Cruise Line: Costa Cruises
Cruise Ship: Costa Magica
Cruise Destination: Northern Europe and the Baltic -- Copenhagen, Tallinn, St. Petersburg, Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhagen
Cruise Dates: September 3 - September 10, 2006
Guest Contributor: George and Eleanor
Costa does Europe in five languages (English, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Japanese) least expensively with the most interesting itineraries and convenient schedules.
We enjoyed four previous cruises on Costa around the Med, including one last year on the Magica. The food was so bad we could not believe it. Bland, never hot, and sometimes unidentifiable. So this year we were not happy that the Magica was the only Baltic ship fitting our schedule. This is the last Baltic run of the season before the ship relocates to Savona for the fall. After enduring painfully uncomfortable economy seating on SAS Airlines to Copenhagen, when ship embarkation opened at 12 we were in our room asleep by 1220.
Costa, like many other cruise lines in the Carnival-owned system, has changed the way tips work. In the "old days," which were only a few years ago, each passenger received envelopes at journey's end to tip their waiter, asst waiter, cabin steward, and head waiter. Staff members went out of their way during the trip to chat, entertain, and delight passengers so as to increase tips. Each dinner had entertainment by the dining staff. Cabin stewards were extra attentive, always around your cabin, fixing or cleaning it up in nice or unusual ways.
Now the accountants are running the ship. Taking tips out of your control, Costa simply tacks on 6 Euro per person per day to your onboard bill. No longer dependent on impressing customers, the staff doesn't need as much time to serve, and therefore Costa has cut back slightly on personnel. While you have a nominal waiter and asst, they are simply order takers and servers, moving at lightning speed to move'em on, head'em out. The cabin steward is simply a housekeeper as in a hotel. You'll get a chocolate on your pillow and a clean cabin but no towel animals or any other of the old kitschy gestures. Technically you can withhold tips upon checkout, but rarely does anyone do so. Not that the service is poor. The staff does a fine job efficiently. It is just that the charm is gone. Years ago the crew was almost all Italian. The accountant's costcutting has brought on massive numbers of Filipinos, Chinese, and Indonesians who work very hard and cost less than Europeans. Consequently, there's more Italian influence in your local Olive Garden than on a Costa ship. Cruising "Italian Style"? Baloney.
The Magica's food this year was still poorly prepared. We're not food snobs, but there's nothing elitist about wanting meals hot, tasty, and fresh. Every English-speaking passenger we spoke to, from Canada to NZ to UK to Australia, found the food primarily bland, tasteless, and lukewarm. One would think on a supposedly Italian ship the Italian food would be awesome. We've had better in an Olive Garden. Almost every entrée is frozen before cooking and you can taste it. Costa goes out of its way to inform you the frozen items have been prepared using techniques of highest quality. Well, Costa, it may be sanitary but if it doesn't taste fresh, so what? We can't figure out why a giant ship stopping in a major port nearly every day can't serve more fresh food. Grilled fish dishes and fresh fruit are your best bets. Skip the awful pizza, tough steaks, overly sweet fruit soups, and overfrozen shellfish. Even getting to dinner can be a mystery. Smeralda Dining Room can't be accessed from its own floors 3 and 4. One has to go to 2 or 5 and go up or down. Club Vincenza, the alternative restaurant on the 11th floor, serves up a better, hotter meal for 20 extra Euro per person. That's a lot to pay for basic quality you should be getting in the main dining rooms.
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Cruise Ship: Costa Magica
Cruise Destination: Northern Europe and the Baltic -- Copenhagen, Tallinn, St. Petersburg, Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhagen
Cruise Dates: September 3 - September 10, 2006
Guest Contributor: George and Eleanor
Costa does Europe in five languages (English, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Japanese) least expensively with the most interesting itineraries and convenient schedules.
We enjoyed four previous cruises on Costa around the Med, including one last year on the Magica. The food was so bad we could not believe it. Bland, never hot, and sometimes unidentifiable. So this year we were not happy that the Magica was the only Baltic ship fitting our schedule. This is the last Baltic run of the season before the ship relocates to Savona for the fall. After enduring painfully uncomfortable economy seating on SAS Airlines to Copenhagen, when ship embarkation opened at 12 we were in our room asleep by 1220.
Costa, like many other cruise lines in the Carnival-owned system, has changed the way tips work. In the "old days," which were only a few years ago, each passenger received envelopes at journey's end to tip their waiter, asst waiter, cabin steward, and head waiter. Staff members went out of their way during the trip to chat, entertain, and delight passengers so as to increase tips. Each dinner had entertainment by the dining staff. Cabin stewards were extra attentive, always around your cabin, fixing or cleaning it up in nice or unusual ways.
Now the accountants are running the ship. Taking tips out of your control, Costa simply tacks on 6 Euro per person per day to your onboard bill. No longer dependent on impressing customers, the staff doesn't need as much time to serve, and therefore Costa has cut back slightly on personnel. While you have a nominal waiter and asst, they are simply order takers and servers, moving at lightning speed to move'em on, head'em out. The cabin steward is simply a housekeeper as in a hotel. You'll get a chocolate on your pillow and a clean cabin but no towel animals or any other of the old kitschy gestures. Technically you can withhold tips upon checkout, but rarely does anyone do so. Not that the service is poor. The staff does a fine job efficiently. It is just that the charm is gone. Years ago the crew was almost all Italian. The accountant's costcutting has brought on massive numbers of Filipinos, Chinese, and Indonesians who work very hard and cost less than Europeans. Consequently, there's more Italian influence in your local Olive Garden than on a Costa ship. Cruising "Italian Style"? Baloney.
The Magica's food this year was still poorly prepared. We're not food snobs, but there's nothing elitist about wanting meals hot, tasty, and fresh. Every English-speaking passenger we spoke to, from Canada to NZ to UK to Australia, found the food primarily bland, tasteless, and lukewarm. One would think on a supposedly Italian ship the Italian food would be awesome. We've had better in an Olive Garden. Almost every entrée is frozen before cooking and you can taste it. Costa goes out of its way to inform you the frozen items have been prepared using techniques of highest quality. Well, Costa, it may be sanitary but if it doesn't taste fresh, so what? We can't figure out why a giant ship stopping in a major port nearly every day can't serve more fresh food. Grilled fish dishes and fresh fruit are your best bets. Skip the awful pizza, tough steaks, overly sweet fruit soups, and overfrozen shellfish. Even getting to dinner can be a mystery. Smeralda Dining Room can't be accessed from its own floors 3 and 4. One has to go to 2 or 5 and go up or down. Club Vincenza, the alternative restaurant on the 11th floor, serves up a better, hotter meal for 20 extra Euro per person. That's a lot to pay for basic quality you should be getting in the main dining rooms.
Page 2 > > More of Costa Magica Cruise Review > >
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