Whilst not a major cruiser we have completed enough to know this was the worst of our experiences and total rubbish. We will never cruise with Costa again. As part of a package advertised on cruise critic we spent 4 days in Dubai then 7 days aboard the Costa Serena. Our first dissapiontment was being transferred from hotel to port embarkation arriving just after midday to be told we could not gain access to cabins untill 8pm. Whilst annoyed and frustrated we did notice some passengers sleeping on the more comfortable seats who had arrived around 9am following overnight flights from the uk. Imagine how they felt. We couldn't understand this as the ship had docked the previous day early morning. At app 5pm we were allowed to board to gain access to the buffet restaurant to at least get something to eat. Getting to our cabin at app 7.50pm we found it to be a reasonable size and comfortable. At breakfast we chose the Al la carte restaurant preferring not to get involved in the rush at the buffet counters. Orange SQUASH was available but when I asked for orange juice I was told there is a charge of normally €4.50 (but was on offer of €3.50).
At the end of breakfast, filter coffee was served but a choice of say, cappuccino or latte etc incurred a charge of €4.50. It was interesting to note that following breakfast orange SQUASH machines were switched off and not available at any other time although orange juice could still be purchased. Again at dinner, coffee was only available if purchased.
A drinks package was available to purchase at (alcoholic) €25 pppd or (non alcoholic) €15 pppd. I did experience many passengers complaining that having purchased the alcoholic package, were disappointed to find that when selecting wine it was house red or white. If you wanted a particular wine, say a Chardonnay or Cabernet, you would have to pay for a bottle (not even a glass was available).
Clean, comfortable and although boasting 45 TV channels only BBC 24hr news was English. The sky sport channels plus movie channels were all dubbed in Italian.