Costa Cruises: A taste of Italy at sea

Since international cruise lines are not expected to return to Israel for at least another 12 months, many Israelis decide to fly to foreign banks to sail the high lake. Italy’s Costa Cruises offers sails throughout the Mediterranean, in the Middle East and far beyond.

Costa Smeralda, one of the company’s twin flags, is currently taking on the waters around the Persian Gulf and takes on goals such as Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman.

In this special sailing of Abu Dhabi, the passengers mainly rose from the Middle East, Central Asia, the Far East and Europe. But why do you choose Costa?

According to Daniel Merino in Italian style, food and entertainment that stand out from the crowd. The ship was designed by the former Jerusalemite Adam Tihany.

While all signs and on -board messages are in English, Italian is definitely the number 1 language physical and metaphorical. The ship is beautifully furnished in bright colors. The stairwells dominate reproductions of famous Italian works of art, and the bedrooms also include pictures from Italy. Each deck is named after a beautiful Italian city.

The ‘Costa Smeralda’ offers short, beautifully choreographed shows with dance, song and video. (Credit: @markdavidpod)

Dining brings the small additional piece of Italian luxury. The Archipelago restaurant is inspired by the menus of three chefs awarded with a Michelin star.

There is also the Italian Bellavista Premium Restaurant for passengers in suites who have an impressive wine list to express it the least – almost all of Italia. Vegetarian options such as Tempura vegetables with red control marms sit next to sea bass shattering and beef carpaccio. The olive -placed Focaccia is particularly tasty. The restaurant has nautical motifs, but also reminds something of the Orient Express.

The Wine-Tasting experience and the restaurant of Osteria Frescobaldi Toscana are located right around the corner. The Frescobaldi family has been working in the wine business for 700 years. Sommelier Flavio rules them with stories from the company, its nine wineries between Florence and the sea and its important grapes. His dulcet tones go wonderfully with the delicate rosés and red wines.

The Mozzarella in Pummid’oro Pizzeria is made on board, as is the dough for the excellent selection of pizzas. Pay attention to the lemon curd dessert.

With the public awareness of the public, it is easy to note that the beautifully furnished bathroom around the ship includes free-free automatic doors. There are fully automated washing stations directly outside the main restaurants

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Useful tip: If you happen to have a mobile phone, you should download the Costa app. It is your guide for everything on the ship – it even tells you which restaurants are less crowded. Don’t worry if you are not the telephone type-a flyer with the events of the day is magically displayed in your room, and there is always helpful information staff around the clock.

Speaking of crowds, although the ship wears so many passengers (and crew) most of the time, the ship does not feel overcrowded. According to Merino, one of the most important jobs that a cruise ship has team is passenger management. This means that both give the right entertainment for the right guests from a cultural perspective and ensure a reasonable flow of people around the ship, so that it does not feel too crowded.

The three upper decks (four, if they are in a suite) include pools, a spa, sports areas, a solarium only for adults, cafes and poles, water slides and an increased sidewalk with breathtaking views.

The evening feature shows in the Colosseo Theater are short (30 minutes), but very well choreographed and combines real actors with 360-degree video images.

There is a ballroom (think of Manilow, Elvis and Sheeran instead of Strauss, Rosas and Waldseufel), jazz, pop music quiz and a night club that looks into the early morning.

The rooms are well laid out with very comfortable beds and solid pillows. The shower is excellent, but bring your own body lotion. Most cabins offer balconies with plenty of space for a couple to enjoy breakfast in their room or to watch the sunset over a glass of Chianti.

Smeralda and his sister ship Toscana have the only museums in the world on cruise ships. They focus on Italian design of winding household furniture, on brightly polished dolls and on chic means of transport.

The spacious museum is bordering on the ship’s casino, which only works during a golf cruise as soon as the ship is not in the port.

The Costa Smeralda is a large ship that offers a lot to employ everyone (including the youngest family members). The staff is friendly and always ready to help. The sails in the Middle East are a great opportunity to fill up their tan and some fascinating goals (perhaps a desert safari in Abu Dhabi or helicopter about Dubai-Siehe the sidebar) and the people-watching Italian couples with Kyrgyz pensioners in ethnic dresses.

Costa offers a large mix of travel routes at comparatively affordable prices (the Costa Smeralda will soon lead to Africa before offering cruises in Europe this spring) and always with a willing smile.

Mark and David were guests of Costa Cruises (they organize the Jerusalem Post Podcast-Travel Edition (jpost.com/podcast/travel-Edition).

Amazing Abu Dhabi excursions

When a cruise ship connects, many of his passengers go ashore to see what their latest goal has to offer. You compete from the cruise company, do a private tour or explore it yourself. Here are a few ideas for your time in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the VAE:

Abu Dhabi’s most famous building is the Grand Mosque of Sheikh Zayed. The vision of Abu Dhabi’s founding father, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, was completed in 2007, two years after his death, and now serves both as a mosque and his last retirement.

The mosque is one of the largest in the world and can organize up to 50,000 worshipers. If you go through your huge white courtyards and flower designs that are installed with the mother of pearl, Lapis Lazuli and Amethyst, you can get lost in your relaxed majesty.

The interiors offer a contrast full of lively colors, such as the gigantic colorful Swarovski chandeliers and the record-breaking Persian carpet. The mosque even has its own shopping center and offers everything from Abayas and Hijabs to Starbucks and McDonald’s.

In accordance with Abu Dhabi’s principles of faith and tolerance, a visit to the Abrahamic Faith House and the Saadiyat Island should be high on the list of visit. The cultural district of the Emirate already houses a branch of the Louvre and will soon open a Guggenheim gallery, but the unique square of Interfaith Exchange, which will open in 2023, is an icon of hope.

The complex focuses on three dice houses of adoration: a mosque, a Catholic church and a synagogue. The Moses Ben Maimon synagogue is beautifully designed, with an external cross structure that represents the palm fronds used in sukkot, while the interior has a tent-like structure that hangs on the roof and possibly symbolizes a huppa or perhaps the tent of Abrahams.

Speaking of it, big cans of them should be included in the driver of the country cruiser, who brings them into the desert for an evening safari. The bumpy journey reaches the empty quarter for the sunset before the passengers delivers in a Bedouin camp with belly and tanoura dancing, falconry, sheesha, henna and a lush grill.