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Costa Cruise Line

MS CostaFortuna

Your Rating:
Reviewed by: S. Oldus
# previous cruises: 5
Date of Trip: July 24, 2005
Itinerary: Mediterranean

Low rating on this cruise ship. Too many people smoking, food was not good, and service was mediocre. This is a glorified ferry taking you to the destinations. The only good thing about this cruise was the ports of Sicily, Naples, Barcelona, Majorca and Tunis. Stunning places and worth putting up with the bad service on the ship.

Public areas were smokey. Although Costa apparently has restricted smoking areas, these were not enforced. If you are a smoker, this cruise line will suit you. If you are not, it will be unpleasant. Casino was fine. Just your typical casino room. Pool was salt water. Kids didn't like it. There was not special lounge I liked because they all smelled of smoke.

Food service was not good. In the dining room, meals were mixed up and wrong. Half the table got their entrees and finished eating while the rest of the table waited for their first course. Chef couldn't cook beef to save his life. Always overdone and tough and the prawns were mushy. Waiters seemed like they were on auto pilot, no personality or desire to find out our likes and dislikes. Desserts were good, but how can you get those wrong? The buffet was overcrowded and dirty. Tables were cleared but not wiped clean for sanitary purposes. The omelette chef is in amongst the buffet line so it took FOREVER to get just an omelette. They really need a separate omelette bar. Food was mediocre in the buffet too.

Cabins were no different than any other cruise line. We had a balcony cabin. Standard narrow single beds. A small couch to sit on, although it was stained and dirty. Enough closet and drawer space. Bathroom was standard with a reasonably good sized shower. Cabin attendant was the best staff member on the ship. Did his job well. Although on other cruise lines, little towel animals were made as well as chocolates were placed on our pillows. Don't get that on the Costa Fortuna. Our cabins (6330 and 6334) were over the grand bar so we were kept awake until 2:30 a.m. each night with loud music and noise. If you chose to go on this cruise, get a room on level 7 or higher!!!

We attended one show. A Caribbean drummer group was good. We always find these song and dance shows kind of hokey and high-school'ish. Same on all the cruises. It just isn't our thing. It seems like the older generation (50+) seem to like these shows. In my opinion, it doesn't appeal much to the 20-45 age group.

No much to do on the ship, but the itinerary was busy. A port each day. Sicily, Naples, Majorca, Barcelona, Tunis and Marceille. These are worth putting up with the poor service on the ship. This trip is all about the ports of call.

Passengers were mainly European. We found a lot of them (not all) to be pushy, loud and chain smokers. Not many adhered to the rules of the ship. The children were allowed to run around the dining room throwing napkins around, sliding on window sills and generally being rude and disrespectful. My children were constantly dealing with children in the arcade begging them for tokens and money and pushing their way on the games. We heard that there were children found in the buffet area sleeping on the booths at 6:00 a.m. Where are their parents???