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New Costa Club - opinions ?

By greg2014 , March 2, 2023 in Costa Cruises

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I have a question, how do you rate Costa's current loyalty program. Below are my current impressions.

Costa's loyalty program has looked decent over the years - both in terms of earning points and privileges. The first blemish was the introduction of the rule a few years before the pandemic that points are valid for 3 years (but not on a calendar basis - "cutting off" old points takes place on April 30 each year, then the status is recalculated without taking into account points from three years ago).

When the pandemic was about to end - around the middle of last year, Costa drastically changed the rules of the program.

First of all, the statuses and score thresholds for entering them have changed. Second, many perks (especially the really cool ones) have been abolished. And thirdly, points are currently accrued depending on the cabin you book.

The current statuses are:

Bronze 1-5000 pts.

Silver 5001-30000 pts.

Gold 30001-140000 pts.

Platinum 1400001 pts. and above

Points are awarded as follows:

for each night on the ship: 100 pts. (inner cabin), 200 pts. (window), 300 pts. (balcony), 500 pts. (apartment)

additionally, if you have purchased the AI package - 400 pts.

and for expenses on the ship - for each EUR 1 spent - 2 points.

In addition, there are some extras if you order a cruise with a flight or as part of some travel packages.

Now all that's left is math. To become Gold, you need to spend approximately 300 nights in an indoor cabin or 100 with a balcony over the course of 3 years. If someone spends a lot on a ship, maybe a little less 🙂 To be honest, impossible for me.

Platinum status now is for me sth like science-fiction: you'd have to spend more days in an inner cabin than there are in three years. But assuming it's apartment guest status, that works out to 280 nights/3 years (in suites only). That is, almost all year round. Of course, expenses can improve something here 🙂

What's interesting: platinum in terms of privileges is not very different from gold (the differences are ridiculous). Poor if we are talking about appreciating someone who spends so many nights on a ship.

And the biggest problem. Even wanting to sail all those nights with them, there is a problem: no new routes and fewer and fewer ships because they are constantly selling or scrapping the old ones. How many times can you do the same circle around the Mediterranean Sea or a cruise to the Norwegian fjords? A few times for sure, because the places are charming, but here it's not about a few.

Now let's move on to the privileges. Currently, in my opinion, it is better to simply buy them without looking at the status in the loyalty program. What the Costa program gives is absolutely inadequate to what you have to put in. From my conversations during the last two cruises, old guests skip participating in the program and talk directly about moving to other operators - the more that they usually did not sail only with Costa. A kind of moment of truth will come after April 30, when Costa will "cut off" all the points accumulated before the pandemic. Only those won after April 2020, when most of the time Costa practically did not sail at all or hardly at all, and only since last summer it began to take off - but so far part of its fleet is turned off. In my opinion, according to their current rules, they will not have any Platinum guests and almost no Golds because they simply weren't there when to do it during this period. And I guess that's what the last changes to the program were about 🙂 After all, the program is about costs.

From my point of view, if I combine this with the progressive decline in quality and visible savings, I have no particular motivation to make further bookings with Costa.

What do you think about it?

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I am currently silver with 7884 points. I believe i will loose a number of points in April. I did 2 cruises with Costa last year, 15 nights med cruise and 22 nights on Toscana to Dubai. In a couple of weeks i will be back on the Toscana from Dubai to Genoa. A week later i will be doing back to back on Firenze from Rio to Kiel. The chances of me accumulating 30000 points to reach gold are nil. 

As a silver member i do get 15% off the published cruise fare, as i travel solo this does help to keep the costs down. The other perks include a bottle of sparkling wine when boarding and a gift during the cruise, and a free pizza.  One other perks is a cabin upgrade, but the small print makes it impossible for me to get one. Although i did 2 cruises last year, i have booked 3 this year. For me to get an upgrade i would have to book the comfort plus rate which includes the beverage pack. As i hardly drink its not worth it for me to purchase a beverage pack, so no upgrade for me. 

I am booked on the Costa Toscana 21 night cruise from Dubai to Genoa in March, i paid just over 800 sterling for a outside cabin travelling solo. I would find it impossible to find the same fare with other cruise lines and that is why i stick with Costa. The loyalty programme, although not great, meets my needs.

I am also silver with 10264 points that I accumulated in 2022 alone (three 7-night cruises in a balcony cabin), it just so happened that the dates worked and prices were very good. With 19737 points to reach gold, it is highly unlikely that I will ever reach that level. There is no real incentive to even try and reach that echelon even if I wished to.

For us, the Costa Club is just a name and number and not worth even thinking about. When they brought in the 3-year rule we dropped from Pearl to Coral overnight which was a bit of a smack in the face at the time. It's just as well that we enjoy the product as their loyalty rewards count for very little.

So for me to achieve gold, I would need to take nine 7-night cruises in 3 years. That would be some going for a cruise line that is lacking the sort of itineraries they used to do.

Platinum..... well 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂

In the past they had some itineraries which do not exist now - Asia, India/Sri Lanca, Maledives, Mauritius, Caribbean from Florida... 

Maybe I wanted to cruise with them more but need more new itineraries. At the moment have gold but keeping it for longer time is more and more difficult and has no sense.

On the other hand after last cruise in January can say that many privilliges do not exist anymore - even they are listed by Costa (f.e. priority embarkation or "behind the scene" visit). Unfortunately also credit for spending onboard has been cancelled (it was 75 EUR for gold members).  

Just been looking at Carnival by Costa on the Venezia out of New York. The pricing per cabin is definitely Carnival rates, not Costa. There does not seem to be any option for Costa club members on here to get any perks? Does anybody know if you can use Costas loyalty programme on Carnival?

2 hours ago, gerryuk said: Just been looking at Carnival by Costa on the Venezia out of New York. The pricing per cabin is definitely Carnival rates, not Costa. There does not seem to be any option for Costa club members on here to get any perks? Does anybody know if you can use Costas loyalty programme on Carnival?      

No Gerry.. It will be Carnival Venezia. Keeping the Costa funnel though. It will be Carnival loyalty perks.

I am booked on the TA Barcelona to New York on 29th May.

• 2 weeks later...

CarnivalShips480

On 3/6/2023 at 9:04 AM, gerryuk said: Just been looking at Carnival by Costa on the Venezia out of New York. The pricing per cabin is definitely Carnival rates, not Costa. There does not seem to be any option for Costa club members on here to get any perks? Does anybody know if you can use Costas loyalty programme on Carnival?      

Its going to be a full Carnival ship in terms of booking and loyalty. Costa funnel to be kept to remind everyone of Venezia's heritage.

Cruised on the Firenze last year.  Great ship, too bad Carnival took it.  In terms of recent ships, that leaves the Toscana and the Smeralda. 

Regarding the loyalty program, reading through the perks, the thing that immediately stands out to me is that there seems to be little incentive to get a higher status: the most significant perk, a 10-20% price discount, is available immediately after joining. "Exclusive" products and services with a 50% discount are also for every loyalty program category.  As are birthday cakes and other minor perks.  What silver, gold and diamond members get that the others don't get is a free bathrobe, a second towel, a free pizza and other insignificant things that your cabin steward will happily provide in exchange of a tip.  The only things of significance for higher than bronze status I have seen in the program are a dedicated restaurant and priority em- and debarkation.  Not worth the thousands you'd have to spend on cruises IMHO.

Correcting the autocorrect...

Love it. 😂 😂 😂

Basing on my last experience on Costa Toscana (Jan 2023): priority embarkation for gold/platinium does not exist at all. Staff in terminal does not know anything about it. All passengers waited in one line. I have also not seen any special line to suites guests.

Special restaurant at the moment means dedicated part (sector) of normal restaurant. Menu is also the same like in MDR.

Well, that's disappointing, isn't it?  I only saw on Costa's website that they have a restaurant for suite guests; I didn't realize it is just a dedicated section of the MDR.  I'd feel cheated if I had booked a suite and found the setup to be this.

As for the lack of priority em- and debarkation, that's one of the things I'd book a suite for, especially if there are tender ports involved or lots of people on board.  But then again, I try to avoid that type of cruise, especially during school holidays.  Which makes that 3 week cruise from Europe to Dubai in November I'm looking at look better by the minute.

@Schlinger  - to be more precise: there was no dedicated restaurant for gold/platinium guests. I am not sure but think that suite guests on Costa Toscana had dedicated restaurant.

Just got cut from Platinum to Gold, probably going to lose that soon.

Priority boarding was one reason they had to start cutting points. In Savona, there would be hundreds for priority, it was less hassle to pick up a priority card, then go for coffee and board with the hoi polloi. If the restaurant wasn't busy I might end up with in effect anytime dining, but otherwise not much of value. Never used things like robe or pillows,

I'm far, far more concerned over cutbacks to entertainment.

Do the Costa club points you have reset every year?

They cut points every year in April - but only for points collected more than 3 years earlier. It does not mean they reset your account every year.

On 3/17/2023 at 7:05 PM, greg2014 said: @Schlinger  - to be more precise: there was no dedicated restaurant for gold/platinium guests. I am not sure but think that suite guests on Costa Toscana had dedicated restaurant.

As for Costa Toscana, they do have a section of the L'Argentario restaurant reserved for gold & platinum. The menu is the same as in the "ordinary" mdr, but I would say that the atmosphere is nicer and quieter. You will for instance get a table for 2 automatically if you want, and the tables are set with enough space between them to be private if you don´t want to socialize with other guests.

There is a completely separate restaurant (Bellavista on Toscana) for suites, and it is also in theory for gold & platinum, but "subject to availability". This restaurant has a separate kitchen and menu from the mdr. You have to make the request to dine there at the time of booking if you want to get in on the loyalty club basis.

We have now done 2 b2b:s on the 7 day Dubai-circuit, and are currently on the repositioning Suez-cruise back to the Med. We have asked the maitre d´:s if we would have any chance to get into Bellavista as we have gold status, but it seems impossible as there is in reality rarely any availability. Acc. to the maitre d':s you need to be platinum to have any chance of getting a table.

Maria, have you had a chance to look at the Bellavista menu?  I'd be curious to know how different it is from the regular MDR.

Below you will find menu of MDR and Suites Restaurant on Costa Toscana - 27 Jan 2023. 

elite_en.pdf mdr_en.pdf

Thanks a lot, Greg!  That doesn't seem to be very different.  I merely noticed scallops on the Elite menu... And lots of upcharge stuff on both menus.  Dom Pérignon is a bit steep at 250 (under 200 on Carnival a year ago).  And the "tomahawk" is fassona piemontese 😕

Overall, the benefits from member status or suite bookings seem to be on the light side, especially if the priority boarding remains theoretical.  

• 3 weeks later...

Just received this email from Costa regarding points.

42 minutes ago, gerryuk said: Just received this email from Costa regarding points.  

Just this year or every year from now?

3 hours ago, CarnivalShips480 said: Just this year or every year from now?

Yes, I received this news, too! Unclear as ever…..do you think it means all the zillions of points coming off on 30/04/2023 won’t be deducted?  

I am clinging onto Gold status for the moment so even if these points are not taken again this year, next year when zillions surely will no doubt disappear….well, that will be the end of my brief flirtation with the heady echelons of Perla Diamanté and now Gold status (and looking ahead probably Silver, too) forever given the strange new Club points system.

There seem to be very little in the way of perks or privileges worth bothering about in any case now as everything worth having appears to have been watered down or whittled away. 

4 hours ago, SpeedySal said: Yes, I received this news, too! Unclear as ever…..do you think it means all the zillions of points coming off on 30/04/2023 won’t be deducted?   I am clinging onto Gold status for the moment so even if these points are not taken again this year, next year when zillions surely will no doubt disappear….well, that will be the end of my brief flirtation with the heady echelons of Perla Diamanté and now Gold status (and looking ahead probably Silver, too) forever given the strange new Club points system.   There seem to be very little in the way of perks or privileges worth bothering about in any case now as everything worth having appears to have been watered down or whittled away.         

Don't think you will loose any points this year, next year is another matter.

I am silver and just got off Toscana, got a free bottle of wine and a free pizza but no gift.  

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Cruising the Moskva River: A short guide to boat trips in Russia’s capital

There’s hardly a better way to absorb Moscow’s atmosphere than on a ship sailing up and down the Moskva River. While complicated ticketing, loud music and chilling winds might dampen the anticipated fun, this checklist will help you to enjoy the scenic views and not fall into common tourist traps.

How to find the right boat?

There are plenty of boats and selecting the right one might be challenging. The size of the boat should be your main criteria.

Plenty of small boats cruise the Moskva River, and the most vivid one is this yellow Lay’s-branded boat. Everyone who has ever visited Moscow probably has seen it.

This option might leave a passenger disembarking partially deaf as the merciless Russian pop music blasts onboard. A free spirit, however, will find partying on such a vessel to be an unforgettable and authentic experience that’s almost a metaphor for life in modern Russia: too loud, and sometimes too welcoming. Tickets start at $13 (800 rubles) per person.

Bigger boats offer smoother sailing and tend to attract foreign visitors because of their distinct Soviet aura. Indeed, many of the older vessels must have seen better days. They are still afloat, however, and getting aboard is a unique ‘cultural’ experience. Sometimes the crew might offer lunch or dinner to passengers, but this option must be purchased with the ticket. Here is one such  option  offering dinner for $24 (1,490 rubles).

If you want to travel in style, consider Flotilla Radisson. These large, modern vessels are quite posh, with a cozy restaurant and an attentive crew at your service. Even though the selection of wines and food is modest, these vessels are still much better than other boats.

Surprisingly, the luxurious boats are priced rather modestly, and a single ticket goes for $17-$32 (1,100-2,000 rubles); also expect a reasonable restaurant bill on top.

How to buy tickets?

Women holding photos of ships promise huge discounts to “the young and beautiful,” and give personal invitations for river tours. They sound and look nice, but there’s a small catch: their ticket prices are usually more than those purchased online.

“We bought tickets from street hawkers for 900 rubles each, only to later discover that the other passengers bought their tickets twice as cheap!”  wrote  (in Russian) a disappointed Rostislav on a travel company website.

Nevertheless, buying from street hawkers has one considerable advantage: they personally escort you to the vessel so that you don’t waste time looking for the boat on your own.

Prices start at $13 (800 rubles) for one ride, and for an additional $6.5 (400 rubles) you can purchase an unlimited number of tours on the same boat on any given day.

Flotilla Radisson has official ticket offices at Gorky Park and Hotel Ukraine, but they’re often sold out.

Buying online is an option that might save some cash. Websites such as  this   offer considerable discounts for tickets sold online. On a busy Friday night an online purchase might be the only chance to get a ticket on a Flotilla Radisson boat.

This  website  (in Russian) offers multiple options for short river cruises in and around the city center, including offbeat options such as ‘disco cruises’ and ‘children cruises.’ This other  website  sells tickets online, but doesn’t have an English version. The interface is intuitive, however.

Buying tickets online has its bad points, however. The most common is confusing which pier you should go to and missing your river tour.

“I once bought tickets online to save with the discount that the website offered,” said Igor Shvarkin from Moscow. “The pier was initially marked as ‘Park Kultury,’ but when I arrived it wasn’t easy to find my boat because there were too many there. My guests had to walk a considerable distance before I finally found the vessel that accepted my tickets purchased online,” said the man.

There are two main boarding piers in the city center:  Hotel Ukraine  and  Park Kultury . Always take note of your particular berth when buying tickets online.

Where to sit onboard?

Even on a warm day, the headwind might be chilly for passengers on deck. Make sure you have warm clothes, or that the crew has blankets ready upon request.

The glass-encased hold makes the tour much more comfortable, but not at the expense of having an enjoyable experience.

Getting off the boat requires preparation as well. Ideally, you should be able to disembark on any pier along the way. In reality, passengers never know where the boat’s captain will make the next stop. Street hawkers often tell passengers in advance where they’ll be able to disembark. If you buy tickets online then you’ll have to research it yourself.

There’s a chance that the captain won’t make any stops at all and will take you back to where the tour began, which is the case with Flotilla Radisson. The safest option is to automatically expect that you’ll return to the pier where you started.

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• Red Route runs from 10:00am - 6:00pm, every 25 minutes. Duration - 60 minutes. First stop - Bolotnaya Square.
• Most travelers can participate
• Green Route runs from 10:00am - 6:00pm, every 60 minutes. Duration - 120 minutes. First stop - Bolotnaya Square.
• Orange Route (currently suspended) runs from 10:30am - 6:30pm, every 30 minutes. Duration - 140 minutes. First stop - Museum of Cosmonautics
• Walking tour runs daily at 10:45am. Duration - 2 hours 30 minutes. Meeting point - Next to monument of Saints Cyril and Methodius.
• Boat tour operates 5th May - 20th October, from 11:30am - 6:30pm. Duration - 60 minutes. Meeting point - Zaryadye Park Pier.
• Mobile and paper vouchers are accepted for this tour.
• Vouchers can be redeemed at any of the stops along the routes.
• Vouchers are valid for 12 months
• For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start date of the experience.

• DebbJ 0 contributions 4.0 of 5 bubbles Great way to get oriented to Moscow We started our Moscow experience with the hop on hop off. It was a great way to get orientated to the city. The additional optional tours were also good, we did the Metro tour which I highly recommend, we also paid for the Kremlin tour. The hop on hop off has three different lines all included. Only fault was the bus was sometimes full and you had to wait for the next one which was about 15 minutes (in the cold). Read more Written January 6, 2020
• UmaDelhi 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles 2 days are required Very very good audio guides- the voice quality was also good and also the anecdotes of history were brilliant. Russia is truly beautiful Read more Written September 1, 2019
• BeverleyT 0 contributions 1.0 of 5 bubbles Boat trip - TERRIBLE We got on the bus, but couldn’t buy a 1 day ticket. They suggested we do the 1 hour boat trip and said they would drop us to the dock. 1) they dropped us in the wrong place 2) they were lost because of the marathon Then the boat, after we finally found it: 1) stinking fumes, actually gagging 2) no commentary, in fact, no interaction unless you begged 3) offered us 2 for 1 icecreams as they had melted and refrozen as the fridge gets turned off at night Honestly, we enjoyed the afternoon in the boat but spent all of it laughing at just how awful it was!!! The worst thing in Moscow! Read more Written August 18, 2019
• niruDurbs 0 contributions 3.0 of 5 bubbles Not the best value for the price The ticket is quite expensive and covers three different routes in a 24 hour period. The red route is quite exciting and takes about an hour. The bus comes every 10 to 15 minutes. However the other two routes take about two hours each and buses come every 30 to 40 minute period. If the bus is full then you have to wait at the stop for the next bus. So personally I feel that not much can be seen this way. I definitely was not impressed. However it must be noted that one can learn a lot about the history of Moscow Read more Written July 3, 2019
• IrishCueTravel 0 contributions 1.0 of 5 bubbles SLO Motion Not all their fault , but if you plan on trying this Attraction be patient! Traffic is a big problem first and foremost. But to add additional unnecessary delays; the bus stops at each site for 15 minutes at a time or More ! I gave up half way through ( 45 minutes) ; and walked back to the starting point in 10 minutes! Read more Written June 4, 2019
• michael g 0 contributions 1.0 of 5 bubbles Worst hop on/hop off EVER Waited for 40 minutes in the cold rain for a bus that never came... unacceptable. Traffic is so bad that when on a bus the previos day it was barely moving. My advice-get a subway pass and a good travel guide book and do sightseeing on your own! Read more Written October 24, 2018
• Rebecca J 0 contributions 3.0 of 5 bubbles Boat element was excellent We purchased a ticket online for the boat and bus for 2 days. The boat element was wonderful, we saw some amazing parts of Moscow along the river side. The bus element was very disappointing as it only started at 10am and was finished by 6:30pm. It was extremely warm when we were there and it would have been great to do the tour in the cool of the day. There was also no air conditioning in the down stairs part of the bus. They also turned away passengers at one of the stops as the bus was full and there was not another bus for 40 minutes. Read more Written September 26, 2018
• Monismith2014 0 contributions 4.0 of 5 bubbles it was very enjoyable it was very interesting seeing things we saw walking around from the bus. so much more to see. we had a lot better view of the attractions from the height of the bus.also the bus was reasonable slow which gave us time enough for photos. it stopped at sparrow hill for 10 minutes for picture taking Read more Written September 20, 2018
• fati666222 0 contributions 4.0 of 5 bubbles The best way to see Moscow We did both routes but if you have little time then only do the red route.Its very informative and it takes you to the important sights.The staff on the bus are very friendly and helpful. Read more Written August 20, 2018
• adolfo17 0 contributions 3.0 of 5 bubbles The worst hope-on hope-off service I've ever seen Diffiult to understand the route maps and stops. Staff wouldn't help either. Lengthy stops. No air conditioning. Read more Written August 4, 2018
• Peter F 0 contributions 3.0 of 5 bubbles Two Routes There is a short red route which depending on the traffic takes about an hour. The route is generally around the Red Square area. The ear phones were small and sometimes the commentary did not link up with the sites you were seeing. The green bus takes you on a longer route and ours took two and a half hours due to the heavy traffic. I would not recommend this trip unless it is raining or you want to fill in time. The sights we saw were nothing outstanding with plenty of time at certain stops for photos. Also the driver stop for a bite to eat at one stop. Read more Written July 30, 2018
• Bernardo P 0 contributions 1.0 of 5 bubbles Boat Trips Moscow, Russia Yesterday, I booked a boat trip with the GetYourGuide.com web page and was totally horrible, didn’t have audio guide as it shows on the picture-Nobody Talk-. The girl on the picture-light blue bag-ask for 100 Rubles for show her the QR Code while I had the Booking and PIN number cause she must see the vessel name-Didn’t say nothing and after she said board any vessel. I suggest take the trip and pay on site, avoid fake internet pages, there are many other services with a lot of entertainment, don’t take this ones. Read more Written July 14, 2018
• Kathrynowl91 0 contributions 3.0 of 5 bubbles Good way to see some sites We usually do these tours when we travel. They get you round and you see the sight . The traffic is quite heavy so it is a bit slow but there is not a lot they can do about it. We only did the red route. Just a note people don’t queue here when the bus comes it’s a bit of a free for all. Read more Written July 13, 2018
• Daniyal91 0 contributions 3.0 of 5 bubbles Was Ok.! Started our tour of moscow from here, We had got the 2 Day Pass with the boat ride. The route and the map was good but not well managed. The bus didn't stop at many points. Were were unaware a couple of times at what point we were and missed them. Headphones and maps were provided. Would recommend one should check out the route map before going and decide which places to stop in advance, this way one can manage and enjoy the tour more and us it more effectively.! The boat ride was Ok, a little crowded. No guide provided, just a boat ride with restaurant service Read more Written July 12, 2018
• WilliamDyer 0 contributions 1.0 of 5 bubbles Poor service on boat and too many waiting times on buses For the price, you should expect at minimum English speaking tour guides with decent experience, but at least in my case that did not happen both in buses and boats. And in the boat even tough we were 90% English speaking tourist at least, the tour guide spoke 95% of the time in Russia, and only 3 sentences in English, I really counted how many times she spoke in English. And at the end she asks us if we have any questions? Of course I told her I couldn’t ask her anything since I didn’t understand 95% of what she was saying. The boat tour is not worth it, just take the bus that would be my advice. Second minus is the waiting times, in the boat they made us wait an hour before it departed, and in many stops with the buses waiting times of 20-30 minutes. I actually think I lost that day around 2 hours doing nothing. Be careful. Read more Written July 10, 2018

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City Sightseeing Moscow Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tour with Optional Cruise provided by City Sightseeing Moscow