Review Time
Costa prioritises hygiene over fancy gimmicks, feel-good entertainment over American-style service, healthy food (especially seafood) over burgers & chips and a generally very Italian take on things: stylish and relaxed. If that's what you like, nobody does it better!
Review for Costa ToscanaThis was not our first cruise, and precisely for that reason the difference is obvious. It has been, without exaggeration, the worst cruise and hotel experience we have had.The crew was consistently unfriendly, poorly trained, and unwilling to offer clear guidance. Basic questions turned into unnecessary complications. There is a constant lack of direction and no sense that anyone is truly there to help.Even something as simple as having a coffee becomes difficult. Bars are frequently closed or not operating when you would expect them to be. Water is not freely available unless you pay. Even with the drinks package, you are limited to one 0.5L bottle per day. That feels unreasonable. Drinks are served in plastic cups, soft drinks poured from plastic bottles, cocktails handled with minimal care. The overall impression is cheap.The app is misleading. Some restaurants are marked as “included,” yet when you arrive you are told you need a Gold card or another premium status to access them. In the app it only mentions discounts for those cards, not restricted entry. The communication is confusing and frustrating.The pool areas are overcrowded and chaotic. There is no proper adult-only separation. Jacuzzis are packed with 8 to 10 people at once, with no supervision. Relaxation is nearly impossible.Food lacks variety and feels repetitive. The buffet space is too small for the number of passengers. On one occasion, cheese was placed on my plate with visible leftover salad stuck to it. That reflects the level of attention given to food handling.Cabin cleanliness is equally disappointing. Housekeeping essentially makes the bed, replaces the toilet paper, and leaves. The bed linen was torn. The balcony had not been cleaned for a week to the point where it was barely usable. Dust and dirt accumulated without any visible attempt to maintain it.Overall cleanliness in common areas also does not match the image of a modern ship.The onboard payment system adds another layer of frustration. Only credit cards are accepted to secure onboard spending. No practical alternatives. On other cruise lines, including MSC Cruises, there are multiple payment options and staff are able to offer solutions. Here, there is rigidity and indifference.The entire setup feels designed to push extra spending while delivering a minimal standard experience.For us, this was the first and last time sailing with Costa. The ship may look modern in photos, but the service, cleanliness, and organization fall far below acceptable standards.
Costa prioritises hygiene over fancy gimmicks, feel-good entertainment over American-style service, healthy food (especially seafood) over burgers & chips and a generally very Italian take on things: stylish and relaxed. If that's what you like, nobody does it better!
I sailed on Costa Toscana in November 2025 and had an incident at the L’Oliveto restaurant (Deck 5) that completely changed my view of Costa - and the way Costa handled my complaint afterwards was even worse.During the afternoon snack service at around 5:13 pm, a waiter (identified to me as Roy Pradip) came to our table, said only “dinner is next” and removed the plate directly from in front of my girlfriend while she was still eating. No “may I?”, no check that she was finished, and no basic courtesy.He then did essentially the same thing to at least five other nearby guests who were also still finishing their food. People were clearly shocked and uncomfortable. When I asked for his name to report the matter, he left the area immediately, which only made the whole interaction feel more disrespectful.Shortly after, the supervisor (Marisa Salangsang) came to the table and said something along the lines of: “Good afternoon, we will have dinner soon and we need to prepare for it so I would appreciate your understanding.” While that sounded more polite, it did not address the core problem: plates were being cleared from guests who were still eating, with no proper communication and no apology for the way it was done.Unfortunately, this was not an isolated episode. Over the course of the cruise, I observed:Staff not yielding or giving way to guests in corridorsCrew speaking and even cursing next to guestsDirty tables left uncleared for long periodsSilverware being set directly on uncleared, soiled surfaces, which is simply unhygienicA so-called main course of five shrimps that were clearly old and completely mashed inside, which raises basic questions about food quality and handlingThis is not the service level Costa advertises and not what I expect from a ship with Costa Toscana’s profile.What makes all of this even more disappointing is my background: my father worked as a Hotel Director with Costa for over a decade. I grew up seeing what good Costa service looks like: guest-first attitude, clean and well-managed dining rooms, and professional staff. What I experienced on this cruise was the exact opposite of those standards.How Costa handled my complaint (or didn’t)I did not just complain casually at the table. I submitted a formal written complaint while onboard, with:The exact time and location (L’Oliveto, approx. 17:13)The names of the waiter and supervisorA detailed description of the service, hygiene and food quality issuesA clear list of requested corrective actions (coaching, hygiene review, quality audit, etc.)After the cruise, I followed Costa’s own instructions and emailed multiple official Costa addresses. The only responses I received were:A request for my booking number, which I provided.A request to send the same complaint again to another email address but for Portugal.I complied. After that:No case IDNo apologyNo explanation of corrective measuresNo timeline, no follow-up, no acknowledgement of the seriousness of the incidentIn other words, as of writing this review, Costa has not properly responded to a detailed, formal complaint about service, hygiene and food quality on Costa Toscana.ConclusionBetween:Plates being taken away from guests who were still eatingRepeated lapses in courtesy and hygiene in a main dining roomA shrimp main course that should never have left the kitchenAnd Costa’s complete lack of meaningful follow-up after a formal complaintI cannot recommend Costa Toscana or Costa Cruises to anyone who expects basic respect, cleanliness and professional service.I am sharing this so future guests know what actually happened, and so Costa understands that ignoring complaints is also a decision - and it speaks as loudly as the incident itself.
I’m italian but I’m writing in English as I would like everyone to be aware. Very bad, awful, terrible experience in almost all aspects: except for the kindness of the personnel, food, execursions, Costa Crociere App, ship’s “experiences” and organized “events”, cabins, bridges and in general ship’s cleanliness, crew members professionalism to not say about the general rudeness of the guests, mostly of the Italians - and I’m Italian were of the lowest quality possible. I could keep talking for hours but better not to waste more of my time. Bottom line the worst travel experience I had in my life and that I would not suggest to my worst enemy. Glad to know that the cruise business in general is losing money as, done like that, this is not a sustainable business. Just one simple advice: stay away from Costa Crociere.
Just a heads-up for anyone planning to book shore excursions with Costa Cruises — especially if you're an English-speaking guest.We paid €95 per person for what was clearly advertised as an English-speaking tour to Rome on 10 July. But when we arrived, we found out it was actually a bilingual tour shared with German guests, without any prior notice!The guide had to repeat everything in two languages, meaning we got half the content and rushed explanations in English, while the German part was much longer and clearer. It felt like the tour was really meant for German speakers, and English guests were just tacked on.There were 17 English-speaking guests on our bus — more than enough for a separate guide, but Costa didn’t provide one. Ironically, the Pompeii excursion the day before (also with Costa) had two guides on one bus, split by language. So clearly, it can be done!Worse still, I emailed Costa’s customer service and got a generic, dismissive reply that ignored key issues. When I followed up with more details, they stopped replying altogether.So if you're booking an excursion with Costa Cruises, be careful — you might end up in a bilingual tour you didn’t sign up for, and still be charged the full price. 😠Feel free to share if you've had similar experiences — let’s make sure these issues don’t keep getting swept under the rug. #CostaCruises #ShoreExcursionFail #RomeTour #CruiseTips #TravelFairness
I have been cruising for more than 15 years and this was my 90th time with Costa Diadema. Otherwise, I have about 10 with Costa cruise, and the others are with MSC, NCL and others. This cruise was 21 nights from Genoa to Santos and the worst so far that I have been on was in every way. From embarking in Genoa, which lasted about 6 hours, accommodation in old cabins with old beds and pillows. The ship has not been renovated for 10 years, the stench of the carpets on the stairs, as well as the sewage, the ship is like a passenger toilet. The food in the buffet and restaurants is terrible, the crew is uncultured and the worst I've ever seen. I traveled with my niece who got the flu ten days ago, so we went to the hospital on the ship and they gave her two infusions with spazmex and paracetamol and they charged $690 for it and they told us that the hospital is private and not from the Costa cruise company. This was mine and from many passengers on board last with Costa.
We went to 6 cruises before costa toscana, it's not worst at all.Very bad food, it's same Menu every day with no test, the dinner in the restaurant is very poor, and the food not cooked and have bad smell, just they push the customers to go to for paid restaurant to get more money., even the pizza wasn't free same like other cruises. No body have no answer, why the quality and verity Very low.Costa cruise need your money only.The drinks was very good and the entertainment was good.
Don't book with Costa. On arriving in our cabin there was an awful smell coming from the bathroom, it was so bad it stunk like a cesspit. We did complain to Customer relations and they sent somebody up to give it a clean but this didn't help, so we had to complain again and they sent a plumber up who agreed that the smell was awful and there must be a blocked pipe somewhere and they would try and unblock it. They did manage to unblock it but it should never have happened in the first place as this should have been noticed sooner and it wasn't good for our first impressions of Costa Cruises.We couldn't believe that there is a charge for water in the main dining room! I have been on 25 other cruises with other cruise lines and Costa are the only one to charge for water in the main dining room and is also only available in the buffet, alother ships have (free) water available all over the ship. On the second day we had no hot water in our cabin and had to have a wash in cold water, not good. There were nowhere near enough crew on the ship with the amount of people onboard; I believe it should be 1:1 or at least 1:2, it certainly wasn't anywhere near that! The buffet is a total shambles; too many queues and not enough staff to deal with the queues. All the other ships have gone back to self service since the pandemic and we feel that Costa should have too as this would ensure that there are no queues as people could just get what they wanted and move on.The pool bar is also a total shambles with two crew members trying to serve alcoholic drinks, coffee and ice cream, thus causing long queues there too. I feel that this puts people off buying a drink as nobody wants to queue all the time for half an hour for a drink. The couple of times that I actually queued I was being given a short measure and had to tell them both times to fill the glass up to the top. Again not good for customer satisfaction. The shower gel ran out on day 2 and wasn't replenished until we had to yet again ask.The plug socket on the wall at the dressing table in our cabin kept coming away from the wall every time we pulled a plug out which is dangerous.Coffee/hot water machines are being shut down in the buffet at lunchtime even though lunch is still being served. Again, not good for customer satisfaction.The passengers were too casually dressed for eating in the dining room. Whilst I understand that not everybody likes to dress up, I feel that if they are eating in the main dining room they should at least be told that they can't go in wearing scruffy clothes as it doesn't give a good impression.
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