Can you please compare Costa to Royal Caribbean

[hazeleyez3]

My husband and I are in our early 30s with no kids. We typically stick with Royal or Carnival but I have found a few attractive European itineraries Costa has next year.

 

The main difference we have found between Royal and Carnival is Royal's promenade...we love to go down, grab a small bite, talk and people watch.

 

Other than that they are about the same...we find the shows, cabins, activities, service, and food to be good on both.

 

I was barely a teenager when I sailed Costa so I don't remember too much about the cruise.

 

Would we find many people around our age or does the line tend to cater to an older crowd?

 

What types of drinks are included in the base fare?

 

Are the daytime activities the traditional gameshow, bingo-type things?

 

I have no problem if the dining room runs at a slower pace, but does it cause people to miss a lot of the ship's nightlife?

 

I realize food is subjective, however, I was curious as to how some people mean it doesn't cater to Americans...can someone elaborate a little for me.

 

I have seen on some ships they have a verandah cabin and an outside veranda cabin. What is the difference?

[ItalianGuest]

Hi hazeleyez3,

 

I've been on all 3 Cruise Lines and think that if you like Rccl and Carnival, you should appreciate Costa as well.

 

The main difference, in my opinion and considering Carnival -that offer the same kind of ships-, are:

 

- 5 languages on board

- pay for water

- shorter buffet opening hours

- less involveing cruise directors

- more children during summer season

 

As for food, sorry but I can't help you... I'm Italian!

Anyhow, I don't like It too...

 

Moreover, I think that Costa, like Carnival, is a bit worse than Rccl.

 

 

Ciao:),

 

ItalianGuest

[leoandhugh]

One difference with Costa that we have noticed on European and Med itineraries is that they seem to spend less time in ports. The other striking difference is that the passenger list is heavily European, in particular Italian. To some that is not a problem; they enjoy meeting people from other countries. But, from what I have read on these boards, it does seem to matter to others - particularly the announcements in 4 or 5 languages.:)

[Dancer Bob]

If you like dancing then Costa is far superior. The area that on Carnival is set up as several small bars is one big dance floor on Costa, and the cruise staff has a lot of activities in the evening, with a fantastic amount of music.

If you're looking for a specific itinerary and aren't too worried about evening activities, then Carnival should be fine. I've only done one trip with RCI- evenings were really dull, but service, food, etc. were competitive.

[upontheCs]

on costa you can smoke in your cabin, on RCI you cannot. that is as much as I can say about RCI since I will never be a customer of theirs.

 

i thought there was a pretty wide demographic on my costa cruise.

 

food is Always subjective, but I found it much better than my last carnival cruise. Almost as good as HAL and princess. The main difference was the addition of as pasta or risotto course and slighty smaller portions, as you are expected to have 6 - 7 courses.

 

i do not recall a longer dinner interferring with the show. one tip, though, request the 1st seating. europeans eat LATE. the 2nd seating in europe is 9:30 - 9:45.

 

coffee, water (tap) and tea were available in the buffet free of charge. cappucinnos are free via room service in the morning (though oddly coffee had a 2 euro charge.)

 

that's a HUGE difference, too. you will be paying in euros. with the crappy exchage rate and the fees your bank will charege you it is worth mentioning.

 

cocktails are very expense. martinnis worked out to about 9.50 US

 

shore excursions are quite pricey, too, but i usually book independant tours. especially easy in europe.

[Hampton's North]

Being a soon to be (hopefully) ex-smoker, I liked being able to smoke in the cabin rather than the balcony where I feared the smoke would blow over to the next cabin. On Princess cruises, you can only smoke on the balcony or designated areas of the ship and I was always worried about smoke bothering the next cabin.

 

Being Canadian, I found the dinners to be tailored more for the European taste than North American - that being the meat portions tended to be more fatty than lean. Again, it is a personal preference. There was always a wide variety on the menu to satisfy the most discerning guest.

 

We have sailed on Magica and Fortuna and was surprised when I learned that if you ordered a double (triple) highball, the cost for the extra "shot" was less than other cruise lines who charge the full cost of a single highball.

 

Crew were always great on Costa and I am sure that you will enjoy time with them - especially the dinner on the final evening when the chef and wait staff all make a an appearance - quite the show.

[upontheCs]

Being a soon to be (hopefully) ex-smoker' date=' I liked being able to smoke in the cabin rather than the balcony where I feared the smoke would blow over to the next cabin. On Princess cruises, you can only smoke on the balcony or designated areas of the ship and I was always worried about smoke bothering the next cabin.

[/quote']

 

unless it has changed very very recently, princess still allows smoking in the cabin.

[Hampton's North]

We sailed Emerald Princess New Year 2009 and were told that no smoking was permitted in the cabins as they had "very sensitive smoke detectors".

[upontheCs]

We sailed Emerald Princess New Year 2009 and were told that no smoking was permitted in the cabins as they had "very sensitive smoke detectors".

 

who told you that?

 

i just got off the phone 1-800-princess and was told smoking is allowed in the cabin.

 

here's the link on the website. scroll down to the etiquette section:

 

http://www.princess.com/learn/answer/before_you_leave/care.jsp

[Hampton's North]

It was our room steward when I asked for an ashtray. She told me that I could only smoke on the balcony or on designated spaces on the deck (which I am well aware of), consequently, I made sure that the balcony door was closed whenever I was on the balcony having a cigarette, lest the sensitive smoke detector start screaming. Was I duped... :)

[upontheCs]

It was our room steward when I asked for an ashtray. She told me that I could only smoke on the balcony or on designated spaces on the deck (which I am well aware of)' date=' consequently, I made sure that the balcony door was closed whenever I was on the balcony having a cigarette, lest the sensitive smoke detector start screaming. Was I duped... :)[/quote']

 

yes, you were duped. i always make sure of the policy before i book.

[marysb]

Smoking in the rooms- Yikes. Do all the rooms smell smokey? I hate it when I get a hotel room that is a smoking room. We don't smoke and I cannot really tolerate the smell of stale smoke.

[ot73nl]

I've been on Costa Mediterranea Baltics cruise and loved the possibility to smoke almost everywhere (suite, balcony, bars, casino, open decks)! I hope that Costa's smoking policy will not change just to please non-smoking people... Non-smokers can always choose to sit in the smoke-free part of the bar;)

[RN1986]

Why do subjects always turn to smoking when the original question was asked to compare the two lines, not the smoking policies??