The Ship: The Mediterranea is a well-reviewed ship so I won't repeat many details other than to say it's big, considered one of the medium size cruise ships of recent construction : 12 decks, 292 meters long and 32 meters wide. Max passengers 2,500. 1 main restaurant on two levels, 1 specialty restaurant, and a self-service buffet. 1,057 cabins, most outside with balconies. It was the itinerary that made this cruise unique because the stop at Tripoli was the first for Costa in over three years.

Embarkation: Basically a piece of cake. After leaving our car in the port parking (€90 for the duration of the cruise), a shuttle bus brought us directly to the ship where, being Costa Club Pearl members, we were immediately checked in and went on board. There were relatively few passengers boarding at the same time, approximately 16.00 in the afternoon.

The Cabin: We had a "panoramic suite," cabin number 6176, cat. PS, on the 6th deck, in the mid-section. The cabin was reasonably large (about 30 square meters) with a main sleeping/living area, dressing room, bath, and a large balcony. The bed was comfortable but we asked the cabin steward to bring us two extra pillows and to remove the hot synthetic duvet leaving only the cotton cover There was a three-person couch, easy chair, desk and chair, minibar, safe, and an oval table. There was a four-drawer dresser, two-door wardrobe next to the bed and another in the dressing room, besides several cabinets for additional storage. The carpet was clean and free of stains. There were large mirrors in the dressing room and over the desk. The hair dryer was in one of the drawers of the dressing room. Our suitcases fit under the bed. The TV had satellite channels in Italian, English, French, German, Spanish and Russian. In addition there were shipboard channels advertising excursions and the onboard shops, spa, etc. The interactive TV had a webcam showing the view from the bridge and a channel with a so-called "scan display" which showed the ship's current position, wind direction and speed, outside temps, weather and sea conditions. The bathroom was good-sized with two side-by-side sinks and storage space above and under them, a toilet, and a jacuzzi bathtub/shower. We always had fluffy white towels (four bath and four hand), four facecloths, and two bathmats, as well as two nice robes and slippers. A sliding glass door led out onto the balcony which was equipped with a sun lounger and a chair and table. The cabin steward changed the towels twice a day as necessary and the sheets/pillow cases every third day. Being a Costa Club member, we always had fresh fruit in the room which was replenished frequently. We did not use the minibar. We did not feel any discomfort even when the seas were rough a couple times. Vibration was non-existent and I felt only the slightest movement on the worst days. Read more