Costa Favolosa Cruise Review

Welcome back, guys! We just got back from a very special cruise on board the Costa Favolosa, and today, we’re happy to give you a full review of the cruise. The Costa Favolosa cruise runs twice a year for the Costa Club members, and we’re excited to talk about this one because it’s filled with special guests, special events, special destinations, and special excursions. So, let’s begin!

Boarding

Like with every other Costa cruise we’ve gone on, we received our boarding time about three weeks before departure. Our boarding was scheduled for 11 a.m. This time, we drove to Savona to board the ship, and we used the parking provided by the port. The process was quite efficient and quick. To book the parking, we just needed to enter the ship name, the date of departure, and the confirmation number on the website, and that was it. It took 20 minutes from getting out of our car to getting on board. The process was quick, easy, and well-organized. 

For this sailing, we shipped our bags using the bag express service, and we loved it. With this service, the bag express company picked up our bags at home a few days before departure, and a couple hours after boarding, our bags were in the cabin. For Costa Club gold and platinum members, the service is free for one bag per passenger. Very well done. 

One thing that is very important when you board a Costa ship is to remember to register your credit card in any of the kiosks around the ship. For some reason, on Costa, it is not possible to do it online or with the agent at check-in. 

Rating

Andrea	⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎
Rick	⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎

The Ship

The Costa Favolosa was built by Fincantieri, and it was launched in July 2011. It is 290 m long and 35.5 m wide – so it’s more like a medium-sized ship. It can reach a maximum speed of 22 knots. At maximum capacity, it can host 3800 passengers and 1110 crew members. The ship is a bit old but very well maintained. During our sailing, Costa was installing the new Starlink satellite internet. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to use it because it became operational the day we disembarked. 

The ship has 17 decks, 14 of which are for passengers. The main decks for restaurants, bars, the theater, shops, etc, are on Decks 3, 4, and five. Unfortunately, like any other Concordia-class ship, the ship has one of the main dining rooms on Decks 3 and 4 mid-ship. Because of this, it is impossible to walk from the front to the back of the ship on those two decks, so you can only do that on Deck 5. 

As we have seen on almost every Costa ship, the Favolosa has a set of panoramic elevators from Deck 3 to Deck 10 that are quite nice. The ship also has three pools: one on deck nine aft that is uncovered, one on deck 9 mid-ship that is covered with a retractable roof, which we love, and one on deck 11 that’s uncovered. 

The ship has a lot of areas — Decks 9, 10, 11, and 12, specifically —for suntanning. On this ship, there was also a private area on Deck 14 for suntanning that cost €12 on sea days or €6 in port but was free for suite passengers. We tried this area, and it was definitely quieter than all the other suntanning areas on board. However, we did not like it for several reasons. First, it was all the way to the front, and during navigation, it was windy. Next, it was quite far from the bars and pools; the closest bar was on deck 9 mid-ship. Lastly, the place had a lot of shady areas that were not ideal for suntanning. But hey, if there were a ton of people suntanning, this could be a quieter place. And finally, we think the ship needs a bit of a makeover inside. The decor and color scheme is very dated. 

Rating

Andrea	⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎
Rick	⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎

Overall Feeling

The overall feeling on board was really, really good. We think that the main reason was the fact that the passengers on board this cruise were all long-time cruisers. Everyone was having a great time and enjoying themself a lot. It was really easy to meet new people and make friends. In fact, we met several people that were really nice, and we created some really good friendships. We have also met a few other couples that we have met before in previous sailing, and it was nice to be able to reconnect with them. Also, a few passengers recognized us from our YouTube channel, and we were really happy to meet them in person. On that note, if you happen to see us around, please come and say hi; we love meeting you.

Finally, the crew seemed really happy and were always in a very good mood. A lot of crew members recognized us from previous sailings, and it was a pleasure to sail with them again. Wayan, one of the bartenders, also remembered the type of wine we liked from a previous sailing! 

Rating

Andrea	⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎
Rick	⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎

Price 

If you read our Costa reviews before, you may have noticed we never talked about the price of the cruise. We think that it might be a very important item to review, and from now on, we will include it. So originally, before the suite upgrade, for this 14-day cruise, we paid €3914 for the two of us, with the all-inclusive package, drinks, and gratuity. Generally, when you price a cruise, it is always a good idea to price it per person per night. On this particular cruise, it came out to just under €140 per person per day, which we think is very good value in exchange for a balcony cabin with a truly all-inclusive package without the 15-drink limitations like other cruises have. We never reached that point, but it’s nice not to worry about it. We did spend about €1500 on excursions, but this was our choice, and in most ports, there was no need to do excursions. That’s why we think that the quality-price balance is perfectly acceptable. 

Rating

Andrea	⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎
Rick	⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎

The Itinerary

We started our journey in Savona, Italy. After that, we stopped in Civitavecchia, then Palermo. After that, we reached the port of La Goulette in Tunisia. From Tunisia, we had a sea day before reaching the port of Cartagena, Spain. From there, we crossed the Strait of Gibraltar to reach Cadiz, Spain. Then, we sailed on the Atlantic Ocean to Casablanca, Morocco, where we stayed overnight. After leaving Casablanca, we went to Tangier, Morocco. 

We then crossed the Strait of Gibraltar again to reach our next stop in Malaga, Spain. After Malaga, we had our second and last sea day before reaching Barcelona. From Barcelona, we then sailed to Marseille, France, before going back to Savona. As you can see, the itinerary was quite beautiful and very unusual. We only had two sea days out of 14 and sailed to interesting and unusual ports, such as Casablanca, Tangier, and La Goulette. 

We really enjoyed this itinerary, and we were really happy to visit Morocco and Tunisia. One thing to consider was that with only two sea days, we were out exploring and doing excursions every day. For this reason, we felt a bit tired after leaving Malaga. Also, it was quite challenging for us to keep up with work because we were on the go all the time. But hey, if you’re on a ship for a holiday, that doesn’t matter. We think one extra sea day in between Tangier and Malaga would have been better. 

In any case, we enjoyed the ports and destination, and we got to some cool places, met new people, and tried new food. Overall, we would definitely do it again. 

Rating

Andrea	⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎
Rick	⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎

The Cabin

Initially, we booked a guaranteed balcony cabin for this cruise. A few weeks before departure, we noticed that suites became available, and we asked our Costa Rep for a quote to upgrade to a guaranteed suite. Fortunately, the price was exceptionally good, so we decided to buy the upgrade. A few days prior to departure, we got our cabin assigned, and we were stunned to discover that we were upgraded to a grand suite! 

The suite 7296 was located on Deck 7 mid-ship. The cabin was wide, with a lot of space to move around. It had two big closets and another big closet in the powder room. We also had a huge bathroom with a jacuzzi tub, double sinks, and a bidet!

Unfortunately, the room’s decor was a tad outdated, like the rest of the ship, and some of the furniture was ready to be replaced, including the minimalist patio pieces. And yes, the ugly brown couch came back to haunt us! Maybe Costa should update the cabin decor to match the Costa Toscana. By the way, if you want to know more about Costa Toscana, you can check the article here.

The bed was a nice queen-size bed with an excellent mattress, and we had a wide array of pillows. The balcony was quite spacious — long and wide but not very deep. There were plenty of power plugs around the room and a plug with four USB ports by one of the bedside tables. Other standard features in the room were the safe and the minibar. In the room, we also had a very handy coffee maker with plenty of coffee pods that were replenished every day by our butler. 

Yes, the suite came with a butler, but we couldn’t make good use of the service. Actually, other than bringing us our laundry, food, and drinks, the answer was, “Sorry, I can’t do that.” At embarkation, we could also peek inside a wheelchair-accessible room, and we have to admit that it is pretty nice and well laid out. We also got to see the solo cabin, and we think that this could be a really good option for someone traveling alone. 

Rating

Andrea	⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎
Rick	⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎

Restaurants

Costa Favolosa has two main dining rooms, both located on Decks 3 and 4. The Duca di Borgogna is located mid-ship, and the Duca D’Orlean is located all the way aft.

Both dining rooms are very spacious, with a set of internal stairs that connect the 3rd and 4th floors. Both dining rooms have a lot of windows and plenty of natural light. The Duca D’Orlean on Deck 4 is reserved for Gold and Platinum guests who cannot use the Club Favolosa restaurant. The menus are the same in both dining rooms. For dinner, both dining rooms have two seatings at 7 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. 

Costa Favolosa also has a buffet located on Deck 9 towards the back of the ship. The buffet is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It’s spacious, with stations on both sides of the ship and at the back. We walked by the buffet several times during service, and we had never seen it packed. It was busy, but there were still a lot of tables available. We only used the buffet twice for breakfast when we had very early excursions, and our restaurant, the Club Favolosa, was still closed. Overall, the food selection was quite good, and Rick was also able to get freshly scrambled eggs. The buffet also has self-serve coffee machines that make espresso, cappuccino, and other specialty coffees. To use these machines, you need to swipe the cruise card. 

There is also the Salty Beach hamburger station on Deck 9 by the covered pool. This station serves freshly made omelets for breakfast, burgers, hot dogs for lunch, and afternoon snacks. These are free of charge. At night, they serve gourmet burgers and desserts for a fee. We did not try Salty Beach, unfortunately, but it’s good to know that it’s there.

The Club Favolosa restaurant is on Deck 11th all the way aft. This restaurant is dedicated to suite passengers and gold and platinum passengers upon availability. The menu is the same as the main dining room, with some exclusive extra gourmet dishes. The setting is more intimate, calm, and quiet, and the service is way more attentive. We used this restaurant for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and we loved it. On some ships, if the restaurant is not sold out, other passengers can eat at the club for a fee. 

Costa Favolosa also has a few specialty restaurants with a cover charge. Let’s start with the most expensive and famous one: the Archipelago. This is located on Deck 3 mid-ship, right next door to the Duca di Borgogna. The restaurant inside is beautiful, very modern, stylish, and chic. Three famous Michelin-star chefs designed three menus for the cruise. We did not try this restaurant because all the menus are very seafood-oriented. Also, at this restaurant, you can not make any substitutions. 

Another Costa classic specialty restaurant is the sushi bar Sushino, located on Deck 5 mid-ship. This is a typical sushi restaurant with a-la-carte or all-you-can-eat options. On this sailing, we did not eat at Sushino, but we tried it on our recent voyage on board Costa Pacifica, and if you want to know more about what the Costa Pacifica is like, you can check out our article here.

You can find the Teppanyaki restaurant on Deck 5 by the casino. We had dinner here one night, and it was pretty identical to all the other Teppanyaki restaurants we tried on Costa. The food was excellent, the show very entertaining, and overall a great way to have a nice dinner. 

Lastly, on Deck 10, all the way aft, you can find the Pummid’oro Pizzeria. There, they serve traditional Naples-style pizza and Roman-style pinsa. We did not eat at the pizzeria, but we had pizza and pinsa delivered to us at the Club restaurant, and we found both really delicious and very comparable with any excellent pizza that you can find in Italy. 

Overall, we like the restaurants and their offerings a lot. It’s also possible to buy packages for the specialty restaurants for 3 or 7 entries to Archipelago and Teppanyaki, or a combination of sushi and Teppanyaki, etc. This is a great way to save money if you want to try multiple restaurants. 

Rating

Andrea	⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎
Rick	⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎

Food

Like every other Costa cruise we’ve been on, the food on board this special cruise was absolutely fantastic. Tasty, perfectly presented, perfect portion sizes, well seasoned, and with a fantastic variety. As we’ve mentioned before in other Costa reviews, there was always one or two items on the menu designed by one of the three Michelin-star chefs who collaborated with Costa. One of them, Helen Darroze, was on board this special cruise. 

Now, if you’re coming from North America, you might find the food to be a bit small. This is by design. You can order as much as you want. Costa is careful not to waste too much food because that’s wrong. You might also find the Italian food to be different than expected. This is because the food is authentic Italian — no spaghetti and meatballs or Hawaiian pizzas on board, no matter how many times we try and ask.

The cruise had several buffets by the pool for lunch or at night. Most of the buffets were themed to the itinerary, such as paella when we were in Spain, Moroccan street food in Morocco, and so on. The head chef was always around the ship, making sure that the food was perfect, and he was really happy to talk to everyone. He also had a couple of presentations by the pool that were well-attended. 

The food on Costa is delicious, but the desserts are on another level! Every single dessert is incredibly beautiful, tasty, and very innovative.

We had the Corporate Head Pastry Chef, Riccardo Belleara, and he was making some unique desserts specifically for this cruise. He also made a presentation on board on how to make some of them. During the presentation, he explained how he and his team are working on preparing desserts in a way that requires significantly less sugar but tastes just as good. And boy, did they ever! The food and the desserts were great, and somehow, we never gain weight whenever we go on a Costa cruise. And by the way, Riccardo, if you’re reading, congratulations on being recognized as one of the best pastry chefs in the world — that’s an incredible honor!

Rating

Andrea	⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎
Rick	⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎

Drinks and Drinking Package

We always strongly recommend booking the drink package as part of the all-inclusive fare on Costa. It is an excellent value, and you won’t be disappointed. On this particular sailing, because we were traveling in a suite, we had the upgraded drink package, the My Drinks Plus… which kind of ruined it for future cruises. 

First of all, the selection of wines that you get with this package is incredible. Practically every single wine that is sold by the glass is included in the package. Also included are some Italian champagne-style wines like Ferrari Brut and Demi-Sec, which we love. They also had some dessert wines such as sauterne. If this is not enough, you have various digestives and top-label liquors such as Zacapa Rum and cognac. Now, some of these special wines are only served at the wine bar; more about that later. 

If this selection is still not enough, you also have some gourmet coffee included at the Gelateria Amarillo. The plus package is incredible, and the upgrade is not that expensive if you decide to treat yourself to a much more refined selection of wines. They have our favorite Chiantis and some treats like zacapa rum and sauterne. If we’d known about it years ago, we would have upgraded every time. As it stands, we will upgrade every time we get on a Costa cruise! 

Rating

Andrea	⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎
Rick	⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎

Bars

Costa Favolosa has several bars on board, most of which are quite similar. The drinks menu is also pretty much the same. But overall, the bars are quite good, and they serve the purpose. Two of the bars are completely different and unique, though, and we will focus on those two. 

The first one is the Sunset Lounge, located on Deck 12 at the front of the ship. This bar is a new concept that Costa is exploring. It serves some new cocktails not included in the regular drink package. They also serve premium liquors and drinks not included in the regular drink package. On this sailing, it was completely closed during the day, and the bar only opened at 5 p.m. Smoking was also no longer allowed at this bar, which was new. We walked by this location several times, and the lounge was always dead. 

On our last sailing on board the Costa Pacifica, the bar was usually busy-ish at night, and it was open during the day as a regular bar where you could get water, wine, or beer if you were suntanning by the pool. For Costa Favolosa, the lounge was pretty much a ghost town. 

The second bar that we want to talk about is the Wine Bar Camelot. This quickly became our favorite bar on the ship. First of all, they serve almost only wines and cocktails that are not included in the regular drink package. Second, the wine selection is simply incredible! Third, they also serve molecular cocktails that look pretty cool. We fell in love with this place because of the ultra-wide selection of wines by the glass served here. 

We also became quite friendly with the bartender, Zoraida, who was amazing and was always happy to have us try new wines. This bar is a must-try while traveling on the Costa Favolosa. By the way, this is where we got Andrea’s delicious sauterne every night! 

If there was one thing to critique, it was the entertainment in this bar. There was a bass violinist that played in the early evening before our dinner. Now, she was great and accommodating, asking about our favorite music to play it. But the volume was always so loud. Nobody could hear each other talking. We asked a few times to turn it down a little, and she did, but I always felt terrible about it. So, we usually avoided that time slot and returned when she wasn’t there. It’s not a big deal, but just something you should know.

Overall, we always found the bars quite nice and the bartenders helpful and happy. The wine bar was a true gem, and we deeply enjoyed our time there. But we think Costa needs to iron out their Sunset Lounge concept because it’s almost always empty. 

Rating

Andrea	⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎
Rick	⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎

Service

Service on board the Costa Favolosa was good. Our cabin steward was nice, friendly, and attentive. Our waiter at the Club restaurant, Sultan, was absolutely fantastic. He wasn’t even a waiter but an F&B attendant, but he was assigned to our table. He recognized us from a previous sailing, was genuinely happy to see us again, and helped us with practically anything we needed. A few other bartenders and waiters recognized us from previous sailing, which was nice. We were also very happy to see Arturo again, one of the restaurant managers who sailed with us on the Toscana. We also met an old friend, Gianni Pani, who was lovely and welcomed us onboard with a delicious chocolate cake. 

Like with other Costa cruises, there were hosts to help passengers in each of the major languages spoken on board. The English-speaking host was Stephanie, whom we had met before on a previous sailing, and we were thrilled to reconnect with her. We had dinner together a couple of times, and we became fast friends. Officers and managers were around the ship all the time, interacting with passengers. The bar manager, Gabriel, recognized us from the Costa Toscana, and he was really happy to talk to us every day and make sure that we were happy and well taken care of.

On this particular sailing, we only went to the front desk once to get our shareholder credit. As you know, if you own 100 shares of Carnival, you can get a credit on every sailing. On Costa, you usually have to go to the reception to show the email the corporate office gave you showing the credit. 

Overall, we were happy about the service on board, and the staff never failed to make us feel like family. 

Rating

Andrea	⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎
Rick	⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎

Cleanliness

The Costa Favolosa was incredibly clean. Every area of the ship was spotless, as they were scrubbed daily. The ship was spotless almost immediately, even after some of the huge parties we had on board. The pools were also cleaned every night. The buffet area was constantly sanitized and washed. All the common areas were constantly polished and cleaned. 

We only had one minor problem with cleanliness on board. On the last sea day, in the afternoon, Rick was curious to try the jacuzzi in the room, so he ran a bath. I turned on the jets, and everything was good — until he noticed a lot of black floaters in the water. They looked disgusting, so he drained the tub and gently reported it to the cabin housekeeping manager. Rick wasn’t angry but more concerned about a future passenger getting upset. The housekeeping manager apologized deeply, and he said that the jacuzzi should have been sanitized and checked, but for some reason, it was not. But overall, it was a minor inconvenience. Perhaps not a lot of people use it, so nobody noticed. 

Rating

Andrea	⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎
Rick	⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎

Entertainment 

The entertainment team on board was phenomenal. The number of parties on this special Costa Club cruise was insane. Now, a word of caution: all the parties on Costa do not start before 11 p.m. If you are used to sailing with a North American cruise line, you must adjust to this European time! Some of the parties were insane, and passengers loved them. Here are some of the highlights:

White Silent party: This party was new to us, and it felt a little bizarre, but we found it to be a lot of fun. Each guest had a set of headphones, and there were 3 DJs with three different types of music: 80’s, Spanish, and contemporary. Each guest was able to decide which music they wanted to dance with. It was really fun to see people dancing to different tunes. 

Desert night: This was probably the best of the parties. There were stations for henna tattoos, Arabic music and dancing, and a massive Moroccan buffet by the pool. The dance team on board performed a dancing show. People loved this party, and it went on until very late at night. 

Costa’s 75th birthday party: I’m afraid this was probably the least successful of the parties, it was still fun but not as wild as the others. Maybe because it was towards the end of the cruise and people were all partied out. 

There were other special nights like German Night, Spanish Night, French Night, and Italian Night. We did not go to every single one because it would have been impossible for us to wake up in the mornings for our excursions! 

Another thing that happened on this special Costa Club cruise was a lot of competition between passengers. They had a baking, dancing, and an art competition. People seemed to enjoy them quite a lot. Unfortunately, there were too many things to do on board, so we had no time to participate in all of them. 

Rating

Andrea	⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎
Rick	⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎

The Shows

The shows on this special sailing were really good. There were two special guests in particular on board for the Costa Club cruise. The first and most famous was Tony Hadley, the lead singer of the 80’s band Spandau Ballet. He performed on the last sea day night, and his show was quite phenomenal. He sang some of the Spandau classic songs like Gold and Through the Barricades, and we really loved it. The other passengers were really happy with the show, too. 

The second special performer was Talia Alexis, a singer that we had the pleasure to see before on board the Costa Toscana. She is an incredibly talented performer, and she did two amazing shows. The first one features songs from famous singers, and the second one was a tribute to Tina Turner. Both shows were amazing, and everyone loved them!

Aside from those two special shows, there were the usual singing, dancing, and acrobatic shows that we have seen before on Costa. But there was a show with ice skaters on board that was quite unique and really fun. Lastly, we had a ventriloquist on board who was talented and funny. 

One thing we really like to mention is the fact that the theater on board the Costa Favolosa is comfortable, even for a person with very long legs like Andrea. He was able to stretch them all the way. 

Rating

Andrea	⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎
Rick	⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎

Excursions

A little warning — the excursions were probably the weakest area of the whole cruise experience. Let’s start from the beginning. 

The excursion team on board was always around and helpful. On the first few days of the cruise, the excursion desk was always incredibly busy. We always strongly recommend you book your excursions online before boarding. That way, you can avoid the super long lines and, more importantly, avoid the risk that the excursion you want is sold out. 

Another trick we learned traveling on board Costa is to book our excursions always in Italian. This way, you avoid the risk of getting the excursion canceled if they don’t reach the minimum amount. We could always change our ticket to English just before boarding the bus on the day of the excursion. 

We did a few excursions with Costa. Some were good, some not so much. We loved our excursion to Marrakech and the one to Tangier and Teotuan in particular. 

We also did two special excursions that were dedicated to Gold and Platinum passengers, one to Seville and the other one a special visit to the Alhambra in Granada. Unfortunately, both of those two excursions didn’t go very well. They took us to restaurants that weren’t great, the guides were mediocre at best, and the excursions were long and boring. These two special excursions were quite expensive, which made it all the more disappointing. It would have been better if we’d gone out and ate on our own, to be honest. 

Rating

Andrea	⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎
Rick	⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎

The Spa

Rick loves the spa, and he loves massages. That’s why the spa is his natural habitat. The spa on board the Favolosa is quite large, well laid out, and has a lot of windows. It is very similar to There is a huge hot tub, several relaxing rooms at different temperatures, a steam room, and a very big winter garden. 

Now, one thing that is important to mention is the fact that the ship has a dry sauna in the gym locker room that anyone can use free of charge. Speaking of the gym on Costa Favolosa, there was a lot of equipment to use that looked rather newish and was free to use. We went inside, but we did not use it because we were always on excursions.

On this particular cruise, we did not book entry to the spa for the whole cruise because we knew that we would be exploring a lot. However, because we were traveling in a suite, we had one free entry plus another free entry on a port day because of our Gold status. We also got a massage on a sea day. Overall, the spa was quite enjoyable, and we loved to spend a couple of days there.

One thing we weren’t thrilled about was the fact that the spa did not offer any specials. I mean, the spa treatments are REALLY expensive. At least, the regular prices are expensive. But they often have amazing deals during the cruise! I asked the spa manager at the beginning of the cruise about the specials and was told I had to wait until the end for anything. Plus, only a “women’s party” was offered! So, on the last sea day, I asked again about specials, and they offered me a 75-minute massage for a decent price. I honestly can’t remember how much. But if they’d offered it earlier on, Rick probably would have gone four to five times over the two weeks.

Rating

Andrea	⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎
Rick	⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎

Costa App

The Costa App portal allows passengers to see their daily programs, menus, onboard accounts, message other passengers, connect to the Internet, and browse excursions. It is an essential tool if you are traveling on Costa. 

The Costa App has had some updates since we used it last June. The first thing we noticed is that it now allows push notifications, meaning that if you send a message to a friend, the phone dings and shows the message without needing to log in. I think we mentioned this in our last review, so thank you for adding this feature! 

It is now possible to do the safety drill on the app without congregating at the theater. After watching the little video on the app, all you need to do is go to the muster station and scan your card, and you are set. Simple. 

The app also shows all the excursion details, including the meeting place and time and the bus number. We had a couple of days when the app kept crashing. We asked the support lady on board, and she was not aware of why this was happening. We then found out that they were updating the app, and after that, it was working fine with an improved interface. The best improvement was the way that expenses showed up in the app, which was clearer and easier to read. 

One thing that was not improved was that the app can be slow to open; sometimes, it takes a full minute to launch. Lastly, the app still does not show reservations made for restaurants or the spa.

Overall, the app worked most of the time, and it did its job. But Andrea’s app did crash a lot more. 

Rating

Andrea	⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎
Rick	⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎

Photo Department

The photo department on board the Costa Favolosa was pretty much the same as any other Costa ship. They had the same backdrops and props around the ship that we have seen many times. The photo gallery is located on Deck 4 mid-ship, and it is pretty big. They offered the same photo packages on all the other ships — the My Shades and My Moments — and were as confusing as they were on previous sailings. 

We became friendly with a couple of photographers on board. One was Marta, who was with us in Marrakech. She was nice, and we had many conversations with her. She loved to take pictures of Rick in his funny cruise shoes! The other was Ghillian, who was funny, and we loved to take goofy photos with him. The other photographers on board were cordial as well. We took many photos, but in the end, we did not buy any because the price was high, and we thought it was not worth it. They wanted 75 euros for three digital photos. 

Costa was experimenting with facial recognition software for browsing photos on our previous sailing, but that wasn’t available here. Overall, we didn’t care about the photos since we’ve seen them many times before. We also don’t like that all those unbought photos would end up in a recycle bin at the end of the cruise. 

Rating

Andrea	⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎
Rick	⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎

The Costa Club

The C Club is Costa’s loyalty program. We call it the Costa Club. It offers good perks, especially once you reach the Gold level. But even at the Blue level, you can have some good discounts on board as well as future cruises, so it is worth joining it. The membership is not automatic like most American cruise lines; it requires you to sign up. The signup process is simple and quick, though, and it is free.

The cruise we just took on the Costa Favolosa was a special Costa Club cruise. This cruise was dedicated to Club members and had special events, food, and excursions. They had the two usual parties: the first one was for all the members, and the second one, the VIP party, was for the Gold and Platinum. Because there were a lot of Gold and Platinum members on board, they had to have two VIP parties, and we were invited to both. 

Now, it also seemed that they had a lot of special events just for Platinum members, so we were not invited to those. Another thing that was worth mentioning was the fact that being Gold members, we were invited to do a bridge tour where the Captain personally showed us around. However, it was possible that we were invited because we were in a suite. No phones or cameras were allowed, so we didn’t have the usual photos. 

Our Gold status meant we had a free entry to the spa while in port and a free pizza. Lastly, we had a gift at the end of the cruise: a ship model, some Moroccan mint tea, and some Sicilian olive oil. That was a lovely touch. There was also the Magic Bag: a free bag of laundry for 25 times that was delivered to our cabin towards the end of the cruise. Unlike on the Toscana last year, when asking for a Magic Bag was pulling teeth, we were given the bag during the middle of the cruise, and getting another Magic Bag wasn’t a problem. It cost about €19. 

One thing that we’ve never liked about the C Club is the fact that the points we acquire when getting on cruises expire. We don’t know of any other cruise with expiring points. Now, some cruise lines go to the extreme — once you cruise enough times, you reach a certain level, and you get it for life. That’s amazing, but then you end up with many people at the top level. 

Other cruise lines have it better by letting travelers keep their status by cruising two to three times a year. If they stop cruising after three years or more, they lose their status. That, to us, is a perfect balance. 

But losing points AFTER spending tens of thousands of dollars yearly just doesn’t sit well with us. 

Rating

Andrea	⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎
Rick	⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎

The Casino

The casino on the Costa Favolosa is located on Deck 5 toward the back of the ship. It was huge for the size of the ship, with a great variety of tables and slots. The casino was always quite busy, with people playing every time that the casino was open. We did play a couple of times, but no luck at all this time, and no jackpot for Rick! Andrea also liked that all casinos are 100% non-smoking zones. 

Rating

Andrea	⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎
Rick	⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎

Stores

The stores on Costa Favolosa are identical to the ones we saw on almost all the other Costa ships. Frankly, we think they need an upgrade. You can buy clothes, perfumes and cosmetics, watches, sunglasses, tobacco and booze. The necessity items section is small, with a very limited selection. Since we were in port almost every day, this wasn’t a big problem. But this would definitely have been an issue for a longer cruise with a lot of sea days. So be careful not to forget your deodorant or toothpaste because you’d have issues finding them on board. 

It also seemed that the Costa brand merchandise store was being converted into a souvenir store. We don’t know why, but we don’t like the new format. 

Rating

Andrea	⚓︎⚓︎
Rick	⚓︎⚓︎

Internet on board

Since we only had two sea days, we did not use the internet on board very much. We used mostly our cell phone roaming to connect to the internet. In all the European ports, we used the roaming included with our cell phone provider. In Morocco, I bought an eSim with unlimited data for a very affordable price.

The internet speed on board was fine. I could do some work using the ship’s internet without any problem. We did not buy any package, but we used the per-minute option. The price per minute was €0.35, and it was way cheaper than buying an unlimited package that costs €238 per person for two weeks. 

Other packages are available on board, such as a WhatsApp package for €70 or a social media package for €140. As mentioned before, they were installing the new Starlink satellite system. Unfortunately, it was going live the day we disembarked. We really hope that the internet price will go down with this new system, especially since Costa’s major competitors in the Mediterranean offer their internet connection as part of the all-inclusive package. Some of them even include it in the suite! 

Overall, the speed was fine, but the prices were too high. 

Rating

Andrea	⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎
Rick	⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎

Disembarkation

The disembarkation process was mildly different this time, but it was not Costa’s fault. We received a letter a couple of days before disembarking that Rick had to bring his Canadian passport to the front desk. Then, on the day of disembarkation, he and all non-EU citizens needed to meet up at the library at 7 a.m. to have a face-to-face passport check with the Italian border police. The letter was strongly worded and specifically said that every non-EU citizen must comply or else nobody would be allowed to disembark. This was new to us since we usually just walked out of the ship at disembarkation. The front desk said that it was because we went to Morocco and Tunisia. This was odd since we visited Spain AND France after Morocco, and they didn’t require us to do this. It wasn’t pleasant waking up at 6:30 in the morning to huddle with other people at the library, but we’re not docking points because of it since we don’t think it’s Costa’s fault. 

Other than this little bureaucratic problem, the disembarkation was super easy, fast, and efficient. Our bags were shipped home by Bag Express, so we walked off the ship with just our carry-on and a giant carpet that we bought in Tunisia!

Rating

Andrea	⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎
Rick	⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎⚓︎

Conclusion

Time to wrap up our review. We had an amazing time on board the Costa Faolosa. We deeply enjoyed the itinerary. The passengers were great, and it was awesome to meet up with old friends and make new ones. We didn’t try a few things on board, like the Squak Club for kids and teenagers, so we can’t review them. We think that Costa went far and beyond in organizing the parties and entertainment on board. The food was exceptional, as usual, and the desserts were absolutely amazing! 

Overall, we enjoyed the experience, and we’re looking forward to our next Costa cruise. We’ll see you in our next review — or if you’re going on Costa, maybe we’ll see each other in person! 

Ciao!