I am planning a western carribbean trip
on costa cruises in april.
i would like to receive some feedback on
the ambience and service of the cruise.
i've been told that there is usually a heavy
contingent of europeans on board.

also, what is this toga party all about?

mark

My husband and I(late 40's)have been on many cruises (RCCL, Princess, Carnival). We cruised on CostaVictoria this year with our 4 teenagers. The ship is absolutely breathtaking, probably one of the most beautiful. The showroom was elegant, however, not big enough for the crowd on board, so arrive early. The lounges were good for romantic dancing. We were, however, disappointed in the food and dining service. The food was mediocre, and the service was always rushed. There were many Italians on board which didn't affect us one way or the other. There weren't many teens on board and no scheduled activities for them, which was disappointing. Even though it was beautiful ship, we will go back to RCCL!!

Oops, I forgot to tell you about the Toga party. Seems like it was the last night on board. The rooms steward deliver a sheet (hope it's big enough). The Cruise Director, who was excellent, gave Toga design instructions the night before at the show. EVERYONE wears a Toga!!!!! Like the CD said......no sheet, no eat! Sandals are all you need to complete the outfit.

Mark, I went on a Costa Cruise in March '96. We only booked this caribbean cruise on Costa four days from sailing after we found out that NCL had lost our reservation to go on a similar cruise. At any rate, even though we barely got on the ship, we thoroughly enjoyed the food, service and the cruise. Our itinerary made a stop every day, so we were very busy. If your cruise stops at that private island near the Dominican Republic, it is gorgeous. The toga party is basically held the last evening of the cruise. We were skeptical about it at first, but basically all it that happens is most people wear a sheet tied around them "toga" style to dinner. We, like most, wore ours over our clothing, but some people wore them over bare bodies. It turned out to be quite fun, actually, and it's not as big a deal as they make it seem. Yes, there were a lot of Europeans on board, the captain gives the daily messages in several languages, they serenade you with Italian music in the dining room and pasta is available (to my delight!) every meal. All in all, we were very satisfied with this cruise. I've been on Princess, Holland America, Carnival and Costa. Costa is definitely better than Carnival (who isn't?), and if Princess and Holland America (in my opinion) are a 9 on a scale of 1-10, Costa is a 6 or 7. We had no real complaints and enjoyed the cruise on the Allegra.

Please reconsider taking a Costa Cruise. We took a 12 day Mediterranean cruise in late March on the Costa Riviera. Ship was very nice looking and clean. 2/3 europeans and 1/3 US/Canadians. However, 7-8 people at our dining table had food poisoning during the cruise (not all of us at the same time(. we found the quality of the food to be very poor and the ships service to be terrible. We really felt they were inconvenienced helping us in any way. We have taken 25 plus cruises on nearly every cruiseline (never Carnival though)> A couple years ago we met a couple in Martinique who were having a miserable Costa Cruise, but we still booked this one because the ports were so fantastic - Malta, Cyprus, Olympia Greece, Jerusalem, Pompeii etc. While we loved the ports, every aspect of the cruise was a disaster.--Including dumping us at the Genoa airport at 9:30am for a 5pm flight to Rome with no accomodations for checking luggage. Do reconsider. There are many many great cruiselines out there that will give you a much better value and a better time for the $$.

This reply is way past the original planning date, but I just have to put in my two cents. My parents and I took a Mediterranean cruise on the Costa Rivera in March 1998. It was only my second cruise, but my parents have been on over twenty cruises on other lines. We were disappointed in the service, the entertainment, and the cleanliness. Would not try Costa again. <BR>