Summary:
Just returned from a 1 week cruise on Costa Diadema, we had read reviews from others before we went so had an idea of what to expect. The ship itself was very nice although decor very gaudy. As expected the ship was full of Italian passengers. The evening meal was a disappointment for me personally, food cold, not very tasty and very Italian. If you dont like Italian food your out of luck. There were a choice of breakfasts, a sit down waiter service breakfast with an International flavour and a buffett service geared again for the Italian passengers. Lunch however was lovely, self service and excellent choice. This was the highlight of the day. The entertainment in the theatre was very good, better than expected, however the theatre does get very full so we used to get a seat at least 20 mins before the start of a show to ensure a decent view. Compared to other cruise lines, including Celebrity, RCI, & Norwegian, Costa lacks in quite a few areas, tea and coffee, soft drinks etc not available once breakfast was over, you had to pay for them, water in room and at dinner, again you had to pay which I think is disgraceful. No ice cream or pizzas on the menu, again you had to pay extra for these. On other cruises these are all free. Overall, we had a good holiday but would not cruise with Costa again, much better cruises for same money and less rude people to avoid.