Overview

A ship with history, Costa Europa was built in 1986 as the Homeric for the defunct Homes Lines. She was "stretched" to add capacity in 1990 after being acquired by Holland America Line and renamed Westerdam. Look closely, and you can tell where a center section was added to lengthen the ship -- a hint is that the windows and portholes are larger in that area. Westerdam sailed for HAL until being transferred to the Costa fleet in 2002, when she was rechristened Costa Europa.

A change of interior décor has brightened her up, but she retains classic touches of elegance such as the teak wrap-around promenade deck lined with wooden steamer chairs. Public rooms are a mix of vibrant primary colors and soft pastels, with most lounges clustered on a single deck, which makes it easy to find your way around.

Restaurants

The single formal restaurant serves open-seating breakfast and lunch and has two assigned seatings for dinner. Breakfast and lunch are also available at two buffet restaurants, with seating either indoors or outside. Dinner buffets are scheduled for certain nights during the cruise, as are traditional midnight buffets. An outdoor grill serves hot dogs and hamburgers and, befitting an Italian ship, pizza is a staple. Room service is available round the clock, although there is a charge for certain items.

Accommodations

As on other ships of her vintage, Costa Europa lacks balconies in most stateroom categories; although six suites with balconies replaced a former cinema, they are the only ones available with that popular feature. All cabins feature an abundance of light wood paneling, small sitting areas, vanity tables, TVs, hair dryers, and a personal safes. Storage space is quite adequate, and most outside cabins have bathtubs. Not all twin beds can be converted to a single larger bed. There are single-occupancy cabins, but single supplements are assessed anyway. All suites have whirlpool bathtubs and enjoy butler service. Four cabins are wheelchair-accessible.