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The WORST Cruise I've Taken (As Rated by Cruise Critic Reviews)
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- Опубликовано: 21 фев 2021
- I took a cruise that was rated 2.9/5*'s on Cruise Critic. The user rating makes it the 'WORST' cruise I've ever taken. But was it really? In this video, we will find out!
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A few years ago I was in China and did a Three Gorges Cruise where I was the only passenger to do the cruise in both directions. We arrived at Yichang and everyone else disembarked early in the morning and passengers for the return trip were joining late that afternoon. I ended up having the most amazing day. The cruise director organised for me to join a shore excursion with a company that provided an English speaking guide just for me and I was escorted to and from the pick up point by a crew member. When I arrived back at the ship they opened up the dining room again just for me. The other passengers boarded and as I was the only non Chinese person on the ship I was moved to the executive dining room for all meals so I didn't need to sit at a table for 8. For the rest of the cruise all announcements were made in both Chinese and English and an English speaking guide was was provided for all excursions. Everyone was so incredibly kind to me.
That sounds amazing!!! So happy to hear this. Thanks for watching 😀👏🏼
By
That is a wonderful experience. An experience to remember.
It may have been a matter of your humility, Kate. From my life experience, the U.S. citizens (God love us - I’m one myself) who have a bad time overseas, are those who bring with them an American consumerism and entitlement mentality to their travels. It is especially off-putting in certain countries and cultures. Those who exhibit a sense of vulnerability and humility - people read your eyes and body language - those are the ones who have experiences like you did. To the dear Emma from the U.K., I will share this story. About 15 years ago I was traveling for business and decided to combine it with some pleasure, and took my 11-year old daughter with me as a traveling companion to London. We finished out flight, took the Heathrow Express to Piccadilly, transferred to the Tube, and got off at High Street Kensington Station where we headed by foot to our small hotel several blocks away from the station. Outside the station I must have been a sight, as I was looking at my map and trying to determine which route to take the hotel, trying to decide whether to go left or right, where to cross the street, and so forth (this was before Google Maps). A gentleman in his 30s had pity on us, and in the most polite English manner asked if he might be of assistance. I showed him the map, and he provided us with clear and concrete directions (cross the street there, walk up the hill past the church, and when you come the come to second street up the hill take a right), and then he looked my daughter directly in the eye and said “And darling, make sure you and your dad have a lovely holiday. Cheers!”. As he walked away, my daughter said “Wow. People in England are so nice. Let’s move here!” We did have a lovely holiday, and the vast majority of people in England, like people in China, and even like people in the U.S., are really amazing to anyone who will let them be amazing. Cheers to the world!
That sounds amazing
Emma, you’re so incredibly flexible. Costa cruises should be very happy with your review of them. You always give your honest opinion yet you don’t expect the impossible. You are a very fair person
As long as your captain is not called Schettino you'll be golden 🤣
Paid £139 for a 4 night oceanview room cruise on the Costa Magica. Got upgraded to a balcony. It was amazing for the price. Couldn't complain in the slightest. Actual preferred the languages. It made me feel like it was a holiday not just Britain on a boat. Lovely people and food was plentiful
Yes! I love this comment 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
whats that squigglly thing in front of 139??
@@suzycreamcheesez4371 that is the Pound sign (British money). £1 is equal to about $1.39 US.
@@NeighborofKT mahalo!!
I think for the price (I've never been on a cruise) I would be happy as a clam anyway hahaha but a cruise expert knows what they are getting
My wife are American and have been on many cruises. A few years ago we decided to take a Mediterranean cruise on a Costa ship. Pretty much everything Emma mentioned in her video we also experienced. We actually thought of the whole thing as an added part of the adventure and took the whole thing in stride. There were only a handful of other Americans and Brits on the ship and we even had our own director for the English speakers whom we could contact if needed. They sat us all together at the same table so we had others to converse with during dinner meals. While we found it a little different having all of the ship wide announcements in other languages with English as the last one spoken, it again, was all part of the experience. We figured if it was an emergency, we could tell by the reactions of the other passengers before we found out what was being broadcast in English. Overall we had a good time and would not hesitate to use Costa again.
Sounds good! 😁🥳 Thanks for watching 😀👏🏼
JDC, in the Navy we use alarms also so even if you can't make out the announcement you would hopefully at least hear BONG BONG BONG BONG which is General Emergency/fire and know to go to the standard area for muster in such a case, which is the Mess Deck in the case of a submarine (I was submariner). :)
There's also collision alarm, ZZZEET ZZZEET, and diving alarm, ah-ooo-ga, ah-ooo-ga
I speak fluent Italian and don't smoke. Bring it on!!!
Bravo!
@@neutrino78x This is such a fantastic comment, and some of the best onomatopoeia work I've ever seen.
"I couldn't tell if it was a hot buffet gone cold or a cold buffet gone warm" - And people wonder how vomiting bugs break out on cruise ships
That is pretty much every restaurant in the Philippines... I have just had to get used to that, living in the Philippines. They have never heard of food safety (apparently). 😎
😫
I don’t think people wonder that!
All that vomit and sewage is stored on board too. Disgusting
You mean bugs 🐜 like bugs? Or like illness? Or an illness where you vomit bugs?
We are from the USA and our first cruise was on Costa. We loved it and were hooked on cruising for life! Cruise Critic is useful to a point (I have been a member for over a decade) but it also has a bunch of people on every single forum who really let the perfect be the enemy of the good. My philosophy... any day on a cruise is better than a day at work! I am glad you just enjoy cruising. That is where the magic is!
The thing about all forums is most happy people don’t write reviews, I don’t! 😂👏🏼
really let the perfect be the enemy of the good - I am going to use this gem of wisdom.
Your comment is over a year old but it really resonates with me. I had a wonderful experience this time last year on a gorgeous ship and simply could not believe the malevolent discontent of some of the subsequent reviewers. It’s almost as if some people aren’t happy unless they hate their holiday. As Emma so rightly responded ‘Happy people don’t leave reviews’ which is why I go out of my way to do Si if I feel it’s warranted.
@@EmmaCruises I always try to write reviews when I'm happy with something. It seems only fair.
A captain abandoning his passengers on a sinking ship was a deal breaker for me.
That was the captains fault it could happen to all cruise line
That clown is doing 15 years in jail
Fun fact about the cruise ship in the vid It was the costa Concordia sister ship
You've hurt Costa Cruises feelings.
I remember that... the Captain of the Italian Coast Guard forced that coward to get back on the ship.
I am German and Costa was great! Most staff even spoke German, so it was very easy for us.
Sounds good 😀❤️
There is ALWAYS a certain number of people that get upset that when they go on vacation to a foreign land (or cruise ship) and get angry because everyone does not speak English or only partially speak it. I avoid those people (buzzkills). Even knowing a few simple sentences and knowing how to ask for things (politely) goes a long way. Besides, I find it a blast to talk to folks from other countries - you can get all sorts of tips for future trips. Like I found out that if you really love swimming in the ocean, visit the Greek isles at the end of summer, as the Med has been getting warmer all summer.
Ooooo yes! Sounds amazing. Thanks for watching 😀👏🏼
I've never been able to understand why people get SO worked up about languages. Some of my holiday memories include not speaking the language! Like in Buenos Aires before I learned Spanish, when I was buying, say, a banana and an apple and didn't realize it was from two different fruit stalls. The ladies figured it out among themselves. Or buying stuff at a bakery in the Czech republic, you just point at the very nice-looking goodies and hold up a finger or two. A funny thing that I remember was when I couldn't find my bus stop in Beijing. This random stranger signed to me to follow him, so I followed him through the city for about five to ten minutes, to the bus stop. He was taking a bus, too. Or those nice policemen in Japan looking up where my hotel was and trying to explain the way to me: "One, two, right", meaning, go that way, cross two lights, and then turn right. ... You see, the problem was that, yes, I HAD taken the calling card of my hotel before leaving but I hadn't realized that it was ONLY in Japanese, and the policemen didn't realize that I just couldn't read the thing. :-D
As a Greek person, I approve! ❤ The Greek seas are wonderful!
Thank you for telling us about this. Don't know if I'd cruise Costa, but at least I know what to expect, or not to expect. No free tap water is a bit much, though. The smoking policy isn't for me, either.
Hey Terri! That was my aim so that’s awesome to hear you say that. Thanks for watching 😀💕
The smoking would be a dealbreaker for me. Also, the Costa Concordia disaster. The day that happened I began a Celebrity Caribbean cruise.
We had bottled water in our room twice a day. We ordered coffee and warm milk every morning. Had big pots of each as we watched the harbor pilots come on board. The Concordia happen in January and we sailed on the Atlantica March 10th. There are designated smoking areas on the ship. By the way, the Concordia disaster managed to keep a lot of the complainers and snobs off the Atlantica. Made for a pleasant cruise.
no smoking policy on an italian cruiseline? was it enforced?
I would think when going away on holiday it’s good not to be surrounded by people from the country you have just left
Doesn't mean the ship itself couldn't be at least multilingual.
When I heard American’s are the minority I thought where do I sign. I’m American and I’m so sick of our country, I want out. But, now I’m trapped and I will not be going on a cruise anytime soon. Because of COVID. It sounded terrible for the people that were literally trapped on the ship with no information.
@@oneinvisibledoctor but it is multilingual, if menues and announcements will be translated
On our honeymoon cruise around the Caribbean we ended up on a table with a couple from our own town in England. They kept going on about things at home that we got so fed up that we asked the 2 American couples on our table to separate us. The Americans were lovey.
I did a Costa cruise from Florida, it's very different from an American cruise. We had free tap water, I don't drink soda or coffee so I didn't have to buy a drink package. Lots of smokers, lovely staff. Good food, but not for many Americans. For me I embraced the difference. Announcement made in at least 8 languages were long, longest muster drill ever. Bands sing with Italian accents, cute but different. Their famous toga party was a blast! Finding late night food was hard but we didn't starve. I liked the pasta course with dinner. Beds were hard. But I loved the ship, Costa Mediterrenia. I enjoy other cultures. Dance classes on deck had many people. I eventually jumped in without understanding and learned a bit and laughed. I'm open minded when in Rome lol do as the Roman's due. Great value but very different experience. I would do another one.
The food temps terrify me. Having had food poisoning so bad that it eventually postponed a surgery and required an ER visit, I wouldn’t want to risk food that wasn’t at a safe temperature (I also won’t eat at a an Applebees ever again).
Everything I know about Costa I learned from the internet historian, until now.
Thanks for watching 😀👏🏼
Same, it’s so much worse than I was expecting 😂
Hahahaha
🏆
Interesting that one of the reasons for the crash was language issues on the bridge. Seems to be a common thread on Costa cruises.
@@EmmaCruises Had a 10day Costa Cruise. Loved it. No problems with languages but I went to Italy for my honeymoon. The most obnoxious passengers were the French Canadians. I was embarrassed by their rudeness.
Thank you for the video Emma. My very first cruise was from a Portuguese speaking port to and ended in a Portuguese speaking port. I was disappointed when I boarded and was greeted in English. In the dining room I was seated at an English speaking table, but moved to a Brazilian table with friends I had made. Note: I do not speak Portuguese. One night I was trying to speak with a couple and we were having difficulties until she told me that her husband was not actually Brazilian, but rather a Hungarian. We had a jolly time even with my limited Hungarian and he gave me some Brazilian coins to use for the elevator in Salvador from lower city to upper city which saved me a lot of time and effort. As a traveler I really enjoy being out of my depth and having to figure things out. Now I travel with confidence.
This is exactly it! I think something like this would be fun. The whole point of traveling is to see different things, so why not go all in??
You can get a long way just knowing Hello/Goodbye, Please/Thankyou, Yes/No, Excuse Me/Sorry,.
Oh, and Beer/Water/Toilet .
(A helpless look and a winning smile are worth practising too...)
Tap water as drink in a restaurant is something you'll rarely find in continental Europe, if at all (Spain, Italy, France, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, Poland, Czechia at least)
Very informative. Not having free water could be a deal breaker for me. Cruise would have to really be cheap for me to book.
In that case, cruising is not for you. Why Cheap?
As one who doesn't drink, water is my main beverage. Don't go on cruises where they nickel and dime you.
@@nancyc1783 It's not nickel and diming. It's just how it works in Italy. When you go to eat at a restaurant the don't serve you tap water like in the US, you just buy a bottle (which by the way are far cheaper than in the states). But that applies only to the main dining room. Up in the buffet you have all the free water you want
@@alex9621 You gotta be kidding. So you are eating dinner but you will take the elevator to have water upstairs? And how much cheaper the bottled water can be than in the States? Most bottled water in Italy was up of 2 euros, sometimes 3. That's 3.5 to 4 dollars. Definitely not much cheaper
Costa is a very popular cruise line here in Brazil! I’ve just been on a cruise on Costa Favolosa and had a great time. They could improve a few things here and there, but the overall experience was great! I share Emma’s feelings about the tea/coffee offering. I love having a sip of coffee after lunch and a cup of tea in the afternoon or after dinner, so finding out they were not always available was a bit of a disappointment. 😄
There was a scandanavian fjord cruise ship that had a fire and in the enquiry it was found that the biggest factor for the high death toll was the language barrier between the crew and the pasengers and the crew and the crew because the crew were from so many different places they could not even communicate with each other.
My first ever cruise was a Costa out of Spain. It was last minute while on vacation there with some friends. I will say we had a blast as the only people in the 20-30 age range and one of the few English speakers on board. They were super nice and made sure we were included when ever we wanted to. But I will say, it set the bar low for when I went on a normal Princess Cruise a few years later and saw what a mainstream cruise has to offer. I personally loved the smaller aspect of the cruise. The large ships always make me a little uncomfortable by their sheer size and the health risk stories I've heard over the last few years.
My first cruise was on Costa and I thought it was the most beautiful ship around. And the string trio playing in the hallways was so pretty. However I also had the worst experience on any of my 11 cruises. The smoke was everywhere in the hallways and wafting into my room so much so that it inflamed my eyes and they felt like I had daggers in my eyes. I had to go to the doctor on board and get eye drops but it still took about 3 days before I was without pain. All in all I probably had five days of agony with my eyes. That will definitely stop me from traveling on Costa again
Thanks for the heads-up on that. Smoking like that would make me miserable.
as to water at dinner..i just filled up a bottle at the buffet,and took it to dinner with me..there is a solution to everything
The British-ism of the week is now one my favorite segments - especially when you went into an American accent. Thanks for another great video.
Haha it’s hard not to sometimes 🤣🤣🤣
Thanks Emma, good review, as always. So the old adage of 'you get what you pay for" seem to hold true in this case. I have been curious about this ship, and Costa Cruises in general. Not sure it's my cup of tea ( free or not). Actually the interiors look a little garish, as if the Norwegian Getaway was redecorated for a carnival theme by drunken revelers. My biggest obstacle with Costa is the line's reputation for bad service, and the visual loop in my head of the horrific Concordia sinking.
I think I will pass!
The worst cruise we have ever taken was the Princess Caribbean out of Houston. The staff was indifferent the entire cruise but the worse thing is Princess left us stranded in Houston because it was several hours late, causing us to miss our flight back home. Princess charged us to use WiFi to book another flight. We will never go on a Princess cruise again.
You know this video was about Costa cruises right? Not a tell us your worst cruises story. Unless it concerned Costa that is.
🤨 people are policing comment sections now? What a ridiculous thing to try and control@@justcurious4754
Hey Emma, brilliant video, very informative as always.I totally agree about buffet, years ago Costa Buffet was awful, no food that I would normally eat, closing at 3 a.m so you would always miss it if you went on the excursion and then reopen at 7 pm. Water dispensers was always closed or had really bad water in it. I’m very glad it has changed and mu last cruises on Costa Smeralda I had best food experience and never had to worry about water anymore. They also added some free pizza and focaccia bread in the buffet 🤤 Hope they keep it this way!
Yasss that’s amazing! 😀😎
@@EmmaCruises Emma filled in your form to get a quote for our cruise next year. Cant wait. l wanted to say l am abroad so please reply via email which l left on your online form. I can take calls here on my British mobile but l prefer emails as it's very costly from N Cyprus. (I sent your form before thinking to add this information btw.)
I already did about 8 cruises with Costa in the past years. The first one was one year after that Costa Concordia thing. They had so many good priced offers that my parents thought, let's just try it. I was 15 or 14 years old back than I guess and we come from Germany and have always been huge fans of Italy, the Italian culture and that stuff. We really enjoyed it, that'S the reason we've done so many cruises with Costa afterwards. I really like to go on vacation with lots of people from different countries, you get to know so many cultures. If I wanted to walk to other germans while doing holidays I could easily do a cruise with a German brand like Aida, but I'm surrounded with germans all the time, I'm happy to not only have germans around me while traveling. Talking English with the cruise staff has never been a problem. Costa tries to put the Italian way of life on a boat and I think they're doing it very well.
Also I recognized, that lots of things have changed in the past years. On our first cruise there was pizza for free until 1 am I think. Couple of years later they wanted to get payed for the pizza. The German Cruise supporter on board back then told us, they had huge problems with food waste, especially with late night pizzas, that they banned the free pizza. so I really get your complain. But I think it's not too bad to pay for food from time to time (especially at 1 am in the night) bevor lots of food need to be thrown away.
I took a Costa cruise around the Mediterranean in December 2010. It was the first and last one. Costa is Italian for Carnival.
Carnival is 1000 times better. Good buffet, tons of free food, free water, juice tea coffee and decent ships. This costa ship looks like a Walmart clearance section. No free water? Food poison buffet? Hard pass.
My wife and I took an MSC cruise in the Caribbean a year ago, and every announcement was repeated in about 6 different languages, but we had no problem with it since English was one of the six.
Yep! It's always SO amazing to me how people can switch between languages, I only speak English and struggle with that a lot of the time :-)
@@EmmaCruises The cruise director was amazing. She spoke all of those languages fluently. I am now trying to leanr Spanish as my second language, and it isn't easy.
I felt I was quite fluent in 6 languages by the time I disembarked 😂.
I enjoyed our cruise. Different but good and SOOOO CHEAP
MSC is my fav, no problem with all the languages for me
Imagine going on an Italian cruise then getting upset because everyone speaks Italian...
Imagine not knowing that all the cruise lines are owned by foreign countries but almost all crews speak English. Have you ever been on a cruise? This is a silly complaint by you
Actually, Costa is an American cruise line as it is owned and operated by the Carnival Corporation, Inc. Their ships are not even registered in Italy! Most ships are registered and flagged in a country of convenience.
I've been on several Costa Cruises, it's only the upper management that's Italian, the rest of the crew is the usual mix of nationalities and they all speak english.
The only cruise I've been on was Italian and many of the staff couldn't speak Italian.
@@dawittywats1934 imagine going abroad and expecting people to speak English to you.
We love Costa! Most of the crew speak English (Indians, Philipinos, Indonesians etc.). In fact, we hear lots of complaints from Italian and French passengers that they can't get the crew to understand them! We have been on 9 Costa cruises and always feel like we get extra special service because we converse with the crew. Most of the evening entertainment is in English or doesn't rely on language (like acrobatics or dancing). There's nearly always an Opera night - which we happen to love. It's true that there isn't non-stop eating but the available food is very varied and high quality. We often skip courses on the restaurant menu - you aren't obliged to sit for 2 hours - and we could choose if we wanted a table just for 2. There are always slices of pizza in the buffet. Yes, you get what you pay for, and if you go basic then you have to pay more for added extras. At the moment, we have 3 more Costa cruises booked and can't wait to get crusing again!!!
Sounds good! 😁🥳
We booked a last minute holiday once, 3 days before the holiday. We didn't look at anything really except location. We had an amazing holiday and when we came home, we found tons of 1 star reviews. (Mostly for rubbish about, which the tourist had created than complained about). And we was like, what is wrong with people.
Yeah!! Haha 😂😂😂
I'm glad you made this video. Costa is not for me. I will NEVER cruise with a ship line that charges for TAP WATER! Absolutely ridiculous and unheard of!
I get it and kind of agree with you, but you know what else is ridiculous and unheard of? a $50 per night 7 day cruise.....
@@dlloyd6300
Perspective, my friend! It wasn't long ago when $50/night was the norm!
If I got to pay for tap water, then this isn't the cruise for me regardless of price. Good, honest review. Thanks
It cracks me up that people would book an Italian cruise ship and then complain about the lack of English being spoken on the ship.
Thank you for this vlog! I have never been on Costa and paying for water is a deal breaker for me! P S I loved the short fluffy hair on you! It made your eyes pop! I saw it was for cancer charity too. You're an amazing person. Happy cruising!
Thanks Kym! Too kind ❤️
Most Americans want their cruise ships to be an extension of the US. I've done Caribbean cruises with Norwegian, Royal Caribbean, Princess, and MSC, and the one I enjoyed the most was on MSC. It just had a different ambience. We liked it so much that we did our first Mediterranean cruise with MSC a year later. Absolutely loved it. European lines are different. That doesn't mean you won't have a great time on it.
American here. If I want an American experience on vacation, I can stay home, stay at a Holiday Inn Express, and drink my coffee from styrofoam cups, and chow down of BurgerKing. Hell of a lot cheaper, and if I forget a towel, Walmart is across the street. After a year plus of lockdown, get me the hell outta here!
Emma, I really like your commentary. Especially like that you know what to add, like the smoking issue. Deal breaker for me as well but I wouldn't even think to ask about it, even knowing it's an Italian line. You're doing great work!
Very enjoyable review...thank you! I remember our MSC cruise in 2014, from the Divina in Miami, FL (I may have commented previously). I read all the negative reviews, but we took a chance and absolutely loved it! I think it is all about doing your research ahead of time and understanding the differences.
I did two transatlantic crossings on,then, German ships and language was interesting. Lovely crew members were very happy to translate the German menus, signs, and directions.
Sounds good! 😁🥳 Thanks for watching 😀👏🏼
I'm Portuguese and I travel a lot with Italian cruise companies and it was funny for me to watch this video because all the things you mentioned as being strange are actually very typical for me. I guess I've to travel with a British cruise company one of these days to see the difference 😁
Or an cruise line from the US, you will see the higher level of everything
@@BikeRideTherapy yes, I've travelled twice with Royal Caribbean. Top!
Smoking on board is a deal maker for me. I smoke like a chimney so I will not go places for a long time say one hour that do not allow smoking
I quit smoking after 30 years and the smell of the smoke is what I've noticed most. It stinks but I refuse to complain about other smokers. You wouldn't want people complaining that you don't smoke.
My first cruise EVER was on the Costa Concordia and honestly? It was amazing. I was so sad when the tragedy happened because I had such fond memories of it.
That was exactly how we felt when we went on our first MSC cruise in 2012. Then we took two MSC cruises (Seaview and then Divina) in 2019 and they were absolutely wonderful! They have changed so much through the years and what improvements! Haven't been on a Costa ship yet but we'll wait and see.
We did MSC in 2017 and had fun but we were nickel and dimed to death
If there's one cruise line i would never go on, its costa, after seen the state and handling of the concordia there's just no way i could feel comfortable or safe.
Our only Costa Cruise was a western Mediterranean one in August 2001. There were 25 English speakers on the cruise and they assigned one crew member to assist us. She did her best, but English was her second language so at times communications was a challenge. It was openly shared with us that we were on the final voyage for the ship as it was being retired from their fleet. Problems with the ship were abundant. An odor of sulfur emanated from our shower drain. I reported it as a maintenance issue. They came to check it out and told us "this is normal." No help on the odor at all! Now, some 22 years later, we look back on it as a humorous part of our cruising experiences.
Went on Costa Atlantica in 2004, it was a brand new ship. The interior was so colorful, it reminded me of Alice in Wonderland. Our cabin was gorgeous with teak, leather, marble & murano glass. It was all inclusive except for alcohol & spa. Very reasonable with 5 ports of call. Food was excellent better than Royal Caribbean. Yes announcements were in Italian first but included five other languages including English. Menus were in English. As far as table sharing, I liked it as it was meeting people. My table included a family from France, only spoke French, a family that was from Italy spoke Italian, French & English & my mom & I Americans. By the time the cruise ended we all exchanged addresses and the Italian family invited us to come to their home in Italy.
I quite miss table sharing. It opens your mind to other people, other cultures.
Cruising has changed immensely over the years. But Costa in those days was a nice line, this was before they were bought out by Carnival Group. People come from all over the world, expecting an Italian Ship to cater only to English Speaking people is kind of rude. You go on another country’s ship be courteous, enjoy a different culture, make it a learning experience. Just a thought here.
Hey there are loads of English speaking cruise lines, let the Italians have theirs!
I don’t think she suggested they shouldn’t have theirs, just that we would not want to sail on theirs. Comprende?
Agreed. I feel that Anglophones sometimes get up their own ass about things not being in English when they aren't even the target market
Most Europeans speak more than 3 or 4 languages unlike Americans that trouble with one. I cruised Costa and it was wonderful. The only problem was the French Canadians.
@@sheilaghbrosky You have an American stereotype of Europeans. About 50% of Europeans can speak one language. 10% speak 3 or more. That leaves 40% that speak 2 (not counting the 10% polyglots). 25% of Americans speak a 2nd language. It isn't that wide of a spread given the typical perception.
@@sheilaghbrosky Most? Have you ever been to any European countries? I have. "Most" is far from accurate.
I went for my very first cruise for our 10th wedding anniversary. We booked on Costa Luminosa, without any knowledge of anything cruising at all. 2 weeks later, Costa Condordia happened, but that didn't stopped me from keeping my booking. We had booked a mini-suite for this carribean trip (port in Guadeloupe), and we both enjoyed our cruise. We met amazing people, some of which I'm still am in touch today. After the cruise, thinking about everything, left me with a positive vibe even though my feelings were "this was okay, a nice entry into discovering what a cruise is". And then I went for Royal Carribean... and I'm not sure I could go cruising Costa again. The difference was indeed so huge. Next cruise in 40 days for me now, 1st time in 4 years I leave on vacation (I lost my wife, then Covid happened), 5 years after my last cruise on the Serenade of the Seas. It will be my first time solo and I can't wait to be cruising again. All in all, Costa was my entry point into cruising, was a very fine cruise until I did another cruise. For testing waters, Costa did its job... Now I can't stop cruising :D
That was a very good review and I liked your explanations. Yes, that is very inexpensive indeed! Thanks for sharing :)
Thanks for watching! Appreciate you 😀💕
The smoking part is a deal breaker for me due to health issues, hard pass.
Totally get that. Thanks for watching 😀👏🏼
"...we're not in Kansas anymore, are we... Dorothy?" "OMG Toto you can talk?!"
We went on a Costa cruise to the Far East several years ago, and despite the moaners, it was great, and strangely, there were a lot more English speaking passengers that all of the other languages put together. They had never had this before, but the good thing was that all announcements started in English. The only gripe that we did have was that at one time whilst ion a port, they had problems with the sewage, and it smelt badly in our cabin for a few days afterwards, but they didn't do anything to alleviate the smell!!
Cheers to Emma for keeping up on the content during this bizarre time. May we all cruise again soon.
Wow, I don't think I will be booking a Costa cruise. The lack of free water or pizza and limited coffee and tea would lessen my cruise experience. I enjoy sitting on my balcony and would not want to inhale second-hand smoke.
Yeah, well, it's all about the price difference, isn't it? ... I mean, Icelandair don't give you a free meal if you fly to North America with them, BUT you can have a free stopover in Iceland if you want. I guess paying for your meal on board isn't that bad after all. If you know about it.
Thanks for taking one for us Emma!
I really enjoy your upbeat attitude and kinda have a mini cruise on your adventures as relating to my previous cruises. I will get back to cruising after a couple years off; your vids are extremely helpful in gaging what ship size I will go back to; probably a river cruise this spring. Thanks!
Costa is the European Carnival. Transportation, fun entertainment and so-so food. We were among about 40 English Speakers & language was not problem except for communication with fellow passengers (but i speak a little Italian so not really) All announcements made in 5 languages with English always last & briefest. All crew spoke some English and a crew member told me that was a requirement for employment. The itinerary was outstanding and the shore excursions were excellent. No problem getting an English language shore excursion. My only criticism is the decor is pretty loud, as in not relaxing. Definitely party ship.
I've been on the Costa Fascinosa. It was a transatlantic. I'm a native English speaker but I do speak three other European languages. That certainly did help. It would be tough to make friends with the other passengers if you only speak English. There weren't many English speakers on my cruise so almost no on-board activities in English.
i don't cruise for food but i drink about 1/2 gallon of water a day!
That's how much water your supposed to drink
If that's a US gallon it's not enough.
A US gallon is around 3.7 liters, a gallon in the UK is over 4.5 liters. You should drink 2 liters a day minimum.
The price is amazing. I would need to experience a few more cruises before venturing on the cruise with so many differences, especially a 3 hour dinner.. I'm not very worldly so I might feel a bit isolated as a solo traveller. But thanks for clarifying the flavor of these cruises. Maybe the Italians have it right.
Hey Sue! Maybe! I think you might feel less isolated to be honest, when not everybody speaks English the people who do speak English always seem to be friends by default! 😆
Great review ! At first I was thinking how brave you were for taking a Costa cruise, given their reputation and given what happened to the Costa Concordia. But I can see that if you have an open, positive attitude, you would enjoy a cruise like this, and honestly my jaw dropped when you indicated how low the cost was !!
Yep!!!! Exactly!! 😂😂😂
Costa cruises are colourful and fun, multinational passengers, a truly international experience.
Highly recommended.
exatly why all the cruise line should be tha same,... this is the tipical foreigner review expecting to have thier mothers food on every restaurant!!
My experience on Costa was somewhat different. The buffet was much better, open quite late, and you could always get free ice cream and pizza. There were LOTS of kids on board. That, and Italians are fairly boisterous, and the pool areas were basically day care centers. The ship decor was busy and garish and it was difficult to find a restful spot away from the noise. Not awful, but exhausting. Costa would never be my first choice.
That does sound really fun to me. I don't want to be on a boat full of Americans. And I like other languages even if I struggle with speaking them. Oh, and if I did go on a cruise, and got my mother's food...It had better be a Mississippi River Boat, because that certainly would NOT meet my expectations! (People love to talk up southern cuisine, but I'd rather avoid diabetes.)
Their old carnival ships thats why their so colorful
I've been on lots of MSC cruises (also Italian), and on NCL cruises out of Italy. I've enjoyed all of them. The Divina was the only ship where I had "challenges" with the buffet due to the long lines and food frequently running out.
Enjoyed our two MSC cruises
Wich one did you like the most MSC or NCL?
Emma you still look great with short hair!! (Its the beautiful smile and the accent especially!)
My first cruise ever was on a Costa cruise - the old, small Daphne. My then-husband’s company chartered the entire shop so we didn’t have the language issues at all. It was actually quite nice, the food was good and the Southern Caribbean itinerary was great. However, I can see how it could be if we were the minority of English speakers. As it happens, I speak some Italian simply because I did business with an Italian co for some years. They dumped the old Daphne many years ago. It changed hands and names many times.
Your commentary on smoking shows just how much the world has changed in a short period of time. The banning of smoking on balconies was what made my family stop cruising, as I'm the only non smoker. And that was within the last decade.
Haha! Yep I was watching a movie yesterday with a smoking area in a restaurant and I was like eeeewwww 😂😂😂
I am Italian and I have done 8 cruises (5 with Royal Caribbean, 1 Princess, 1 Ncl) and the last one was with Costa, on the Smeralda, their largest and most modern ship. I think I will never go on a cruise with Costa again, they have an exaggeratedly profit-oriented philosophy and no customer focus, often applying it clumsily. Sometimes one gets the impression that the company has been on the market for a few years, so much is the disorganization on the management of some things (catering, shows, children, etc.). Also disturbing is the restoration of the subdivision of customers into classes (like on the Titanic) with 3 restaurants dedicated to top customers (with shocking prices) and 1 only for all the others (and gigantic lines and gatherings waiting for the restaurant gates to open, a very mortifying thing). I could go on but the list of downsides, compared to other companies, would be really long ...
Years ago a large group of friends and I took a cruise on a new Costa ship and was taken with the elegance of the ship. All announcements were in multiple languages, which we are got used to after the first day. The food was wonderful, our rooms were beautiful, the ports we visited were amazing, and the staff was very accommodating. The only problem we had was there was a group of young people (18 to 20 year old range) on board that were very entitled and very rich, so they thought that they owned to the place and made the evenings after dinner a living hell. They trashed the lounge areas, had food fights (while fully dressed to the 9's), drank heavily, took over the bars and lounges like they were the only ones on the ship, and had a competition one night throwing deck chairs (lounging chairs) overboard. The chairs didn't all clear the ship and wound up crashing into the side of the ship and onto the balconies below, scaring the people below. People were up in arms and this was one just the 1st and 2nd nights of the cruise. On the 3rd night of the cruise when the young kids showed up into the lounges and bars, the rest of the passengers just got up in mass and walked out. Cruise lines counted on people to spend big bucks in the bars/lounges at night and it wasn't happening. These walk-outs would take place right in the middle of any performances. It wasn't until after the 3rd night and the long lines of complaining passengers after the kids went and trashed several of the late night buffets did the cruise line do anything to the kids. The morning of the 4th day the kids were all put of the ship in mass and things got back to "normal". At this point the rest of the trip was a wash. I would never sail with Costa again after that one experience and it really did put a damper on the rest of the cruise - especially after dinner as most people just gave up and just went back to there rooms.
Smoking is a “deal breaker” for me. No free tap water, as a American, is unthinkable.
@Emerson Yehuda Go with your instinct...... no one cares
Smoking is an issue for me, but we are talking Europe. Bless their dying hearts, they smoke like chimneys. If the price is right, I can deal with it.
You won't want to drink their tap water, unless you want to get sick.
Free tab water is a very American thing… you get this nowhere else
@@lisapreiss6405 I agree. Rarely drink water. It seems to be a HUGE thing for so many folk. I drink tea, wine, juice , etc. I’m still alive , hydrated etc
We went on the costa Diadema. It was a great cruise. Very Italian . We had a blast
The reason we did not travel with Costa is solely due to the accident that was with Costa Concordia
Why though? They’re owned by Carnival. Genuinely curious so please reply haha 😀❤️
Agree. On our very first cruise, on the NCL Epic, we woke up to live coverage on our room TV of the Costa Concordia disaster. I assure you that made a lasting impression. That was a long time age. We remember it clearly. No Costa for us.
@@EmmaCruises It may be that we are a little over cautious, but the way we remember that disaster was handled made such a big impression on us that we would never travel with that company. It may be owned by Carnival, but when we hear the name Costa, we immediately think of that disaster.
Also when you tell us about how superficially they took the muster exercise makes us even more confident that we are not going to travel with Costa.
We have traveled with RCL before and here they took it very seriously.
We have also traveled with MSC and here it is also a bit superficial, but you are after all checked that you show up.
Thanks for sharing, it's an interesting insight and I appreciate your reply! :-)
Better not travel with Cunard then ..they've lost EIGHTEEN ships over the years... (OK..Lusitania and Laconia were torpedoed....we better not count those ...lol...)
My first cruise was a full four week re-location cruise with Costa from Italy to India and that too on a very old ship, the Costa Neoclassica, that was decomissioned one year later. To be honest, everything about this cruise was really perfect! The food was amazing and I so enjoyed the fact that the dinner took long. Language was not an issue at all. We were seated with 3 other German couples (although double our age, we had a great time) and we got never bored. I did this cruise in 2017 and we paid 2000 Euro for four weeks including flights to Italy and back from Mumbai, an incredible price! We booked a drink package for 400 Euros (100 per week) and it was really a perfect choice. The whole cruise was such a nice holiday vibe, due to the fact that it was multilingual.
I was cruising on the Queen Mary 2 after this. It was interesting to see, but the Costa cruise was overall so much better! Guess it depends on the taste as well..
No Muster drill time?After Concordia? Insane. I cant believe Carnival own Costa
All together now... negligence
Fun fact. Cunard bought out White Star a long time back, so it could be argued thay Carnival is retroactively responsible for the Titanic as well
I can believe it. Carnival doesn’t have a great track record themselves.
The smoking would be a complete deal-breaker for us
Thanks for watching 😀👏🏼
why
Same no thank you. The whole ship must stink
I took a cruise with them on the Concordia, I think it was a month or so before it went down. Everything you said in the video applied to the Concordia, too. The bad buffet food, the hellishly long dinners, the smoking on the balconies. Come to think of it, there was plenty of pizza though on my cruise, but it wasn't very edible, so you should be thankful yours didn't have it. How an Italian cruise ship can eff up pizza is beyond me. But for me, the biggest deal breaker was seeing all the - old - german men in their skimpy speedos. Can't unsee it to this day, a decade or so later. If I were american, I would have sued for massive emotional distress.
Haha 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Modern pizza is much more an American construct than Italian.
Lol always makes me laugh how we Brits are supposed to have such bad food. The worst meals I have ever consumed have Italian and French.
🤣🤣🤣
We sailed on the Costa Allegra...there was a surprising amount of older German men yes in skimpy Speedos. The odd thing was the amount of them that had young pert men / boy's at their side.... I'm quite sure they were all their sons or family members.. yeah right.
I found this video to possibly be one of the most helpful cruise videos I've watched. Admittedly, I'm a bit of a travel snob, and had previously been put off Costa cruises due poor reviews; however, your video has definitely persuaded me to reconsider my decision - and in turn may allow me to cruise more often by stretching my budget. As one of your commenters (K Waggoner) below puts it, "any day on a cruise is better than a day at work".
Thanks for uploading.
Thanks so much, really appreciate that. :)
charging for water at a sit down dinner on a cruise ship is just ridiculous
We took Costa in Caribbean. If you spoke Italian you got faster and better service than Americans. Never again. They were very rude to us.
Norine, did you attempt any Italian words? Just trying a bit of a foreign language can often go a long way!
Because smoking is allowed on Costa Cruises, this is a deal breaker for me to look; at cruising aboard. My allergies would flare up from the smoke and this can present a fire hazard, as well. American's also like to use the terms a quarter to; including, half past when referring to time. Oh no, I can't miss high tea this is my favorite time of the day and I'm a coffeeholic. I can't do with out my coffee, personally I prefer Princess Cruise lines and Cunard. Because they include coffee, tea, water, the buffet is open and they offer more options for the value.
@@gregculverwell You don't know me and I've never met you. So I'm having trouble understanding how you could assign this comment to me. Not to mention that your statement about me is extremely inaccurate and so what, if I choose Cunard or Princess Cruise lines over Costa. I have a right too; just like you have a right to like Costa Cruises. You, have a right not to like my choice of cruise lines and you have a right to be upset; that I decided not to choose Costa. But you don't have a right to demean me, by stepping all over me; by posting demeaning comments. You have a right to smoke, all you want, but you don't have a right to start a cruise war, which is what you're doing. I have a right not to damage my lungs by inhaling second hand smoke and I have a right not to contract life threatening cancer from doing so.
0:53 "We're not in Kansas anymore, are we Dorothy?" I love the implication that you are, in fact, Toto in this scenario.
Oh yes haha 😂😂😂
Sounds great. As an Australian used to Italian culture I think it sounds like a good cruise. I have done about 20 cruises on 'American style' ships which also have some quirks so it sounds great.
I’m an American and glad they did the cruise for Italians. I guess I want a different experience but not so drastic that I couldn’t enjoy myself, but I want an ethnic feel! Sounds like you did and maybe after this virus crap I will check this out. Thanks for the heads up about the buffet, but I definitely stay in the Main Dining Room, much better service and usually excellent food.
Nice to see a video make the point that some people who pay a one star price still expect a five star service. Yes, great if you get lucky but chances are, you won't. Still, it can be a shock to people who have never cruised before and expect the luxurious cabins that Jane MacDonald gets. You summaried it perfectly, go with the attitude "what's the worst that can happen?"
Actually, this being Costa, it could sink like the Concordia.
My husband and I lived in Italy for 2 years. The Italians do have very different ideas about food. 1. Italians have very set ideas about food and the order in which they should be eaten eg pasta before meat. They will take much longer over a meal, they will usually have around 5 courses and they will generally be much louder and more social during a meal time.
2. Due to their set ideas about the order in which to eat food, they do not really understand the concept of a buffet. When we provided a buffet for our Italian friends, they did not put a bit of everything on their plate, rather they started with green salad, then had pasta salad, then had the meat etc. I am not sure whether this somehow contributed to the tepid buffets on board - maybe food turnover was slower?
3. Italians have regional dishes that are not really eaten in other regions of Italy. For example, Naples was all about the pizza and lasagne is from Emilia-Romagna, which is further north. In Naples we were unable to find anywhere that sold lasagne and pizza was not so prevalent further north. Also we found more gelato in the north, but more cakes in Naples.
4. We never once found garlic bread in our local hypermarket, although there were over 20 different sizes of spaghetti.
5. This all means that the foods that other countries automatically associate with Italy are not necessarily the foods that an Italian would associate with Italy. Perhaps this was the reason for the lack of free pizza and ice cream on board.
I'm an American from an Italian family, and I still have relatives in Italy. I've been there many times and even I will say that they take food way too seriously!
It's neat to watch & listen to you mature over the years- thanks for your videos
Worst thing about balcony smoking is what a horrible fire hazard it is. There was a Princess Cruise a few years back that had a major fire that started on a balcony and was attributed to somebody attempting to throw a lit cigarette butt over the side.
The lack of anything at all to drink (including tap water is just mind blowing to me).
The problem wasn't the smoking but the jerk who was throwing his cigarette.
Hi Emma, Costa Cruises is similar to Ryanair for the cruise industry, cheap cruise line, it’s a big campsite for italian and french people ( I’m french but I don’t like travel with my compatriots). 15 years ago Costa cruises was a little bit different, for food, for cruisers, for services....etc. Hi from Marseille!!! 😉
I saw my first (and so far only) professional futbol game in Marseille, watching them defeat Bastia and getting the relegated. And the museum in the shopping mall, overlooking the Greek docks built some 2,600 years ago was fascinating. Loved it. Did that after spending part of the day in Aubagne at the Museum of the French Foreign Legion.
GREAT JOB Emma! So happy to see the success your channel is having! Bravo.
Thanks lots! 😀❤️
I’m an American & went on the Costa Atlantica, when it was fairly new. The interior was different than RCL or Princess. We were upgraded from a balcony to a Panoramic Suite with butler. The ship did 5 stops in the Eastern Caribbean & I have to say it was probably the best cruise ever. It was fun, the food was great, their was pizza after hours. I didn’t really care about the languages. Actually, I thought Costa announcing everything in different languages showed how inclusive they are to people who don’t speak or read English. This was in 2003, & everything was included except for The spa, liquor, & soft drinks. Water, tea, juice, lemonade, & coffee were included, as was food in their bars & restaurants. Things certainly have changed. I also like the smaller ships. I live in a village of 2000 people in New England. I guess these larger ships cater to families, but to me the smaller ships are more intimate, you get meet people at dinner from other places. Also to me cruising is about the itinerary and ports of call.
Yes! That sounds amazing. 😀❤️
Wow, tap water costs money in the dining room. That's not good 😐.
That is frankly the deal-breaker for me. Charging for sodas? Okay. Alcohol? Okay. Bottled water? Sure. But water in a glass? That's just silly.
I am an American, almost 70 years old. When I was young clocks were almost always analog. In those days even here we usually said, "quarter past," or "half past," or "quarter to, etc. Many people had clocks which struck the hour and also the half, and some struck the quarters as well, which, I believe, encouraged the notice of the quarters.`1 I think the use of all numbers such as "five forty-five" is a result of digital time pieces. Nowadays I have run into teenagers who cannot read time from an old fashioned analog clock face ! What a shame.
Really?! But there are clocks everywhere?! I couldn’t imagine getting through life without that skill ha ha. Thanks for watching 😀👏🏼
To me, the smoking policy is a deal signer. It's open air, so my take is, smoke on deck all you want. I do enjoy myself an nice cigar after dinner and won't forsake that for a cruise.
Cool thing DSDS ferries lets you smoke anywhere on deck
Good review, my wife and I went on a Costa Magica cruise a few years ago and I have to say I agree with all your comments about the Costa service as you say looking for your cruise card when you board is quite difficult also every announcement is in five or six different languages but we both really enjoyed your weeks cruise in the Med. No complaints about the food or the night time shows were excellent. Costa is more at the budget end of the market and geared up for the european familys but there ships are very nice inside and all staff are friendly I would highly recommended. I also tried the other Italian cruise line MSC and thought the whole experience was terrible would not recommend them.
imagine.. being able to go on a cruise........ amazing.
I'll just go to to North Wales and stay in a guest house. The world's your oyster...
Haha. I love wales. Honestly hidden gem
@@4TheWinQuinn absolutely 🌈😷
I have a caravan in Barmouth but I need a cruise holiday.
4:43 I know Canada was a British colony but that's something I hear all the time too
Half past, quarter after, quarter to, etc
Not always, but often
We say it in the US too.
As a smoker, that's actually a really nice perk
Love the video. Also lots of Americans use the British system of telling time, we always say things like half after eight, quarter to noon. Its just not as common but we do it that way to. Also your right on Italians taking forever to eat dinner. My wife is French and every time we go to dinner when we visit her family in Toulon its like 2+ hours. As an American it drives me insane.
Thanks for watching 😀👏🏼
@@EmmaCruises Your welcome, we have actually done the Queen Mary 2 Crossing last time before the Rona from Europe when we went to see her parents. It was a great cruise, we dressed in our best and had a great time just like you did.
Not from a crusie point of view but when I started travelling in Europe I was surprised how even tap water was not free with your meal and on top of that the water costed as much as drinks 😂🤷
I don't think I would ask "what's the worst that could happen" about a cruise line that not that long ago had a drunk-captaining incident that resulted in a 114 kt ship ending up sunk sideways, the captain abandoning the passengers, and the passengers having to force their way to the lifeboats.
I took a Ferry from West Palm Beach to Freeport Bahamas for a $100 round trip one time. The ship had a 2-star rating. If you are used to traveling on a Royal Caribbean ship, there is no comparison. The ship I took was more of a transport than a cruise ship. I was working in West Palm Beach and the day I went was a holiday and my company was not going to fly me back for one day so I went to the Bahamas for one day for 3 hours and then came back that evening and the next day went back to work. Had a good time.
Haha! Sounds good! 😁🥳 Thanks for watching 😀👏🏼