4-Day Mediterranean Cruise aboard COSTA SERENA

**Costa Serena – Excellent itinerary, extremely disappointing food and service**

We have just finished our cruise aboard Costa Serena. Overall, the trip was worth it because of the destinations, the excellent weather in Japan in early October and the places we visited. Unfortunately, the experience on board was a different story.

I have travelled on several MSC cruises before the pandemic, and I realise that standards may have changed since then. Nevertheless, I have never experienced food as poorly prepared as on Costa Serena.

**Food: 1 out of 5.** Both the buffet and the main restaurant were extremely disappointing. The quality of the cooking was particularly poor, and the variety did little to compensate for it. In my opinion, the food simply does not deserve a passing grade.

The staff were generally friendly, but the standard of service was surprisingly low. In the buffet restaurant, particularly in the evening, used trays and plates were left on tables while employees stood talking to each other. Staff frequently walked past tables that needed clearing without paying attention. I saw supervisors walking around, but little effective supervision.

In the main restaurant, our waiter seemed experienced and was generally polite, but we also encountered an unpleasant personal hygiene issue involving strong body odour. Basic hygiene standards should be respected, especially when serving food.

One important exception deserves recognition: our cabin attendant was absolutely impeccable. Naturally kind, attentive, helpful and genuinely willing to assist us, he was one of the best cabin attendants I have encountered. The cabin was also consistently clean and well maintained.

Organisation was another serious problem.

On our final morning, tugboats woke many passengers around 5 a.m. I wanted to buy a coffee, but the paid coffee machines were malfunctioning. One employee spent approximately ten minutes trying to help me purchase one. Meanwhile, other coffee machines were already prepared, but passengers were not allowed to use them until 6:30 a.m. Why refuse coffee to passengers who are already awake, especially when the alternative machines do not work?

Breakfast arrangements were equally difficult to understand. On disembarkation day, when passengers were instructed to leave the ship from around 8 a.m., one of the three buffet sections was not due to open until 9 a.m. Similar issues occurred on days with early excursions. Why not open all breakfast sections when so many passengers need to eat and leave early?

My most frightening experience was during our first disembarkation. The corridors were packed with passengers, including elderly people, moving together in an extremely dense crowd. I felt close to fainting. I could not stop thinking about what might happen if an emergency occurred in those conditions. I cannot judge the ship's emergency preparedness, but the crowd management I witnessed was deeply concerning.

The shops on board were another disappointment. The merchandise looked dated, inexpensive and uninteresting. Unlike on previous cruises, I could not find anything I wanted to buy.

There were positives. The show on the final evening was genuinely good, and I wish the entertainment throughout the cruise had been of that standard. The itinerary was excellent for us, the weather was perfect, the cabin was clean and several employees were genuinely kind.

I also tried to submit my feedback through Costa's app, but it repeatedly failed to work properly.

What disappoints me most is the difference between the pleasant attitude of many employees and the poor quality of the service they actually provide. In my experience, Costa Serena has serious problems with food quality, staff training, supervision and organisation.

**Would I choose Costa Serena again?** If my budget left me with no other option, perhaps. But if I could choose another cruise at the same price, absolutely not.

The cruise was worth taking for the destinations. The experience on board is not one I would willingly repeat.

Just back from the Costa Serena from Hong Kong toTokyo cruise, and unfortunately, it was a huge disappointment.

– Despite being a Silver Card member, our inside cabin was not upgraded, while our first-time cruisers friends (booked on my recommendation) got an upgrade.

– Cabin was constantly noisy due to the “crew only” area next door. We barely slept the whole trip.

– Guest Services (Hannah) called back, but she hadn’t received all the details, so I had to explain everything again. They sent a small gift box with Costa items like a luggage scale—but not a single room change was offered!

– Internet package line took over 2 hours.

– Friends’ cabin card kept failing, requiring repeated trips to reception.

– Ceres restaurant was very slow, especially for drinks, and food quality varied daily.

– Buffet still has old COVID-era glass shields, making it hard to reach food.

– The ship is from 2007, showing its age, and pools/jacuzzis were overcrowded.

– Despite reporting issues, almost nothing was resolved.

After an amazing experience on Costa Diadema in the Norwegian fjords last year, this was extremely disappointing.

Costa Serena? Never again.

We traveled on Costa Serena in Asia after the refurbishment. The ship looks more appealing, but even after the renovation it still feels “old.” Honestly, the refurbishment seemed more like a cosmetic update than a complete modernization.

We stayed in a Suite cabin, which was large and spacious, but clearly dated. Most of the “renovation” was done by wrapping the existing woodwork with a film (plastic/adhesive) that imitates wood, and the carpets were replaced—visible improvements, but they don’t really change the overall impression.

The food in the Club restaurant also didn’t impress us. It was just okay and, for us, it wasn’t worth the extra cost or the expectations.

The most disappointing part was the crew’s attitude. During embarkation, we were poorly guided, with limited assistance and confusing communication. Disembarkation felt similar—there was no warm farewell, almost as if they were doing us a favor by letting us leave.

Overall: a comfortable cabin due to the space, a decent ship after the refurbishment, but the experience didn’t feel as high-end as we expected.

As a Silver member of the Costa Club loyalty program, I was supposed to receive a complimentary bottle of sparkling wine. However, the butler (one of the Suite perks) told me they didn’t have any available when I left. I didn’t understand that at all—it made no sense.