Costa Cruise Lines

If you can tolerate Italians running everything (every food service, etc) and the favorite line of Hispanics, then Costa is for you.

Princess sold them their old ships and they were refurbished and are in great shape. But find the staff and fellow-passengers make a big difference in cruise lines.

 

Wasn't dissing my hispanic brethren (or my daughter-in-law whose maiden name was Gutierrez). Just advising.

They would be on a par with Carnival. Lots of activities, low-end food - no, not always Italian, but a lot of Italian flavor to it - a maybe par with Norwegian.

Lower than Royal and way down from Princess or Celebrity

Benefit? CHEAP. You can get a great deal as they are just emerging in the US market.

Check with:
cruisereviews.com
cruisereport.com

Pick a line and a ship and then read all the reviews in 2004 of that ship. You will find some repeated negatives (smelled of urine or diesel; food was cold, not fresh; surly attitude).

Of course, mostly the UNhappy campers and those with the spiritual gift of criticism (like me) take time to vent. So weigh it.

For ANY ship.

 

Carnival is a great line and you get what you pay for. It is "low end" cruising. Now, don't get me wrong, because ANY cruise is FABULOUS!!

But Carnival is known as a "party" ship - lots of activities geared to young adult. Risque, heavy booze, heavy music, etc. Food is good but not level of many other lines. Same with entertainment, cabins, service, etc etc

Go to http://www.cruisereviews.com/CarnivalCruiseLines/
or
http://www.cruisereport.com/company.asp?comp_id=508&pita=704&mb=&src=

 

Never met a cruise kitchen I didn't like!

 

Hmmmm. The Travel Industry experts seem to disagree. They describe the "Spirit" class ships as "The Rolls Royce of Cruise Ships."

The food on Carnival, in my experience, is far superior to that on Royal Caribbean or even Holland American.

Now I have to strongly disagree! The cabins on Carnival ships are, on average, 30% larger than cabins on comparable lines such as Royal Caribbean. The standard balcony cabin on Royal Caribbean is 188 square feet. Inside cabins average 160 square feet in size. The smallest cabin on the Carnival "Spirit" class ships is 186 square feet and the standard outside cabin is 220 square feet.

The Independent Travel Agents ratings average out to "Superior +" rating for Carnival Spirit class ships.

As an experienced cruiser averaging 3 cruises per year I find that Carnival (or one of its subsidiaries) is the best cruise line for the money spent.

As for Costa, it is an old shipping company dating back to the 1860s. It entered the passenger business in the 1940s. When airplanes made the passenger ship obsolete Costa converted its passenger ships to cruise ships. The present fleet, consisting of the Costa Fortuna, Costa Mediterranea, Costa Atlantica, Costa Victoria, Costa Romantica, Costa Classica, Costa Allegra, Costa Marina, Costa Europa, and Costa Tropicale are considered some of the best ships in the cruise market. Costa is considered "the jewel in the crown of Mediterranean operators" and that opinion is reflected in the cost of a Costa cruise.

As with all of Carnival's subsidiary lines, Carnival, Holland America, Princess, Seabourn, Windstar, P & O Cruises, Cunard Line, Ocean Village, Swan Hellenic, AIDA, Costa, the customer is always right and pampered beyond belief.

On the other hand, Royal Caribbean, and its subsidiary, Celebrity, is, in my opinion, the dog of the cruise industry. I have been on several RC cruises and was disappointed with all of them. The ships were dirty, the food was mediocre, the cabins were small, and the staff were surly and uncooperative, and the equipment was in poor repair.

I will stick to Carnival and its subsidiaries. They do an outstanding job and reflect the very best the industry has to offer.

 

My wife and I have sailed with Holland America several times, on the Ryndam and the Oosterdam. I agree! The cabins are HUGE, the staff is wonderful, and the evening shows are much better than the "Las Vegas" style you get on other cruise lines. On our last cruise there was a concert pianist who did a wonderful job including (gasp) a medley of favorite old hymns of the faith!

I will also agree that they cater to older people. My wife and I are not spring chickens but we got the impression we might have been the youngest people aboard, and we are both members of AARP!

And they are a little more expensive then the other cruise lines, but it is well worth it. And after you become a regular the "past cruiser" discounts make cruising with Holland America very affordable.

 

LOL! We do that now and then too. When we pull into port on the last day, prior to getting off, we check with the purser to see of there are any no-shows or if the ship is not completely booked. If there is a cabin open we ask how much to stay aboard. It has usually been less than half of what we would normally pay even with our discounts. Great thing to do if you have the time.

The only problem is getting your luggage back, which was packed and removed the night before.

 

Cabin sizes according to ships architects:

Celebrity Millennium:

Min. Cabin Size Inside - 172 SF
Min. Cabin Size Outside - 172 SF
Min. Cabin Size Balcony - 222 SF

Holland America Oosterdam:

Min. Cabin Size Inside - 182 SF
Min. Cabin Size Outside - 194 SF
Min. Cabin Size Balcony - 240 SF

 

Cabin size does not a cruise make. Found that once you hit about 175 sq feet, the layout of the cabin makes little difference.

I, too, enjoy the Celebrity line better. Find that each line caters to certain types of people. And they fit my type better.

Su - I've been to Alaska on Celebrity and their route/program is superior to Princess.

 

Nobody said "cabin size makes the cruise." My facts were in response to "the equivalent stateroom on Celebrity is larger than Holland America." That is just not so.

How many cruises have you been on with Holland America?

I think so to, but the comparison was between Celebrity and Holland America.