Costa Atlantica - 3/27/05 Western Caribbean Sailing

Anyone sailing on the Costa Atlantica on the 3/27/05 Western Caribbean sailing?

We were on the Atlantica in March 2001 on her inaugural season in the Caribbean. We were booked in Cabin 8235 which is a Cat. 11 cabin and has a longer balcony due to its positioning by the elevator. The cabin was beautiful and the elevators were no bother at all. It was a great cabin and our first balcony cabin. We have booked one of the Grand Suites - Suite #8273 with a wrap-around balcony - for Spring Break this year.

Since that Costa cruise in 2001, we were on the RCCL Adeventure of the Seas in July 2002, the HAL Zuiderdam in March 2003, the Grand Princess in July 2003 and the Diamond Princess in March 2004. My wife's favorite line is RCCL, my favorite line is Princess and we are going on Costa for the 2nd time. Where else can you get a Grand Suite for the price of a balcony cabin on another line?

I have read some of the negative comments made about the Costa experience of people and I can agree with some (rudeness of passengers to a degree) and disagree with others (friendliness of crew for one). Our cabin steward was great, our waiter and assistant waiter the same, we actually saw and saw often our head waiter and the bar staff - especially the bartenders in the La Dolce Vita Bar - were fantastic. It is unusual for me to pick an Atrium bar but I just couldn't stay away from this one. We are in our 50's and had a great week with a honeymoon couple from New Jersey as tablemates.

We braved the lines for shore excursions, however, they can now be booked in advance on Costa's website. Also, my wife and I have booked some shore excursions directly on the internet and we have used "www.shoretrips.com", which worked out extremely well on the Mexican Riviera trip we took this past March. We already have 2 booked for this March thru the ship and 1 booked separately. As for the flying horror stories, after doing a connecting flight in 1998 booked by the cruise line from Chicago thru St. Louis to Miami for a cruise with 2 teenage girls and a return flight that didn't leave until 5:00 PM after the cruise, I decided that in the future, we would book our own airline flights and our own transportation to and from the ship. We have not had a problem since then doing it ourselves and the fares have been much cheaper than the aid add-ons and the same goes for the transportation to and from the ports we have sailed out of. Just make sure to give yourself enough time, which we do now anyway with security checks, etc.

This is the first time I have written any type of comments, etc. so I am sorry if I got a little long and winded. I actually went onto the internet to see if there were any comments on the Costa Atlantica Grand Suites and after reading various Costa reviews was compelled to write this. Is Costa the best cruise line? Probably not, however, in my opinion, you can't beat the value and the Atlantica is certainly beautiful. If anyone has any further comments on the Grand Suites - especially the corner ones with wrap-around balconies, please let me know.

RGL.
Naperville, IL

P.S. The Toga Party is a riot; in fact, I think I am going to buy togas for my wife and I before we sail in March. Also, we enjoy art and we are looking forward to the Art Auctions as the Atlantica had some of the best art up for auction that we have seen on cruise ships. The venue wasn't the best - the Atrium - but it was right by my buddies at the bar!

[KathyMike]

Hello,
My husband and I were just on the Costa Atlantica at the invitation of
Costa Cruise Lines. My husband is a cruise specialist and the purpose
of the cruise was to meet the new president/CEO and all the regional
sales directors. They have made some great changes and told us about
some new and exciting plans for the future. ***edited to remove commercial information*** Take care and I hope you enjoy your next
cruise as much as we enjoyed ours.
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Hi there.... what follows is a copy of a post that I made in the "Destinations" board here on Cruisemates regarding a cruise excursion that we took in Ochos Rios (Jamaica):

We just got back from an awesome cruise and wanted to share how pleased we were with our tour guide in Jamaica. Trevor Hudlin of Trevor Hudlin Tours provides the best deal on the island. Trevor's personal service, knowledge of the island, and fantastic hospitality was top notch. You can contact him directly at trevorhudlin@hotmail.com. Tell him Kathy from New Hampshire recommended you contact him. He will treat you right! For only $50.00 per person we had an island highlight tour, climbed Dunn River Falls, went tubing down the White River, went to a pottery factory, visited a spice plantation, went shopping, explored Fern Gulley, just to name some of the things we did. Trevor spent the whole day with us, paid all of our admissions and safely got us back to the ship on time. He was fantastic and we highly recommend him! Have fun.

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If you end up at the Montigo Bay port instead of the James Bond port at Ochos Rios, Treavor will still pick you up and show you a reall good time. I'd also now like to add that we enjoyed our time on the Costa Atlantica. Princess Cruise line is still our favorite, however, there were no major problems at all with this line or ship. Sometimes I think the negative posts are "planted posts" from individuals that have special reasons, whatever they are, to disparage a ship or line. No one and no cruise line is 100% perfect all the time. Keep a positive attitude and enjoy yourself.

We've cruised a lot, on a lot of different ships, if ever you want to contact us with questions, we'd be happy to respond directly to you...... try to make it before you book though because we may be able to help prevent issues from happening.

Take care.

Kathy and Mike




Kathy