I continue my story about the cruise around the Indian Ocean islands. The previous article ended with the fact that we arrived from Lemorne beach to the port of the island of Mauritius, where a snow-white cruise ship Costa Mediterranea was waiting for us. Let’s talk about it today.
This is my first Costa ship. I’ve heard a lot from colleagues about this cruise line, both good and bad. But until you try it yourself, it’s not appropriate to judge. Now I mean the fleet itself and the quality of service. I have long known that the company’s airliners operate on unconventional routes. In addition, this is a fairly budget line for cruise travel.
Costa Mediterranea
Costa Mediterranea has 12 passenger decks, and can accommodate 2,680 people, excluding staff.
And also:
- Three pools
- Four Jacuzzis
- SPA center
- Theater on three decks
- Treadmill
- Gym
- Children’s Club
Last year, my wife and I traveled on an MSC liner, and we were very interested in comparing the ships and service. We started with the cabin. The video review of the ship below is exactly where it begins.
Cabin
I’ll start with a free souvenir after each trip. My collection of onboard cruise traveler cards has been expanded.
We booked an inside guaranteed cabin. For those who don’t know, I’ll explain what it is. Well, firstly, this is the most budget option. Moreover, until the last moment you don’t know exactly where on the ship you will be assigned a cabin (cabin) in the future.
20 days before departure, a letter arrives, or you yourself look into your personal account on the company’s website and see the cabin number. In other words, you are buying a “pig in a poke,” but there are advantages to this.
The cruise line can upgrade and you will get a cabin with a balcony instead of an inside one, which is a couple orders of magnitude more expensive. This time we were lucky. BINGO!
More precisely, this was the only time. I don’t like these kinds of roulette games, I just needed to save bonus points for the next voyage.
We were also lucky with the cabin in this regard. We had it corner and “hugged” the elevator on one side. Due to this, a couple of square there were more meters. And this is noticeable for a small room. Coming in to visit friends, we immediately felt the difference in area.
There was still a minus, but it was only one. On the liner Costa Mediterranea we did not like the interior of the cabin. Somehow everything is very simple. Apparently we got spoiled. It is clear that the ship is not new, built in 2003. However, after 2-3 days you don’t notice this anymore.
Interior of the Costa Mediterranea liner
The interior decoration of the liner itself is very worthy. Clean, beautiful, functional.
There is nothing to complain about here. Everything glitters and sparkles.
The main theme of the Costa Mediterranea ship is Italian castles.
Huge paintings, sculptures, wide wrought-iron staircases are placed everywhere, all this gives the liner a special atmosphere.
The atrium is perhaps the most elegant place. Panoramic elevators, sculptures and general decoration add pomp to the heart of the ship. The Info Deck (reception) is also located here.
Pools
Two swimming pools are located on deck 9, one of them with a retractable roof. Since we were in places where it was always summer, it was always open. The third is at the stern and is very popular.
The water in the pools is sea, there is a shower with fresh water at the exit. There is also a Jacuzzi, a bar and space for various events.
Water slide
At the very top of the ship there is a water slide. At first glance, it seems that it is only for children, but no, children under a certain age are not allowed.
Opens at certain hours, in the morning from 10 to 12 and in the afternoon for 2-3 hours. We rode a few times, it was fun.
Power
As on most liners, there are two main free food restaurant:
- A la carte restaurant Degli Argentieri
- Buffet restaurant Perla del Lago Buffet
Tables from two to eight people. The exquisite menu will delight not only picky people, but also gourmets.
The à la carte restaurant Degli Argentieri is located on decks 2 and 3. It has two tiers and a very festive look.
Veal steak with vegetables
Seafood plate
The self-service buffet restaurant is located on the upper deck. Its disadvantage is in size, not very big. Therefore, sometimes in the middle of breakfast or lunch you have to stand in line for up to 10 people. True, she moves quickly, but we didn’t see anything like that at MSC, maximum 2-3 people.
It’s worth noting that I was pleased with the food on the ship. Was varied menu of meat and seafood. I generally like Italian kitchen. Pasta, ravioli, various salads and much more. Various desserts lifted the mood at the end of the meal.
Entertainment
In addition to the above-mentioned daytime entertainment, there was never a dull moment in the evening. I personally liked:
- Theater with daily performances,
- Bar Casanova with live music
- Night disco bar (dance floor)
- The atrium also pleased with the evening events
I can’t keep silent about the animation on the liner. I’m just delighted with how the guys work. No one is allowed to get bored! And this is throughout the whole day.
Then they will start learning to dance by the pool, then sports games, then they will organize an event with the kids, well in the evening they have no equal at all.
The involvement is almost 100% and you can’t refuse them, that’s the thing. Smiling Italians with a great sense of humor, intriguing looks and simply nice people — will lure you into any adventure. I give 5+ animations on the ship!
Service and maintenance
In terms of room service, there are no special complaints. Cleaning and linen change were done on time. True, once the steward decided to «cheat» and skip your duties. After the remark, he apologized wildly, but then everything was at the highest level.
Minor issues were resolved very quickly, you just have to go to the reception. They will advise and help if necessary. The liner Costa Mediterranea has a large staff of Russian-speaking employees, which makes life much easier.
I want to thankmanager Irina, Elena at the reception, Irina the photographer, Galina the restaurant waiter. Each of them helped us in some way.
Holidays on board the ship
I know that people not only go on a honeymoon on a cruise, but also registered on the ship. True, I haven’t been able to see this in person yet, but there are a lot of videos about it on the Internet.
But celebrating a birthday on a ship is already commonplace. Almost every day at dinner in a restaurant you hear someone being congratulated. There was a birthday party in our company too.
Valentina Trush, our friend and colleague from the InCruises club, turned either 36 or 27 years old, not the point
. We, a group of seven travelers, sat at different tables at dinner and also ate on different shifts.
So, on the advice of the waiter Galina, I approached the head of the restaurant and asked on the right day to seat us all at the same table and at the same time. No problem! We celebrated Valentina’s birthday together.
It was a very useful experience for me! After all, I already booked a cruise to the Greek islands from Venice for my Birthday in May. Now I know the options for holding this celebration.
Summary
Overall, we liked the Costa Mediterranea ship, it’s cozy, beautiful, and friendly.
Yes, this is not the ultra-modern MSC Meraviglia liner on which I traveled on my first cruise. But in this case, we relied on an exotic route, and other airliners do not operate on it.
“In the next article, read about our first stop in the Seychelles, Mahe Island.”
Blog author Sergey Buslaev
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