Costa Toscana Pros and Cons: Is It Right for You?

Book Costa Toscana if Italian food, lively evenings and an international atmosphere sound like your kind of vacation, then give the cabin and complete fare as much attention as the itinerary.

Its biggest advantages are variety and personality, while its size, multilingual programming and many paid choices deserve a little planning before you commit.

Choose it for the atmosphere you want

Costa Toscana makes a strong choice for a group that enjoys wandering between a show, an aperitif, dinner and another music venue. You don’t need to love every activity for the ship to work; you do need to enjoy sharing busy public spaces with people following different vacation routines.

Italian brands and design help give those spaces a recognizable personality. Campari Bar, Ferrari Spazio Bollicine and Kartell Caffè make an evening of small stops appealing, while Carlsberg Club & Bistro offers a different pub-and-live-rock setting.

Choose this ship when that variety sounds fun rather than exhausting. If your ideal evening is a quiet conversation in one intimate lounge, compare a smaller ship before paying for features you won’t use.

An international cruise can also suit a mixed-language group particularly well. Music, dancing, outdoor activities and meals give you plenty to enjoy together without relying on a long English-language hosting segment.

The dining choice is a real advantage

Start with your assigned included dining room rather than assuming you need specialty meals to eat well. L’Oliveto, La Maremma, Le Anfore, L’Argentario and Il Vigneto are different restaurant settings, while La Sagra dei Sapori supplies the buffet option on Deck 8.

Il Vigneto belongs to the included main-restaurant lineup, despite the osteria name. Keep its assigned dinner as a perfectly good first choice, with premium dishes and drinks treated as optional purchases.

For a relaxed first dinner, keep the assignment on your boarding record and ask the dining team about the arrangement you prefer. Having a table and time settled is especially useful after a long travel day or a busy afternoon ashore.

Spend on a meal because its format appeals, not because you think all the memorable food costs extra. Teppanyaki adds cooking at the grill, Sushino offers sushi, and Pummid’Oro adds a lively pizzeria experience.

Use our Toscana dining guide to compare locations, included choices and restricted restaurants. The useful question is which evening deserves an upgrade, rather than how many restaurants you can tick off.

Archipelago is an occasion, with important limits

Archipelago Edition I is a distinctive choice if you enjoy a carefully staged tasting experience. The current format brings three chefs’ work into one 12-course Sea & Land menu lasting about two hours, with drinks paired to the dishes.

Set aside an evening for it and avoid booking a show immediately afterward. All diners start together, so this isn’t the restaurant to choose when your group’s arrival time is uncertain.

It’s also reserved for guests 14 and older, and the fixed menu doesn’t allow allergy or intolerance substitutions. If either condition affects your group, choose a restaurant that can discuss a suitable meal rather than trying to adapt this experience after arrival.

Photos and videos aren’t permitted during the experience. That can make the evening feel more focused, but it deserves to be understood before you book it as a meal you intend to document.

Families get more than a pool day

The outdoor facilities, youth spaces and evening entertainment give families several ways to spend time together. Choose Toscana for children who will enjoy moving between those options, particularly when the itinerary leaves meaningful time aboard.

Squok Club covers ages 3 through 11, while the teen program serves ages 12 through 17. Register early and ask about the actual session times, because a promised club visit only helps when it fits your child’s age, interests and daily routine.

For younger children, Toscana’s Squok Baby Area provides parent-accompanied play; confirm your child’s age eligibility before planning a visit. Treat it as somewhere to spend time together, rather than a nursery you can use while both adults go out.

The nearby Squok Restaurant is an included family buffet reserved for families with children ages 3 through 6. That’s a useful convenience for a young family, but it shouldn’t be part of every guest’s ordinary dining plan.

Check the family programs before choosing a fare, then confirm drop-off and toilet-training requirements with Costa. A family-friendly ship can still be the wrong booking if you’re counting on childcare a particular child cannot use.

The outdoor choices reward flexible timing

Try the covered La Spiaggia Beach Club when the weather makes exposed decks less appealing. Use Versilia Beach forward on Deck 18 when an outdoor swim and sun suit the day instead.

Splash Aqua Park gives eligible riders a reason to stay aboard and play. Check the posted requirements before promising a specific slide, and leave room for a different activity if weather or operations closes it.

For a shorter outing, take Passeggiata Volare on Deck 18 for the elevated view. It’s especially appealing as a brief fresh-air break between indoor plans rather than another attraction that has to occupy an entire afternoon.

Choose an itinerary with enough ship time to use these facilities. Paying for a large family ship makes less sense when everyone intends to leave early and return just before dinner on every port day.

Two activity areas make the ship easier to manage

Learn the lower public decks first: Decks 6 through 8 contain the theater, Colosseo, restaurants, shops and casino. The main outdoor and family district is much higher, on Decks 16 through 19.

Put your dinner and evening entertainment together in the lower area, then group pool, youth-club and wellness visits upstairs. You can enjoy a large ship without turning every hour into a trip between opposite ends.

The spa, gym and youth facilities are aft of the middle elevator area on Deck 16. The forward cabins on that deck don’t put the club immediately outside your door, so inspect the actual route before buying a room for that supposed convenience.

Choose a meeting point with both a venue and a deck number. Colosseo spans three decks, and Piazza del Campo spans another three, so their names alone won’t get a separated group back together.

Our Toscana deck guide connects the important venues with practical routes. Save the onboard map too, especially if walking distances or step-free access affects your plans.

A sensible cabin can improve the whole vacation

Begin with ordinary balcony 11120 on Deck 11 when sleep matters more than immediate pool access. It puts accommodation above and below, while still providing your own outdoor seat between port visits.

A room among cabins is a sensible buffer rather than a guarantee of silence. Keep the selected number when that setting matters, instead of giving it up for an upgrade chosen mainly for height.

Deck 17 rooms can be attractive for their height, but they sit below outdoor space on Deck 18. Look at that relationship before paying more for a room you intend to use for early nights and late mornings.

Use our Toscana cabin choices to decide what feature is worth buying, then the cabin cautions to inspect its surroundings. A standard balcony in a suitable position can be better value than an impressive category in a location that doesn’t suit you.

Terrace cabins are worth comparing carefully

Toscana sells Terrace with Sea View separately from a standard balcony. The terrace product adds a veranda to its outdoor arrangement, so compare photos and the exact room description before choosing it.

Pay for that layout if you’d enjoy using it in the weather expected on your cruise. If you simply want to sit outside with the least complicated balcony setup, begin with a conventional balcony instead.

The terrace cabins are on Decks 8 and 9, close to or above lower public spaces. Don’t assume that a more unusual outdoor room automatically brings a more secluded location.

Avoid paying for room size figures that combine indoor and outdoor space without explaining the split. Ask for the actual quoted room’s dimensions and layout when the extra space is your main reason for upgrading.

Compare the fare with your normal habits

Price the same cabin and sailing with each fare option so you’re comparing benefits instead of different room locations. The US fare comparison distinguishes My Cruise from All Inclusive, which adds My Drinks, with a separate suite version offering My Drinks Plus.

Keep your expectations tied to the selected offer on your invoice. Drinks, specialty meals, spa services and other extras shouldn’t be assumed included just because a fare has an appealing name.

The package difference is easier to judge after you’ve imagined an ordinary port day. If you’d have breakfast, spend most of the day ashore and return for dinner, use that realistic pattern rather than a full sea day’s drinking allowance.

Check the outlet as well as the drink. Infinity Bar, for example, excludes the ordinary drinks packages from its listed coverage and makes an exception for My Drinks Plus.

Allow for the complete bill

Include hotel service charges, transfers, excursions and the optional experiences you’ve already decided you want. A low headline fare is useful only when the complete trip still compares well with your alternatives.

On the US service charge page, the suggested amount for most itineraries is 11 euros per person per night for guests 15 and older, with a lower amount for children ages 4 through 14. Check the exact sailing and booking terms before treating that as your final allowance.

A casino visit, arcade game or branded snack is another purchase decision, even when the surrounding entertainment is included. Review the app’s account during the cruise so you can correct a mistaken charge while you’re still aboard.

If two fare options are close, compare the room control and benefits that would prevent a problem for your group. The cheapest option can lose its advantage quickly if it places you somewhere unsuitable or omits something you’d certainly purchase.

Check language and access before choosing

Use the daily program to find the performance style and language that suits you. If a vacation full of English-language comedy is essential, ask Costa about your particular sailing rather than hoping its international program will match that expectation.

For mobility or medical needs, discuss the exact cabin, equipment, walking routes and ports before payment. Send essential information at least 40 days before departure, or when booking if you’re traveling sooner, following Costa’s access guidance.

A suitable shipboard cabin doesn’t settle the shore plan. Accessible coach places are limited, and weather or tender operations can affect disembarkation, so reserve an essential arrangement instead of assuming it will be available on arrival.

Toscana is a strong fit when its food, social evenings and family variety support the vacation you already want. Keep it on your shortlist when those qualities excite you, and let the exact route, selected room and complete price decide the booking.