Cruising the Mediterranean

Cruising the Mediterranean

Costa Cruises promotes itself as the largest cruise line in Europe. It is an Italian company and seeks the bulk of its customers from the European continent, with as little as 10 percent patronage from the United States on any given ship.

The boat we were on, the Costa Serena, was built in 2007 and has a passenger capacity of 3800 plus 1100 crew. That may sound quite large, but the largest ship in the world holds over 6000. The itinerary we chose included the following ports; Venice and Bari, Italy, Olympia, Greece, Izmir and Istanbul, Turkey, and Dubrovnik, Croatia. One may board the ship at several different locations, so the composite profile of passengers is in a constant flux, with the majority being Italian, with German and Spanish patrons in a close tie for second place. Less than 10% of the guests were from the U.S.

On board this ship you will never tire for lack of activity, including gambling in the casino, bingo games, dance lessons, spa and gymnasium services, cooking lessons, dance lessons, arts and crafts projects, and much more. It’s a buffet of options for any adult.
The nightlife can be found in one of many on-board bars with live music and various themed programs. There are singing contests, and costume nights to add to the pleasure. But the largest area for entertainment is found in the 1200 seat theater, where you will find specialty performances on a nightly basis. It is not uncommon to be entertained by skillful acrobats, multi-talented musicians, spell-binding magicians, or even the Costa Crew itself.

For children, the Costa Serena is paradise. A giant, two-story slide plunges into a refreshing pool on the top deck for starters. And if that doesn’t give you a scream, then the Formula One simulated race-car will certainly excite them. There are video games, table tournaments, play parlour, deck-side contests, and pizza parties at all hours. So, if you want your children to have a multicultural interaction with other cruisers, than this is the spot! Our cruise was host to over 700 children. Parents who share their cabin with the children can do so at no additional cost, and there are plenty of activities with competent staff to supervise.

There are daily excursions, which, if led by Costa, may be purchased for an addition fee (no less than 50 euros per tour). But you are welcome to enter each port individually and self-explore.
My wife and I chose to explore the port in Bari on our own with great success. We could walk directly into the old city where we visited two historic churches, complete with weddings in progress. It was beautiful to see the wedding parties lavished in flowers and rice. And on a Monday as well! One of these was the Basilica of St. Nicholas. It holds the tomb of this patron saint and the locals say that here lies the tomb of Santa Claus (although I believe the Russians may take issue with that).

Excursion to Ephesus
Ephesus is one of the most visited, ancient excavations in the world, getting approximately 10,000 visitors per day. The day we visited, it was crowded. This ancient city survived thousands of years, invading armies, geological disasters, and tyrannical rulers. The population at its onset rose to 250,000 inhabitants and you will also find an amphitheatre that seats over 4,000 people. It was a costal port, at one time, but, over the decades, the land has risen to a point that the sea is now five miles away. Once the sea became too far away, the city was abandoned.
The excavations are extensive, possibly the largest in the world.
The city was famed for the Temple of Artemis (completed around 550 BC), one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The temple was destroyed in 401 AD.

Kitchen Tour
We took a tour of the Main onboard kitchen with the Executive Chef. This is one awesome operation. There are 4 kitchens on board and they serve 15,000 meals per day all served by a kitchen staff of 180 people working 7 days a week 11 hours a day. 1,000 of them are crew meals which are prepared and served in a separate location.

Just to give you an example of the lengths they go to for everyone on board, the 1,000 ships staff come from all over the world ( over 85 countries on this trip) and they do their best to cater to each of their tastes. They carry 2 kinds of rice, they see that Muslims do not even get offered pork. The Chinese, Philipinos, Indians and other countries have far different eating habits and they do their best to cater to them all.
We learned that when an American asks for Espresso café, he has one expectation. When an Italian asks for Espresso he has another and French a third. So they know the nation of origin of every passenger and staff and what their preferences are. The same goes for the consistency of the cooking of Pasta, Italians expect Al Dente and other nationalities may expect it to be cooked to a different consistency. All the bread and rolls are baked fresh daily by a staff of 8 bakers. They serve 3800 guest dinners per night ordered from a limited menu and with two seatings they can predict what percentage of people will order what and at the end of the night may waste 5-20 meals. Amazing!!! Did I mention that they wash 150,000 dishes a day not to mention silverware and glasses

Hello Istanbul
Where West meets East
From my visit 40 years ago I used to tell people “Istanbul is where West clashes with East” Now I would say that “Istanbul is where West meets East.” This city is over 6 million people and it is the only city in the world to sit on two continents, Asia and Europe. It has had several names over the years including Byzantium, New Rome and Constantinople. Turkey is 98% Muslin but it is by far, the most westernized of the Arabic countries. Most women dress western style but there are some that still cover up completely in burka’s. We even saw some who were middle ground; head and arms completely covered but with blue jeans and tennis shoes.

Turkey’s relations with the US are extremely strong and unlike other Arabic countries, are not based on Oil production. They have equal pay and equal rights for women and a democratic society.

Islam requires that everyone give 2 1/2% of their earnings to the poor. So Turkey has its share of poor people but little or no poverty or homeless.
The Blue Mosque with its 6 minarets is one of the most beautiful and popular Islamic religious centers of the world. St.Sophia Basilica is an extraordinary architecture example dressed in marble and precious stones decorating its walls and galleries.

I remember the Grand Bazaar from 40 years ago and it was a fascinating place to visit and haggle with the vendors throughout its small alleys and stalls. It has changed now and haggling is still the main stay of negotiating prices but its much more commercial now.

The museum at Topkapi Palace is by far the most interesting, built for and by ancient sultans it is a beautiful place with exquisite jewels and treasures on display.


Dubrovnik, Croatia
Dubrovnik was certainly the most pleasant surprise of this cruise. What a beautiful and wonderful city. Croatia was part of Yugoslavia and when communism fell, so did Yugoslavia which divided into 5 countries. It survived a nasty war with Bosnia in the early 1990’s and some evidence of the damage still exists today.
It is set in front of a picturesque hillside on the Dalmatian coast across the Adriatic Sea from Italy. The old city is lined with cobbled streets, fountains, and churches and surrounded by a 700-year-old city wall, which is mostly still intact. We walked on top of most of the wall and the perspective it gives you of Dubrovnik is wonderful. They have rebuilt the cable car that goes up the mountain which has some beautiful panoramic views of the city, coast and surrounding islands.

Pageantry
Dinner, on most of the nights closes with fun and bravura from the staff. One night, as the lights went out, desert was presented to a recording of O’ sole Mia as the staff appeared around the periphery of the restaurant with desert in one hand and sparklers in the other…. Patrons lifted their napkins and swirled them like homer hankies at a baseball game.

The staff appears to be very happy, jovial and full of life as they take care of your every need. They are a pleasure to be with.


If you go
www.costacruise.com