What was great, was the fact that the ship (Costa Venezia) was not fully booked. Since covid they kept the maximum of passengers on 50% which we loved. We wouldn't go if there were the actual 5200 people on board of this ship!! Even now at times it was still very busy, especially at deck 10, the Lido restaurant. What caused large queues there was the fact that you weren't allowed to dish your own plate so you had to tell the cooks what you wanted. No fun to wait in line for 30-45 minutes so we moved to Canal Grande restaurant were we had our own table and a 4 or 5 course menu that was being served. Sittings were at 19.00 and 21.30 hrs. The Costa cards worked great with (dis)embarkation and at the bars etc. We had an inside cabin on deck 2 which was small but good and clean. Luckily no noise from the hallways at all and also we noticed almost nothing when sailing at sea. Due to the attack in Istanbul on 13 November the itenerary was changed and we unfortunately skipped Istanbul and Izmir and moved to Bodrum. Got Rhodes instead and then Mykonos, Pyraeus (Athens) and back to Istanbul. Disembarkation and luggage was well organised. Luggage had to be put outside of your cabin the previous night before midnight and you found it back in the cruiseterminal after disembarkation. Elevators were very great, never seen a system like that! Animation team was enthusiastic and did their utmost. Not all shows in the theatre were great but overall OK. Shows took about 30-40 minutes. There were hostesses of many nationalities with daily office hours and shows and information were also on the TV. Also in the Costa app and in the daily journal outside of the cabin there was lots of information to be found. The pools were very small and very cold, only the jacuzzi's were heated. What was very weird is that in the disembarkation meeting, our Dutch hostess asked for a review with a 9 or a 10 because in America, the numbers 7 and 8 are still very disappointing and the team really needed a 9 or a 10. What the heck?! Asking for a good grade?? Let people decide for themselves, don't be fake!Overall, we had a special first experience with Costa Cruises as it was our very first cruise ever.
Claim your business profile now and gain access to all features and respond to customer reviews.
