Hi
have been on 2 costa cruises and one of those was the classica
it was a 4 years ago so my memory is a bit dim im afraid...but i do remember we had a nice big cabin with a really good steward.

Food was ok but not as good as the first one ...but did have really dippy waiters so it was cold.

Met some great people and we did have a really good holiday..Costa tend to keep their staff and we met a couple of them who were on our last cruise on a different ship and they remembered us which was nice.

I do remember it being great value for money, extremley efficient and if we hadnt bought a house abroad would certainly go with Costa again,

The thing I really liked was a complete selection of nationalities and ages....and I did eat loads of fantastic pasta as it is an italian company.

There were 2 formal eves ...suit and tie, or dj, and the rest jacket and open neck shirt,

There were 2 sittings for dinner..think 6 45 and 8 45..we chose the latter as time to relax and shower after a days outing.

Didnt do the entertainment as thats not my thing just sat and chatted to friends we had met, played in the casino, and a couple of times went to the disco.

They also have an internet cafe I think

We are going on a Costa Fortuna cruise, which is an Italian ship, in February. We are sailing to the Canaries. It was one of a few special offer cruises published in the Daily Mail two weekends ago and I had no trouble at all booking it over the telephone. Has anyone sailed on this "huge" ship and any info/advise would be much appreciated.

Needless to say, can't wait to go! We had a cruise on the Emerald three years ago, around the Med, and thoroughly enjoyed that one. We stayed the second week in a 4 star hotel on Majorca, which was also very nice indeed.

Hi

We were on Thomson Spirit in June, and Costa Fortuna was next to us at Marjorca port. It looks amazing,its a huge ship and will likely take you ages to find your way round it!!!
But it does look wonderful.

Angie x

Hi

I have not sailed the Fortuna but have been on the Costa Victoria 2 years ago & the Costa Atlantica last year. The Atlantica was the biggest ship in the Costa fleet till they launched the Fortuna.
I can thoroughly recommend Costa, the ships are huge, clean, good food & entertainment and the staff are excellent. We have some friends who are on the Fortuna as we speak and they are having a brilliant time.

Have fun when you go in Feb. I will be very surprised if you don't like it

Jude

Thank you for your replies, Angie and Jude. Will get back to everyone next year!

Just to echo what others have already said. The Costa Fortuna ship was berthed near to us (we were on the Carousel) in Barcelona 2 weeks ago.

It looked simply stunning and it also looked like alot of the cabins had balconies.

We passed it on the courtesy bus to Barcelona and a number of people commented on how luxurious it looked.

Have a wonderful cruise!

Nearly time to set sail! First port of call Barcelona. Is it better to book the ship's tour or better value to do our own thing and just stroll around up the Rambla as it is our first time there? Also, as we intend to holiday in Lanzarote, I think it will be better value to just look around the main area and leave the island tour for another time. Any tips, please, about both places?

Anyone other English people from this site going on the Feb 7th cruise?

hi where the ships docks in lanza. is a little bit out of the way. it is near to the capital areciffe which is a large town, but not a holiday resort. the nearest resorts to the harbour is costa tegeese to the east and porto del carmen to the west. i should imagine you would need a taxi from the ship to either of these resorts round about 15 minute drive to get to either of the 2 resorts.the taxies are very reasonable

Its easy to do your own thing in Barcalona - ship docks near to town and you should find the tourist busses outside 16 euros for a day pass - jump on and off. I visited a lot of Gaudi sites - wonderful architecture! Park Gaudi is great also the unfinished cathederal. Busses stop near to all. Las Ramblas is great (but do keep an eye on wallets/bags - no worse than most major towns here) Also worth a visit is the catalan(?) spanish village - again on the tour bus route - excellent small shops and places to eat. Just beware that some of the bus routes are 2 hours long so make sure you get back to the ship in time (i cut it fine!)

Theres some other info in the city breaks section i think?

Have got all the thompsons info on barcalona here but not sure how to scan it in im afraid?

Alison

Hi there

As Alison suggests, it is very easy to do Barcelona yourself.

We did our first cruise last year and researched all the ports beforehand so we could do the trips ourselves. We found the organised trips very expensive, and talking to others on the ship who had gone on the organised tours, alot wished they had done it themselves. We also think it is good fun trying to work out rail/bus timetables etc abroad and even better fun experiencing the public transport as there is one thing..... they are alot cleaner and more punctual than in the UK!!

Not going on the Costa Cruise on 7th Feb, but will be going to Barcelona on 7th Feb for 3 nights!!!!

he first two times we docked at Arrecife there was no shuttle bus into the town. We walked the first time, it took an hour and we still didn't find the centre and shops! Last time there was a shuttle bus so we had a walk round the market and shops for an hour.

As the others have said, Barcelona is very easy to do on your own. The first time the ship docked at the bottom of Las Ramblas, the second time it was 20 mins away on the shuttle bus.

luci

Thank you all very much for taking the trouble to reply to my question about Barceolona and also Lanzarote. Yes, we will definitely do our own thing in Barcelona. We dock at 1pm and leave early evening so we won't have a lot of time. I think most package holiday organised trips are quite expensive but probably suit a lot of people who, for one reason or another, prefer them. We do both. If Madeira looks very misty and damp, we shan't bother with an organised trip anyway. We have to keep reminding ourselves that it is going to be February and not mid summer!

I see a lot of people have mentioned about people who put towels on loungers and then leave for hours on end. It annoys me tremendously that there are such selfish people. There's always somewhere to relax in the sunshine (bearing in mind we are constantly reminded NOT to sunbathe between 12 and 3!). I know someone who removes the towels anyway but I am not brave enough!!!!!! I suppose you could remove the towel and give them a dirty look when they appear and then move to another towel-covered seat and repeat the procedure. I might try that! Might need a couple of G&Ts first!

Thank you, Channel Islander for your very useful info. We shall be docked all day at Lanzarote so, if weather permits, shall go to one of the areas you mention, by taxi. Also, please see my general thank-you message.

We are going on the Costa Magica on February 22. Has anyone been on it and can they tell me anything about it?

hi bazil dont know much about costa cruises but here is their website http://www.costacruise.com hope this helps

sorry havent been on this ship, but have been on 2 costa cruises and both times, were really enjoyable, with both good food and service.

Given the chance would certainly go again with them..there was a good mix of ages and nationalities, and both times we made great friends.

A friend? Honest! Has booked to go on Costa Atlantica in November, around the Med. Has children and disabled elderly parents. Has now heard it is a party ship, and will only get piece and quiet when everyone else is off the ship on excersions. The company wont denigh this claim and said she didnt ask when booking???

Has anyone heard of this, or been on this ship/cruise. She is really worried and may loose 30% if she cancels. £2000!!!! Many thanks.

Hi denz and welcome to HT!

The Costa Atlantica may be a party ship in the height of the season, but I imagine it would be a lot quieter in November. I haven't been on this ship and am only guessing.

luci

Has anybody ever cruised with Costa??

We saw some of their ships in the Med recently and they look absolutely fabulous. They also have a fantastic website and you can see excellent pics of all areas of the ships. They look stunning. They also do some really nice itineraries.

However reviews are hard to find. We did find some which were not too complimentary but all these were from American cruisers. Would love to hear of any Brits that have travelled with this company. Complaints seemed to be about food, service, public areas being very smoky, rudeness of other passengers and finally no hand cream in the bathroom!!!!