Atlantica in June
 

We have just booked with Costa for the Atlantica in June. A few questions for anyone who has sailed on Atlantica previously.<BR><BR>How "smoky" might the cabins really be? Our TA informs us there are no non-smoking cabins on this line.<BR><BR>We have two female teenagers in tow. Will there be many (any?) other teens on board or is this primarily an adult ship?<BR><BR>Shipboard laundry?<BR><BR>Do the "mini bars in each cabin" as stated in the brouchure have any room to store our own soft beverages? Two teens can really go thru the soda!<BR><BR>Any other pros, cons or advice greatly appreciated.<BR><BR>Many thanks,<BR>Kristy

Hi Kristy,<BR><BR>There will be enough teens on board for yours to meet and hang out with.<BR><BR>Most all ships, not only the Atlantica, allow smoking in the cabins but the massive filtering system gets rid of the odor as one smokes. <BR><BR>You will love the Atlantica. There is so much Murano glass on board it appears Costa bought a factory. The ship is designed so as not to confuse passengers that do not have a sense of direction.<BR><BR>I am sure you will enjoy the Italian ambiance and the decor. You will enjoy the Festa Italiana street festival and everyone wears togas for the Roman Bacchanal. Two very exciting evenings. The best at sea.<BR><BR>Enjoy.<BR><BR>Paul

Kristy,<BR><BR>The bar fridge has very limited space for what you are looking to use it for. We removed some of their items to make space.<BR><BR>The "smoking" issue is and is not a problem. We did not find the cabins smokey at all. In fact, the balcony cabins are outstanding. However, on more than one occasion we had to leave our balcony as one of our neighbours was smoking and well... Smoking in Europe is everywhere. On the ship it was distracting from time to time. But compared to the overall experience it was only minorly annoying.<BR><BR>The laundry service is quite reasonably priced. Although we did not use it ourselves. Our friends did and their only complaint was that the laundry did not come back when it was supposed to.<BR><BR>We did see children of all ages on the ship. From everything we saw and did your teenagers will find it quite the adventure.<BR><BR>The ship is amazing. The staff mostly helpful. There are no port lectures in English so try to do some research before you leave. However, the "Port Lecturer" will be available to answer you questions in English.<BR><BR>The Club Atlantica is not worth either the time or money. The food and service is not far below what you will find in a better restaurant in North America. The staff are paid a guaranteed 10% gratuity based upon what you purchase. They seemed to be constantly interested in pushing us to buy things from them as opposed to making us happy. Stick to the dining room for great service. However, the 9th floor restaurants are also a great alternative.<BR><BR>The Information Desk staff are great. Every waiter, server, porter, whatever all spoke English. We saw more than one Italian miffed that most staff did not speak Italian. Only 10% of the guests on the ship are from North America (so we were told) but we really did not notice.<BR><BR>If you want more information on ports, tips or whatever just leave me a follow-up message here and I will try to share what little I know. I would suggest using the subway in Athens as there is a station across the road from the port.<BR><BR>Bye.

Cam,<BR><BR>I am booked on Atlantica for early september. Can you (or anyone who has been on the 7 day greek island cruise)shed some light on the destination tours. ie were any of them worth doing or would we be better off on our own?

How adventurous are you? Do you have any kids with you? Are you more into sites or shopping or both? What is your itinerary? For Athens, the subway station is about a block from the ship and just about anyone will give you directions. Once you get on the subway it is a very short ride to the main sites. A good investment are the "Eyewitness Travel Guides" in addition to Fodors. The eyewitness books offer practical information such as historical background and colour pictures. My advice is to generally ignore restaurant suggestions in these guide books as we have had nothing but duds with the few that we have tried in London, Paris and Rome.<BR>

OK, Here's more info. We like to sightsee not shop. We are healthly, active, somewhat adventurous, and have done alot of sightseeing on our own. No kids. Late 30's. We haven't cruised before, so this is the trial run. We want to know about the tours offered by the cruise line in advance so we can decide whether or not we will use them or take it upon ourselves to find out what we will do "on our own" before we leave. I will list the destinations and the amount of time at each:<BR>Katakolon 8a - 2p<BR>Volos 8a - 7p<BR>Piraeus (Athens) 8a - 6p<BR>Corfu 1p - 7p<BR>Dubrovnik 8a - 2p<BR><BR>It sounds like you were on the Atlantica earlier. You didn't like the Club Atlantica for dinner? I get the impression it is nice to get away from your tablemates for the evening and just be with your spouse for dinner. Isn't there dancing at the Club Atlantica besides dinner so you really are going there for the evening, not just a meal. Your comments are appreciated.

I did enjoy the Club Atlantica (food and service) and the pianist. Sorry to say there is no dancing. I thought a better ambiance is the Cafe Florian with the Italian trio.<BR><BR>Paul

We sailed on the Atlantica in March (E. Caribbean) and LOVED it! We thought the foot was great so not quite sure what all the complaints are about. Since I'm not a gourmet cook myself, I'm pleased with most meals that I don't have to prepare myself. <BR>:-)<BR>We are going on the Atlantica in October on the Venice to Venice itinerary, so would appreciate any advice from people who have done this, especially best way to get from the airport to the ship (we are doing our own air arrangements).<BR><BR>Here's some advice that I've gotten from others on the Internet (haven't been to these ports myself, so can't vouch for the validity of the comments). The only port where we intend to take the ship's tour is Athens. I heard people say they were not impressed with the tour of Corfu and suggested just walking around Corfu town on your own. In Katakolan (Olympia) was told that the tour of Olympia was disappointing (the ruins are not nearly as well preserved as at the Acropolis), but they recommended walking around the tiny fishing village of Katakolan itself (only about 2 blocks long but with a few souvenir shops selling inexpensive trinkets and lots of charm). They also said Dubrovnik was very managable to walk around the whole town on your own -- they mentioned taking a taxi to the highest point so that you could take a photo of the town below. We had toyed with the idea of taking the Meteora tour in Volos, but it is 75 miles from Volos and you have to climb a stone staircase carved into the mountain (9 hour tour!), and we felt a little concerned about this. I have always wanted to see the 'trulli' houses near Bari in Alberberto(?) but not sure if any tours would include them. Hope this helps -- and would appreciate any who has really DONE this itinerary to post their comments.<BR><BR>Nancy

Best to take the ship's tour in Athens since many tour people are not licensed to take you up to the Acropolis. Go in the morning and in the afternoon try to visit the Plaka and see the changing of the guard at the Parliament. It is a hoot.<BR><BR>Paul

Paul - did you notice that Fodors took your cruise news post off - told you it violated Travel Talk rules! Come on now Fodorites - lets hear whether Fodor's did good or not.

They took it off because jerks like you stir everyone up and it becomes a shouting match.<BR><BR>Paul

If that were the criteria, half of these posts would be deleted. I think it was something else.

Have you noticed Peter that the threads where you complain about me are all gone. Even those where you give some viable information. Instead of deleting your trash talk the entire thread is deleted. Even those that post important questions.<BR>See what you did.<BR><BR>The slasher is at work.<BR><BR>Paul

Actually Paul, I keep a very close eye on all of the threads I reply to and the only one I've noticed recently has been your cruise news post about which MANY complained - not just me.<BR><BR>Face it Paul, Fodors won't let you post that crap anymore.