Here's a review I did for Costa Mediterranea.

Costa Cruises has recently positioned the Costa Mediterranea to cruise the Caribbean out of Miami on a seasonal basis, and vacationers are going to truly enjoy, not only the Italian environment and culture onboard the ship, but also the unique itinerary. December 11th 2014, I had the great opportunity to sample the Costa Mediterranea shipboard lifestyle, and a fabulous itinerary, which includes: Nassau Bahamas, Samana Dominican Republic, Antigua Leewards Islands, Tortola British Virgin Islands, St Maarten Leewards Islands, Guadelupe Leewards Islands, and finally Freeport Bahamas. Having cruised all over the Caribbean, mostly Eastern & Western Caribbean, I had never been to most of the ports we visited. I’ve been to Nassau and St Maarten, but the other ports of call on this voyage were a treat to visit.

Some highlights and observations from these first-time visits are worth going into more detail. Samana, Domincan Republic was a delight to visit. With no pier for the giant Costa Mediterranea to dock, we tendered into this quaint village. There was a boardwalk that lined the crescent-shaped bay area with leisure and fishing boats anchored off-shore. Some locals were on the boardwalk area with shops filled with local crafts, nick-knacks and clothes items. Off in the distance and on a hill was a five-star resort called Gran Bahia Principe, and connecting several small islands were bridges for pedestrians. The locals have an interesting version of a rickshaw powered by motorcycle. I’ve seen rickshaws in India powered by a man pulling the cart, or perhaps a bicycle, but never a motorcycle. Facing the bay was a very colorful village of buildings, which looked more like a Hollywood set or façade, rather than practical buildings for businesses. I decided to walk to the resort on the hill and maybe walk out on the bridges that connect the islands. The resort access was strictly for guests only, however; I enjoyed the beautiful beach area before heading out onto the bridges. There were plenty of picturesque scenes to capture with my camera. I even came across some local boys jumping into the ocean from the middle of the bridge. The drop to the ocean was about forty feet so these boys were challenging their wits by leaping off the bridge into the ocean below, only to climb up and do it again. With Samana being our fourth day on the ship, I looked forward to the fifth day as we were in yet another port that was new to me, Tortola.

Again we tendered into the port of Tortola, where there was some construction work being done to lengthen and widen the cruise ship pier area. I spoke with April who works for the British Virgin Islands Port Authority, and she told me they expect to have much of the pier expansion project complete by April 20th, 2015, and the land portion will be complete by the end of 2015. The land portion will include cultural shops, local bands, local shops and kiosks with local foods to try. It will be a complete entertainment center for cruise passengers. Currently Tortola can accommodate two large ships at anchor, and one smaller ship at a pier, however; when the pier expansion is complete, four cruise ships should be able to dock right in town and at the entrance to the new cruise passengers entertainment center. Some highlights in Tortola for passengers to book excursions with include a canopy tour where people can zoom down a zip line. Another vary popular excursion is in Virgin Gorda, a short boat ride to a unique naturally formed bath area with caves to explore. From my short visit to Tortola, I noticed it was among the more clean and well-maintained town.

Our next port was Antigua, which is in the Leeward Islands. Our ship, the Costa Mediterranea, docked in Antugua, and I was pleased to see several other cruise ships in port including the Thompson Celebration which is United Kingdom-based cruise ship with Thompson Cruises. This ship started out in 1984 as Holland America’s Noordam. I walked several miles from the ship into town and noticed quite the contrast between the other ports we visited and the town of Antigua, which happened to be an older more run-down town. There was obviously more poverty in this town, and it is possible there had been one too many hurricanes that caused some devastation. The streets were narrow and very crowded with locals and the thousands of cruise passengers streaming into the city. I walked with my brother, Paul, to the top of the hill where an old church stood with a creepy, run-down graveyard you might expect to see as a typical hunted place. Some gravestones were tilted, or broken, or worn down to where you can barely read the inscriptions. Some gravestones read as far back as early 1800’s. There seemed to be a project underway to restore the old church building, however; they have a lot of work to do because the structure looked like it was about to topple over.

On the seventh day of our eleven-night cruise aboard the Costa Mediterranea, we docked in Guadalupe, which is also in the Leeward Islands. This is a very French port where everyone spoke French. Even the layout of the streets and buildings resembled parts of Paris. The Euro was the form of currency in Guadalupe, and they did not accept U.S. dollars. There were plenty of ATM machines around town to acquire the Euro. Again, as a ship spotter, I noticed a very cool looking yacht docked at the end of the pier, it was a Russian Billionaire’s yacht that was in for some refurbishing. I found out this was a $300 million dollar superyacht, and at 400 feet long it’s nearly the size of a small cruise ship and can reach speeds of up to 27 Knots. Ok, enough about the yacht and back to Guadalupe. I enjoyed walking through this town and peeking into the many shops. One observation is that you better not have to use the bathroom while exploring Guadalupe, because the only toilets require payment to use. Trying to use a restroom in a shopping market didn’t go over too well, as we were turned away. So make sure you have some Euro coins in case you have a need to visit the toilet while in Guadalupe. There were nice open-air markets and excellent opportunities for shopping where you can buy unique spices. Like most big cities there are areas of poverty, and areas that are bit more upscale. Most of downtown Guadalupe, however; tended to lean more towards the poverty and middle-class citizens. I did notice many interesting vehicle brands that I didn’t know existed, like SKODA and MEGANE, and I did see some typical French cars like: RENAULT, ALFA ROMEO, CITROEN and PEUGEOT.

Two other ports we visited during this eleven-night cruise include St Maarten, Nassau, Bahamas, and Freeport, Bahamas. I’m not going to write too much about these ports other than I noticed St Maarten is stepping up it’s game to be a major cruise ports. There were SIX giant cruise ships including the Costa Mediterranea, docked in St Maarten the day we were there. I estimate there could be as many as 19,000 tourists flooding into St Maarten in one day. Our group decided to visit the beach at the end of the runway to the airport, where jets fly within a few feet of beach goers. And when a big jet is about to take off and it revs it’s engines, beachgoers will often be caught in the jet blast and sand will get blown all over the place. It’s somewhat of a novelty to see this and beachgoers can bee seen cheering on the big jets as the take off and land. I also notice that St Maarten has grown immensely since I had last visited the island only a few years ago. My brother, who has never cruised before and has never been to the Caribbean said he was impressed with St Maarten and could see himself vacationing there for a week or two.

Speaking of my brother, Paul, It was such a thrill for me to bring my brother on this cruise with me because it gave me an opportunity to get his perspective on his first-ever cruise vacation. Not only was this Paul’s first cruise but it was his first time visiting the Caribbean. It was also a great chance for us to bond as brothers, since we truly don’t often spend that much time together. Some of Paul’s observations were that he liked the flexibility to relax and do nothing in our stateroom. Paul enjoyed spending time on our verandah watching the ocean and soaking in the sea air. Paul enjoyed the food onboard and the ability to explore multiple ports during one vacation. As much as he enjoyed the cruise, I don’t think a cruise would be his first choice for the perfect vacation, but that was his personal feelings. Ii think Paul would rather go to St Maarten and stay for a week or two rather than embark on another cruise. Who knows one day I might be able to entice him on another cruise.

This was Costa Mediterranea’s introduction to this seasonal itinerary, and so there may be a few tweaks here and there that might have to happen to appeal to the North American market. A few suggestions and observations I noticed during this eleven-night journey to the southern Caribbean aboard the Costa Mediterranea are as follows.
No ice tea or juices were available during meal times or off-hours between meals
You had to ask for special accommodation from your waiter to have water at meals
Bacco Deck (boat deck) has no deck chairs for reading while at sea
Lido Buffet was not organized well
There were times when no food was available anywhere on the ship between meals
Boat drill was lengthy
Announcements were often made in numerous languages

Let me take each of these observations and expound on them a little. First, the fact that there was no ice tea or juices available anywhere on the ship, especially in the Lido buffet area. On every cruise ship I have been on there was always an assortment of juices and ice tea available 24 hours throughout the ship, particularly in the lido area, for that person who happens to be thirsty for something more than just water. It was odd that only water or coffee was available in the lido. One day I took my ice bucket from my stateroom and went to the lido to fill it with hot water, I grabbed some tea bags and sweetener and made my own ice tea in my stateroom. If the Costa Mediterranea is going to cater to the North American market, they must offer ice tea always and without cost. When I asked for ice tea in the dinning room, the waiter asked for my sail & sign card, so I stopped him and asked what he needed that for….he said the ice tea was in a can or bottle and costs a few dollars. I cancelled my order for ice tea. At breakfast, lunch & dinner, the typical expectation at any restaurant is to have a nice glass of cold ice water at the table before a meal…not so on the Costa Mediterranea, guests must ask for water and must pay for bottled water, and it’s an additional hurtle to ask for ice. I understand some of the cultural differences where in some places in Europe, water is not automatically offered, but this ship will be catering to the North American market so it is essential that water with ice is offered. A favorite past time while cruising at sea, for a hundred years, has been to sit in a deck chair on a deck near the ocean, and enjoy a good book to read, away from the masses by the pool decks. Passengers love to walk the deck, do their laps, stand at the railing and watch the sea go by and even snuggle into a deckchair with maybe a blanket and enjoy the sea air. This is not possible on the Costa Mediterranea because the Bacco Deck or (boat deck) has no deck chairs or chairs of any kind on this deck. When asked about why this is so, the response was because it was under the lifeboats, it was a possible safety issue, however; many ships in the same “Spirit-Class” hulls do indeed have deck chairs in this area.

The Lido buffet area was often crowded and a bit confusing as to where certain entrees were located. The quality of the food was ok in the Lido area, except for the pizza, which is a HUGE surprise considering we were on an Italian cruise ship. The pizza was bland and often doughy. Another observation about the Lido buffet area is watch out for closing time, because in a flash, all food-serving locations in the Lido would shut down quickly, and if you’re hungry, you’re out of luck, and must wait till your neck designated feeding time. Never have I experienced a cruise ship that shut down all access to food so abruptly. Usually there is a grill that is opened longer somewhere on the ship, but not on the Costa Mediterranea. Boat drill lasted a long time, primarily because there were so many languages that had to be considered. On our cruise there were French, Italians, Germans, Dutch and some Scandinavians, as well as a few hundred Americans. So anytime there were announcements, expect the same announcement in at least three or four different languages. It’s not a bad thing, you get use to hearing the many different languages, and you might even learn how to speak Italian.

Now for some positive things to say about this cruise aboard the Costa Mediterranea. The ship is well maintained and very clean on the inside and outside. Maritime designer Joseph Farcus, who also designed the interiors for most of the Carnival Cruise Line’s ships, designed the interior of the Costa Mediterranea. I have to say that the interior designs were not my favorite and the main lobby was so splashed with many different colors and shapes it made me dizzy. It was a very eclectic and unusual design that I must admit grew on me after about day ten. I did notice on the Tersicore Deck forward was the Piazza Casanova lounge, which had a rather large dance floor and usually a live band playing. So for those who love to dance this lounge is the place to be. There are a few other quaint spots for dancing with a live band, and two excellent piano bars. The main lobby bar, (Atrium Maschera D’argento) has an outstanding singer that burns the keyboards with many favorite pop songs.

Dinning onboard the Costa Mediterranea was excellent with an Italian flare. Emanuele Canepa, the Executive Chef onboard the Costa Mediterranea, says the galley has seven fresh made-from-scratch-on-board pastas and ten dry pastas, so anticipate a glorious gastronomic experience that includes pasta at nearly every meal. It’s truly a cultural experience alone to enjoy the expansive menu of wonderful pastas, fish dishes, chicken, pork, beef and vegetables. One absolute must is to experience at least one time during your cruise is to make a reservation in the specialty restaurant on Cleopatra Deck called Club Madusa. It’s in this specialty restaurant where the chefs have more flexibility to be creative and use mostly fresh, made from scratch, ingredients with larger portions and the best cuts of meats. Diners in Club Madusa will enjoy a pianist playing lightly in the background, and an interesting fresco painting on the ceiling dome. The Club Madusa restaurant is connected to the deck below with a signature glass staircase that sticks out over the top of the Atrium with a scary view ten deck below. Most of the “Spirit-class” vessels have this same staircase with glass steps, so beware if you have a fear of heights. My favorite main-course dish throughout this cruise was the sword fish steak served in the main Argentieri Restaurant.

It was fascinating to learn that the Cruise Staff are actually called the “adult Animators” meaning they encourage the passengers to participate in various activities. The staff also has Youth and Children Animators. This is a term that translates in English to Cruise or Entertainment Staff. The shows in the Osiris Theater were excellent with a wide range of Chinese acrobats to a magician, singers and dancers.

Our Stateroom was 6238 on Narciso Deck, a standard verandah stateroom. The room was compact and maybe even a bit on the small side. Beds were comfortable and the room was quiet. There a couch and a vanity and a flat-screen television hooked into the ship’s satellite, so occasionally the TV service was spotty. Movies were broadcast in several languages. The bathroom was compact and the shower had decent water pressure. We absolutely adored our cabin stewardess, she did an incredible job keeping our room clean and organized. The favorite feature in our stateroom was the verandah, where we would spend a lot of time watching the ocean and it was a great spot to watch as the ship arrives and departs a port.

One of my favorite things to do on a cruise is luxuriate in the spa, and the Ischia Spa on the Costa Mediterranea was no exception. I enjoyed the wonderful steam room and sauna. The exercise room had plenty of treadmills and workout equipment to stay fit during your cruise. The spa manager’s name is Elvis and he keeps a tight ship with great service. I desperately needed a haircut, so I made an appointment in the Venus Beauty Salon. One thing to take note of when cruising, most ships in the cruise industry are operated by Steiners of London, and they provide an incredible menu of exotic massages and skin treatments. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to indulge in a massage or get a skin treatment, a facial, a body-wrap, there are so many great services to try. The products they offer onboard, like Elemis, are excellent and you can even bring your spa experience home with you by ordering your Elemis products online and have them shipped to your home address.

Overall, this eleven-night cruise to the Caribbean aboard the Costa Mediterranea was a hit, especially the itinerary. Expect a cultural experience with many Europeans flying over from Europe to cruise the Caribbean. You’ll have to get use to some of the customs and sometime lack of understanding when it comes to standing in lines. Many Europeans don’t understand the concept of Quing….it’s a matter of survival of the fittest when it comes to lines. My advice is to take a deep breath, relax, and don’t let the little cultural idiosyncrasies bother you. The staff onboard were professional, the children will enjoy the entertainment and youth areas, especially the giant twisty-slide on the top of the ship. The Costa Mediterranea will be cruising the Caribbean seasonally through May of 2015.

[ 01-19-2015: Message edited by: joe at travelpage ]