Costa Cruises warned guests on a limited number of sailings that they could face a €60 cleaning fee, about $70, if they took buffet food back to their cabins. The warning was issued as onboard communication meant to stop passengers from carrying meals out of designated dining areas.
The rule has drawn attention because it changes an everyday habit on board: buffet food is meant to be eaten where it is served, while only room service staff trained in sanitation and hygiene procedures are allowed to deliver food to guest cabins. Costa Cruises said the notice was shared as a preventive and deterrent measure, and that guest safety and well-being remain its top priority.
Passengers reacting online treated the warning as an unusually strict limit on normal buffet behavior, but the line framed it as a sanitation measure rather than a new fleet-wide crackdown. The distinction matters, because the communication applied only to a limited number of specific sailings and was tied to existing policies rather than a company-wide change.
Costa Cruises, based in Genoa, Italy, operates sailings in the Mediterranean, Caribbean and South America, and it is part of Carnival Corporation. The warning leaves one question open: whether the €60 fee will be enforced beyond those specific voyages, or whether the message was meant to serve only as a caution on the sailings where it appeared.
