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Costa Mediterranea

Holy Land Vojage

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Holy Land Vojage	3 of 6 people found this review informative

Reviewed By: Randall, Billericay on 1st Dec 2011
Cruise Line: Costa Cruises	Times cruised before: 3-5
Cruise Ship: Costa Mediterranea	Sailed: November, 2011
Destination: Mediterranean	Age: 56-65
Cabin: Outside

We flew from Gatwick to Milan Malpensa and at the arrival airport no one from Costa was available to help us find the right transfer bus to Savona where we were to board the ship. We had to find the transfer bus from terminal two to terminal one where the transfer coach would be parked. The airport transfer buses run at frequent intervals but you have to be prepaired to haul your own luggage around. At terminal one some buses eventually arrived but with no Costa representative and no signs on the coaches. We eventually established from a driver that these were the correct coaches for the transfer even though the coach operators details on the side of the coaches were not as described in the Costa documentation. After struggling to load our own bags into the coach storage area we found there were no seats left on the coach and then a miracle happened and a Costa representative appeared and we unloaded our bags ourselves and once again loaded them onto another coach. As my wife has a broken wrist and I have lost most of the use in my left hand this lugging around of the luggage was quite unwelcome. After a two and a half hour overland journey we arrived at Savona where out luggage was taken from us and we had to wait to be processed for boarding the ship. Our luggage arrived quickly to our cabin but we were informed that we had to go to a certain area to register if we were paying by cash or cheque for on-board services. You had to take a ticket with a number on it like in a supermarket and ours was 150 away from being called. We waited one hour and there were still 100 people in front of us and they closed the registration. We were told we had 48hrs to register and the next day were able to do so at the services desk, what a fiasco. We wanted to pay by cash and I wish that we had opted to use a credit card as before disembacation it was necessary to go through the same procedure as before to get a refund of unspent money from the 150 Euro deposit per person. On the positive side the ship is very clean and the finish is very ornate with lots of mirrors and stainless steel, marble and paintings. Our outside cabin with a window was spacious with a good size on-suite. There is a wall mounted soap dispenser in the shower but that's all so best to take your own soap and shower gel. The TV is OK but only has CNBC news channel and BBC World news in English but you can hire films which I assume were in English if you wanted to. The shops on-board were expensive as is most of Europe to us poor Brits and so were the drinks from the bars. The entertainment in the ships theatre was very average however one night was would be hopefuls from the ships crew performing which was so bad several people walked out. The main restaurant was excellent with a seven course meal with choices, every evening. However coffee after your meal was not available at the table. There was one (formal evening) which was described as dressing (elegant dress). I think I was the only one with a DJ and most didn't bother which was disappointing. Breakfast was good with European and full English choices. We were only on board once for lunch which was excellent with choices of fruit and hams, burgers, chips and hot choices. Afternoon tea was also good with a large selection of cakes, teas and coffee. They are very strict about taking drinks on board which will be taken from you and retuned when you leave the ship. We were surprised that you could smoke just about everywhere on board apart from the restaurants and theatre and a lot of Europeans still smoke a lot. This was not as bad as it sounds as the ship was well ventilated so the smell of stale cigarettes was not too bad. The ships crew we found to be very polite if not very friendly. The transfer back to Savona went more smoothly. So did we enjoy the cruise, yes very much so, as it represented excellent value for money although the shore excursions were expensive and its very easy to do your own thing but you have to pay circa 7 Euros to use the transfer buses from the ports to the towns as the ship at several places docked several miles away. We would go with Costa again but only for these short cruises.
Quality of Food

Entertainment

Shore Excursions	n/a

Staff
Cabin Steward and main waiter
Children's Facilities	n/a

Onboard Activities

Cabins

Overall Rating

3 of 6 people found this review informative

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Comment by Reuben, Beverley (13 Mar 12 09:09) about this REVIEW

We are cruising on this vessel in May and are scheduled to fly to Milan (Linate) for transfer to Savona. I hope that this transfer is incident free as my better half tends to panic if she thinks we might miss a connection or worse still not get a seat on a coach! We have cruised before with Costa, last time on the Allegra, so forgetting recent disasters, if this cruise goes as well as last time, we shall not grumble.

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Comment by tenpin, Basingstoke (16 Dec 11 16:05) about this REVIEW

Very surprised no rep at airport, perhaps if you had waited a while she may have come to you, as is mainly the case with nearly every Costa cruise where there are two terminals. However good review plainly stated. If you try them again some tips might prove useful. Fly from Gatwick to Genova (may have to ask TA) BA flights take two hours with just a 35 minute coach transfer Do pay by credit card register this on deck three in a machine . As of the downturn worldwide Costa has cut down on standard items like toiletries, however thees are still available just ask room steward. Again tea/coffee is available in dinning room after evening meal BUT you must ask, I do this when ordering my meal, and it comes just before dessert normally. Do study the drinks packages offered on board and on the Costa Web site, the easy Wine/water one gives four bottles of wine and 7 water for 70 euros this can be pick up anywhere on board. Anyone considering a Costa cruise should ask questions before booking in the forums.

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Comment by Randall, Billericay (17 Dec 11 10:45) about a COMMENT by tenpin (16 Dec 11 16:05)

Thank you for your comments but I think you are wrong on several counts. We and several others on the same cruise waited for over an hour at the airport before the Costa rep appeared and she appeared not at the terminal but beside one of the coaches for the transfer and spoke very poor English. Thank you for the suggestion of flying to another airport in Italy but this was a package holiday and I suspect that to change the flight would not have been an option. We were told by the room steward that the gel in the shower cubicle was suitable for all washing applications and no soap was available. We asked the waiter at dinner for coffee after our meal and were told it had to be taken at one of the bars and we never saw anyone having coffee at their tables so maybe things have changed. Your tip regarding the wine package is a good one and we will take this on board for our next cruise. Once again thank you for your comments its good to see that my review has been read.

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Question by tenpin, Basingstoke (18 Dec 11 11:08) about a COMMENT by Randall (17 Dec 11 10:45)

Hi thanks for a good review. IN 17 Costa cruises we have always seen at least two Reps at the airport, both in the Med as well as the Caribbean. The points I made are valid, you can look up flights into Genoa then ask whichever TA you book with to ask Costa to change it. This of course depends on which day of the week you fly out & seats are available to Costa. The 'cruise only' price is the same whether you get your own flights or not, flight prices are shown in the brochure at the bottom of the page and gives Costa's price for each flight. Your waiter and room steward are both wrong and you may request any toileties including sewing kits, as well as tea/coffee in MDR. I have done three this year the last being in November on the Serena, and every time we have had coffe after the meal. Maybe my Costa Gold Pearl club card has some bearing, but even first time cruisers on the next table asked & got it. Should you ever try them again look in the forum and I will help all I can.

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