I paid $1,090 for an interior cabin on the worst-rated cruise line, but got a balcony cabin for free—take a look inside

I recently sailed on a 7-night cruise on Costa Cruises' Costa Toscana, the world's 8th largest cruise ship. This cruise line continuously receives some of the worst reviews in the cruise industry, so I was nervous to see what my cheap cabin would look like onboard.

The cruise line ranks dead last on Cruise Critic's reviews of mainstream lines, with a 3.0 rating out of 5. Cruise lines like Disney come in at 4.2, whereas Royal Caribbean and Carnival rank at 3.9 and 3.8 respectively. Even MSC Cruises, which is notorious for poor reviews, comes in at 3.3.

Despite Costa Cruises' bad reviews, I wanted to give the cruise line a shot. After all, reviews should be taken with a grain of salt, as one passenger's opinion can vary dramatically from another's. So, boarding the ship for the first time, I kept an open mind about what my cabin could look like on a cruise with such a bad reputation.

I booked the cheapest cabin available

As someone who cruises on a tight budget, I almost always book the cheapest cabin available, and my Costa Toscana cruise was no exception. Not only did I book an interior cabin, but I booked a guarantee interior room, which meant I could not choose my exact cabin location on the ship.

I paid $1,090 total for the cabin, which included taxes and fees; however, an additional $83 would be charged onboard as gratuities.

The room location would be assigned to me close to the sail date, leaving me with whatever cabins were “leftover” throughout the ship. Theoretically, however, if all interior cabins sell out before you’re assigned a room, you could be given an upgraded cabin category instead.

If I’m being honest, I thought the chances of a surprise upgrade happening were impossible on any cruise line, let alone one rated as poorly as Costa Cruises. You can imagine my surprise, therefore, when I received a balcony cabin upon online check-in instead of the interior room I reserved.

I had to do a double-take when checking the cabin location—I was ecstatic to receive a balcony upgrade for free!

So, without further ado, let’s take a look inside my balcony cabin—that I originally booked for $1,090 as a cheap interior cabin—on Costa Cruises.

Walking into my cabin for the first time, my first impression was that the cabin was modern and colorful

When I first saw my cabin, room 12029, on Costa Toscana, I was surprised by how colorful it was, from the bright orange couch to the blue carpet and vibrant artwork. It was also surprisingly spacious at first glance, a welcome change after previously cruising in so many tiny interior cabins.

Of course, spacious on a cruise ship means just over 200 square feet, but in comparison to my recent cabin on MSC Seaside, it felt like a major upgrade.

My balcony cabin came equipped with a king-sized bed, although the bed could be separated into two twin-sized beds upon request. I found the bed comfortable, and a welcome place to get some rest after my long, tiring days exploring the Mediterranean.

On each side of the bed was a nightstand. Although the nightstands did not have built-in storage, they offered a convenient spot to place my cell phone and a glass of water at night. Additionally, the left side of the bed had a European outlet, along with a USB charging port.

The main living space of the cabin featured a couch along with a desk and vanity space. A television was attached to the wall, too, which could be viewed from the couch and bed.

The bright orange couch was stylish and comfortable, and it was long enough that you could lay down to rest

I’m always grateful to have a full-sized couch in my cabin, as some of the cheapest interior cabins on cruise ships often have just a small, uncomfortable chair.

My cabin’s desk worked well for using my laptop or getting ready for dinner, but I found it slightly cluttered

In hindsight, I wished the cabin’s telephone was on one of the nightstands to free up more space on the desk. Additionally, there was this odd bowl built into the desk that could not be moved.

Regardless, I did enjoy having two outlets in addition to two USB charging ports on the desk. Prospective cruisers should be aware that Costa’s cabins only have Type C outlets, so bringing an outlet adapter will be necessary for guests from other regions, such as the United States. 

Underneath the desk were two small drawers. While not large, the drawers provided enough space to store items like chargers and small articles of clothing.

Two shelves were present under the desk as well, but in general, I thought storage in this area was lacking. On most cruise lines, you’ll find more significant storage around the desk. I was curious to see if the cabin had enough storage space elsewhere.

One thing notably missing in the cabin was a mini fridge. This was the first cruise cabin I’ve stayed in without one, so I found the lack of a cooler a bit odd.

Next to the couch and desk was a full-sized mirror and a see-through panel looking into the cabin’s shower.

While the glass is slightly opaque, it allows guests to look out toward the ocean while showering, which I found quite unique!

My cabin's bathroom was exceedingly modern and had an abundance of storage

I appreciated the many shelves in the bathroom, both near the door and sink.

This worked perfectly for storing toiletries during my cruise, so much so that I didn’t even need to use my hanging toiletry bag to keep items organized.

The bathroom provided liquid hand soap, and there was a nice amount of counter space next to the sink to use when getting ready.

The shower was fairly large, too, and had a shelf for storing shampoo and conditioner. It was rectangular in shape, with a shower door as opposed to a curtain.

Although Costa provided an all-in-one body wash and shampoo, I was glad I packed my own products, as the quality of the provided soap is never very high on cruise lines.

Near the entrance of my cabin was where you could find the majority of the room’s storage. One thing I appreciated was how the handles to open closets worked as hooks for accessories like coats and purses. This added touch meant I always had extra places to hang my belongings for easy access.

The main closet offered several hangers and two shelves at the bottom.

The secondary, smaller closet provided more shelving and the ship’s safe. Overall, I found the storage to be adequate in the cabin because I was cruising solo, but it could be more difficult to keep items organized when cruising with more people in the room.

Near my cabin’s door was the temperature control panel and card slot, where you must place your Costa Card in order to generate power in the room.

My cabin often felt quite warm when not at the lowest temperature setting, so I made sure to keep the air on the lowest setting whenever in the room.

Next let’s tour the balcony, my favorite area of my Costa Toscana cabin

At 44 square feet, my cabin’s balcony offered just enough space to relax with a view. It came equipped with two chairs and a small table, which also worked as a footrest.

Unfortunately, the start of my cruise saw several days of rain, but the latter half of my sailing offered pleasant conditions for watching the passing scenery.

It’s important to note that Costa Cruises does permit smoking on the balcony, a major difference from other cruise lines. Fortunately, I only smelled cigarette smoke once, but I recognize my experience could have been a lot worse if those in balcony cabins adjacent to mine spent the day smoking.

There’s no question that having a balcony is significantly more enjoyable than cruising in a dark, windowless cabin, and I was grateful every day for my free balcony upgrade. Waking up to the views of a new European city each morning was wonderful!

Read more: I’ve been on 10 European cruises, and I see people making the same 12 mistakes

In short, my Costa Toscana balcony cabin exceeded my expectations

I wasn’t sure what to expect on a cruise line with such bad reviews, but the cabin had very few faults.

Having booked this cruise for only $1,090 for an interior room, I felt extremely fortunate to have spent the week in a spacious balcony cabin. Booking a guarantee cabin is always a gamble, but in this case, the results could not have been better.