Winter cruises in the Med

Costa Cruises will have three ships in the Med throughout the winter of 2007

Dec 10, 2006

Mediterranean cruising isn't just for summer! Although the weather is cooler, the crowds are gone and you'll have the antiquities and shops all to yourself

Throughout winter 2006/2007, Costa Concordia, the flagship of Costa cruises, will be offering 10 and 11-day Mediterranean cruises from Civitavecchia (the port for Rome) and Savona, Italy, bound for Greece, Turkey, Egypt and Cyprus. Ports of call in these countries include Olympia, Athens and Rhodes (Greece), Limassol (Cyprus) and Alexandria (Egypt). The 11-day cruise includes the additional port of call of Izmir (Turkey). These winter cruises continue until April 4, 2007.

As well as Costa Concordia, Costa Victoria and Costa Europa will also be offering Mediterranean cruise vacations during the 2006/2007 winter season,with a total of 43 cruises. Costa Victoria will be operating out of Savona on 10-day cruises to the Canary Islands. Costa Europa will also use Savona as its homeport with two different routes, one to Egypt and Libya and the other to the Canary Islands.

Costa Concordia (112,000 gross tonnage and maximum guest capacity of 3,780) bears a strong Italian theme: the ship was built in Italy by Fincantieri, and its interiors are decorated by some of Italy’s leading designers and feature works by top Italian artists. It does, however, belong to the American-owned cruise giant, Carnival Corporation.

The vessel has the largest wellness centre ever built on a cruise ship, the Samsara Spa, with 55 cabins and 12 suites built specially for spa-lovers, with direct access. Costa Concordia also has the largest enclosable outdoor area on any cruise ship (3,500 m2), enabling use of the two main pools also on winter cruises in the Mediterranean – a wise move, as the Med is not always sunny and calm in the depths of winter. In addition, the

central pool area is fitted with a giant 18 m2 movie screen, which can be used for nighttime film screenings. For more information, visit www.costacruises.com.

The copyright of the article Winter cruises in the Med in Cruise/Island Vacations is owned by Sue Bryant. Permission to republish Winter cruises in the Med in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.