Costa Cruises' flagship Costa Smeralda (sistership to Costa Toscana) is now homeported in Genoa, offering roundtrip departures every Friday from April through November 2025.
The ship's Western Mediterranean deployment follows the recently completed winter program in the Arabian Gulf, with regular port calls in Dubai, Muscat (Oman), Doha (Qatar), and Abu Dhabi.
The vessel returned to Europe via a 37-day repositioning voyage around Africa. The route included stops in Muscat, Port Louis, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town, Walvis Bay, Dakar, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Tangier, Barcelona, and Ajaccio Corsica, effectively circumnavigating the African continent.
Beginning April 11, 2025, Costa Smeralda will operate a standardized 8-day itinerary departing Genoa each Friday through November 21. The itinerary includes calls at Marseille, Barcelona, Cagliari, Naples, and Civitavecchia-Rome, before returning to Genoa.
Costa Smeralda's Mediterranean voyages provide tourists with access to popular destinations in Italy, France, and Spain.
The itinerary includes both "Sea Destinations"—experiential offerings that take place on board while at sea—and "Land Destinations", featuring guided excursions ashore. Notable sea-based experiences include astronomical observations in the Balearic Sea guided by bridge officers, sunrise views of the Faraglioni rock formations off Capri accompanied by regional cuisine, and a marine-themed light installation in the Cetacean Sanctuary.
Ashore, curated excursions are available in key ports of call. These include visits to Marseille's Notre-Dame de la Garde and its panoramic viewpoints; explorations of Gaudí’s Park Güell and Casa Batlló in Barcelona; and in Naples, walking tours of the Rione Sanità and guided visits to both the archaeological site of Pompeii and the underwater ruins of Baiae.
This deployment reflects Costa Cruises’ continued investment in diversified Mediterranean offerings, combining onboard programming with culturally-rich shore excursions.