5 Things that Really Surprised me about Cruising with Costa Cruises!

Before taking my first cruise with Costa Cruises, I wasn’t too sure what to expect. I didn’t know many people who had cruised with them before I did, and I booked my first cruise to give them a try for the first time. Would I love it, or would I hate it? I guess there was only one way to find out - let’s board a Costa Cruises ship!

Before I start telling you the 5 things that surprised me about cruising with Costa Cruises, I’d really appreciate it if you’d come over and support me by subscribing to my YouTube channel. You can also come with me on embarkation day of my first ever Costa cruise, by clicking into the video below.

So, what surprised me about cruising with Costa Cruises? Let’s get started on my list of 5 things!

1. I was surprised by the styling of the ships - WOW!

In my experience, Costa Cruises are operating some of the most unusual cruise ships out there from a styling point of view. Everything about these ships is unapologetic, and the onboard style is a lot to deal with when you first step onboard. The theming in each individual venue is really unusual, and really quite intense. There’s minimal effort to blend the design of each venue with those around it, and I really respect that.

Costa ships are, in my experience, true ‘statement ships’ - there’s no denying you’re on a Costa ship when you look at that atrium in the above images!

This ‘statement approach’ is made simple in part thanks to the colours of the Costa brand - even the outdoor decks onboard are bright, and it’s clear which cruise line you’re cruising with when you look around. Pay particular attention to the below image showing the top deck - that yellow and blue palette paints a very clear picture that you’re not cruising on a ship that’s trying to ‘blend in’ with those around it - this is designed to stick out!

Here’s some more shots to give you a flavour of the sort of styling onboard.

2. I was surprised by the drinks - you really NEED to take a drinks package when cruising on here!

Okay, there isn’t a rule that you need to pay for a drinks package to cruise with Costa Cruises but, in my experience, it doesn’t make sense not to! On most cruises, you’ll have the ability to get some free drinks throughout the day - there will often be complimentary coffee and water available at the buffet all day, with a wider array of drinks being offered during meal times.

However, I was really surprised to find that this wasn’t the case on any of my Costa cruises. Sure, you can get some basic drinks at the buffet without paying for them, but when the meal time finishes, you’re not even going to get free water in here - the machines get turned off!

Instead, you’ll be directed to a bar, where you can PURCHASE water by the glass.

Now, there are two main options for drinks on a Costa cruise. You can either take the ‘My Drinks’ package, or the ‘My Drinks Plus’ package. There is also then the option to purchase other drinks offers too - eg. coffee packages, soft drink options etc. I won’t go into detail on the drinks packages and offers in this post - that’s not what we’re here to talk about today - to learn more, you can find the detail you need on the Costa Cruises website: click here.

3. I was surprised by their pricing - I couldn’t believe how cheap my Costa cruises were!

As someone who often cruises solo, I’m used to being ‘stung’ for high solo occupancy fees, also known as ‘solo supplements’. However, I was delighted to find out that Costa Cruises often operate with incredibly low solo supplements.

In the case of one of my cruises, I managed to cruise onboard one of their newer ships, Costa Smeralda, for 7 nights for less than £600 ($770) solo! With a price tag like that, I have to admit that I had pretty low expectations. The only additional charge that I had to account for was onboard gratuities, which are billed at €11 per night for those 15 years old and above, or €5.50 for those from age 4 to 14. There’s no service charge for guests under the age of 4 years old.

Once onboard, I would admit that Costa do operate with a ‘sell them cheap and pack them on’ approach, but if you know that you should be expecting big, busy ships, then this isn’t going to be an issue. Costa aren’t targeting the luxury end of the market, and that’s ok - they operate really well at this other end of the market.

4. I was surprised by the parties and nightlife - these ships really come to life at night!

Okay, this one REALLY surprised me about cruising with Costa. If you’ve ever taken a holiday to a European city (especially Italy…), you’ll know that things tend to come to life at night. It’s not unusual to walk down the streets mid Summer in Rome to find the locals eating dinner as the clock approaches midnight - it’s a way of life that’s fascinated me for years.

While cruising with Costa, I felt as though the day progressed at a very different pace to on other cruise lines. The parties seemed to start much later than I was used to - on some nights, the main party would begin about 11pm/11.30pm…!

I’m not sure how people were doing it - I can only assume that they retreat back to their cabins mid afternoon to nap, therefore giving them the energy to still be going strong well into the night. I never found any of the parties onboard Costa to be quiet - these passengers know how to enjoy themselves!

One thing that I will highlight now, but I’ll cover in another post, is that you need to remember there are lots of different languages onboard a Costa Cruises ship. The primary language onboard is Italian, rather than English, so you can expect lots of Italian/European music at the parties that might not be overly familiar to a British ear. To me, this isn’t an issue - just something to be mindful of!

5. I was surprised at how good the food was!

Before taking my first Costa cruise, I’d heard mixed reviews of almost every element of the experience. That included the food - I’d seen some YouTube videos explaining that the food wasn’t very good, but others claiming it was excellent.

I must say - I was extremely impressed with the food being offered onboard considering the price point that Costa Cruises are operating at. This then added to my earlier feelings about the fact that I couldn’t believe the fare I had paid for my cruise.

Yes, the dining experience was busy and the ‘included’ restaurants had a huge amount of covers (especially on the much bigger, newer ships like Toscana and Smeralda), but the food seemed to come out of the kitchens efficiently, and it all tasted great.

Here’s some shots from the buffet onboard Costa Smeralda, to give you a flavour for what the food on offer looked like during my cruise. Personally, this isn’t massively different to what I’ve seen from cruise lines operating at double the price of Costa!

So, that’s 5 things that really surprised me about cruising with Costa Cruises! To see more of my posts on the topic of Costa Cruises, tap here.

Why not join me in the below YouTube video, where I’ll show you inside Costa Toscana, the huge flagship of the Costa Cruises fleet?