Costa Cruises returning Costa Smeralda to Dubai for 2023/24 Arabian Gulf season
Costa Cruises has revealed its 2023/24 winter cruise itineraries, with Costa Smeralda returning to the Middle East, sailing roundtrip cruises from Dubai in the Arabian Gulf.
Costa Smeralda will homeport in Dubai from December, 2024 to March, 2025, sailing week-long roundtrip itineraries visiting Muscat in Oman, Doha in Qatar, and Abu Dhabi in the UAE.
The port call in Muscat this year will be a two-day affair, giving guests more time to explore the ancient Omani capital, which was once the center of a massive maritime empire.
Abu Dhabi is the capital of the UAE, home to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Louvre Abu Dhabi, the Warner Brothers, Ferrari World, and SeaWorld theme parks of Yas Island and more.
Doha is the capital of Qatar, home to ancient mosques, souks, and a glittering seafront corniche, while Dubai of course if the largest and most cosmopolitan city in the region, home to the Burj Khalifa, Dubai Mall, Dubai Fountains, and more.
Costa Cruises will be returning to the Arabian Gulf alongside MSC Cruises, TUI Cruises, AIDA Cruises, and Windstar, but will also of course be cruising worldwide with its ships deployed to the Mediterranean and Caribbean for the winter season.
The cruise line will also be sailing an around the world cruise aboard Costa Deliziosa, visiting Tierra del Fuego, Polynesia, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.
The World Cruise will depart December 7th, 2024, with New Year’s Eve spent in Rio de Janeiro so that guests can enjoy the famous Copacabana Beach fireworks display.
Costa Cruises’ Mediterranean season will feature Costa Toscana sailing week-long cruises to Italy, France, and Spain, with calls in the Balearic Islands and Sicily. In four of the ports she’ll spend more than 10 hours alongside, giving passengers more time to explore.
The itinerary includes Savona, Marseille, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Palermo and Civitavecchia (for Rome).
In the Caribbean, Costa Fortuna and Costa Fascinosa will each offer two different alternating one-week itineraries that can be combined into a single two-week long voyage.
Costa Fortuna will sail exclusively between the Lesser Antilles. The first itinerary includes Guadeloupe, Tortola, St. Marteen, Antigua, St. Lucia and Martinique; the second Guadeloupe, Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, St. Vincent, Barbados and Martinique.
Costa Fascinosa’s first itinerary focuses on the Dominican Republic, with shore excursions that include mangrove forests, coffee plantations, and a full day on Catalina, Costa’s exclusive island.
Calls include La Romana (Dominican Republic), Ocho Rios (Jamaica), Grand Turk, Amber Cove (Dominican Republic), Samana (Dominican Republic) and Catalina Island (Dominican Republic).
The ship’s second itinerary explores six of the Caribbean’s most beautiful islands, calling at La Romana (Dominican Republic), St. Lucia, Barbados, Guadeloupe, Antigua, and the British Virgin Islands.
