Costa Mediterranea

The 2003-built Costa Mediterranea cruise ship is the second of the two "Spirit-Class" Costa ships - together with the fleetmate Costa Atlantica. In 2020-Q4, Mediterranea left 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.

The vessel (IMO number 9237345) is currently Italy-flagged (MMSI 247088200) and registered in Genoa.

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

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

History - construction and ownership

Costa Cruises is a Genoa-headquartered subsidiary company owned by Carnival Corporation. Costa was founded in 1854 as a cargo shipping company and started passenger shipping services in 1947, with regularly scheduled Transatlantic crossings between Europe (Italy) and South America. In 2000, Costa was acquired by Carnival Corporation.

CSSC-Carnival Cruise Shipping was founded in October 2015 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, 1972-founded). Most of CSSC (Carnival China) is owned by the 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 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, travellers enjoy "a constant discovery process on board" though they may, in fact, feel like they are sailing inside a travelling 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.

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

Decks and Cabins

Costa Mediterranea staterooms (1057 total, in 9 grades) include 52x Suites, 620x Balcony, 167x Oceanview and 212x Inside cabins. Most staterooms are sized 185 ft2 (17 m2). Most cabin balconies are sized 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 boat has 12 decks, of which 6 are with cabins.

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, jewellery, 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) 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; Wellness-category cabins are with 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

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

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

Next table shows the 14-day B2B cruise itinerary.

Costa Mediterranea 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, 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 (Koh Samui Island, Laem Chabang-Bangkok) and Cambodia (Sihanoukville).