COSTA Cruises officially christened the 15th member of its fleet, Costa Favolosa, in a ceremony staged as a celebration of the unique features of Italian identity – art, history, culture and music.
At 114,500 gross tonnage and with a 3,800 total guest capacity, Costa Favolosa is the largest ship flying the Italian flag. She made her debut on a four-day cruise departing from Venice on July 4.
Costa Favolosa promises to deliver an unforgettable and enchanting holiday full of surprises as Favolosa means fabulous and fairytale in Italian.
The new ship combines the best elements of all Costa Cruises ships and is equipped with six new veranda suites with their own Jacuzzis, two new entertainment areas for teenagers, the Samsara Spa, a Grand Prix driving simulator, golf simulator and more.
The brand new open-air aqua park water playground is equipped with its own pirate galleon and a two-deck-high fairytale castle. Another new innovation designed for teenagers is the Club Cavallo Bianco, which is dedicated to the latest generation of virtual reality.
Fitness facilities onboard include the outdoor multipurpose sports pitch, jogging track and fitness centre equipped with Technogym. The new VisioWeb interactive digital platform in Technogym allows guests to browse the internet, watch TV and listen to their iPods while exercising.
The interior, designed by architect Joseph Farcus, is inspired by the world’s masterpieces, grand palaces, museums and myths and the Costa Favolosa is a floating art gallery in itself – featuring more than 6,000 artworks by original and contemporary artists specially commissioned by Costa Cruises.
Every fairytale always includes a happy banquet and Costa Favolosa is no exception. The restaurants and buffets on board are places of real culinary pleasure. Guests can dine at the restaurant buffet Ca’ d’Oro, which offers a wide selection of Italian and international dishes. The two main restaurants Duca di Borgogna and Duca d’Orléans serve mouth-watering delicacies of Italian and Mediterranean tradition. There is a top-of-the-range culinary experience at the à la carte Favolosa Club restaurant and the Samsara restaurant offers menus dedicated to wellbeing and lightness.
The ship also features a range of stores offering goods from souvenirs to perfumes and duty free.
Costa Favolosa is an ultramodern cruise ship in terms of environmental compliance, which has been one of Costa Cruises’ key missions. The company’s new flagship is equipped for ‘cold ironing’, a system whereby the vessel is plugged into shore-side electrical power, enabling generators to shut down during stopovers in port.
On board, like all the members of the Costa Cruises fleet, 100 per cent of solid waste is collected separately for recycling and no special waste is ever discharged overboard. Also, most of the water used on the ship is produced directly on board using desalination plants.
The ship’s summer itinerary sees her leaving from Venice to call at Greece, Turkey and Croatia and from December 16, 2011 through to April 6, 2012, the Costa Favolosa will offer the eight-day ‘Jewels of the Emirates’ cruise sailing from Dubai to Muscat, Oman, Fujairah and Abu Dhabi, UAE, Khasab, Oman, and back to Dubai.