Cruise Holidays Irish Cruise Blog

Costa gets involved in 'Sustainable Cruise' Project

One of Costa Cruises' most popular vessels has signed up to a new environmentally-focused initiative to encourage more onboard recycling.

In what is being described as a first for the cruise holiday industry, the Costa Pacifica will feature three special waste streams for packaging, biodegradable waste and paper.

These streams will take this previously-discarded rubbish and treat it so that it can be recycled and reused as by-products on board.

It's all part of a new 'Sustainable Cruise' project which is being co-funded by the European Commission.

The idea behind the scheme was to highlight the need for more European Union Directives related to waste on board cruise ships, with Costa Cruises among those firms eager to encourage more recycling at sea.

Aside from the vessel itself, the project also involves the effective coordination of waste disposal in port, to ensure all goods are disposed of in an environmentally friendly and sustainable manner.

Commenting on the plans, Costa Cruises vice president of quality standards compliance and auditing Ernesto Gori said: “The fact that we are the first cruise company in the world to carry out such a landmark experiment, which will lead to even higher standards in the treatment of shipboard waste, is further tangible evidence of our environmental excellence.”

The project is welcome news to Costa Cruises, which has faced a barrage of criticism following the sinking of the Costa Concordia off the coast of Italy earlier this year.

Costa offers cruises to the Red Sea

Costa Cruises have revealed that they will be adding a new ship to their fleet. The 24,400 tons Costa Voyager will be joining the Costa fleet in November 2011 to offer week long cruises to the Red Sea.

The ship entered service in 2000 and has been sailing as the Grand Voyager for Iberocruceros. She has a total guest capacity of 927 passengers with a total of 416 cabins with 16 panoramic suites and 12 suites with private balconies.

Other features onboard include 3 restaurants, four bars, a theatre, a wellness centre and gym, treatment rooms, sauna and Turkish bath, swimming pool, disco, shopping centre and children’s club (Squok club).

The arrival of Costa Voyager will further expand the choice of cruises that Costa can offer, which is in line with the Company’s policy of providing customers a series of brand new itineraries. Costa Voyager is technically built to cruise the Red Sea, a relatively new destination for Costa Cruises which they will be offering throughout 2012.

Costa Voyager will depart on her first Red Sea Cruise on 20 November 2011 for 15 nights from Savona and cruising to Sharm el Sheikh. From 5 December 2011 to end of 2012 Costa Voyager will offer week long cruises to the Red Sea. Departing every Monday from Sharm el Sheikh and calling at Eilat (Israel), Ajaba (Jordon), Safaga (Egypt) and Sokhna (Egypt).

Costa cruises will also be offering culturally rich shore excursions to ensure guests get the most of the holiday. In Eilat guests can choose from visiting the natural oasis in the Negev desert, the fortress of Masada or the wonderful landscapes of the Dead Sea. From Aqaba, visit the pink city of Petra, carved into the mountain. From Safaga there are excursions to Luxor and the Valley of the Kings, where you can visit the tombs of the Pharaohs or simply enjoy the natural beauty of Hurghada and the crystal water of the island of Mahamya. From Sockna you can travel to beautiful beaches.

Before joining the Costa fleet, the ship will go into dry dock at the San Gioegio shipyard from 9 to 19 November 2011. During that time she will undergo renovation costing a total of 2.5 million euros, to bring her into line with all the other Costa ships.

Costa celebrates Italian cuisine

Posted by Susan O’Driscoll

Italian cuisine is recognised as some of the worlds finest and Costa Cruises, the largest Italian travel group and Europe’s number one cruise line, recently celebrated the International Day of Italian Cuisine (IDIC) with cooking demonstrations and tasting onboard.

On Monday 17 January 2011, all 14 ships in the Costa fleet participated in the “Global Wave of Genoese Pesto”, preparing and serving pasta with “pesto alla Genovese,” made to the traditional recipe.

For Costa Cruises, the only cruise line flying the Italian flag, the perfection of the culinary arts is part of the company’s corporate identity.  It is only natural for Costa, founded and headquartered in Genoa, to have embraced and supported this initiative which attracted thousands of chefs, restaurateurs and food lovers from every continent.

The original Genoese pesto made to the authentic Ligurian recipe was the star attraction on the Costa fleet, from the Mediterranean to Dubai, the Caribbean, Singapore, the Red Sea and Indian Ocean. There was pesto making demonstrations on the main decks with chefs showing how to prepare Genoa’s most famous sauce in the traditional way, with a mortar and pestle, and then guests were treated to “trenette al pesto” for lunch.

Excellence in gastronomy has been one of Costa’s distinctive features for more than 60 years, skilfully providing Italian gastronomic traditions with the best of the international scene.  The menus onboard reflect traditional Mediterranean cuisine catering to all tastes, with light and vegetarian options as well as special celiac and diabetic menus.

 

Costa's Ferrari Excursions

Posted by Susan O’Driscoll

To coincide with the newly opened “Ferrari World” theme park in Abu Dhabi, Costa Cruises has announced two new excursions to satisfy its many Grand Prix fans.

Costa Cruises was the first company in the world to sail regularly in the Arabian Gulf and from the end of November 2010 through March 2011 Costa Luminosa and Costa Deliziosa will offer seven day cruises to the finest places of the Gulf region. 

These trips will include two adrenalin-packed excursions. One to the world’s first Ferrari theme park and the largest attraction of its kind. “Ferrari World” offers Ferrari-inspired rides and attractions for visitors of all ages and highlights include “Formula Rossa”, the fastest roller coaster on the planet, a journey into the heart of a V12 engine and a virtual tour of the historic Maranello factor.. 

The other new Abu Dhabi excursion is to Yas Marina, the world’s most cutting-edge Formula 1 circuit.  F1 fans will be able to experience thrills and chills at 350 km/h while on board Costa thanks to the Grand Prix driving simulators from the “Costa racing stable”, available on both Costa Luminosa and Costa Deliziosa.  Far from a video game, the simulators produced originated as Grand Prix cars with advanced real-time vehicle modelling, thus reproducing ultra-realistic sensations of being on the world’s best racing circuits.

Costa Luminosa departs from Dubai on Mondays starting 29 November 2010 through 14 March 2011, and Costa Deliziosa on Sundays from 19 December 2010 through 27 March 2011.  The itineraries of both ships start with two nights in Dubai, followed by calls in Muscat (Oman), Al Fujairah (United Arab Emirates), Abu Dhabi (UAE), Bahrain and end with an additional overnight stay in Dubai.

Costa is Asia's top cruise line

Posted by Susan O’Driscoll

Costa Cruises has been named Asia’s favourite cruise line at the latest regional ceremony of the World Travel Awards.

The event took place in Delhi on October 14^th and the awards were based on thousands of votes from industry professionals and consumers around the world.

Other winners included Singapore (leading sports tourism destination) and Incredible India (leading tourist board).

Graham Cooke, founder and president of the World Travel Awards, said: "The level of competition here in Asia is exceptional, and it is no wonder that the region is leading the world out of recession.

"As the Commonwealth Games draws to a climax, millions around the world have not merely enjoyed world-class action on the athletics track, they have witnessed India coming of age, with Delhi proving its credentials as a world-class sport tourism hub."

The grand final of this year's awards programme will take place in London on November 7th.

Indulgent cruise holidays in the Far East

 

Posted by Susan O’Driscoll

Costa Cruises are now offering long-haul itineraries that are sure to inspire adventure in some of the world’s most intoxicating regions.

Costa Classica departs from Hong Kong on November 20^th and will sail for 14 nights, taking in the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam and China.

 

Costa Romantica will set sail from Singapore on the same date but will visit Thailand, India and the Maldives, among other exotic destinations.

Travellers interested in exploring the Middle East are also catered for with an 18-night Costa Cruises voyage that starts in Savona on November 11^th and include calls in Egypt, Yemen, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.

Costa ex UK

Posted by Susan O’Driscoll

Italian cruise giant Costa Cruises will be offering sailings from the UK next summer.
Costa Magica will be based from both Harwich and Dover and a total of 11 cruises will visit seven European capitals including Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, Copenhagen, Oslo and Edinburgh. Fares will start from £1019 per person. Marco Rosa, the region's area director said the itinerary had been created to allow passengers to visit seven top European short break destinations in one voyage.

Costa has a new iPhone app

 

Posted by Susan O’Driscoll

Cruise industry giant Costa Cruises has launched a new iPhone application and two news mobile sites to give you a sneak preview of its ships before you set sail.

Designed for the fleet’s 14 ships, the app can be downloaded free from the Apple Store and iTunes and is available in six languages: English, Italian, French, German, Spanish and Portuguese.

Each ship can be visited and examined with a 360° full-screen real virtual tour, plus photo galleries and descriptions. The position of all the ships in the fleet can be displayed on a map at any time and webcams on the stern and the bow enable keen cruisers to follow the entire journey day after day, in real time.

The brand new mobile sites allow holidaymakers to access Costa Cruises’ Mediterranean and Dubai itineraries and can be accessed from the latest generation mobile phones.

 

Cruises for the Arab Market

 

Posted by Susan O’Driscoll

 

Costa Cruises are opening up the market for Arab holidaymakers as they station two of their fleet in Dubai.

 

Both Costa Deliziosa and Costa Luminosa will be based in Dubai to offer Arab passengers with two prayer rooms - male and female; Arabic food and drinks; Arabic menus and signs; Arabic-speaking on board staff and Arabic TV and radio.

 

“Our objective is to invest in Dubai, the Arabian Gulf and the Middle East not only as a regular destination for our ships, but also as a sourcing area to increase the number of cruisers choosing us for their vacations,” said Costa president Gianni Onorato.

 

Mr. Hamad bin Mejren, DTCM Executive Director Business Tourism, said: “We are delighted that Costa Cruises is opening a Dubai office to tap the huge growth potential of cruise tourism in the Arab world. We assure our wholehearted help and support to make this venture a real success. It will certainly give a boost to our efforts to promote cruise tourism and provide enough encouragement to other cruise industry players to utilise the strengths and growth opportunities that Dubai offers.”

 

 

Green living for Carnival Cruises

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Posted by Susan O'Driscoll

 

Carnival Cruise Lines has announced it will cut future fuel consumption in bid to help the environment.

The company released its annual cruise report and chairman Mick Arson said it hoped to slash its fuel emissions by as much as three or four per cent each year.

Carnival Corporation is a huge organisation owning Costa Cruises, Princess Cruises, Ocean Village and the Holland America Line.

If the fuel cuts are rolled out across the 95-strong fleet it may encourage eco-conscious travellers to board with Carnival.

However Mr Arison told Travolution there is no "silver bullet" solution to the cruise industry’s environmental impact.

However he acknowledged that the fuel cuts coupled with advancements in technology were a step in the right direction.