Italian line Costa Cruises has Europe’s largest fleet with 14 ships in service plus another three ships due to enter service by 2012.
Two new vessels - Costa Luminosa and Costa Pacifica – entered service this year and will be followed by Costa Deliziosa in early 2010.
Costa offers the chance to visit some 250 separate destinations – with departures from almost 50 ports worldwide on 100 itineraries – in the Mediterranean, Northern Europe, the Baltic Sea, the Caribbean, South America, the United Arab Emirates, the Far East and the Indian Ocean.
The company spearheaded cruising from Dubai, Mauritius, China and Singapore and will run more than 1,100 shore excursions in 2010. Amongst these are 240 eco-tourism excursions, specially guided tours comprising visits to parks, oases and nature reserves.
Food and wine excursions have been introduced for 2010, allowing passengers to eat in restaurants listed in the 2009 Michelin Guide.
The on board experience on Costa ships includes a multi-purpose area on two decks with a swimming pool, a big screen and a sliding glass roof; a wellness area of over 6000 m² with a gym, treatment rooms, thalassotherapy pool, sauna, Turkish bath, cabins with direct access to the spa and a dedicated restaurant.
A Grand Prix driving simulator, 4D cinema, 18-hole professional golf simulator, outdoor putting green, PlayStation World and PS3-exclusive video gaming are among the activities on offer.
Club restaurants with menus devised by Michelin-Star Italian chef Ettore Bocchia feature across the fleet.
Costa Deliziosa will enter service in February 2010 on a 37-day maiden cruise from Savona in Italy to Dubai and onto the Maldives. The ship and its sister vessel Costa Luminosa will then be based in Dubai offering seven-day winter sun fly-cruises in the Arabian Gulf.
Other 2010 highlights include a 20-day summer cruise to Greenland on Costa Luminosa and 16-day winter cruises in the Indian Ocean from Mauritius on Costa Romantica around the Seychelles, Madagascar, Kenya and Reunion.
Three ships will run Far East cruises with departures from Singapore and China - Costa Classica, Costa Allegra and Costa Romantica. Five to seven-day cruises will be offered, together with 14 to 16-day itineraries. A new stopover in the Japanese city of Yokohama has been added to destinations such as Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam and South Korea.
Four ships will be deployed in Northern Europe offering Norwegian fjord cruises as well as itineraries taking in cities like Amsterdam, Helsinki, Copenhagen, St. Petersburg, Tallinn and Stockholm. New stopovers include Santander in Spain and Cork.
Caribbean winter cruises are offered on Costa Atlantica, Costa Fortuna and Costa Mediterranea heading for the Antilles, Virgin Islands, Bahamas, Mexico, Honduras, Belize, Jamaica and Cayman Islands.