Costa Mediterranea

The 2003-built cruise liner Costa Mediterranea is the second of the two Costa Cruises "Spirit-Class" ships - together with the fleetmate Costa Atlantica. In 2020-Q4, Mediterranea leaves Costa Cruises fleet to join CSSC Carnival China Cruise Shipping. The new Chinese cruise company officially started operations in January 2020 with Costa Atlantica. In 2023, to CSSC's fleet will be added a 133,500-ton (Vista-class) newbuild.

History - construction and ownership

Costa Cruises is a Genoa-headquartered subsidiary company owned by Carnival Corporation. Costa is Europe's second-largest cruise line (after MSC) with year-round operations in the Mediterranean. Costa was founded in 1854 as a cargo shipping company. It started passenger shipping services in 1947, with regular Transatlantic crossings between Europe (Italy) and South America. In 2000, Costa Cruises was acquired by Carnival Corporation (shipowner).

The 85,619-ton, 2,114-passenger cruise ship Costa Costa Mediterranea offers absolutely nothing simple or understated in her decor. At first, the eye-popping ornaments, which are designed by Carnival's super-talented Joe Farcus, are astounding. The interior architect and designer Joe Farcus outdid himself with incredibly ingenious designs which reinvent details from 17th and 18th-centuries Italian palaces. It makes cruisers wonder if those palaces really looked that magnificent when they were brand new. There is so much to look at that, in Joe Farcus' words, travelers enjoy "a constant discovery process on board" though they may, in fact, feel like they are sailing inside a traveling theme park.

Besides the ship's staff and crew, Costa cruise passengers are also served by Peper robots - the latest cyborg technology implemented fleetwide in 2016. These humanoid robots greet and guide passengers upon embarkation. They also assist them throughout the cruise by providing information and tips on onboard dining, entertainment, enrichment program (workshops, pre-scheduled events), casino and shopping promotions, shore excursions and tours. Pepper robots are mobile and communicate in 3 languages (English, German, Italian). They can also interpret human emotions by analyzing voice tones and facial expressions.

Cruise itinerary program

Costa Costa Mediterranea itinerary program is based on Southern and Eastern Caribbean cruises in the winter, Western and Eastern Mediterranean in the summer, and Transatlantic repositioning crossings.

Cabins

Costa Mediterranea has a total of 1057 cabins (of which 58 Suite, 660 Balcony, 212 Inside rooms) in 9 grades. Most Costa Mediterranea staterooms are 185-sq. foot Balcony rooms - 64% of all staterooms have a private balcony. 8 are the wheelchair accessible cabins. The largest aboard Costa Mediterranea is the Grand Suite (365 ft2).

Shipboard dining options - Food and Drinks

Together with the theme park fun aboard Costa Mediterranea, however, goes a degree of regimentation-especially with the assigned, 2-seating system in the main dining venues. All in all, there are fewer mealtime alternatives than found on other large-cruise lines, like Princess, which have adopted free-choice dining. The Mediterranea cruise ship stands out from the pack with her Italian galore “Cruising Italian Style”. Members of the crew greet guests with “buon giorno”. And it’s full amusement when napkin-waving waiters begin dancing on the tables. Know that the Mediterranea liner is not a good choice if you want to experience a voyage with European taste enjoying all the comforts of an American-geared vessel. Costa Mediterranea also offers complimentary 24-Hour Room-Service.

Follows the complete list of Costa Mediterranea restaurants and food bars.

• Wellness Restaurant (serves healthy and low-calorie food; with complimentary dining room for guests in Wellness cabins, and a specialty restaurant for other passengers at a surcharge/reservations are required)
• Ristorante Degli Argentieri (1320-seat aft Dining Room, complimentary; serves open seating breakfast and lunch, 2 fixed dinner seatings - at 6:30 p.m. and 9 p.m.)
• Ristorante Buffet Perla del Lago (self-service buffet restaurant, complimentary; offers breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea at 4-5:00 p.m., and dinner; in the evening is transformed into Pizzeria Posillipo, complimentary, with waiter service)
• Club Medusa (123-seat, 2-tiered dinner restaurant; reservations-only)

Shipboard entertainment options - Fun and Sport

Costa Mediterranea provides a casino, theater, two show lounges, library, three pools, five Jacuzzis, and SPA. Osiris Theater, the main performance venue, is Egyptian-themed and can be accessed from Decks 2-4. On Deck 2, it offers banquette-style seating, with small, fixed tables. On the other levels, it has high-backed theater-style seats. There is a nightly show, with 2 performances, timed according to the two dinner seatings. The theater is also used for briefings and lectures. Smaller presentations are held in the more intimate Isolabella Theater.

Follows the complete list of Costa Mediterranea lounges, clubs and other entertainment venues for kids, teens, and adults.

• Salone Giardino Isolabella (355-seat “Isolabella Garden” bar lounge with live music and entertainment)
• Discoteca Selva (154-seat 2-tiered Disco Nightclub/bar lounge with DJ program nightly)
• Teatro Osiris (950-seat, 3-tiered theatre, and main show lounge; hosts grand scale show productions, musicals, classical concerts, ballet performances, circus shows)
• Piazza Casanova (lounge with a dance floor, served by Casanova bar)
• Sala Carte (cards room)
• Casino Canale Grande (served by the Canale Grande bar)
• Atrio Maschera d’Argento (10-deck high Atrium with 3 panoramic glass elevators, live music; served by D’Argento Bar)
• Lounge Talia (stage, dance floor, and bar)
• Terrazza d’Inverno (“Garden Terrace”, glass-roofed)
• Biblioteca and Internet Point (Library/computers room)
• Salone Orientale (lounge area served by Roero bar; with grand piano and dance floor)
• Negozi di Via Condotti (duty and tax-free shops for brand watches, jewelry, perfumes, fashion clothes, Costa-logo merchandise, sportswear, gifts, tobacco, and liquor)
• Galleria Foto (Photo Gallery and Shop); Mediterranea’s Art Gallery
• Bar Dionisio (50-seat bar lounge)
• Mondo Virtuale (Video Games Arcade)
• Cappella (Wedding Chapel, also used for religious services)
• Squok Club (kids lounge with Mini Club (3-6 yo) and Maxi Club (7-11 yo) playing rooms; with complimentary kids programme and supervised activities; complimentary babysitting)
• Teen Zone (teenagers' lounge with Teen Junior (12-14 yo) and Teen Club (15-17 yo) rooms; complimentary supervised activities, themed parties, sports contests)
• Terme Ischia (2-level Spa and Wellness complex, with Palestra Olympia gym, Sala Olympia aerobics room; Venus Beauty Salon; Treatment Rooms; UVA Solarium; Relaxation Room; Aroma Steam Rooms; Saunas; Turkish Bath and Hydrotherapy pool; Mediterranea’s Wellness cabins guests have free access to all Spa facilities)
• Solarium (the largest open-air area onboard; served by Solarium Bar)
• Piscina Armonia Pool area; Piscina Cadmo Pool area (both with 1 Whirlpool; served by Armonia Bar); Lido Apollo Pool area (with 1 Whirlpool; served by Apollo Bar); Lido Squok (mini pool for kids)
• Campo da Gioco (combined court for tennis and basketball); Pista da Jogging (Power Walking/Jogging Track); Deck Games area (table tennis, shuffleboard).

Mediterranea was Costa's 1st Spirit-class liner (inaugural cruise June 16, 2003), with sisterships Costa Atlantica and also the Carnival ships Legend, Miracle, Pride, Spirit. In 2008, Mediterranea became the first cruise ship calling on Baltic Russia's St Petersburg port (on September 10th).

Costa Cruises Mediterranea's motto is "Mai visto niente di simile" - meaning "You've never seen anything like it". The Italian palazzi from 16th and 17th century inspired public spaces, like the atrium, Maschera d'Argento, which is ten-floor high. Her decks' names are Circe, Tersicore, Bacco, Teseo, Orfeo, Narciso, Prometeo, Pegaso, Armonia, Cleopatra, Pandora, and Medea. They are all named after characters from the mythology. Amenities onboard include 14 themed bars and lounges, Selva Discotheque, multi-purpose sports court, four swimming pools, three big capacity restaurants, four open-air Jacuzzis, three-story gym, Egyptian themed Osiris Theatre, Mondo Virtuale arcade, beauty salon and spa, the Canal Grande Casino.

During winter 2016-2017 season, the Mediterranea ship was repositioned from the Mediterranean (Europe) to South America.

On April 5, 2018, Mediterranea became Costa's' first liner having company's new livery. Located on the hull's bow (starboard and portside), the new logo was painted during a 3-day Mediterranean voyage (itinerary April 3-6) roundtrip from homeport Savona Italy. The starboard livery was painted during the port stay in Marseille France (April 5), and the portside livery - on April 6 in Savona.