Travel
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Costa Cruises- anyone ever been?
Does anyone have experience with Costa Cruises? I am looking to go on a cruise in late May that starts in Barcelona and goes around the Mediterranean. Any reviews or suggestions before I buy are greatly appreciated!
Re: Costa Cruises- anyone ever been?
I went on one a few years ago. It was a 7-day cruise to the Baltic. I've been on many cruise lines and would definitely go back on a Costa Cruise again. The food was great and a fun atmosphere. Since it's an Italian ship and also originates in Europe, there were a lot of Europeans on the trip, which I really enjoyed.
Best,
Abby
blog.freshcruiser.com
I sailed Costa in the Indian Ocean, because they're the only mainstream cruiseline still sailing the area, thanks to the darned Somali pirates.
Comparing them to RCCL, Princess, and Cunard, I definitely liked them least. Admittedly I was on an itty bitty ship that was due for a huge overhaul at the end of the season, but it just wasn't as nice an experience as I've had on other lines.
The food was surprisingly hit or miss for an Italian ship; it's probably better closer to Europe (I've heard good things about their food from people who've cruised them nearer to Italy).
However, the shipboard activities were lame even by cruise-ship standards. This owes a lot to the fact that they have to entertain people in 4-5 different languages. I've sailed Royal Caribbean on both a dual English/Spanish cruise and a few English/Norwegian sailings, and I much prefer their version which is to have separate language-specific programs, so there are activities that are only English or that are only Spanish/Norwegian, and only the big evening shows and events are multi-language with multiple translations. On Costa, they just put everyone in a room and translate everything 4 or 5 times. They also seemed very disorganized, and when it came to tender tickets, they didn't actually make all the announcements in all the languages, so if they skipped English, and you couldn't pick up one of the languages they did announce, you could really get screwed!
The other thing that I found disconcerting was that Costa tends to embark and disembark passengers at different ports, so what could be a mid-cruise port day for you can have other passengers getting on and off the ship. Somehow that always feels strange to me - like I'm on a ferry rather than a cruise ship with a defined, unified itinerary.
If you're more keen to just hang out by the pool, then this isn't even an issue!
And I will say that it was pleasant to be on a ship where topless sunbathing was incredibly common. No tan lines for me after that trip! Though of course, you do have to be wary of glancing around and getting an eyeful of saggy pensioner boobs or old men in Speedos. Good times!
Personally, I find that I avoid Costa now when I'm looking at cruise options. That's not to say I wouldn't sail them again if there wasn't a comparable option, but if I could find a sailing in the same area for a similar price on dates that would suit me, I would lean towards one of the British or American lines.
I literally just read this article on the NY Times 2 minutes ago: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/15/world/europe/cruise-ship-runs-aground-off-tuscan-coast.html?hp
What I find particularly concerning about the report from the survivors on board was the apparent lack of interest in preparing for this type of situation (passengers who got on board days ago say the ship never did a Muster drill or evacuation practice, something that is required your first day you get on the ship).
Just wanted to make sure you saw this article.
I just heard on CNN that maritime law states you have 24 hours to have the safety drill. They were still within that.
I don't believe the ship left days ago, based on the statement I just heart.
I just read the NYT article- how horrifying! I went on a similar cruise around the Mediterranean with RC in 7/2010, which was very enjoyable. However, the dates and the pricing on the Costa Cruise are more of what I'm looking for. Not sure if this accident would prevent me from booking, but the way it was handled is definitely something to consider- scary! Thank you for your input everyone.
Some reports say that cruise began on the 7th and that they were planning on having an evacuation drill on Saturday. (yesterday)
The captain in serious trouble. Manslaughter, abandoning ship, etc. It looks like nobody had a clue how to evacuate and procedures weren't set in place.
I know accidents happen, but not having safety measures in place ahead of time is just deadly. No way I would go one of their ships knowing this kind of info. Then agai, I bet they come up with policies and procedures now. A little too late.
Interesting timing.
Yeah that's right my name's Yauch!