Costa Cruises cruise policies
Costa Cruises Policies: Deposits, Final Payment, Cancellation, Service Charges, Dress Code and Age Rules
Every booking rule that affects your wallet or your packing list, on one page: what you pay when you book, when the balance is due, what it costs to cancel, the daily service charge, what to wear at dinner and who can sail. Figures are Costa's own, from the General Terms and Conditions and Refund Policy published on costacruises.com for cruises booked in the United States.
Deposit
Costa's U.S. site offers three ways to pay: the full amount at booking, a deposit with the balance later, or a free price lock while you decide. The deposit is set per fare and sailing and shown when you book rather than printed in the General Terms, so your SmartCruiser confirmation shows the exact figure. What the terms do fix is the cost of changing your mind: on a Cruise Only or Cruise plus Drinks fare Costa keeps $50 per person until 90 days before sailing and refunds the rest, while the Promo fare keeps 50% from the day you book and the Last Minute fare 100%.
| Cruise length | Deposit |
|---|---|
| Cruise Only and Cruise plus Drinks fares, any length | Per person deposit set at booking and shown on your confirmation (Costa also accepts full payment at booking) |
| Promo fare | Deposit set at booking; 50% of the fare is nonrefundable from the day you book |
| Last Minute fare | Paid in full at booking and 100% nonrefundable |
| World Cruise and Asia (Costa Serena) | Costa keeps 15% of the fare from the day you book, so expect a deposit of at least that much |
Good to know
- Cancel a Cruise Only or Cruise plus Drinks sailing 90 or more days before departure and Costa keeps $50 per person and refunds the rest of the deposit; from 89 days the charge is $250 per person, which is why the deposit matters.
- World Cruise and Costa Serena Asia bookings carry a 15% charge from the day of booking, so those deposits are effectively nonrefundable, and their Promo and Last Minute fares are restricted further.
- Costa's fare names on U.S. bookings are Cruise Only, Cruise plus Drinks, Promo and Last Minute; your invoice shows which fare you have and the cancellation column that goes with it.
- A payment made through a travel agency counts only once Costa has received it; SmartCruiser passes your deposit and balance to Costa the day you pay.
- Flights, hotels and other suppliers booked through Costa can charge their own deposits and cancellation fees on top of the cruise schedule.
Final payment
Costa's General Terms say that failing to pay the full amount by the applicable due dates is a contractual default and can end the booking without notice, but they do not print a single final payment date: the balance due date is set per fare and sailing and shown on your confirmation. Costa's cancellation charge on a standard fare rises to $250 per person at 89 days and to 50% of the fare at 59 days, so the balance is always due well before those tiers.
Standard schedule
| Cruise length | Balance due |
|---|---|
| All fares and cruise lengths | The balance due date on your confirmation; SmartCruiser puts it on the calendar and reminds you |
| Last Minute fare | Full payment at booking |
| World Cruise and Asia sailings | Earlier than standard sailings; Costa's charges on these start the day you book |
Good to know
- Book inside the final payment window and the full fare is due at booking.
- The cruise ticket needed for boarding is issued from 30 days before embarkation, once the cabin is paid in full and every guest's date and place of birth, passport details, mobile number and emergency contact are on file.
- The cruise fare includes port taxes but excludes the daily Hotel Service Charge, drinks, specialty dining, excursions, transfers and government fees.
- Costa charges cancellation fees in U.S. dollars on U.S. bookings; the onboard account runs in euros on most Costa ships and is settled with the Costa Card, as cash is not accepted on board.
Cancellation charges
Charges depend on the fare you booked and on when Costa receives the cancellation: a flat per-person fee until 60 days out on the standard fares, then a percentage of the cruise fare. Cancellations must be made by phone to 1-800-GO-COSTA during business hours and before departure, and a booking made through SmartCruiser is cancelled through us. Refunds cover the cruise fare and taxes, or the part of them the schedule allows, and airlines, hotels and other suppliers booked through Costa can keep their own charges.
Cruise Only and Cruise plus Drinks fares, all sailings except the World Cruise and Asia
Every Costa sailing booked in the United States on a standard fare, any cruise length, except Costa Serena in Asia and the World Cruise.
| Cruise length | Days before sailing | Charge |
|---|---|---|
| Any length | 90 days or more | $50 per person |
| Any length | 89 to 60 days | $250 per person |
| Any length | 59 to 30 days | 50% |
| Any length | 29 to 15 days | 75% |
| Any length | 14 days or fewer | 100%, no refund |
Promo and Last Minute fares, all sailings except the World Cruise and Asia
Costa's restricted fares. A Promo fare is half nonrefundable from the day you book; a Last Minute fare is fully nonrefundable.
| Cruise length | Days before sailing | Charge |
|---|---|---|
| Promo fare | 30 days or more | 50% |
| Promo fare | 29 to 15 days | 75% |
| Promo fare | 14 days or fewer | 100%, no refund |
| Last Minute fare | Any time after booking | 100%, no refund |
World Cruise and Asia on Costa Serena
The whole World Cruise, its segments and Costa Serena's Asia program on the standard fares; their Promo and Last Minute fares are restricted further and your invoice shows the terms.
| Cruise length | Days before sailing | Charge |
|---|---|---|
| World Cruise and Asia | 90 days or more | 15% |
| World Cruise and Asia | 89 to 60 days | 25% |
| World Cruise and Asia | 59 to 30 days | 50% |
| World Cruise and Asia | 29 to 15 days | 75% |
| World Cruise and Asia | 14 days or fewer | 100%, no refund |
Good to know
- A cancellation counts from the day Costa receives it; Costa takes cancellations by telephone, so tell SmartCruiser and we phone it in the same day.
- A no-show is a 100% charge, and a guest who does not present at embarkation, has unused or lost tickets, or leaves a cruise that has started receives no refund.
- A name change for one guest carries Costa's name change fee; changing more than one guest on a booking counts as a new booking and the cancellation schedule applies, and on a restricted fare any name change is charged. Dropping the air from an air and sea package cancels the air portion, and moving from a restricted fare to another fare is a cancellation and a new booking.
- Costa asks for any deposit receipts or passage tickets it issued to be returned before it processes a refund.
- Refunds go back to the original credit card, or to SmartCruiser when we made the payment for you, and we pass them straight on.
- Individual and group bookings each carry their own cancellation and administrative charges; group terms are on the group contract.
- If Costa cancels a sailing from a U.S. port or delays it by three or more days and you decline the alternatives it offers, a written refund request to Costa is paid within 180 days.
Gratuities
Costa calls its daily gratuity the Hotel Service Charge. It is a compulsory charge for shipboard hotel services, added automatically to each guest's onboard account every night and pooled among the crew across departments. It is billed in euros on every ship, with the only dollar rate on Costa Diadema's South America cruises, and the amount steps up for cruises departing from December 1, 2026.
| Stateroom | Daily gratuity |
|---|---|
| Guests over 14, cruises departing before December 1, 2026 (every ship) | €11 per guest, per night |
| Guests over 14, cruises departing from December 1, 2026 (bookings made from June 10, 2025) | €12 per guest, per night |
| Children 4 to 14 | €5.50 per night (€6 from December 1, 2026) |
| Children under 4 | No charge |
| Costa Diadema in South America, excluding the transatlantic crossings, from December 1, 2026 | $14.50 per guest over 14 and $7 per child 4 to 14, per night |
Good to know
- Age counts on the departure date of the cruise. The World Cruise 2027 and Costa Serena's World Cruise 2027 keep the 11 euro chart.
- Costa's wording: if you are not satisfied with the service, see the Guest Services Desk on board, and at your discretion the charges can be adjusted after they post to your account; once posted they are final at disembarkation and nothing changes after the cruise.
- Drinks bought by the glass, drink packages and spa services carry a service charge on top of the menu price (15% in Costa's U.S. partner guides; the current percentage is on the onboard price list), already inside the price of prepaid drink packages.
- Guests who book in Germany or Austria have had the service charge included in the cruise fare since the 2017 to 2018 winter season; that does not apply to bookings made in the United States.
- Costa can change the chart after publishing it and announces changes on its website and through travel agencies; we confirm the rate for your sailing on your invoice.
Dress code
Costa is one of the most relaxed lines at sea. Days are casual, evenings in the restaurants and bars step up a notch from 6 p.m., and each cruise has one or more Elegant Evenings, which Costa also calls gala evenings. Costa recommends its evening dress code rather than enforcing it, so a jacket is welcome but nobody is turned away from dinner for leaving the tie at home.
Daytime
Casual and sporty: shorts, T-shirts and sandals everywhere, and Bermuda shorts are fine at the buffet for breakfast and lunch. Swimwear stays at the pool and is not allowed in the restaurants or lounges.
Evening
Informal from 6 p.m. in the restaurants and bars: long trousers and a long-sleeved shirt for men, with or without a tie, and a dress or trouser suit for women. Beach clothes, meaning shorts, sarongs and flip-flops, are not welcome in the dining room, and shoes are always required.
Elegant Evening (gala)
Costa suggests a dark suit or tuxedo for men and an evening gown or cocktail dress for women. Cocktail dresses and suits are the norm; the dress code is recommended, not compulsory.
Theme nights
Pack white for the White Night dinner and party, and white, red and green for the Italian evening; some sailings add an Extravaganza night. The Daily Program on board lists them.
Dress Your Best nights
| Cruise length | Formal nights |
|---|---|
| Most cruises | 2 (Caribbean and transatlantic sailings), at least 1 on short European sailings |
| 8 nights or longer | 3, and up to 4 on a 14 night cruise (travel-press figures; the Daily Program on board confirms the dates) |
House rules
- Beach clothes, meaning shorts, sarongs and flip-flops, are not allowed in the restaurants in the evening, and bare feet are never allowed in any venue.
- Swimwear is not allowed in the main restaurants or the lounges at any meal; cover up on the way from the pool.
- Costa publishes its evening dress code as a recommendation from 6 p.m. in restaurants and bars, so it is rarely enforced at the door; the newer and bigger the ship, the more relaxed the room.
- Specialty restaurants publish no separate code; smart casual, without shorts or flip-flops, fits everywhere.
- Going ashore, cover knees and shoulders for churches and mosques in the Mediterranean and the Gulf, and leave camouflage at home in the Caribbean, where it is illegal to wear in several countries.
Age rules
Costa's U.S. terms set the age to sail without a parent at 21 and the drinking age by where the ship embarks. Age is counted on the sailing date and holds for the whole cruise.
Minimum age to sail without a parent or guardian
| Departure | Minimum age |
|---|---|
| Bookings made in the United States, any itinerary | 21 |
| Exceptions for guests under 21 | Sharing a stateroom with a guest of 25 or older, traveling with a spouse, traveling with a parent or guardian in an accompanying stateroom, or a qualified member of the U.S. military |
Stateroom assignment
Costa refuses boarding to any guest under 21 unless they share a stateroom with someone 25 or older, share with their spouse, travel with a parent or guardian in an accompanying stateroom, or are a qualified member of the U.S. military; proof of age or marriage is required and there is no refund for failing to provide it. So a family can book the children into a connecting or adjacent cabin as long as a parent or guardian is in the accompanying stateroom. Adults are responsible at all times for the safety and behavior of the minors traveling with them, and guests under 18 need a person over 18 with them on shore excursions.
Infants
| Sailing | Minimum age |
|---|---|
| Most cruises | 6 months on the day of embarkation |
| Transatlantic and other ocean crossings, the World Cruise and cruises of 15 days or longer | 12 months on the day of embarkation |
| Any other itinerary Costa judges a serious risk to an infant who might need emergency care | 12 months on the day of embarkation |
Drinking age
| Departure or destination | Minimum age |
|---|---|
| Cruises that embark or disembark guests at a U.S. port | 21 (no alcohol may be bought or drunk by anyone younger, anywhere on the cruise) |
| All other cruises, including Europe, the Caribbean from non-U.S. ports, the Gulf and South America | 18 |
| Alcohol-inclusive drink packages | 18 (21 on U.S. departures); the adult package is sold to all adults in the cabin and children 4 to 17 take the Giovani package alongside it |
Good to know
- Casino and spa: 18 and older. Children under 36 months cannot use evening babysitting.
- Pregnancy: a guest who will have entered the 24th week of pregnancy by the start of the cruise or at any time during it cannot travel, and every pregnant guest must show at boarding a gynecologist's certificate that mother and baby are in good health and fit to travel on that itinerary; the ships are not equipped for pregnancy care or a birth.
- No food or drink of your own is allowed on board at embarkation; it is held at the pier and returned when the ship is back in the embarkation port, and bottles bought ashore during the cruise are held by the ship and returned on disembarkation day.
- Smoking of any kind, including cigars, pipes, vaporizers and e-cigarettes, is allowed only in the designated exterior deck areas; every stateroom and suite, balconies included, is non-smoking, and marijuana is banned on every Costa ship whatever local law allows.
- Kids clubs are free: the Squok Club from age 3 to 11, in two age groups, and the teen clubs from 12 to 17; a child is counted as a child for fares until 18, which helps a family's price.
- An infant who does not meet the age rule is denied boarding with no refund, so check the embarkation day against the birthday before you book an ocean crossing or a cruise of 15 days or longer.
How SmartCruiser handles the fine print for you
- We put your final payment date on our calendar and remind you before it, so a booking never cancels by accident.
- Before final payment we watch your sailing for Costa price drops and promotions and reprice the booking when the line allows it.
- Costa takes cancellations by phone, so we handle cancellations, date changes and cabin moves with Costa directly and tell you the exact charge, in dollars, before you decide.
- Prepaid hotel service charges, drink packages, excursions, flights and insurance go on your invoice if you want them, and your Costa loyalty number goes on the reservation.
- SmartCruiser adds bonus onboard credit on top of Costa's own offers on every sailing. Ask for it when you call 1-800-444-1560.
Last verified October 14, 2026 against Costa Cruises's own pages: Costa Cruises: General Terms and Conditions, the Contract (U.S. site: minors, alcohol, pregnancy, payment, Hotel Service Charge, smoking), Costa Cruises: Refund Policy and cancellation charges (U.S. site), Costa Cruises: General Conditions and payment methods (U.S. site), iCruise: Costa cancellation policies, updated September 2026, iCruise: Costa minimum age policy, iCruise: Costa tipping policy, iCruise: Costa pregnancy policy, iCruise: Costa alcohol policy, iCruise: Costa smoking policy, iCruise: Costa past guests (C|Club), igluCruise: Costa Cruises (dress code, infants, drinking age), Planet Cruise: Costa Cruises (gala nights, drinking age), CruiseCompete: Costa Cruise Lines (dress code, infants), Emma Cruises: What to wear on a Costa cruise, Emma Cruises: Costa Cruises gratuities (15% on drinks), cruisetricks.de: Trinkgeld auf Kreuzfahrtschiffen, updated July 2026, Vacations To Go: cruise line smoking policies, Wikipedia: Costa Cruises (ownership and market). Costa is an Italian line, based in Genoa and owned by Carnival Corporation, and its main market is Europe: most guests on board book in Italy, Germany, France or Spain under those countries' conditions, in euros. This page uses the General Terms and Conditions (the Contract, organized by Costa Cruises Lines Inc. of Miami) and the Refund Policy that costacruises.com publishes for guests booking in the United States, which price cancellation charges in U.S. dollars and the Hotel Service Charge in euros. Costa does not print a standard deposit amount or a final payment date in those documents: the amounts are set per fare and sailing and shown on your confirmation. The United Kingdom, Europe, Asia and other markets have their own booking conditions and service charge rates. Policies change; the cruise line's ticket contract and the terms on your booking confirmation govern.
Questions
Costa Cruises policy FAQ
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