The dining on Costa Fascinosa unveils a culinary journey of the good, the bad, and the ugly. Some dishes dazzle the palate with exquisite flavours, showcasing Mediterranean delights. Some dishes are not up to par and shouldn’t have been served, while others should be ashamed of themselves for their presentation.
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“Oggi, oggi, oggi!” Brett exclaims to me after his visit to the customer service desk. Curious, I inquire about the incident. He shares, “I’ve been waiting to get my cruise card fixed, and these people just walked in front of me! When I told them I was next, they said oggi, oggi, oggi.” We burst into laughter, unsure of the actual meaning but recognising the emphasis on “today, today, today”. This sets the scene for this cruise.
The Ship
Embarking on a four night Costa cruise from Barcelona, we explore ports in Marseille, France, and Savona, Italy. Priced at EUR494 or approximately AU$750 per person, inclusive of a drinks package, the cruise proves economical. However, challenges arise with a predominance of non-English speaking passengers and disappointments in the culinary offerings.
Costa Fascinosa and its sister ships were designed to increase passenger capacity by 50%, with five ships entering service between 2009 and 2012. Costa Fascinosa, costing 510 million euros to build, was selected through a competition, with the name Fascinosa (fascinating or glamorous) chosen based on a public vote. The vessel, based on the Concordia class design, has a displacement of 114,500 gross tons and accommodates a whopping 3,780 passengers in 1,506 cabins.
Dining
Sadly, the dining is what really let this cruise down. While some of the food was great, the majority of the food was either undercooked, cold, tasteless or plainly unappetising. Cooking for 3,780 passengers must have its drawbacks!
Most of our meals from the buffet were enjoyed outdoors on deck although at times it did become quite busy.
In the main dining restaurant the service was excellent (and we did feel bad sending some of the food back or not wanting to eat it after one or two bites…)
The Buffet – Tilipano Nero
The buffet, situated at the aft on deck 9, serves as our go-to spot for breakfast and casual snacks while enjoying the open deck. It’s a convenient and relaxed dining option, although at times quite busy.
The buffet operates within specific timeframes: Breakfast from 7:00 to 10:30, Lunch from 12:00 to 16:00, Snacks from 16:00 to 17:30, and Dinner from 19:30 to 21:00. However, there is a limitation when it comes to accessing drinks as there is no dedicated bar within the buffet area, requiring passengers to go to the main bars or wait in lines at the smaller outdoor bar Lido via col Vento.
The buffet is not self-service; instead, the crew serves the dishes. This not only minimises the risk of contamination from other guests but also reduces food wastage. There’s no piling up your plate until it overflows, ensuring a more controlled and mindful approach to dining on the cruise.
The Good
This is the food we love from the buffet, which is few and far between…
The mini lasagna had abundant cheesiness. It is complemented by a selection of cold cuts—jamon, mortadella, and roast beef with horseradish— and a salad, provided a delightful combination. The crumbed sardines, while carrying a robust sardine flavour, contributed to the overall appeal, adding a distinct Mediterranean taste.
The Bad
Some dishes were just plain awful. Runny powdered eggs and fatty bacon anyone?
Unfortunately, the breakfast experience was lacking in enjoyment. Flavourless sausages, strange hash browns and fatty bacon. The unnaturally bright, watery and flowery eggs suggested the possibility they were from a powder, contributing to a less than pleasurable start to the morning.
The pastries and sandwiches lean towards dryness, and the churros suffer from being undercooked. However, the redeeming aspect comes from the fresh melon and pineapple which are both refreshing.
The Ugly
Though tasting acceptable, certain dishes lacked visual appeal, diminishing the overall dining experience. A balance of taste and presentation, you would think, is crucial to a great meal.
While tasting ok, the squished hot dog is not very appealing at first sight, the burger was acceptable, but the fries cold and unwelcoming. Surprisingly, the salad is crisp and fresh although the dressing lacks flavour.
The Main Dining Room – Otto e Mezzo
Service is wonderful in the main dining room, to which we have been assigned Otto e Mezzo. We had requested a table of 12, but since we are two of twelve onboard who has English as their first language, we are assigned a table for two.
We have a balcony table which overlooks the main floor, its busy, very busy and we enjoy the view of the goings on below. We watch what people order, and discuss who knows who, who likes who and who doesn’t like who and where they could be from. Watching people interactions is quite interesting.
The Good
Fresh bread, a great pasta and seafood are among the highlights…
During every meal, a bread basket was presented, featuring different selections each time. One memorable basket included delectable focaccia. However, a slight letdown was the absence of butter; it was never served automatically, prompting us to consistently request it.
For someone that doesn’t like coffee, this was an excellent first course. While the puff pastry isn’t that crispy, it still works exceptionally well with the deliciously light chicken mousse.
As an Italian cruise line, surely the pasta must be good… well, this one was. The ravioli stuffed with smoked Scamorza cheese and eggplant with zucchini cream, shrimp ragout and pine nuts was an outstanding dish. The Scamorza is an Italian semi-soft cows milk cheese that has a slight bite to it complimenting the earthy notes of the zucchini cream, shrimp ragout and pine nuts.
Another stand out dish was the salt fried cod on a leek cream and multicoloured julienne sweet pepper. The crispy texture of the fried cod beautifully harmonises with the velvety leek cream, creating a delectable contrast tantalising the taste buds.
The luxurious finale was a chocolate marquise, a velvety mousse-like chocolate treat. The decadent richness is expertly balanced by a smudge of raspberry coulis, elevating the dessert to stardom.
The Bad
You would think all pasta dishes would be good on and Italian cruise line…
Have you ever tried bolognese from a can? I did once, many many years ago when I first moved out of home and I swore never to try it again. This dish gave me flashbacks of that awful canned sauce but with the added bonus of undercooked pasta.
Discovering that mezzemaniche pasta resembles shorter rigatoni surprised us. The ‘marinated cherry’ likely refers to cherry tomatoes. The pasta, seemingly undercooked, challenges our accustomed preferences. Disappointingly, the cream cheese sauce falls short, perhaps it’s a departure from the familiar, or an instance of personal taste.
Regrettably, the slow-cooked veal leg with pumpkin puree and mushroom sauce didn’t impress. The flavour combinations sounded interesting, but when I tasted it… mushroom sauce on pumpkin puree? The veal, having a texture and taste more towards beef, was okay, but the dish didn’t come together well, leaving me somewhat disappointed.
The Piedmont style beef in red wine sauce consisting of beef slices, appearing to be a budget cut, displayed sizeable fat globules, rendering the meat dry and tough. The red wine sauce, while acceptable, leaned towards a gravy like flavour and consistency.
I really wasn’t sure whether to place this in The Bad or The Ugly category… This strange presentation of sea bass filled with seafood on a bed of sautéed zucchini was overwhelmed by the flavourless fish and seafood with a concoction of pesto seafood sauce a top across the strangely presented fish…
The Ugly
Animals died for these sad looking dishes…
This dish was borderline in ‘the bad’ category, the taste was ok and the pasta cooked al dente, but it just looked sad. Poor scampo, finishing its life looking like this…
I don’t think I have ever seen a menu that proudly advertises it is made with canned tuna and it actually looks like an opened tin of tuna has been popped on the plate. Even the limp side salad seems embarrassed to be part of this dish.
I’m not a fan of when the fish on my plate is looking and smiling at me with a toothy grin. However, the flavour was quite good as bream is a tasty fish.
Looking more like a backpackers meal cooked up in a hostel, the rigatoni Amatriciana style: pork jowl, tomato sauce, Pecorino cheese and chilli, was tasty enough but I a sure the pork jowl is really just bacon.
What is this? I don’t even know what Baba a rhum is, and i not sure I want to! This strange looking desert, Baba a rhum, eggnog sauce, small fresh fruit macedonia, (minuscule pieces of fruit dabbed around the plate). No flavour and very odd looking…
Conclusion
While the majority of the food was edible, a larger than average was not or looked quite frankly just weird. Furthermore, it was also not the best that we were only one of 12 English speaking people, while this is no fault of the cruise line, I would probably not reconsider doing another cruise in the Mediterranean with Costa. However, while a ship can be the ‘destination’, I would consider a Costa cruise should the itinerary and fare be a good fit for me, oggi, oggi, oggi!
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Matty Somewhere 
oh dear no. that godawful food. i don’t eat pasta or veal so i’d probably starve. that poor prawn!