zCosta Luminosa

super ship, only 2 yrs old, every comfort, very modern. we had a balcony cabin and it was excellent. our 11 nights were smooth even when we had some rough seas, this ship was not affected. Costa ships are EU Flagged (Italy), so they meet every regulation, so safe.

Meals were excellent, especially in the formal down stairs dinning rooms. the staff could not do enough and every evening meal had a new theme, with the best being the italian night, when the waiters start singing. the atmosphere is great throughout the ship. the theater was really impressive. we did not use the casino but it was always busy as the slot machines are 1 cent a time, so most put in a couple of euros and get a lot of plays.

we took the x1 drink package (you ring costa cruises to book this) and it gave us unlimited bottled water, unlimited bottles of wine (!) and beer with lunch, dinner and at the bars between 1200 and 1600 when the buffet is on. it cost 100 euros per person, but a bottle of wine at meals was 19 euros plus 15 % so it was really good value, in fact when we finished a bottle of wine with our meals the waiters brought another bottle of water and a new bottle of wine! (and you can take the bottle of wine from the restaurant and sip it in the entertainment bars or on deck or take back to the cabin etc, they are very relaxed).

we flew to Nice France and took a local train to Savona Italy to catch the ship, which gave us some time in Montecarlo.

Costa Cruises (part of carnival) were really good value, i would use again.