Costa Fortuna Cruise is a Floating Museum at Sea now in Singapore till 26 Feb 2019

A few days ago, we visited Costa Fortuna, one of the many Costa Cruises under the Italian cultural brand of Carnival Corporation & plc, the world’s largest travel and leisure company. Seeing as it’s dubbed the floating museum at sea (all 102,587-tonnes of it), how could we pass up the chance to take a look inside?

When you enter the ship, you’d be greeted by a loud red everything. The lobby has got plush seats nesting around a grand piano that’s at the foot of the lifts. Overhead, a large dragonhead with a jewellery-filled mouth pops out, itself surrounded by a multitude of red lanterns. It’s slightly gaudy for my taste, but this is a 1950s design after all. Costa Fortuna will go through a fortune of make-over come December 2018 – 8 million dollars worth of it. So if you’re thinking what I’m thinking… yup! I’ll probably sign up for cruises after its renovation!

Plastered all around this gargantuan ship that can hold 1,358 cabins in total, are wallpapers of 1930s glamourous living and art paintings by famous artists – Michaelangelo and Rex.

Of course, it’s got its antique appeal, and that is displayed in the many restaurants, shared spaces, and entertainment theatres! To be honest, apart from the lobby, I felt that the entire ship has an old-world charm that people will take to quickly and well!

 

A trip on the ship won’t be complete without entertaining performances (how else are you going to survive more than 7 days on the floating hotel?). Without giving too much of the magic away, here are some of the performances to be expected onboard the Costa Fortuna!

To conclude our ship tour, we were served delicious Italian food in the Michaelangelo restaurant – which really lived up to its name because reprints of the paintings he did were pasted on the ceiling

We started with the bread which is all baked onboard the ship every morning. Fresh, warm bread buns and creamy butter!

We got to choose our appetizers: The Smoked Salmon Tartare, Lemon Essence and Cream Cheese with Maltese sauce, or the Prosciutto Crudo and Grana cheese! Preference goes to the smoked salmon tartare for depth in flavour! The prosciutto was delicious, salty and light too, but it was nothing special. The grana cheese goes really well with the ham – we put them together with the bread, of course! Also, please note that the food on the menu may change quite frequently, so don’t hold your breath for the same dishes the next time you come on board. However, we can assure you – there’s no question about the quality of the dishes!

Next up is the Linguine Oregano with Prawns. Delicious! The Italians are great with their pasta, and this one was no exception.

We had to choose the main course: Swordfish Steak with Vegetables and Mash or Medium Ribeye Steak with Carrots and Potatoes. The steak was surprisingly tender despite it being cooked medium well. The Swordfish steak had capers on top which made the dish zesty and flavourful. The lunch was truly satisfying.

All in all, the experience of being on a cruise ship is a unique one. Unless you’re perpetually seasick, I would really recommend you to try out at least a 3-day-2-night package in the sea. Entertainment, I kid you not, is 24/7 with their casino, library, performances, lounges, bars, shops, pools, and countless other things. Yup, so you won’t be bored (even without wifi!).

If you’re bowled over by the idea of a holiday at sea, then you’ll be happy to know that Costa Cruises will not just be renovating Costa Fortuna, but releasing two new cruise ships: Costa neoRomantica and Costa Venezia.

Costa neoRomantica will be sailing around Japan. Expect the cruise ship to be intricate in their decor, minimalistic in style, and filled with elegant furniture everywhere. Don’t miss the chance – register on the website for next year’s embarkation (I heard it’s selling out really fast!)

Check out the Costa neoRomantica and Costa Fortuna Itineraries here (www.costaasia.com)

 

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Images and write up by @chowbaccas

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