Costa Smeralda – Inside Cabin Photo Guide and Honest Review

If you are taking a cruise on the Costa Smeralda you may be wondering if an inside cabin is a good option for you.

I’ve just disembarked a cruise onboard the Costa Smeralda and my parents stayed in an inside cabin. This is what they had to say…

We stayed in inside cabin 5120 and this review is based on this cabin.

Below is a photo of the inside cabin. When you first arrive there will be a plastic mat on the bed for you to put your suitcase on when you unpack, but it is then removed by the cabin steward once you have done so.

Changing The Bed Configuration

We were cruising as a couple, and the cabin was made up with a double bed.

If you are sharing with a friend or family member and need twin beds, you can speak to your room steward and ask them to split the bed into two singles.

You can sometimes select twin beds when booking, but it isn’t uncommon for this message not to get through to the ship/cabin steward.

On all cruise lines, apart from Disney Cruise Line, the beds are able to be configured as twins or a double bed.

Inside Cabin Cabin Size

The size and design of Costa Smeralda’s inside cabins are very typical of an inside cabin in the industry.

The majority of inside cabins measure roughly 160 sq ft – and this is exactly what Costa Smeralda’s inside cabins measure.

To learn more about how the size of cabins compare across cabin grades, check out this post: How Big Are Cruise Ship Cabins? 27 Examples, All Cabin Types

The cabin is made up of the following:

• A double bed
• Two small shelves by the bed
• A Desk
• A Chair
• Drawers and Closet Space
• TV
• Phone
• Two Mirrors – one over the desk, one in the wardrobe
• Bin/Trash Can

This inside cabin felt warm and cosy, and we were very comfortable in there

Cabin Design

The Costa Smeralda was built in 2019 and is quite modern in design.

Modern colours, design and soft furnishings were all around – in both the public spaces and the cabins.

The artwork onboard was often a quirky take on Italian Renaissance paintings! Probably not to everyone’s taste but it’s impossible to have artwork that suits everybody. We liked them.

The cabin has two mirrors which I liked, one over the desk and a full-length one on the back of the wardrobe door

I LOVED The Beds

The beds were incredibly comfortable and we all slept well on the cruise. (Apart from the odd occasion when other noisy guests woke us up!) We were cruising with family and we all agreed that the beds were very comfortable.

The bedding felt of high quality and the pillows were very soft.

When we first arrived, there was only one pillow per person on the bed. We prefer to have two pillows each, so left a short note for the cabin steward, and when we returned later in the day, two more pillows had arrived. Very efficient!

We Never Saw Our Cabin Steward

We never saw our cabin steward the whole time we were onboard, although he definitely came in and cleaned the room once a day, in the morning.

When we first arrived he obviously thought we were Spanish – as all the written information including the welcome pack was in Spanish. Again, we left another note, and soon started to receive our daily schedules in English!

There was plenty of room under the bed so we stored our suitcases there.

Which Plug Sockets are There In the Inside Cabins On The Costa Smeralda?

There was a European plug socket with 2 USB’s by the desk area. There was also a European plug on one side of the bed, but no USB’s. Other cabin grades may have extra sockets.

If you are ever in doubt about which plug sockets a cruise ship has, check out this searchable table:

Complete Cruise Ship Plug Socket Guide: Search by Ship

On many modern cruise ships, you’ll find USB sockets by the beds, it would have been handier to have that – or at least a socket on each side of the bed.

There are no kettle, tea or coffee-making facilities in the cabin. This is typical of American and European cruise lines.

British cruise lines, and sometimes cruise lines sailing out of Great Britain (like MSC) often supply them, as they know how much the British appreciate being able to make a cup of tea!

There Was a Large TV

The TV showed a variety of shows in multiple languages. There were quite a few news channels, we were also able to watch some documentaries.

The large flat-screen TV swung out from the wall on a hinge. It was a perfect design for watching TV in bed – if you could find something of interest to watch.

The design of the cabin did mean, however, that when the TV was pushed flat against the wall, it made it quite a tight squeeze to get down the side of the bed. Not ideal if you have walking or mobility issues.

The white lamp in the photo is a daylight alarm clock, it lights up slowly to mimic the sunrise. This means that you don’t wake up in the dark. We never cruise without ours. To find out more about mine, check out this post: Sunrise Alarm Clocks – The BEST Inside Cabin Hack

Was There Enough Storage?

We found there to be more than enough storage in the cabins for a week – there were plenty of shelves and hanging space – but in my opinion, not enough drawers!

There was a bedside shelf on each side of the bed.

There were only 2 drawers in the cabin which were in the desk. There were no drawers at all in the wardrobe area – nowhere to put your socks or underwear!

The Bathroom Was Very Well Designed

The bathroom was designed very well to make the most of the available space. It had a toilet, sink and quite a large shower area. (This was far bigger than the standard, quadrant-type ship shower cubicles.)

There was also a proper glass shower door, not a clingy shower curtain! There were a couple of shelves in the corner, a whole bank of open shelves just inside the door, as well as extra storage below the sink area.

I personally loved the black and white tiled floor, and the large shower. Everything was always very clean and functioned well.

There was a silver pump bottle in the shower and another by the sink that I can only assume was a generic soap/body wash. It wasn’t labelled, so your guess is as good as mine – It smelt perfectly fine!

Often on cruise ships, you’ll find that the water from the shower leaks into the main bathroom, the bathroom floor did get a little wet, but it was never a problem.

Our Cabin Was Very Close To The Staircase at the Front of the Ship

The location of our cabin was just below the area where the Mastrianni Bar joined the Sanremo theatre on deck 6. This is called the Matera deck.

We found this to be a good cabin location. The Mastrianni bar was huge, and never too busy or noisy. A great place to have a drink -or get a drink to take back to your cabin. If you walked through that bar you were quickly at the coffee bar by the Colosseo area.

“The Colosseo” is a circular area, spread over three floors in the middle of the ship. There is a stage in the middle where shows were performed.

Unfortunately, the design of the ship meant that many of the seats had pillars or columns in the way, so although it looked impressive, we found it to be quite impractical.

As there were no tea or coffee-making facilities in our cabin, we found this close proximity to the coffee bar very handy! We would often sit here in the mornings and watch the world go by.

Would I Recommend This Cabin?

I would recommend booking this inside cabin on the Costa Smeralda if you are travelling on a budget. Our cabin was clean, modern and functional.

Although I have seen larger inside cabins on other ships, ours felt cosy and warm – but not TOO warm! The air conditioning worked very well, so it was easy to make sure the temperature was right for you.

Things That I Wasn’t So Keen On

Costa is a very family-orientated cruise line. I have never been on a cruise before where there were lines and lines of buggies/strollers in the corridors. We are more used to seeing lots of mobility scooters!

We were woken a few times in the early hours by loud voices or children crying.

The only other thing I wasn’t keen on was the cabin carpet. It was a design with blocks of different colours. This really showed where drinks had been spilt on the carpet, and I think Costa could have done more to scrub the carpet clean!