Costa Cruises: The Med and  More

   A cruise is one convenient holiday where you won’t have to worry about catching your next flight as you travel from one destination to another, packing and unpacking your bags or making dinner or nightclub reservations. You’ll find that a Costa Cruise ship is a floating resort offering every comfort, convenience and amenity that you could desire. You can lie back and be completely pampered. Or you can go non-stop enjoying one great show after another -- dine like never before -- try your luck in the lively casino -- or visit exotic ports of call. It’s no wonder that more people are taking a cruise vacations than ever before. And once you get a taste of cruising, you’ll want to come back for more again. In fact, cruises have the highest customer satisfaction of any other vacation experience!

The origins of Costa are in Italy, and even though the company is now owned by Miami-based Carnival Corporation, its origins are demonstrated in nearly everything it offers, from food to entertainment to decorative elements and the many Italian-speaking crewmembers.

Onboard activities include festive Roman toga parties on Caribbean sailings, carnival and circus nights in Europe, and audience-participation shows with a distinctly European flavor. The line doesn’t design its cruises strictly for an American audience, and therein lies its charm.

As the number-one cruise line in Europe, Costa boasts a modern fleet. It has several new megaships — the Costa Mediterranea and the sister ships Costa Fortuna and Costa Magica.  Their first ship, the Costa Allegra began life as a freighter back in the 1960s and was completely transformed into a passenger cruiser in the 1990s, with a contemporary Italian look. Outside, she still maintains the profile of a tough, classic working ship, albeit in bright cruise-ship white. Ditto for Costa Marina, another ’60s-vintage ship that was totally overhauled in the ’90s, by the same architect.

The cruises draw a good age mix, including honeymooners and families, many of whom are attracted to the line’s atmosphere of festive fun.

A good number of Italian-Americans are among the clientele on Caribbean sailings. On European sailings, Americans make up only about 20 percent
of the passenger mix, which is predominantly Italian but also includes French, German, and British citizens, among others. That leads to some looooooong strings of announcements, which sometimes need to be repeated in five different languages.

The European mix also means that many passengers smoke like chimneys, though smoking is officially banned in all main dining rooms and main showrooms on all vessels.

More than anything else, Costa is known for its exuberant (and often Italian-inspired) activities, with three nights per 7-night cruise given over to Italian and Mediterranean themes. A cast of extremely energetic and shockingly attractive activities coordinators (known as the “animation staff”) keep the atmosphere hopping into the wee hours.