A taste of Italy on board Costa Smeralda

With a name that honors the spectacular Emerald Coast of Sardinia, Costa Smeralda reflects the best of Italy, delighting guests with a unique travel experience evoking the style, hospitality and warmth of the ‘Bel Paese’ (the beautiful country).

It’s taken her some time, but she’s finally here: Costa Smeralda.

2019 has been an amazing year with loads of exciting new ships entering service. One of the most anticipated new vessels is definitely Costa Smeralda. A few months after the launch of Costa Venezia – designed and built for the Chinese market, and five years after the launch of Costa Diadema, the italian cruise line is now (once again) proving that ‘Italians do it better’.

An Italian-style flagship

Costa Smeralda is a tribute to Italy, showcasing what makes the country so loved and appreciated around the world. The ship is named after one of the most beautiful destinations in Sardinia, the Emerald Coast (Costa Smeralda in Italian) and her decks and public areas are named inspired by iconic Italian places. From Palermo (deck 4) to Trieste (deck 20), Costa Smeralda takes her guests on a ‘Grand Tour’ of Italy.

The design of the ship is the result of a creative project lead by Adam D. Tihany. Together with four international architecture and design companies he created the various areas of the ship.

One of the unique features onboard Costa Smeralda is the Costa Design Museum. The CoDe is dedicated to the excellence of Italian design and showcases some 470 items from many of the Italian designers and design firms that contributed to the ship’s construction and authentic ‘Made in Italy’ décor.

A sensational Italian food experience

Costa Smeralda not only offers the best in Italian design it also features the best Italian cuisine. Guests have access to 16 restaurants and ‘food experience’ areas, including the innovative Ristorante LAB, where guests can have fun cooking and learning about food sustainability at the same time, and the Tutti a Tavola Restaurant dedicated to families with children. There are four bistro-styled main restaurants serving regional Italian dishes and a menu created by Chef Bruno Barbieri. The Pizzeria Pummid’Oro serves up 100% Italian pizza while the Teppanyaki Restaurant serves Japanese specialties.

To enjoy a drink in complete relaxation, guests are spoiled for choice with as many as 19 bars, including the first Illy Caffè at sea, the Campari Bar, the Aperol Spritz Bar and the Ferrari Spazio Bollicine.

Italian style staterooms

Costa Smeralda offers a total of 2612 guest staterooms excuding Italian taste and style. The rooms and suites are designed and decorated with colors and geometric patterns inspired by the Italian town or city that the decks are named after. Smeralda is also introducing a new ‘terrace over the sea‘ stateroom which features an annex where guests can have breakfast, sip on an aperitif or simply enjoy the sound of the waves. In total there are 28 suites, 106 terrace staterooms, 1522 balcony staterooms, 168 oceanview staterooms and 788 inside staterooms.

A sea of fun for the whole family

Costa Smeralda is designed to offer many new forms of entertainment and a variety of shows for all ages, at the same time and in different areas of the ship.

The magnificent three-level domed Colosseo immediatley draws attention after boarding Costa Cruises’ new flagship. The heart of Costa Smeralda is lined with themed lounge bars and features the best shows. The amazing space will not only draw guests to enjoy their morning coffee and evening cocktails, it will also lure them with spectacular performances and amazing seaviews through the large glass walls.

At the ship’s bow, the Piazza Trasteverre is the meeting place for various experiences on board including shopping, ice-cream tasting in the Gelateria Amarillo ice-cream parlor and entertainment including acrobats, street artists and musicians.

Outside, the Piazza di Spagna is a large stairway on three decks facing the stern of the ship. It is based on the Spanish Steps in Rome and offers the ideal place for entertaining guests of all ages. The glass-bottomed, open-air balcony on the top deck provides the exciting experience of flying over the sea.

The Passaggieta Volare walkway leads to the highest point on the ship – 65 meters high – offering picturesque and panoramic views of the ship and the ocean.

Costa Smeralda also features four swimming pools, a water park with colorful waterslides, a multi-sport gym, disco, jazz club, games room, special areas set aside for kids and a luxurious spa featuring a beauty salon, hammam, thalassotherapy pool, 16 treatment rooms, and snow, salt and relaxation rooms.

Designed with the environment in mind

Costa Smeralda is the first ship in the Costa fleet to be powered both in port and at sea by LNG, meaning improved air quality and protecting the environment with the virtual elimination of sulfur dioxide emissions (zero emissions) and particulate matter (95-100% reduction).  The use of LNG will also greatly lessen emissions of nitrogen oxides (85% direct reduction) and CO2(reduction of up to 20%).

Costa Smeralda is sailing a one-week itinerary including calls in Savona, Marseille, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Civitavecchia and La Spezia.

Also read: Costa Cruises takes delivery of Costa Smeralda, its first ship powered by LNG

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