COSTA DIADEMA Reviews

I have to say that the locations we visited were amazing and well chosen. We had adequate time in each location for sight seeing. There were plenty of activities on board both day and night for the kids and the adults. It was as definitely a good idea to get the food package and "my drinks" package it was enough for us. The entertainment was really good and good variety from latin and jazz in the teodora bar to ballads and love sond in the atrium to a couple of old school rock groups in the rock bar. I would like to mention the staff for the most part were great with only a couple of negative interactions like lack of interest in helping with a problem at reception to totally ignorant waiters in the atrium area, but these are not to say that was everyone, infact we had two fantastic dinner waiters in Fiorentina restaurant Ethan chrivian and his colleague, they looked after us amazingly well and were extremely attentive and helpful. In the rock bar we had great at fun with Moises Balthazar and his colleague Ahmed Monseur. Both were friendly, respectful and again very attentive of our needs and even remembered our orders and fresh lime and straws without being asked. And of course the hotel staff were great and very efficient, we were on deck 2 mid ship starboard and our housekeeping was great and even left little positive notes for us. These people are a credit to their trainers and to themselves and I think Costa is very lucky to have them and I recommend you treat them well. These are the people who will make us comeback and not anything to do with prices. So we had ups and downs but as an experience it was very good and enjoyed every minute.

Everything was good until the transfer to the airport. We bought the transfer and now we have to wait 3 hours in the port because they put us in the green line (green/verde E) at 10:45 and also they put the transfer after 3 hours. The scheduling was poor; the time gap was excessive, and—to make matters worse—we were traveling with another family who were assigned to a different group (V-Sand). Unlike us, they didn't have to wait three hours at the port; they disembarked and took their transfer immediately—which is how we should have been treated, too. It is not right for the same family group (we traveled together) to be treated differently! Don't even get me started on the lack of respect shown to us. When I asked where the airport transfer was, I was told we didn't have one; the staff member checked her list and insisted we weren't on it. Only after I showed her our printed confirmation—proving we had booked and paid for it—did she acknowledge that we actually did have a transfer. Aside from the transfer issue, we were there during the Monza F1 race weekend. I asked if it would be broadcast on any TV on the ship, but I was told they had no idea about that and that there were no sports channels anywhere. I had to buy internet access from them just to watch it myself. In contrast, when I asked about this on an MSC cruise, they actually set up a room to broadcast the Formula 1 race (and they already had rooms with working TVs!). Beyond that ordeal, there were issues with the food and the entertainment: there were no reservations for shows, so you had to arrive an hour early, and for meals, you couldn't serve yourself—they portioned the food out for you. In short, it was not a pleasant experience at all, and some changes really need to be made—especially to the scheduling!

This line is like living in the slums. Other than great staff; most else was bad. Every member of corporate; making poor decisions and rules from afar should be fired. Other lines on our 30+ cruises were incredible. Costa could have ruined our vacation for family members of 8; but we have great attitudes and sense of humor. Meals in dining room were nearly inedible. Specialty restaurants were great. No pads on loungers, no blankets for evenings outside, and if you buy a regular drink package you are limited to 7 small bottles of water....no water served in dining room unless you buy the drink package....all other cruises; of course water is included. Want a drink from your drink package at dinner? Go get it at the bar. Want coffee after dinner? Go get it, not joking. Beach towels by the pool? Nope.... drag around your beach towel from the room. No pads on any loungers. Buy the spa package and the jacuzzi was tepid; the "hot chairs" were slightly hot and the spa was antiquated....even broken floor boards in the steamroom( but it was hot and nice). If you want to save money and have a quality experience choose any other line. No outside food at the stern bar....it was obviously food from costa lol. Not upset; we made an incredible family time in spite of Costa. As long as the current management/corporate is in-place; if we were offered a free cruise on Costa we would absolutely decline the offer.

As an experienced cruiser who has traveled with premium lines like Cunard and Princess, my experience on the Costa Diadema was a massive disappointment. The drop in quality is shocking. This ship offers abysmal service, poor entertainment, and an environment focused solely on profit rather than passenger comfort.The service on board is terrible. The ship is clearly understaffed, resulting in endless, frustrating queues at the restaurants for every meal. There is a glaring, unacceptable amount of pressure placed on the crew. The staff are clearly exhausted and overworked, leaving them with no time or energy to show basic empathy or friendliness to guests. To make matters worse, the beverage policy is petty; they refuse to serve a simple jug of tap water or coffee with meals in the dining rooms, and outside buffet hours, all water stations are shut down just to force you into buying overpriced drink packages.The entertainment was another major letdown. The shows were incredibly weak, cheap, and repetitive throughout the week. Furthermore, the lack of respect for guests is mind-boggling—crew members actually began removing deck chairs while we were still sitting on them and trying to enjoy our time.I paid for a relaxing vacation, but instead, I faced daily stress, awful management, and a total lack of hospitality. If you are used to the standards of Princess or Cunard, avoid Costa Cruises at all costs. Never again.

Costa Diadema, Copenhagen to the Norwegian fjords, July 25 – August 1, 2026, balcony cabin, deck 12, two guests, CostaClub members. Second cruise with Costa. Last one. A year ago in the Mediterranean they were mediocre but tolerable. This time was something else.

Let me start with the part that still makes me angry. I proposed to my fiancée on this cruise. I deliberately chose Costa for it. The restaurant staff knew. The ship's reaction: zero. Her birthday fell on embarkation day, and Costa's own system had it flagged, it's printed right on our onboard statement. What their "Italian hospitality" produced: a discount coupon for a paid restaurant and a cake that showed up only after we reminded them. For the biggest day of our lives, we might as well have been invisible.

Now the money. We paid €420 extra for the Club restaurant from day one just to escape the buffet. Ace and Martin, our waiters, were genuinely great, thank you both. The food they had to serve was roadside-diner level at gourmet prices. The "Michelin chef" dishes Costa advertises everywhere? An embarrassment on a plate. A week sailing Norway and barely a single Norwegian dish on the menu all cruise. One night we gave up and went to the paid pizza bar instead, and waited over an hour for the order. No warning about the delay, no apology, nothing. Sixty-plus minutes, in a venue you pay extra for. Desserts were good. That's the whole list.

Entertainment, or what's left of it. Two full sea days with nothing to do unless you pay: spa, shops shoved in your face at every corner, and bingo at €50 for five tickets (it's on my statement). Two shows in seven nights, performed like the actors lost a bet. One, ONE, ship-wide party all week: a pool "party" on deck 10–11, under the closed roof, hot and packed. Meanwhile the open decks stood empty in perfect weather, because nearly every automatic door out there is broken or barricaded, and the crew straight up tells you to force the doors and drag the barriers aside yourself. One working door: aft, deck 5. A year ago embarkation greeted you with music and a welcome show. Now you're just processed.

Bars: no hello, forgotten orders, wrong orders, our cruise card taken and then "lost" for 20 minutes, and open rudeness on top. Live entertainment in the bars is next to none. The premium paid bar serves nothing complimentary, not even the nuts that were standard on Costa Deliziosa a year ago. I lost my IQOS in one of those bars; Lost & Found just shrugged. The small stuff tells the same story: not a single blanket to borrow on deck, on a NORWAY cruise, and no needle and thread anywhere on board when we asked.

The ship itself is tired: worn cabin furniture and textiles, smells in public areas, dirty water in the pool and jacuzzis, broken public toilets, half the arcade and casino machines dead, endless waits for elevators. And my favorite: €3 charged for an air-hockey table that doesn't work. Three euros for nothing. Costa's business model in miniature.

Excursions: €169 for Pulpit Rock bought a bus ride and a plastic bag with water, an apple, chips and a sandwich. "Meet back here in five hours." The speedboat trip Costa sells costs €40 more than the identical boat 150 meters from the gangway. The Geiranger bus tour was fine, just overpriced.

And on top of everything sits a 15% "service charge" on every single purchase, plus €11 per person per day hotel service charge. Another €154 for a week of service that mostly consisted of ignoring us.

Being fair: our cabin steward was flawless all week, the internet worked, and the drink selection is decent once you've paid €113 each just to upgrade the drinks package already included in the fare to MyDrinks Plus. The fjords are 10/10, but that's Norway's doing, not Costa's.

And don't take my word for it. Scroll this page: rude crew, tasteless food, a worn-out ship. The same complaints repeat month after month in recent reviews. This is not one bad week. This is the product.

3/10, and I'm being generous because of Ace, Martin and our steward. If you're picking a ship for a birthday, an anniversary or a proposal, run. We didn't, and Costa couldn't have cared less.

Maybe the worst travel experience of my life. Busy and old ship with worn carpets and furniture. The entertainment was dull and mostly oriented to young children or old people. Procedures to get on and off the ship were incredibly slow and not organized. One on three swimming pools was closed for maintenance, and same for some jacuzzis, so the remaining ones were impossibly busy or just flooded with children out of control. Basic things were absurdly pricey, like slippers, or internet, or just water at the restaurants. Quality of food was high at restaurants, except for the buffet, that was also hugely overcrowded (evidently too small for the ship). Maintenance was ok, though there was a bad smell of sewerage in some parts of the ship. Moreover, some parts of the common areas seemed simply something that they did not considered that deserved to be cleaned, so expect hair and dust and remnants of food in some corners of the restaurants or in the gym. Did not buy any of the Costa tours, as you can do the same by contacting services of the port, for far lower prices. I travelled with Costa 15 years ago and the experience was incredibly better. Something gotta be changed in the while.