Adora Mediterranea

The 2003-built (as "Costa Mediterranea") cruise ship Adora Mediterranea is the second of the two SPIRIT-class Costa ships, alongside its fleetmate Costa Atlantica. In 2020-Q4, Mediterranea left the Costa Cruises fleet to join CSSC Carnival China Cruise Shipping/ADORA CRUISES. The new Chinese cruise company officially started operations in January 2020 with Costa Atlantica. Fleetmates also include two CCL VISTA-class newbuilds - Adora Magic City (2023) and Adora Flora City (2026).

As Costa Mediterranea, the vessel (IMO number 9237345) was Italy-flagged (MMSI 247088200) and registered in Genoa. As Adora Mediterranea, the vessel is currently Bahamas-flagged (MMSI 311001086) and registered in Nassau.

From the same (SPIRIT) class are also the Carnival Cruise Lines/CCL vessels Legend, Miracle, Pride, and Spirit.

In March-April 2022, the CSSC ships Mediterranea and Atlantica were repositioned (via Suez Canal) from Asia to Europe, both at anchorage off Limassol, Cyprus.

After an extensive drydock refurbishment in Singapore, Mediterranea began operations for Adora Cruises with her maiden voyage on September 30, 2023, departing from Tianjin, China. Homeporting in Qingdao began on November 26th.

Adora Mediterranea was last drydock-refurbished in 2024.

History - Construction and Ownership

Adora Cruises Ltd was founded in October 2015 (as CSSC-Carnival Cruise Shipping Ltd/renamed in June 2023) and started operations in 2020. The company is a joint venture between Carnival Corporation and China Merchants Group Ltd (Hong Kong-headquartered Chinese state-owned corporation, founded in 1972). Most of CSSC (Carnival China) is owned by Chinese shareholders (60%) and the remainder by Carnival (40%). The Chinese shareholders include CIC (China Investment Corporation) and CSSC (China State Shipbuilding Corporation).

The 2700-passenger ship Costa Mediterranea offers nothing simple or understated in her decor. At first, the eye-popping ornaments, designed by Carnival's talented Joe Farcus, are astounding. The interior architect and designer Joe Farcus outdid himself with ingenious designs that reinvent details from 17th and 18th-century 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 Pepper robots - the latest cyborg technology introduced fleetwide in 2016. These humanoid robots greet and guide passengers upon embarkation. They also assist throughout the cruise by providing information and tips on onboard dining, entertainment, enrichment programs (workshops, pre-scheduled events), casino and shopping promotions, shore excursions, and tours. The Pepper robots are mobile and communicate in three languages (English, German, Italian). They can also interpret human emotions by analyzing voice tones and facial expressions.

Costa's last drydock refurbishment of the Mediterranea ship was in 2017.

Decks and Cabins

Costa Mediterranea staterooms (1057 total, in 9 grades) include 52 Suites, 620 Balcony cabins, 167 Oceanview cabins, and 212 Inside cabins. Most staterooms are 185 ft² (17 m²). Most cabin balconies are 35-55 ft² / 3-5 m². Around 64% of all staterooms have a private step-out balcony. Wheelchair-accessible cabins are 8. The largest accommodations on the ship are the Grand Suites (365 ft² / 34 m² plus 280 ft² / 27 m² terrace).

The ship has 12 decks, six of which have cabins.

Mediterranea's decks are named after Greek mythological characters - Circe, Tersicore, Bacco, Teseo, Orfeo, Narciso, Prometeo, Pegaso, Armonia, Cleopatra, Pandora, and Medea.

Shipboard Dining Options - Food and Drinks

Along with the theme park fun aboard Costa Mediterranea, there is a degree of regimentation, especially with the assigned two-seating system in the main dining venues. Overall, 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 with her Italian-style "Cruising Italian Style." Crew members greet guests with "Buon Giorno," and it’s full amusement when napkin-waving waiters begin dancing on the tables. Keep in mind, the Mediterranea liner is not a good choice if you want to experience a voyage with European taste while enjoying all the comforts of an American-geared vessel. Costa Mediterranea also offers complimentary 24-hour Room Service.

Here is the complete list of Costa Mediterranea's 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 required)
• Ristorante Degli Argentieri (1320-seat aft Dining Room, complimentary; serves open seating breakfast and lunch, two 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 it transforms into Pizzeria Posillipo, complimentary, with waiter service)
• Club Medusa (123-seat, two-tiered dinner restaurant; reservations required)

Shipboard Entertainment Options - Fun and Sport

Costa Mediterranea provides a casino, theater, two show lounges, a library, three pools, five Jacuzzis, and a 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 two 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.

Here is the complete list of Costa Mediterranea's 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 two-tiered Disco Nightclub/bar lounge with DJ program nightly)
• Teatro Osiris (950-seat, three-tiered theater and main show lounge; hosts grand scale show productions, musicals, classical concerts, ballet performances, and 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 three 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); 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) playrooms; with complimentary kids program 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, and sports contests)
• Terme Ischia (two-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; Wellness-category cabins 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)

Itineraries (Adora Cruises)

For Adora Cruises, Mediterranea's itinerary program is based on year-round Northeast Asian voyages, homeporting in Tianjin-Beijing, China, and itineraries visiting ports in Far East Russia, Korea, and Japan.

Mediterranea's maiden voyage for ADORA departed from Tianjin on September 30th, 2023. The 5-night/6-day inaugural cruise from Qingdao (China's Shandong Province) started on November 26th.

The ship's inaugural cruise season offered 5- to 7-day roundtrip itineraries visiting Japan (Hakata-Fukuoka, Yatsushiro-Kumamoto, Nagasaki, Sasebo, Shimonoseki, Kitakyushu) and Korea's Cheju City/Jeju Island.

In August 2024, it was announced that Adora Mediterranea will be homeported at Guangzhou Nansha International Cruise Home Port, starting international cruises from Nansha-Guangzhou on December 18th, 2024.

In 2025 (first departure May 27th), the ship will start homeporting in Dalian. The 3x roundtrips (4-night itineraries) will visit destinations in Japan (Fukuoka, Sasebo) and Korea (Jeju).

Itineraries (Costa Cruises)

For Costa Cruises, Costa Mediterranea operated Southern and Eastern Caribbean cruises in the winter, Western and Eastern Mediterranean voyages in the summer, and seasonal Transatlantic crossings (RepositionCruises.comO).

During her last year with Costa, Mediterranea was deployed in Southeast Asia for 7-day and 14-day (B2B/back-to-back) itineraries departing roundtrip from Singapore to ports in Thailand, Malaysia, and Cambodia.

The next table shows the 14-day B2B itinerary.

Costa Mediterranea's 2021 cruise prices ranged from USD 550 (7-day) to USD 1030 (14-day) per person with double occupancy. Mediterranea's last cruise for Costa was scheduled for April 3, 2021 (7-day Singapore to Thailand and Cambodia).

Following the Coronavirus crisis, Costa Mediterranea was scheduled to start operations for CSSC-Carnival China on November 13, 2021, with homeporting in Singapore. The 7-day roundtrip itinerary visited ports in Thailand (Samui Island, Laem Chabang-Bangkok) and Cambodia (Sihanoukville).