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Note - this page contains multiple reviews.
Name: Ken Kaplan
Email: swdev@symbionx.com
Age: 41
Occupation: Executive
NumberOfCruises: 1
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Costa-Romantica
SailingDate: 2/14/99
Itinerary: Western Caribbean
FoodDiningRoom: 70
CruiseDirector: 70
CabinComfort: 85
FoodRoomService: 70
CruiseStaff: 20
CabinAmenities:
FoodLidoDeck: 70
DiningRoomService: 80
CabinQuietness: 30
FoodMidnightBuffets: 50
CabinSteward: 70
ShoreExcVariety: 70
FoodVariety: 65
DeckService: 40
ShoreExcValue: 70
GoodForHoneymoon: 30
CasinoStaff: 70
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 70
LoungeService: 50
TenderService: 80
GoodForSeniors: 80
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 70
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 65
EntertShowLounge: 70
OverallPortsofCall: 65
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 70
CruiseActivities: 70
Casino: 70
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 90
EmbarkDisembark: 70
DiscoNightclubs: 70
DeckSpace: 55
Stabilization: 80
ShopsOnBoard: 55
SpaceRatio: 70
OverallCruiseValue: 60
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 22 Feb 1999
Time: 20:21:15
Remote Name: 151.200.127.237
Remote User:
Comments
As a novice cruiser, my expectations were driven by information provided by more seasoned
cruisers. My
experience on the Costa Romantica failed most of these expectations. The food was at best
so-so. The food on
the buffets was barely palatable. The midnight buffets were perhaps the biggest food
related disappointment of
all. But the single most disappointing experience on the cruise was the staff of the ship.
With the exception of our
cabin attendant, our waiter and the bridge crew, all other staff were rude, to say the
least. A simple smile was a
rarity on this ship. These were the talk around the table and in the lounges throughout
the trip. Passenger after
passenger commented on their experiences with rudeness. The shops on board were not bad,
in selection, or
even price. However, they did explain that they would beat the price at any duty-free shop
encountered on the
excursions. This guarantee comes with a single string attached: you must provide written
documentation from the
in-port shop. Of course, none of these shops had any interest in helping us get a better
price from the ship. The
ship is their competition. The frustrating part was that the in-port shops frequently were
able to beat the price of
the on-board stores. This is a minor complaint, but one worth noting for a potential Costa
Romantica passenger.
Our accommodations were excellent, and virtually everyone on-board I spoke with,
regardless of whether they
had an inside cabin, ocean view, or a suite, seemed pleased with their rooms. We chose a
suite with a balcony. It
was top notch, but had one major fault. The room was just below the main (amid-ship) pool.
Not too far to walk,
but too close to the noise. The activities at the pool often went very early into the
morning, and in our suite it
sounded like they were bowling on our heads. To say the least, not much sleeping took
place in those cabins.
Had I known the soundproofing was so poor, I would had selected a cabin at least several
decks below the pool.
Unfortunately, the maxi-suites are all under that pool. You must select either a
mini-suite or a panoramic suite if
you want a suite.
The mini-suites are a little cheaper, but the panoramic rooms are a bit more. In either
case, it’s
worth anyone considering the Romantica to stay away from the rooms below the pool. My
girlfriend had certainly
the worst experience of all. Costa provides a cruise card to all passengers when they
embark. This card is used
to make all purchases on-board. Unfortunately, she lost her cruise card one evening in the
disco. When she
reported the loss to passenger services, they immediately cancelled her card and gave her
a new card.
Someone had picked up the card, a teenager we surmise (based on purchases) and had used it
to purchase a
soda.
Passenger services politely removed that purchase at the time they cancelled the card.
My girlfriend, being
cautious, checked back with passenger services the next day to be sure the original card
had been cancelled. It
was at that time, she found that the person that found the card had made additional
purchases. Rather then
admitting their mistake in failing to cancel the original card, they accused her of
continuing to use the old card, a
card that should have been unusable! Then they refused to remove the additional charges
till they spoke with
the shops involved in these additional purchases. To make matters worse, when they did
check, one of the
purchases was made by a gentleman saying it was a surprise for his wife. Why they would
believe a husband
would use his wife’s card to surprise her (I suppose that would be a surprise) is
beside me, but then they called
me and accused me of making that purchase. But of course, I had my own card, and well my
response is
obvious.
My girlfriend was fighting this battle up until the moment we disembarked. Costa needs
to train its
people better, both on customer services and on their card system. I rated the ports only
fair, as I wasn’t pleased
with the port of Montego Bay, Jamaica. I would suggest avoiding it at all cost. It is
poverty stricken, and drugs are
a mainstay of the population. We were approached to buy Marijuana on at least 4 occasions,
and we were only
there 7 hours. Fortunately we were so happy with Grand Cayman it helped us forget how
miserable Montego Bay
was. We did a snorkel trip in Cozumel so we didn’t see enough to really judge the
people or the town. If you don’t
speak German, Italian or Spanish fluently, expect to have communications problems on the
Costa Cruise line.
Most staff members had a very limited English speaking ability.
Questions about menu items, or requests were
often misunderstood. If you’re multi-lingual, you should be fine in this category. I
consider this a minor item, but
worth noting. One last gripe, we selected the late seating to give us more time when we
were in port shopping or
on an excursion. The Costa brochure listed late seating as 8:30pm. When we boarded we
found it was 9:15pm.
By the time we finished dinner it was always after 11:00pm. Maybe we’re not
Continental, but that was simply too
late for us. Unfortunately, the other food options, buffet or snacks, were very
disappointing. We often missed part
of the evening show because we were so late from dinner. I’m sure this is an
accommodation to the large number
of European passengers and the fact that Costa is a European line. The early seating is
7:00, and will usually
give you plenty of time as you always have to be back on the ship before this time. Of
course, unless you like
eating this late. And if you’re at all interested in the midnight buffet, you had to
skip the late dinner, they nearly
run together. Most of the other people we spoke with would not cruse Costa again.
Name: Shelagh Yospur
Email: syospur@bcm.tmc.edu
Age: 60
Occupation: Sr. Director of Publications
NumberOfCruises: 9
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Costa-Romantica
SailingDate: 1/10/99-1/17/99
Itinerary: Eastern Caribbean
FoodDiningRoom: 85
CruiseDirector: 60
CabinComfort: 90
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 80
CabinAmenities: 90
FoodLidoDeck: 85
DiningRoomService: 90
CabinQuietness: 40
FoodMidnightBuffets: 80
CabinSteward: 90
ShoreExcVariety: 70
FoodVariety: 80
DeckService: 85
ShoreExcValue: 70
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff: 70
PrivateIsland: 85
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService: 85
TenderService: 85
GoodForSeniors: 80
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges:
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 80
OverallPortsofCall: 75
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside:
CruiseActivities: 80
Casino: 80
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 90
EmbarkDisembark: 80
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace: 90
Stabilization: 90
ShopsOnBoard: 80
SpaceRatio: 90
OverallCruiseValue: 75
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 23 Feb 1999
Time: 10:11:09
Remote Name: 128.249.208.25
Remote User:
Comments
Of the nine cruise ships that we have experienced, the Costa Romantica is probably the
newest and most
comfortable. Our cabin, which was not overly expensive, was the largest we've ever had,
with more than
adequate storage space. The dining room service was very good and the food was fine--not
as good as some
other cruises, but certainly acceptable. We were impressed with the deck areas that
included several ways to
relax--the whirlpools were very nice--and it was never difficult to find an available
chair. There was great potential
for this to be an excellent cruise--a potential that was not realized. I think part of the
problem was caused by the
clash between the large number of English speaking passengers and the crew and staff, few
of whom spoke
fluent English. They tried very hard, but missed many of the nuances of the English
language that are so
important to good communication. Thus, when we tried to complain about the incredible
noise and shaking in our
cabin each time the ship arrived at or departed from a port, it took all week to get
someone to take notice, by
which time it was too late. We have always felt that much of the success of a cruise
depends on the cruise
director and his/her staff. On the Costa Romantica, the cruise director was virtually
invisible except for a few
hours in the evening. Also, touring one of the ports of call--San Juan--was ruined and a
complete waste of
money, since we arrived in the evening and the entire tour of the city took place in the
dark when it was virtually
impossible to see any of the sights properly. There were many things about the Costa
Romantica that we felt
made it a passenger unfriendly ship. If this had been our first cruise, we might have
assumed that this was the
way it was supposed to be--but we had numerous sources for comparison and know that it
could be better. Such
a lovely ship but a cruise that left us knowing that we would never take another Cost
Cruise. When we returned, I
wrote to Costa Cruises to voice my disappointment, because if they do not hear from
unhappy customers, they
will never know that something is wrong. Of course, I have not received a reply to my
letter--but why am I not
surprised?
Name: Gary O'Hara
Email: garyo@midkan.com
Age: 53
Occupation: Dentist
NumberOfCruises: 15
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Costa-Romantica
SailingDate: 032899
Itinerary: western Carribbean
FoodDiningRoom: 66
CruiseDirector: 82
CabinComfort: 88
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 87
CabinAmenities: 85
FoodLidoDeck: 72
DiningRoomService: 85
CabinQuietness: 80
FoodMidnightBuffets: 75
CabinSteward: 88
ShoreExcVariety: 88
FoodVariety: 69
DeckService: 82
ShoreExcValue: 80
GoodForHoneymoon: 80
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 80
LoungeService:
TenderService: 85
GoodForSeniors: 81
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 80
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 80
OverallPortsofCall: 80
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 77
CruiseActivities: 79
Casino:
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 92
EmbarkDisembark: 80
DiscoNightclubs: 79
DeckSpace: 82
Stabilization: 82
ShopsOnBoard: 80
SpaceRatio: 80
OverallCruiseValue: 77
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 10 Apr 1999
Time: 16:30:58
Remote Name: 206.53.127.134
Remote User:
Comments
I would like to take a moment to tell you about our experience on our cruise aboard the
Romantica. My family and I are
frequent cruisers and this was our second time aboard the Romantica. Our overall experince
was that we had a very fun trip
with good service and we enjoyed the islands we visited with the exception that the food
aboard ship was really quite another
matter. It did not matter what main dinner items we ordered, they were all really quite
poorly prepared and the four of us
were all disappointed to have such ordinary food on a cruise. There were some exceptions
in that the bread was good
although almost always just white rolls and some salads and a few soups were good. The
bakery items very pretty and some
of them were good. This quality of food was certainly not our experience in the past and
the first class meal served on the
American flight on the way home made me realize that there was a vast gulf between the
meals on ship and those even on
my airplane. I would have never believed that I would say airplane food was not only
better but a lot better than that on a
cruise. I can honestly say that only one meal on our cruise was better than ordinary food
here in any restarant in Salina,
KS., and it is a fact that the steak would be better in almost any restarant here. The
only good meal I had was fresh grouper
which was taken on in Jamaica. The steaks were all very tough. This is a small town
therefore I can't imagine the ship food
not being at least as good. I will say the waiters and everyone on board tried hard to
please except that our waiter made us
feel bad if we ordered more than one main course but he always told us he would bring
another. The problem was that
nothing I ordered as a main course was really very good (and we all tried to share main
courses to see if something else was
better but to no avial). The steaks were very tough even when ordered rare, and my
swordfish was very small, thin, dry,
overcooked and very salty which made me glad it was so small. The shrimp in all the shrimp
dishs was mushy in consistency.
I have never had that on any other cruise line in the past. I fear that our previous
crusies on Royal Carribbean, Princess and
Celebrity, Norwegian, and others have all had better dining experiences and so we were
very disappointed in the food. We
go on two or three a year and will be on a Royal Carribbean this summer to Norway but I
know if no changes are forthcoming
we will not be back to Costa. For our family food is a big part of the cruise experince.
One item that Costa did for our kids
was to offer a book that could be used for any virgin mixed or soda drinds that cost about
$30 for twenty drinks so my two
kids really enjoyed a special treat when they wanted to and my wife and I felt the drinks
were very reasonable. They were
very well prepared and tasty as well. Our cabin attenant was very thorough and friendly
and our room was nice with a bigger
than usual bathroom. We did our own tours on Cozumel and in Montego Bay and we had a lot
of fun snorkeling. Both areas
offer quite a few fish and beautiful coral. Jamaica is a beatiful island extremely poor
however they had a very effecient bus
that ran you into town for a flat rate of $3 and our driver picked us up right on the
agreed schedule although there were
other drivers around the shopping and beach area. The String Ray City on Grand Caymen
Island should not be missed for a
unique experience that everyone will always remember. It takes a while to get used to the
idea but it was great fun and a
unique experience. Bon Voyage
Name: Mark Pollitt
Email: mpollitt@home.com
Age: 47
Occupation: Manager
NumberOfCruises: 18
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Costa-Romantica
SailingDate: 4/28/99
Itinerary: Western Caribbean
FoodDiningRoom: 65
CruiseDirector: 60
CabinComfort: 90
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 70
CabinAmenities: 90
FoodLidoDeck: 75
DiningRoomService: 40
CabinQuietness: 75
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 95
ShoreExcVariety: 90
FoodVariety: 60
DeckService: 75
ShoreExcValue: 70
GoodForHoneymoon: 50
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 70
LoungeService: 75
TenderService: 95
GoodForSeniors: 50
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 75
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 85
EntertShowLounge: 85
OverallPortsofCall: 80
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 50
CruiseActivities: 60
Casino:
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities: 0
ShipCleanliness: 80
EmbarkDisembark: 80
DiscoNightclubs: 70
DeckSpace: 60
Stabilization: 100
ShopsOnBoard: 65
SpaceRatio: 60
OverallCruiseValue: 50
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 13 Apr 1999
Time: 20:43:32
Remote Name: proxy2-external.twsn1.md.home.com
Remote User:
Comments
This was our 18th cruise. We have sailed on a variety of ships and lines. With the
exception of a weekend cruise on the old
Britannis, this was the worst! The overall sense that one got was that the entire crew,
from the Captain on down, was
exhausted. None of the crew smiled and none gave way to the passengers. Even given the
language barrier, their behavior
was aloof, bordering on rude. It was as though courtesy was too much effort.
Embarkation proceeded smoothly and our luggage arrived promptly in our cabin. Many others
were not so lucky. We found
a number of people shopping for clothes in Key West the following day to replace lost
luggage. The cabin was fairly large
with pleasant amenities. The cabin was pleasantly free of significant ship/mechanical
noises. There is not a lot of
soundproofing between cabins, however. We then made our way to the buffet for some lunch.
We were very encouraged by
the fish and pasta offered. Unfortunately, this proved to be the best meal of the week.
We requested, and were assigned, First Seating. There was a group of 9 of us that had
booked together and we sat down
to a good-sized table in the middle of the dining room. There was little space surrounding
our table and we observed many
tables made for six people that accommodated eight. We counted ourselves lucky. From the
first night, our waiter was
behind the curve and seemed overwhelmed. His (our) busboy was lethargic. In fact, we got
more attention from the Maitre'd
than the busboy. The busboy got the flu the first night, and we were without a busboy for
the next several days. This put the
waiter even farther behind. In fact, while we were always prompt in our arrival to the
table, we were almost always the last to
leave. The waiter did not seem to be able to serve a complete course to the entire table.
If you were at the end of his table
rotation, you were likely to get your course served with the next course for the rest of
the table. We were never presented
with a dessert menu, but the special dessert of the day was delivered without asking. I
assume that it was too much trouble
to ask what we wanted. The meat courses were generally tough and tasteless. The
fish/seafood was generally mush and
tasteless. The pastas were excessively al dente (that is tough), over spiced and dripping
in olive oil. When the busboy
returned to duty, I had to ask the maitre'd to keep him away from the table until he had a
bath. He smelled like he hadn't
showered for a week. The maitre'd apologized the next day and said that the busboy had
been afraid to take a bath since
getting sick!
The buffet service wasn't much better. The lido deck is small and the inside restaurant
suffers from being very warm and
humid. The staff doesn't seat you, carry your tray, take away dirty dishes or ask if you
need anything. The tables are
arranged outboard and consist of two, two seat tables pushed together. They are so tightly
packed that it is impossible to
get out of the inside seats.
The entertainment was good, as far as it went. Costa gets its money's worth from its
staff. The orchestra, lounge singers,
dancers and stage singers was used for everything. The lounge singers left their lounges
for 15 minutes at a time to do a
number in the stage show. The show lounge singers were also used for lounge singers.
Around the deck, they played some
unidentifiable rock music when the catatonic steel band wasn't playing.
The purser's desk was of little help. I made an inquiry concerning a gift that was paid
for by my travel agent. While they
promised to check, they quickly responded that they do not provide that kind of gift
unless you are on a certain package. I
needed change for a cab in Mexico and was told that the purser's office was out of change
and the Mexican cab drivers all
have change. Not a very appropriate choice.
The ship seemed to be over-crowded. There was little space to move around. The passenger
mix was extremely wide, with a
majority of non-English speakers. The common areas of the ship are sheathed in marble.
This combination made for a very
noisy environment.
I had two major safety concerns. The first was displayed at the lifeboat drill. This
exercise was held on the afternoon of the
second day. While technically meeting the requirement of the first 24 hours, we had
already sailed through some of the most
crowded sea-lanes. The manner in which it was conducted gave rise to further concerns. No
roll call was taken. Explanations
of proper lifejacket use were done in five different languages with demonstrations in all
but English. No control of either
passengers or crew was even attempted during the long repetitions of instructions in the
various languages. Once it had
been completed in a language, all the people that spoke that language began talking to
each other. The overall lack of
discipline gave me tremendous concern in the event of a real emergency.
My second concern related to the ship's Medical Department. I had occasion to consult the
ship's Doctor for a sinus
infection. The Doctor spoke virtually no English and the nurse didn't appear to know
enough medicine to properly translate. I
was taking an antibiotic with which the staff was not familiar and they did not have a
Physician's Desk Reference to look it
up! If I were truly sick, I suspect that I would be in real trouble.
In summary, the only reason to recommend this ship was the smoothest ride that I have ever
seen. We however, will never
choose to try it again.
Name: Maureen
Email: mo21352@aol.com
Age: 47
Occupation: Secretary/Office Manager
NumberOfCruises: 6
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Costa-Romantica
SailingDate: April 18, 1999
Itinerary: Eastern Caribbean
FoodDiningRoom: 0
CruiseDirector: 79
CabinComfort: 100
FoodRoomService: 70
CruiseStaff: 80
CabinAmenities: 99
FoodLidoDeck: 0
DiningRoomService: 100
CabinQuietness: 0
FoodMidnightBuffets: 0
CabinSteward: 99
ShoreExcVariety: 80
FoodVariety: 0
DeckService: 89
ShoreExcValue: 89
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff: 89
PrivateIsland: 89
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService: 89
TenderService: 89
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 80
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 89
EntertShowLounge: 90
OverallPortsofCall: 80
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 60
CruiseActivities: 10
Casino: 89
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 100
EmbarkDisembark: 90
DiscoNightclubs: 79
DeckSpace: 89
Stabilization: 90
ShopsOnBoard: 90
SpaceRatio: 90
OverallCruiseValue: 79
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 26 Apr 1999
Time: 11:07:02
Remote Name: spider-wj042.proxy.aol.com
Remote User:
Comments
Getting on the ship was done nicely, there was no need to stand in a long line waiting to
board the ship, we were given a
number and we could sit and wait until our number was called, then we had to line up this
was nice. We were then escorted
into another area where our tickets were checked in and we received our ship board credit
card then we had to take an
escalator up to board the ship. We were then served warm terrible orange juice while we
waited to board the ship. We then
boarded the ship and were escorted to our rooms. The room was a very nice spacious room
with a nice size port hole
window, we were on the 4th deck, this was also a nice area. Our Cabin Steward was very
nice and anything that I requested I
received, however they do not enclude ice water in the room when I asked the cabin steward
for it he told me to call room
service and they would bring it up. However after requesting water it never appeared. I
then told the Cabin Steward what
happened and withing 15 minutes I had Ice water in the room and he kept it filled for the
whole cruise. We purchase the
Anniversary Package for $99 extra it is well worth it. We had Champagne, Appitizers, a
Tropical Flower Arangement, a red
rose on my pillow, 2 Long White Costa Terry Cloth Robes, We were also invited to a
cocktale party for Honeymooners and
Anniversary Couples with the captain were we were given an Amore certificate and a picture
with the captain, a beautiful
Silver Picture Frame and a certificate for a complimentry formal portrait and a basket of
fruit that was filled daily in our room.
I recommend anyone celebrating either an Anniversary or Honeymoon to get this it is a nice
touch. However after that things
went down hill from here. There was nothing done on time on this ship, everything was
constently late. Everything that was
said was said in five languages, which made things long and drawnout. On our first day out
was a full day at sea, normally I
love those days because there is so much to do, however not on this ship, it turned out to
be a very boring day at sea with
really not much to do aside from an occasional dance lesson by the pool, if you waited to
long to go to the pool or jacuzzi
there was no place to sit, space was at a minimum. The following day we were not due to
pull into port (San Juan Puerto
Rico) at 8PM so we had almost a full day at sea again. Again there was practically nothing
to do they did a cute skit by the
pool and gave some dance lessons but other than that there was nothing to do. And again
space was limited at the pool and
jacuzzi. Most of the Cruise Directors Crew were multi linqual with a foreign language
being there main language mostly Italian
which sometime made it hard to communicate with them but by the end of the conversation I
think we all understood what
was being said. But it did make it difficult to converse. There were also many rude crew
members something I have never
had to deal with on any cruise I have went on. Dinner was another matter completely. Our
diningroom staff at first seemed
like they were going to be rather stand offish however we were wrong. Our Waiter Yuri was
wonderful he was funny and
delightful we really enjoyed his company. Our MaitreD Guido was also wonderful he was
funny and accomodated any special
request we had he himself prepared us special pasta's on some nights and also made us
canolli's special when I inquired
when they would be serving them. They were delicious and our table was a table for 6 so he
made us 12 so we could take
one apiece back to the room for a snack later. Our busboy was vertually non existant he
was never there to fill our ice tea
glasses or coffee cups and even water we had to beg to get refills or extra lemon. On all
the cruises I have been on after the
first night they new what we drank and it was brought to us as soon as we sat down, this
did not happen on this cruise till the
last night. The overall food was terrible the food was almost the same each night it was
always mostly italian. ( I am Italian) I
love Italian food however this was not good Italian food, except when Guido made us
special pasta's that he prepared. One
night we had Lazana it was terrible it tasted like Chef Boy R Dee. We had Lamb one night
it tasted terrible it was tough and
very gamey tasting leading me to beleave it was mutton. Another night we had Filet Mignon
it was tough and tasted terrible.
We had lobster tails another night that was over done and very dry. The night we had a
fish dish it was suppose to be a filet
of snapper however there were so many small bones in it I gave up and pushed it aside.
This went on with every dinner the
meats were tough and not tasty or bones in the fish. When ever they served something with
mixed seafood like a stuffed
tomatoe with seafood filling or Linguini with seafood sauce the sauce contained oysters,
whole squid with the tenticles and
eyes and head intact. This was a definate turn off. So the food was Terrible....The
breakfast and lunch buffet was always
cold I would assume they needed to raise the tempreture on there steam tables. They always
had an omlet station for the
breakfast buffet. The omlets were good but everything they cook in cooked in olive oil
which makes it greasy by the end of
the cruise I had enough olive oil to last me awhile, also anything you ordered with cheese
(omlets etc.) were all made with
mozerella cheese not cheddar or american cheese, I would rather have a ham and cheese
omlet with cheddar or american
not mozerella cheese. At the lunch buffet there was always a pasta station, this was
always good. The midnight buffets were
terrible they were late every night so much for the standing cruise ship joke what time is
the midnight buffet on this ship it
was usually at 12:15 - 12:30, and always the same thing nothing changed, even the Buffet
Magnific didn't start till 12:30 and
then when they let you in to take pictures they lit all the spot lights and said buffet is
now open there was no time to take the
customary pictures, and again the same food with a few different things but vertually the
same thing again. The ports of call
were ok except for San Juan it is terrible to get in at 8PM there is nothing to do. There
were two shore excursions available a
Flamingo Show which was cancelled at the last minute, and San Juan under the stars tour
which we took. However all we did
was sit on a bus and here about the beautiful sights all of which were closed because it
was so late, each thing that the tour
guide pointed out he told us was open from 5AM to 5PM that we should come back in the
daytime to enjoy there city,
something we already knew and did not need to be reminded of constantly. St Thomas,and
Nassau were all nice with plenty
to do. Serena Cay (there private island) was nice however I never saw or did any of the
activities they said they would be
doing. Again there was a buffet with pasta available, unfortunatly all the hot food was
cold again. The shows were good
except for the magician he stunk but the other shows were good, except the last show there
was only one show so space
was limited due to all passengers were at the same show. There are also columns in the
show room so if you get a seat
behind one you cannot see a thing. So you must get there early to get a seat. All in All
this was the worst cruise I have went
on. Usually I need a vacation after I get back from my cruise but this cruise was good for
relaxing cause there was nothing
much to do. I would not cruise Costa Cruise Lines again. There is not enough to do the
food is terrible. They do have a
beautiful Ship with nice size rooms but it all ends there.
Happy Sailing all Maureen MO21352@aol.com
Name: Janine
Email: jmcgrath76@hotmail.com
Age: 41
Occupation: Accounting Coordinator
NumberOfCruises: 1
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Costa-Romantica
SailingDate: 4/4/99
Itinerary: Western Caribbean
Cabin: 4085/amsterdam deck
FoodDiningRoom: 50
CruiseDirector: 85
CabinComfort: 90
FoodRoomService: 65
CruiseStaff: 70
CabinAmenities: 90
FoodLidoDeck: 50
DiningRoomService: 50
CabinQuietness: 90
FoodMidnightBuffets: 70
CabinSteward: 50
ShoreExcVariety:
FoodVariety: 50
DeckService: 80
ShoreExcValue:
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff: 80
PrivateIsland: 80
GoodForFamilies: 85
LoungeService:
TenderService: 90
GoodForSeniors: 85
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 80
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 70
EntertShowLounge: 80
OverallPortsofCall: 90
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 85
CruiseActivities: 85
Casino: 85
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 95
EmbarkDisembark: 95
DiscoNightclubs: 85
DeckSpace: 95
Stabilization: 90
ShopsOnBoard: 85
SpaceRatio: 90
OverallCruiseValue: 85
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 05 Nov 1999
Time: 20:51:50
Remote Name: 1cust243.tnt2.atl1.da.uu.net
Remote User:
Comments
This was our first cruise. We have two children 10 & 14. We were originally booked on
the Enchantment of the Seas but
it broke down three weeks before our sailing date and the cruise was cancelled. It was
next to impossible to find another
ship with availability at the last minute but at a friends recommendation we called Costa.
We were given an excellent
fare with a free upgrade to an outside cabin.
The good stuff:
We really had an excellent time overall. Good, family oriented feel to the ship. The kids
hooked up with other kids
through the children & teen program and we barely saw them during the days at sea.
Even though it was spring break,
the ship seemed very uncrowded and we were always able to get a deck chair even by the
pool. There were four hot
tubs at the rear of the ship that had a beautiful view of the sea. The entertainment was
OK. I give the dancers and
singers a A for effort. The gave a great show with what they had to work with. We loved
the Costa Romantica song that
everyone (the cast & audience) sang after each performance. There was even had a Costa
Cruise Line song and a
dance that went with it that the kids learned.
Cabin: It was a much larger cabin than the one we had booked with RC plus it had a window.
It had two bunks in
addition to the lower beds. The bathroom was large and had a great shower. We never felt
cramped unless we were all
trying to get ready at the same time. The in room safe was a great addition.
Dining Areas: Since we booked at the last minute we were on standby for the early dining.
When we embarked we were
happy to find out we got it. The only drawback is that we were at a table for 4 and would
have preferred a large table to
meet more people. We were in a side dining room that was very nice and much quieter than
the main dining room. The
open air casual dining at the back of the ship was our most favorite spot. It had a huge
canopy and wicker furniture. We
ate the buffet breakfasts and lunches there. In the evening we went there so my husband
could smoke a cigar.
Kids Activities: There was not a specific room for the kids our childrens ages but Costa
was very resourceful in
scheduling the activities in the lounges that were not used during the day. The counselors
were energetic and the kids
had fun. They had supervised activities until 10 pm and let the teens use the disco until
midnight.
Ports: Puerto Rico-Unfortunately, the ship arrived around 5:00 PM (ahead of schedule!) but
it left very little time for
sightseeing. The historic sites were closed so we walked around Old San Juan for a couple
of hours. It is too bad they
can't get there any earlier since the city was very interesting and it would have been a
great place to spend a day. St.
Thomas: We wanted to go to Trunk Bay at St. John. We skipped the expensive shore excursion
and took a taxi ro Red
Hook, took the ferry to St. John and took another taxi to the beach. It was beautiful,
uncrowded, the perfect beach.
Great underwater snorkling trail. We brought our own gear but they rent it there and they
also rent beach chairs. There
are changing rooms, showers and a snack bar. The taxi driver met us (at a pre-arranged
time) and took us back to the
ferry. The ferry ride was fun and the scenery was beautiful. Our original taxi driver on
St. Thomas picked us up(as we
had also pre-arranged it with him) and drove us to town for some shopping and for my
daughter to get some hair
braids. Make sure to bargin, we got the whole top of her head for 12.00.
Serena Cay, Dominican Republic: The first info we got from the ship was DONT DRINK THE
WATER and WE ARE NOT
AFFILIATED WITH THE VENDORS ON THE BEACH. We were not sure what to expect but it was
pretty nice. The beach
was small, not as clear as Trunk Bay. My son had fun haggeling with the vendors. My
daughter got the rest of her hair
braided. My husband and I beached it for the day. It was very relaxing.
Nassau: OK, but we like secluded beaches and since the ship didn't get into port until
after 12:00PM we only had time
for some shopping and a trip to Cable Beach, which was crowded.
The not so good stuff:
Food: Ok, this is an Italian Cruise line. I'm Italian. I'm going to eat like a queen.
Guess what, I actually LOST weight on
this cruise. The food was TERRIBLE! The bread was hard as a rock. One night my husband
ordered (by mistake)
Tangerine Soup. It was MELTED SHERBERT! This was on the dinner menu. The broths were all
salt and not much else.
My filet mignon was gamy (bad?). The lobster tail was tough, fishy and dry. The lunch
buffets were the same every day,
bad. The only good thing was the cooked to order pasta. Breakfast was save by the cooked
to order eggs. I love
proscuitto ham and I got my fill of it, it was at breakfast, lunch, dinner and the
buffets. The food is the main reason we
would probably not go on this cruise line again
Fitness Center: Center? Oh, it was a bedroom size room with 2 treadmills and a few
machines. The two times I tried to
use it there was a long wait so I left. There were some aerobic classes held in the disco,
but I was working hard on my
tan so being inside wasn't an option.
Crew: Our waiter was on his last week after being of the ship for 7 months. He could not
have cared less about service.
His assistant was very quiet and not too friendly. Our cabin steward spent a lot of time
telling us her personal life. She
set up the bunks for the kids the first night and never put them away in the wall saying
she had a bad back. Her
assistant did not speak any english so he was no help if we needed something. Even the
captain was not very friendly
when we saw him walking around the ship. One morning, after keeping the breakfast bar open
until 10:00 every other
day, they decided to close it at 9:30. There was a revolt by the hungry passengers and
they kept cooking eggs until
almost everyone got one. That was plain stupidity on their part. We were even told that
morning to take our time since
they didn't want everyone trying to get on the tender boats at the same time. I agree with
another reviewer that the crew
seemed exhausted. I guess there are no labor laws at sea and many of the crew we asked
told us the worked 10-15
hours a day seven days a week.
Would we on Costa again? Probably not, because of the poor food. Are we going to cruise
again? Definately, we are
using the credit we got from our canceled cruise to go again this April. This time we are
going on Celebrity and based
on the reviews from this site, we are going to have a blast!
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