Celebrity
And now we come down towards the budget end of cruising with Costa. This is a cruise line where you need to adjust your expectations a little, but if you do that, you can have a perfectly acceptable holiday without spending a fortune.
Don't expect the sort of frills you get with Cunard, and don't go expecting a five-course gastronomic extravaganza in the main dining room every evening. The food is perfectly adequate, but you're not going to be writing home about every meal.Costa does have "formal" nights, although there isn't really a dress code to speak of. If you turn up in a dinner jacket and bow tie, don't be surprised if you find yourself very much in the minority. You won't necessarily look overdressed, but you may wonder whether you've accidentally arrived at the wrong restaurant.
The big advantage of Costa is the price. It can be considerably cheaper than some of the more upmarket cruise lines, and if your main reason for taking a cruise is to visit different places rather than spend your entire holiday admiring the ship, that can make a lot of sense.
In fact, I'd say that is where Costa works best. If you regard the ship primarily as a convenient means of transportation between interesting ports and aren't particularly bothered about having a luxurious onboard experience, then Costa can do the job very nicely.
You wake up somewhere different, go ashore and explore, come back to the ship, have something to eat, perhaps enjoy some entertainment and then do it all again the following day. At Costa prices, that's not a bad proposition at all.
The fleet includes both large and smaller ships, so there is some choice in terms of the sort of experience you want. The larger ships obviously provide more facilities and entertainment, while the smaller vessels can feel a little more manageable.There are things I wouldn't compare with the more expensive lines, but that isn't really a criticism. Costa is playing in a different part of the market. If you pay considerably less, you're going to have to accept that some things won't be quite as polished or elaborate.
And that's really the secret with Costa: know what you're paying for.
If you're expecting Cunard at Costa prices, you'll probably be disappointed. If you're looking for a relatively cheap way of seeing several destinations, with a perfectly acceptable ship to get you there, it's a different story.
I wouldn't choose Costa because I wanted the ship itself to be the highlight of my holiday. I'd choose it because I wanted to see the destinations without paying a fortune to get between them.
Not luxurious, not fancy, but perfectly acceptable — and sometimes that's all you need.
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