This was my first breakfast in the main dining room for the past 10-days, but all my table mates were going all along. Not being a huge breakfast person, I was just eating an apple from my room every morning. The MDR breakfast started with different types of rolls, then you could pick omelets, bacon, eggs, toast, fish, plus a fruit bar was set up in the center of the dining room. It never fails on the last morning, it’s so obvious that the crew wants you to get off the ship so they can turn the ship and get it ready for the next cruise. I really can’t blame them.
At around 7:45, I went down to deck three to walk off the ship. It was a flawless process. With my luggage in hand, they scanned my card, and I went through the terminal and into customs. When I got to the customs window, the agent told me I was the first American he had through his line all day. The customs process was a little bit longer than normal because of all the Europeans coming back into the country. There were a lot of scanning fingerprints and things like that. I got my USA passport stamp (first time ever on a cruise) and I was on my way to Fort Lauderdale to do some shopping and go to a laundry mat before boarding my next cruise.
Overall my experience on Costa Cruises was a good one.
Pros: Great Italian food, the entertainment was very visual and the magic show was a 10, great cabin space with two plugs, attentive staff, and guest relations were very helpful with no language barrier.
Cons: English was not the first language (it’s an Italian cruise line), not great communication about shore excursions that were canceled, service fee not clearly indicated to passengers on board (to an avid cruiser, it’s a given – but there were lots of first timers on board).
If you don’t have an open mind and have little patience, this cruise isn’t for you. If you want to experience the European culture on a magnificent ship with a great ports of call, look more into sailing Costa Atlantica in the Caribbean market (here seasonally).
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