense of the real life of the island? How much time did you spend at each place? Did your driver speak english? Did they divide the tour up according to what language you spoke? I heard they had wheel chairs at the dock for those who it was to far to walk to where you get the tours, did you see them? We may be needing one, its a long walk for one in our party.

Sorry for so many questions, Thank you for a reply. I think I will be ready to book this tour for us after I hear back from you. Thanks a bunch.

[Ramblinboy]

Finally someone who took this tour, I've been trying to find someone for monthes now.

What exactly is a 4x4? Do you mean a pick up truck? How many people do they hold? Did it have the canopy over it? Did a lot of passengers do this tour? Was there a line of trucks following each other if lot were booked? Was it easy to climb into the vehical, we have one member with a cane. Did you get out and walk around the sugar cane fields? Did the tour give you a good sense of the real life of the island? How much time did you spend at each place? Did your driver speak english? Did they divide the tour up according to what language you spoke? I heard they had wheel chairs at the dock for those who it was to far to walk to where you get the tours, did you see them? We may be needing one, its a long walk for one in our party.

Sorry for so many questions, Thank you for a reply. I think I will be ready to book this tour for us after I hear back from you. Thanks a bunch.

Hi Tweety, glad you posted on our other thread, I don't know if I would have checked back here. Glad to share our experience on this excursion. I'm leaving all your message in the quote so I can answer as many questions as po

The truck is bigger than a pick up truck, more like a flat bed truck size. It has two benches , one along each side, and supposedly seats 20 people. We had 9 on each side and, being middle-aged Americans, there was no room for anyone else. There were two high steps to get in - my wife has knee problems and it was somewhat of a problem. Luckily everyone was helpful. There were canopies over the trucks and the sides were open air. There were several trucks that were in the cane fields but after a while I didnl't notice them. We stopped in the middle of the field and the English speaking guide talked about the harvesting etc and offered some T-shirts for sale that he said profited a local school. They also offered refreshments from a cooler on the truck - water and soda and there was a bottle of Dominican rum if you wanted to add any to your drink.

We rode through the fields for 15 or 20 minutes and then proceded to the nursery where we spent 10 minutes or so. It was a working nursery and was interestng to the gardeners among the group. Again, it involved getting off and on that high truck.

We rode 15 minutes into town and visited the cigar factory. This was a very small shop with two people making cigars. It was mainly for the tour but it was real, They also sold Dominican coffee and some souvenirs. We were there about 10 minutes.

The final stop was at a store that had a little bit of everything - from jewelry to artwork to clothing to pottery. There was a small bar in the open courtyard ($2.00 beers, that were very cold) and some fresh fruit that the tour guide had provided for us. We were right in the heart of the city and I think got as much a feel for how people lived as you can get visiting a place for only a few hours. We were at the store about 45 minutes so there was plenty of time to shop.

There was quite a variety of experiences in the short time we were there. It was not a Disney-like experience, these were real people going about their everyday lives - kids playing in the school yard, people zipping around three to a motorbike, old men sitting and smoking and watching the tourists. On the way back to the ship the truck drove down a really lovely boulevard and past some really beautiful beach side homes so we got to see that not all of La ROmana is poor, just most of it. I felt we got our money's worth of the tour but getting in and out of the truck was problematic.

THe ship did seem to have wheelchairs at the debarcation deck - the walk to the tour mustering area was about 2 blocks up hill so it could be a problem. Theres was on woman on our tour that only got out of the truck at the last stop. She didn't seem to mind and felt that it was enough to see whatever she could from the truck at the other stops.

l hope this helps you in making your decision. There were people on our ship that went into La ROmana on their own and they did not have a pleasant experience so I think the excursion make sense for us.

Enjoy you cruise and let us know what you did .

Dave

[tweety33]

OH Thank you so much for the respose and details. You answered all my questions. I will defiitly book this tour for me and DH, but need to confirm with the other party for him to figure if he will be able to get on and off the truck, being heavy, and a bad leg. I will book it today on the costa site.

 

 

We return 4/5 and I'll give a report, can't wait to leave this cold, extra snowy Maine winter.

[tweety33]

one more question for ramblinboy, was there hand rails when you went up the 2 steps to the truck to help pull yourself up?