Cruising the Caribbean … Italian-style: Costa Cruise Lines adds old world elegance to new world voyages on the Costa Mediterranea

Cruise Travel, Sept-Oct, 2004 by Deborah Williams

The most famous Caribbean cruiser was surely an Italian from Genoa named Christopher Columbus. Now Genoa based Costa Cruise Lines is sailing its Italian-style voyages among the isles that Columbus discovered and christened.

Columbus was struck "by these lands ... so fair and so verdant and full of trees and palms." Half a millennium after his visits the isles are still fair and full of palms, but Columbus would surely be astounded by one of Costa's newest ships, the gleaming 2,114-passenger Costa Mediterranea. Fittingly, she is registered in Genoa and under the direction of Italian officers--the only similarity with the Caribbean's first cruiser and his famed ships.

Costa's self-described "Cruising Italian Style" comes with a dash of tradition, elegance, and a warm Italian ambiance. "Buon giorno," the staff greets you. Long-time Home Lines fans will note some similarities with that now defunct but still fondly remembered cruise line, including the Italian flavor and adherence to traditional cruise concepts such as fixed seatings for meals, pre-dinner dance music, and midnight buffets. Special features also include a chapel with stained glass windows where traditional Latin masses are held daily.

The sleek, 86,000-gross-register-ton Costa Mediterranea is the second new ship to join Costa's fleet under the ownership of the Carnival Corporation. Like sister-ship Costa Atlantica, she sails into the 21st century with a high percentage of balcony cabins; of the 1,057 staterooms, 678 have balconies. Prior Costa ships offered a handful of balcony cabins or none at all.

There is absolutely nothing understated about the Costa Mediterranea's decor. The Marchera d'Argento Atrium is the ship's centerpiece, with three walls soaring 10 decks upward, creating one gigantic work of art--an array of floating, large-than-life dancing figures. The fourth wall has three glass elevators.

Joe Farcus, Carnival's inventive designer, outdid himself with designs that reinvent details of 17th and 18th century Italian palaces. There is truly so much to look at that Farcus says passengers can enjoy "a constant discovery process onboard."

The Degli Argentieri Restaurant, based on a splendid 18th century palace, is split into two levels and is the ship's main dining venue (there is also a buffet restaurant and a small specialty restaurant). The restaurant works on an assigned two-seating basis, and is open for three meals daily as well as midnight buffets. The first seating is 6:15 p.m. and the second seating at 8:45 p.m. (9 on formal nights)--late for many North Americans. Dinner menus play up the Italian theme with a different region of Italy high lighted each night. A tasty pasta course is always offered before the entree.

The children's facilities are known as the "Squok Club," the name of a cute, friendly shark. Depending on the number of children and teens onboard, activities are aimed at three age groups: Mini for 3-to 5-year-olds, Maxi for ages 7-12, and Teen for ages 13-17. On each weeklong cruise, the two formal evenings are "Parents Nights Out," and kids are treated to a buffet or pizza party while parents dine on their own. There is no extra charge for the kids dining program.

Although the majority of passengers on our Western Caribbean cruise were Americans, about a third were Europeans. Important announcements were made in five languages (English, Italian, French, German, Spanish). The array of nationalities gives a Continental feel to a cruise with an American homeport--the weekly Caribbean cruises depart each Sunday from Fort Lauderdale.

Obviously it's difficult choosing entertainment that appeals to such a varied group. Most successful were shows that did not depend on language, such as an incredible steel-drum concert. The three-tier Osiris Theater is full of pyramids and pharaohs, a motif developed from murals decorating a Roman palace built in the 1400s.

Our first call, Monday morning, was Key West--southernmost point of the continental United States. Closer to Havana than to Miami, Key West seems more Caribbean than American. The tram-like Conch Train provides free transportation from the pier to the center of the historic isle, which measures only one by three-and-a-half miles.

For a good overview of the area, take a one-hour Conch Tour Train ride. Guides at Hemingway's House offer glimpses into the writer's life in this haven where he wrote many of his classics, fished, and drank at nearby Sloppy Joe's. Descendants of his famed six-toed cats are still in residence. Other historic homes include President Harry Truman's Little White House and the Audubon House, one-time home of the renowned naturalist John James Audubon.

We decided to take advantage of the 30 mph winds (that turned out to be the hallmark of our week at sea) and take a sail on the 80-toot schooner Liberty. With her four sails, the wooden boat delivered a smooth but bracing two-hour outing.

Following a relaxing sea day, our next scheduled port was Progreso, Mexico--gateway to Merida and the Mayan ruins and ancient temples of Chichen-Itza, Uxmal, and Dzibichaltun. We'll have to return high winds closed the port and its unusual cruiseship dock, which is five miles from the mainland at the end of a long causeway (free shuttles are provided).