Bonjour à tous, dans 1 semaine nous devrions partir d'Orly pour la Réunion et embarquer sur le "Costa Méditérranéa" pour 30 jours; déjà Israël qui empêche les touristes même Français de descendre du bateau ou une " petite quarantaine" sur leur sol (12 jours) . Donc quel nouveau itinéraire ?
Mon agence et Costa ne peuvent à ce jour nous en dire plus ! !
Dans ce contexte de morosité et les risques de confinement, le moral est bas loin du plaisir de partir en vacances !
Si d'autres croisiéristes sont dans le même cas, je les remercie par avance de se manifester pour partager nos inquiétudes
Le 10 Avril, nous devrions arriver à Venise, pour reprendre l'avion pour rentrer en France ; mais à ce jour il y a le corinavirus !
Bonjour
En plus d’Israël je vois mal comment le navire va pouvoir accoster à l’île Maurice (après les Chinois, Coréens, Iraniens … Italiens c’est les Français qui viennent d’être classés comme population à risque).
De même aux Seychelles. Un communiqué officiel précise que "aucun navire ne sera autorisé à accoster si à son bord se trouve un passager qui s’est rendu en Chine, en Corée du Sud, en Italie ou en Iran au cours de 14 derniers jours".
Cordialement
9 mars
Je suis dans le même bateau (c'est le cas de le dire)
Le départ c'est mercredi et pas une nouvelle. Il semble que certaines escales soient compromises... et ils vont faire quelque chose?
Bonjour Guy
Je raccroche à l'instant d'un entretien téléphonique avec Costa
Pas de nouveau concernant l'itinéraire, c'est le bateau qui choisi de changer de port !
Pour le retour à Venise, costa métra des navettes pour nous rapatrier au cas ou le 10 Avril, il y a toujours le confinement à Venise !
Toutes les croisières sont maintenues, malgré les risques de propagation du coronavirus !
Ils disent que toutes les précautions seront prises, dossier médical, prise de la température etc..
vu qu'il faut 3 jours à un poteur sain, avant que se déclare une alerte (fièvre-toux etc) quelles sont les garanties que costa nous donne pour passer une croisière sans " épée de Damoclès" au -dessus de chacun de nous ?
Depuis jours avec mon épouse nous nous posons toutes ces questions, et avons pensé de tout annuler! malheureusement nous perdons tout !
Quel est votre avis ?
Bonne journée
annuler pour moi qui a réservé depuis presque 2 ans, c'est un crève cœur. Mais si Costa annule, qu'il rembourse, c'est comme ça. La plus grande peur est de devoir porter un masque et que l'ambiance ne soit pas.
Pour le moment le vol air austral est aussi maintenu.
Re bonjour Guy , Mon agence (croisière-club) m'a rassuré, concernant l'itinéraire, d'ici 13 jours, Israël, aura peut-être changé de position, ou continuera dans ce cas seul le capitaine (costa) pourra prendre la décision de changer de port
Pour Venise, le retour se fera, même si d'ici là (1 mois) le corona virus aura disparu, nous serons pris en charge par costa (l'agence nous tiendra au courant sur le bateau par sms, ou portable.
Si nous annulons, nous perdons tout, si c'est costa qui annule, nous aurons des compensations financières ou report sur d'autres croisières.
Donc nous partons plus confiant
Nous sommes habitués des croisières Costa et nous embarquons ce samedi 14 février de Port Louis à l'Ile Maurice. Nous venons d'arriver à l'Ile Maurice et nous posons les mêmes questions et avons la même analyse : Costa ne dira s'ils annulent la croisière qu'au dernier moment et nous n'avons pas plus de nouvelles que vous de Costa.
Pour votre information nous avons des amis qui eux avaient réservé sur le départ du Costa Fortuna au départ de demain à Singapour pour une semaine en Asie puis retour à Marseille. Ils partaient de province en TGV à 13 h ce dimanche et nous savions par les blogs dès le matin par des croisiéristes à bord du bateau très tôt que leur croisière venaient d’être annulée et eux n'ont eu l'information de Costa qu'à 12h30 juste avant le départ..... D'autres personnes ont eu moins de chances et ont reçu leur mail d'annulation pendant leur vol vers Singapour....
Voici ceci ne sont que des faits juste pour votre information et le premier qui a des informations peut les indiquer sur cette discussion.
En particulier comme vous embarquez 2 jours avant nous de La Réunion il nous sera très utile de savoir si vous avez bien pu embarquer et dans quelles conditions.
Bonsoir Noëlla et Michel , il est 22h50 et toujours pas d'annulation de Costa !
Nous partons mercredi matin par le train pour Nice où nous prendrons un vol (Air France) pour Orly et dans l'après-midi envol pour la Réunion ou nous devons arriver très tôt ; puis embarquer sur le Costa Méditérranéea pour lever l'ancre à 18h . Donc si nous avons des infos, je ne manquerai pas de vous le dire.
Ce que l'on sait par le message écrit par le Commandant du Costa Méditerranéa aux passagers actuels et avec les informations des médias locaux que l'on suit ici c'est que le Costa Méditerranéa accostera bien en principe demain mercredi matin entre 6h et 9h à La Réunion si la mise à jour des informations sur tous les passagers et membres de l'équipage qui seront fournies avant l'arrivée au port sont conformes aux règles sanitaires actuelles qui seront vérifiées par l'ARS Réunion. Rien n'est dit sur son départ le jeudi vers l'ïle Maurice et par défaut il est donc toujours bien prévu.
Si nous voyons d'autres nouvelles nous les rapporterons ici....
Bon voyage.
Merci Noëlla et Michel pour ces dernières nouvelles. Avec le confinement de tout les Italiens, nous devrions avoir de la place sur le bateau !
Il y a encore 165 nouveau cas de coronavirus en France !
Nos 3 enfants ont peur que leurs parents soient confiné ! nos petits enfants (5) attendent de nos nouvelles.
Partons demain matin des ARCS S/Argens à 6 heures puis de l'aéroport de Nice à 9h.30 pour Orly
Nous devons arriver à St. Denis de la Réunion à 5h.30 .
Fait'il beau où vous êtes ?
Bonsoir Noella il est 18h30 et COSTA annule toutes ses croisières en méditerranée jusqu'au 3 Avril pour coronavirus !
Je viens d'appeler mon agence à Paris, notre croisière est maintenue (pour l'instant !)
Voici les nouvelles factuelles au moment où vous devriez être entrain de quitter Paris :
A 16h j'ai eu ma conseillère COSTA qui me dit que la version officielle c'est que notre croisière est à cette heure-ci toujours prévue au départ de La Réunion demain jeudi et Samedi de Maurice. De leur côté ils sont complètement débordés du fait que COSTA a suspendu toutes les croisières en Europe jusqu'au 3 avril.
Ce matin le Costa Méditerranéa a bien accosté à La Réunion, nombre de passagers Réunionnais ont bien débarqué et il y a eu une pétition de plus de 1 000 passagers qui demandent le remboursement de leur croisières et voici le lien de l'interview de leur représentant (c'est long plus de 7 minutes) qui cherche à bloquer le port pour que le bateau ne parte pas demain....!!!!
Bonjour michel nous sommes arrivés à la Réunion où nous apprenons l'annulation de la croisière bon courage à vous croisière club nous cherche un vol retour en attendant il nous paye l'hôtel
Nous venons de nous réveiller et apprenons ici l'annulation de votre départ (et donc naturellement le notre dans 2 jours...) et de notre côté à cette heure-ci pas de message mail ou SMS de COSTA nous prévenant de l'annulation de notre croisière au départ de Maurice.
On va voir combien de temps cela va prendre à COSTA pour nous informer et si COSTA prendra aussi en charge notre vol retour et les nuits d'hôtel si nous devons attendre un départ vers Paris.
Encore merci de nous avoir informé cela éclairci le paysage quand même. Dommage que COSTA ne vous ai pas prévenu avant de vous envoler vers La Réunion.
Information de dernière minute ..... nous venons d'apprendre qu'un couple qui devait partir aussi hier de Roissy vers la Réunion a bien vu votre avion partir avec des croisiériste et pour eux ils ont reçu à ce moment là un message de Costa leur disant que la croisière était annulée et qu'il n'avaient pas à décoller et qu'une chambre d’hôtel leur était réservée sur Roissy et là contre toute attente Costa les transfert en navette à l'aéroport pour décoller à 16h30 vers l'Ile Maurice pour embarquer!!!!!!
Nous serons prévenus s'ils décollent bien.
De votre côté Costa ne vous a pas proposer de vous transférer de La Réunion à l'Ile Maurice?
Comme quoi la communication de Costa est brouillon.
Pour nous bien entendu aucune information de la part de Costa....
Bonjpur. Nous sommes a l aeroport de la reunion. Notre croisiere soit disant annune. Retour maison organise par costa[ sauf qu en fait la croisiere n est pad annulee du tout et part demain de maurice. Pourquoi ne nous avoir pas propose un transfert la reunion maurice. Mysyere et boule de gomme. Bref tresecontents
Effectivement nous ne comprenons pas la logique de COSTA ; les personnes qui sont actuellement à Rossy nous confirment à l'instant que COSTA qui devait les faire voler hier vers La réunion leur organise un vol qui part de Roissy tout à l'heure à 16h20 vers Maurice ...
Qui plus le COSTA Méditerranéa est prévue pour une arrivée demain matin et nous pour qui l'embarquement était depuis l'origine prévu à Maurice est programmé pour après demain Samedi. Cela laissait le temps d'organiser un transfert La Réunion Maurice. Il y a une logique COSTA qui nous échappe. A moins qu'il n'y ait plus de logique et que COSTA ait du mal à tout gérer compte tenu de l'environnement très compliqué.
Bonsoir Noella.nous sommes avec Claude et Henry et malgré plusieurs appel s avec croisière club c'est le flou total.nous sommes en pension complète jusqu'à 14 mars ou nous devrions prendre un vol pour marseille.ils attendent le discours ce soir de Macron la France risque d
.'être confinée. De plus la presse locale parle que le costa Méditerranée serait retenu ici à la Réunion et interdit de ports à Mairice et Sechelles nous avons loué une voiture avec Henry et claude et partons demain visiter les différents sites
Qui croire ? Bonne soirée
Effectivement tant qu'à être venus jusqu'à La Réunion autant en profiter pour visiter l'île et c'est certainement la plus sage décision.
Concernant le Costa Mediterranea voici l'information que nous avons trouvée il y a moins d'une heure sur Facebook qui provient de croisieristes (que nous ne connaissons pas et avec qui nous n'avons jamais ete en contact) à qui Costa à envoyé le message suivant
'"Suite info du Costa Mediterranea
Traduction :
Compte tenu de l'évolution continue et imprévisible de cette situation critique et selon des mesures inattendues émises dans les dernières heures par les autorités compétentes des ports appelés par Costa Mediterranea, nous avons le regret de vous informer que nous avons été contraints de changer votre port d'embarquement de la Réunion à Port Louis (Maurice) le 13 mars afin de permettre à votre croisière de débuter régulièrement.
Dans le cas où vous avez un vol pour l'aéroport de la Réunion organisé par Costa Crociere, ce dernier réorganisera votre vol en conséquence en vous fournissant le nouveau plan de vol.
Chez Costa, nous sommes fermement déterminés à assurer la sécurité de nos invités et de l'équipage et à fournir la meilleure expérience de vacances possible et nous nous excusons pour la situation qui s'est produite.
Nous vous remercions de votre compréhension dans ces circonstances imprévues et vous adressons nos chaleureuses salutations.
Costa Crociere''
Nous vous donnons l'info comme nous l'avons trouvé ; elle semble bien provenir de Costa et expliquerait pourquoi les personnes que nous connaissons sont partis tout à l'heure de Paris vers Maurice car ils avaient acheté le vol Paris La Réunion chez Costa et vous qui êtes passés par un tour operator et pas Costa n'avez pas le transfert vers Maurice proposé....
Et pourtant un vol La Réunion Marseille doit être plus cher que La Réunion Maurice....
Bonjour avez-vous réussi à embarquer sur le navire. Nous après 3 jours de visite à la Réunion nous sommes partis hier et attendons notre vol pour Marseille puis le train pour Draguignan.bon voyage
Hi there,
I’m looking into a Mediterranean cruise on the Splendida in YC.
I’d love to know if it’s a ship with a lot of triple and quadruple cabins in the Yacht Club.
The thing is, I’m planning to depart from Malta, and either the cruise ends during the French school holidays in October with a departure from Marseille—which means there’s a risk of lots of kids on board—or the other option is a departure on October 30th, which might also have some French kids during the first part of the cruise.
I read that some ships in the Fantasia class have more triple or quadruple cabins than others, but I’m not sure if the Splendida is one of them.
If anyone has that info…
PS: This isn’t about starting a debate on traveling with or without kids… I’d just like a quiet week, and that’s not always easy in a small space with lots of children around.
Just back from our first cruise on the Renaissance, and I’d like to share a few thoughts about life on board. Our feelings are mixed—we wanted a change after several MSC cruises, but the value for money on this repositioning cruise left us torn.
After taking advantage of successive promotions, we finally secured a well-located balcony cabin for 2600 € (almost 50% off the brochure rate). Given the amenities and the ship’s age, this now feels like the absolute maximum we’d pay for that period.
Overall, we were happy with our vacation on board, but a few details—when added up—left us with a somewhat mixed impression.
The pros:
- Ship size
- Reasonable noise levels, except in the restaurants (aside from the covered pool area)
- Spacious balcony cabin (20 + 5 m²) with plenty of storage and a bathtub with jets
- Understated, tasteful decor
- French language spoken on board
- Friendly staff for the most part
- 100% French-speaking clientele
- Decent food with French dishes (even with an Indian chef)
- Tables for two available (though the ship was full, so no changes possible)
- Some high-quality shows, thanks to an excellent English-speaking troupe
- Interesting lectures (especially on history and cetaceans)
The cons:
- Unreliable air conditioning in common areas (you’d go from a freezing lounge to a hot one, as if the system only worked in certain spaces at certain times)
- Aging ship with a few glitches (noises, AC, toilet flushes, lights) reported at reception (luckily, our only issue was the bathroom door not closing...)
- Industrial, thawed-out bread and pastries (a letdown for a ship with a French image)
- Limited fruit selection (often just apples and watermelon/melon) and not much variety in vegetables
- Worn, sometimes stained restaurant towels
We’re not ruling out another cruise on the Renaissance—their itineraries are unique—but only at a very competitive price.
Hi, I’m about to go on a cruise on the Costa Smeralda but I’ve never been on a cruise before. Could anyone share the à-la-carte drink menu? I’d like to know if the prices are excessive, since the MyDrinks drink packages, for example, cost 266 € per adult.
Have a great day! 😉
Hi everyone,
I’m going on a Mediterranean cruise in November and I’m looking for some "tips" to visit the cities of Naples, Messina, and Valletta in Malta without booking the ship’s excursions, which are really expensive.
Thanks so much for your advice and suggestions. We’re a group of 6 people.
Looking forward to hearing from you...
Best,
M
PS: We’re also stopping in Genoa and Barcelona—even though we know these two cities, we’d still love any tips for visiting them!
Thanks
Hello everyone,
We’re a senior couple signed up for a 13-day cruise in Japan on the Princess Sapphire, departing from Yokohama on April 8, 2027.
Are there any other French speakers on this forum who’ll be on this trip?
Hoping for a reply...
Hi,
The MSC Magnifica has been refurbished and a Yacht Club class has been added. Could anyone share their impressions of cabin 14001, as the view is slightly obstructed? Is it really a "disadvantage" in terms of brightness? Thanks in advance
Hi, we're heading to Venice soon. We have a hotel in Mestre and we'd like to know which bus can take us from the Mestre hotel to Marghera Port. Thanks.
Hi everyone ...
We’re planning to do the 83-day Cunard cruise ...
departing from Southampton on January 10, 2027 aboard the Queen Anne ...
has anyone done it ... or have any info ... or tips ...
for example ... deck and cabin choices ... drink packages ... excursions ... etc.
... anything good to know about this ship???
Thanks everyone ...
Hi there,
Here’s the 2027 cruise schedule.
It’s a great way to get ideas and maybe even meet up with other members!
2 essential rules:
1) Never "quote" the schedule when replying—this avoids any confusion.
2) Follow this format:
DD/MM - username / SHIP IN CAPS / number of days / cruise title / departure port
DON’T FORGET THE SPACES between the / /
REMINDER Despite my requests, few people follow the requested format. Cruises that stray too far from it won’t be listed anymore—sorry about that. IMPORTANT Please respect the templates!
PLEASE COPY AND PASTE THE FORMAT BELOW AND REPLACE WITH YOUR DETAILS IF YOU’RE HAVING TROUBLE
DD/MM - username / SHIP IN CAPS / number of days / cruise title / departure port
DON’T FORGET THE SPACES between the / /
It takes time to fix mistakes, so THANKS TO EVERYONE for your help!
YOUR TURN 😉
NUMBER OF 2027 CRUISES: 1
JANUARY
14/01 - poupou10 / AZAMARA JOURNEY / 74 days / South America Tour / Miami
FEBRUARY
MARCH
APRIL
MAY
JUNE
JULY
AUGUST
SEPTEMBER
OCTOBER
NOVEMBER
DECEMBER
Hi there,
I’m looking for an all-inclusive Nile cruise on a comfortable boat with as few passengers as possible.
Which tour operator can you recommend?
Thanks in advance.
I’m about to book the panoramic suite, and I’m not sure whether I should go for the one at the front of the ship or the one at the back. I’d really appreciate any feedback—anyone who’s already booked this kind of suite and can share the pros and cons?
Hi,
We’ll be visiting Barcelona for the first time on our upcoming cruise.
I was wondering if it’s better to book a taxi in advance to get from the train station to the cruise terminal, since there’ll be four of us. Are there enough taxis around that we won’t have to wait too long?
For the return trip, same question—are there enough taxis, since we have a flight to catch? Though I doubt we’ll know in advance which terminal we’ll dock at.
I came across this site below—has anyone heard of it?
https://taxibarcelona.taxi/fr/
hi there
Here’s the cruise schedule for 2026.
It’s a great way to get ideas and maybe even meet up with other members.
2 essential rules:
1) never "quote" the calendar when replying—this’ll avoid any confusion
2) follow the format below
DD/MM - username / SHIP IN CAPS / number of days / cruise title / departure port
DON’T FORGET THE SPACES between the / /
REMINDER Despite my requests, few people follow the requested format. Cruises that stray too far from it won’t be listed anymore—sorry!PLEASE respect the templates!
COPY AND PASTE THE FORMAT BELOW AND REPLACE WITH YOUR DETAILS IF YOU’RE STRUGGLING
DD/MM - username / SHIP IN CAPS / number of days / cruise title / departure port
DON’T FORGET THE SPACES between the / /
It takes time to fix mistakes, so THANKS TO EVERYONE for your help!
YOUR TURN 😉
NUMBER OF CRUISES 2026:
JANUARY
FEBRUARY
MARCH
APRIL
MAY
JUNE
JULY
AUGUST
SEPTEMBER
OCTOBER
NOVEMBER
DECEMBER
Hi everyone, we're going on a week-long cruise and I have a question: can we travel by train and on a cruise with small refrigerated injectable syringes?
Do we need to complete any formalities?
And how should we store them?
Thanks in advance for your feedback.
I'm considering a cruise on the Hurtigruten Coastal Express from Bergen to Kirkenes and back to Bergen over 11 days in mid-March 2027.
Has anyone already done this trip?
I think it’s a great way to discover the Norwegian coast with the chance to see magnificent northern lights, but isn’t the trip a bit *too* long?
There are about thirty stops, but most last only a few minutes, with just one daily stop of over 2 hours, which gives a quick glimpse of a few towns but doesn’t allow for a full excursion.
Is the supplement for an outside cabin with a porthole (800 € for 2!) really worth it?
It’s more pleasant than an inside cabin, but do you spend enough time in your cabin to make the most of it?
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this journey.
Best regards.
Hi everyone! I’m used to sailing on a sailboat with two or three people—it’s amazing. But I’d love to try the experience of a cruise. Just to clarify, I’ll be going alone. My first question: are there other solo travelers on these cruises, or is it mostly couples and families?
For a first cruise, I’d prefer a short one (maximum 8 days). Do those exist? And on the smallest boat possible. I live in Marseille, so a departure from Marseille would work, but I’m open to other ports too. If you have a cruise line to recommend and a destination you’ve enjoyed, or if you’ve had a great experience on a more intimate-sized ship, I’d love to hear about it!
We just returned from a cruise from 08/13/26 to 08/20/26 on the MSC ORCHESTRA with stops in Tarragona, Valencia, Livorno, Civitavecchia, Genoa, and back to Marseille.
The ship was fully booked. Deck chairs were already occupied by beach towels early in the morning, and there were only 1 or 2 people in the pools... However, on the day the Italians disembarked, there were very few towels on the deck chairs.
We found the Italians less talkative.
We had a balcony cabin on deck 9, starboard side. The cabin was spacious, but the sofa was facing the desk, making it a pain to watch TV (neck strain guaranteed). So, we changed the sofa’s orientation to face the TV (we put it back in place on disembarkation day).
There were 325 French speakers on board, and a lot of staff from Mauritius, which made communication easier.
No annoying announcements about bingo, etc.—a nice change from COSTA.
For dinner, we were at the first sitting at 7:45 PM, at a table for 6. On the first night, we were two "gray-haired" couples at the table. The second night, two young women joined us but asked to change tables after seeing us...
The show for our dinner time was at 10:15 PM and ended around 11:00 PM. We found that a bit late for us. The shows were varied and of good quality.
The restaurant menus offered plenty of choices, but at the buffet at lunchtime, there were a lot of dishes with quite a few carbs. Afternoon tea from 4:30 PM to 5:30 PM included some great pastries, among other things.
We had an issue with the air conditioning and bad odors in the cabin one afternoon. I reported the problem to the reception, and staff along with our cabin steward came to check the cabin. The issue was resolved that same afternoon.
Two days later, we were surprised to find a bag with items inside: 2 MSC mugs and 2 MSC thermos flasks that keep drinks hot or cold for 10 hours. It was a gift from customer service following the bad odors in our cabin. We weren’t expecting this at all and thanked MSC’s customer service.
For excursions, MSC always offers port-to-city-center transfers for 14 € per adult in Valencia and Tarragona, and 12 € per child. In Livorno, it was 10 € per adult and 7 € per child.
In Civitavecchia, there was a shuttle to the train station for 6 €.
On the MSC for Me app, there were "promotions" on certain excursions.
We really enjoyed this cruise, but we couldn’t revisit some stops (Tarragona and Valencia) on our own because it was too hot.
Great evening: Mum49
We're leaving on August 25th for a Danube cruise from Vienna to Bucharest. The travel agency refuses to postpone this cruise despite navigation changes due to the exceptional drought, which include bus transfers that don’t interest us.
Have you had any experiences with this that you’d like to share?
Hi there!
I’m going on a cruise with MSC on the World Europa this coming October.
Stops: Genoa, Naples, Messina, Malta.
Has anyone visited Mount Etna and Pompeii?
Could you share some tips for each of these stops?
I’d like to explore on my own without booking the ship’s excursions.
Thanks for your advice!
Hello!
After a lot of hesitation between different cruise lines (Explora, Oceania, YC, HAL, NCL) and several destinations like Norway, Ireland, and Iceland,
I finally chose NCL’s Star for Iceland.
I had already looked at this itinerary when I went to Scotland in April with CFC, but it was really expensive.
You should know that CFC often offers last-minute deals 45 days before departure (the point when you can no longer cancel or modify).
So, I got a great opportunity and grabbed it.
Departure is on August 23rd.
Hi everyone,
I’m staying in a suite on the Pacifica in October and I can’t find any details about the suite benefits beyond the elite restaurant, the butler, and the espresso machine.
What about breakfast and meals served free in the cabin, and the spa?
Costa’s been cutting back on perks for Gold members, and it seems like suites are next.
Thanks for your replies!
Hello,
We’re back from this cruise.
Boarding in Dunkirk: The doors opened around 12 PM. Since we were a bit early, I asked if my husband, who uses a walker, could wait inside instead of outside. I left him with the two suitcases and our two backpacks in the small hall while I parked the car in the reserved CFC parking lot for 10 € per day.
The shuttle that was supposed to take people from the parking lot to the model pavilion was supposed to arrive in 5 minutes, but after 15 minutes, nothing. After waiting 15 minutes, I saw a man walking and asked if I could follow him. In 15 minutes, we arrived, and still no sign of the shuttle—it must have passed us. Arrived at the model pavilion.
My husband had already checked in the suitcases with the help of a CFC staff member. The remaining formalities were completed quickly. We were on board by 12:15 PM. Headed to the buffet on deck 11 and waited in a lounge to access our cabin.
At 2 PM, we discovered our balcony cabin on deck 9 at the rear: spacious with a large balcony compared to MSC/COSTA.
Since we were at the rear, cabin 9202, there was always an issue with elevator number 4: "priority."
Elevator number 2 stops at deck 10... and elevator number 3 was often out of order, leaving only number 1 for those with mobility issues to reach the buffet, especially for people who struggle with stairs. Note: only one child on board and lots of "gray hair."
DAY 2: At sea. Lots of activities offered.
Day 3: GOTHENBURG (Sweden). Sunny, 19°C at 11 AM.
Excursion booked with CFC: Gothenburg and Haga for all.
Interesting visit with a great guide. The HAGA district, in our opinion, is full of cobblestones and nothing special, not suitable for people using a cane or wheelchair. Elevator number 3 was out of order again.
Day 4: Copenhagen. 15°C in the morning, showers in the afternoon.
We didn’t book an excursion since we’d already stopped here with CFC in 2025, and based on advice from this forum, we took the hop-on/hop-off bus right in front of the ship. I still went to see the Little Mermaid again.
No TV, but the elevator was fixed.
DAY 5: At sea. Still no TV.
DAY 6: GDANSK (Poland). 15°C, rain all day.
There’s a shuttle to get to the city center.
We took the excursion: Panorama of Gdansk.
The guide left us at the entrance of the city center for 45 minutes, telling us what to visit. Meet-up for the rest of the tour at 3 PM. The bus left at 3:15 PM to cover 10 km to see St. Mary’s Cathedral. We arrived at 4:16 PM... The guide said there are often traffic jams in that direction. We had 10 minutes on site before heading to see the lighthouse and the Westerplatte monument, where we also had 10 minutes.
Many of us wondered why we didn’t do the tour in the opposite direction since they knew there would be traffic...
I went to reception to complain about the organization. The staff member read me the program: we were supposed to start with the lighthouse, then go to the cathedral and stay for 30 minutes before heading to the center of Gdansk for a short guided walk with some free time to buy souvenirs, etc.
The guide did the complete opposite of what was planned and didn’t even give us a guided tour—just dropped us off in the city...
DAY 7: Bornholm Island (Denmark). 14°C, a few sunny spells.
We saw in the excursions that there was a walking tour of RØNNE. So, like many others, we explored on our own. There was a small orchestra welcoming us at the port and two people with city maps. We took the shuttle to leave the port—it ran every 15 minutes. The tourist office was next to the "shuttle bus." A pleasant visit at our own pace.
DAY 8: KIEL (Germany). 18–23°C, nice weather.
We took the "Kiel for all" excursion. Great guide and interesting visits.
The port is in the city, and in 10 minutes, we were in the city center by following a blue line on the ground from the port. Elevator 3 was stuck again... and the TV was back.
DAY 9: At sea. Elevator 3 works.
DAY 10: At sea. Elevator 3 is out of order again...
DAY 11: Disembarkation in Dunkirk.
Cabins had to be vacated by 7:30 AM. Buffet open until 9 AM.
Elevator number 1 was "reserved," leaving only number 2, which doesn’t go up to deck 11... a problem for people with mobility issues who had to cross the entire deck 11 and try to use one of the four working elevators at the front, which were crowded.
My opinion: Interesting stops.
The onboard staff were always welcoming, smiling, and mostly French-speaking.
Evening shows were better than in March/April 2025—better singers, dancers, and presenters, and the costumes were improved.
I liked the "magician" shows less.
There were three onboard lectures by a very cultured person, but they went off-topic and were too historical for my taste. I didn’t attend the other two; my husband went to the second but not the third.
For this cruise, there was a bridge theme, but we’re not players or interested.
We didn’t take a drink package on board—water, coffee, tea, and herbal teas were available.
We had a water leak in our cabin the night before disembarkation. We reported it, and after the technical staff came (with a translator who didn’t speak English), we were asked to leave the cabin for a while for repairs. We went to a lounge, and after 1.5 hours, I checked in at reception. The repair took longer than expected... we had to change cabins... not ideal the night before disembarkation. No balcony cabins were available, so we got an ocean-view cabin, 6075, with a bathtub (impossible for both of us to use). We packed our suitcases, took a shower in our cabin, and moved to the new one. Noise from chairs until 12:30 AM because the cabin was under a lounge, and constant ventilation noise in the hallway... sleep was hard to come by.
Disembarkation: Well organized. We were helped with transporting the two suitcases and bags to the waiting room while I took the shuttle to get the car.
Guylène
