Costa Deliziosa, Costa Cruises

The ship was beautiful,our balcony cabin was very spacious,well appointed and clean.The staff were very friendly especially cabin crew and the waiters and bar staff. Being an Italian ship and the inaugural cruise from Italy most of the passengers were European, the TV had a satellite based in Italy and apart from the news all programmes were Italian.The playstation,golf,cinema,skating etc were all extra costs,a coke costs 2.99 euros and bingo 20 euros for one game. Drink packages are available but my husband doesnt drink alcohol so the X1 was not an option for me,I got the classic selection wine package and although expensive (compared to Australian Prices)served the purpose. The shore excursions are very pricey and not well organised,its cheaper and easier to get a taxi onshore,you see the same sights at your pace. The food was good but not fantastic, quite repetitious in fact,obviously Italian with lots of pasta and cheese sauces,the salads were very ordinary as were the desserts.We didnt try the alternative restauants as they were 20euros per person extra and we chose to eat ashore when in port. We chose the cruise because of the itinery,however a lot of passengers got the wrong visas for India and the schedule was changed and we had to do all India then Male,which meant 3 days straight at sea,on this cruiseline it was a bit too long. We had a few good shows but not really up to the standard expected in such a good theatre.Costa cruises appear to be good value for money but not exceptionally so compared to the American lines. I may travel with them again in the future as many passengers were repeat clients and the European ones are shorter duration.