We arrived at the port at 1230 to find that the earliest time boarding could take place was 1500 and we were told that we were lucky as we were really not due to board until 2000!! The conditions at the embarkation point were very poor and most people were standing for over 2 hours as there were very few seats. It was a total ‘free for all’ when boarding commenced. No order or priority on arrival time. I have never experienced anything like it. When we did get on board we were told that NO cabins would be ready before 2000. I have never know this on any other ship. Usually availability of staterooms is phased and announced. It seems ridiculous for everyone to have to wait until 2000. Some people had been travelling all night and had been at the port since very early in the morning. The weather was good to sit on deck but there were no towels for the sunbeds as these are supplied in the staterooms so the waiting was not comfortable. Food was available in the buffet and it was adequate.

We had booked first sitting for dinner as we had been told sittings were 1900 or 2100. However, it turns out the sittings are 1800 and 2030 which makes a big difference. We were lucky to be able to change to 2nd sitting as 1800 is really too early. The ship is looking dated and in need of refurbishment but there was nothing fundamentally wrong with it. The food wasn’t fantastic but again nothing wrong with it. The crew were all delightful, friendly, helpful and professional. We did not experience any language problems. The ship was clean and our suite was spacious and well equipped. We may have been lucky having a suite as we met 2 ladies who had a dreadful time in an inside cabin and were totally frustrated by the lack of response from customer service. The 4 trips we went on were well organised, interesting and value for money. The evening theatre entertainment was superb. The drinks package was very good value although it could be made more clear that bottles of water are not included and they are expensive. We were able to obtain drinks easily whenever we wanted them.

We thoroughly enjoyed our cruise on Costa Fortuna, the only downside really being that the ship is old and it shows but having cruised with Cunard, NCL and Princess (which were all much more modern ships and the food was better) I would certainly cruise with Costa again and I am at a loss to understand some of the adverse comments about the Fortuna on the reviews.