The tranquility of Good Friday morning in Valletta was shattered by the arrival of cruise ship Costa Fortuna – whose name never ceases to amuse me – exchanging whistle blasts with sister ship Costa neoRomantica, which had berthed in the spectacular Grand Harbour a couple of hours earlier.
Little Minerva sat peacefully between them, saying nothing.
But it was interesting to see the substantial changes made to Romantica during its recent £75 million refit. Two half-deck extensions had been built at the forward end of the ship, originally launched in 1992, adding 111 new cabins and increasing passenger capacity from 1,697 to 1,800.
A further 120 cabins were provided with balconies, some of them visible in the midships extensions pictured below. Yet another case of cruise ship middle-aged spread, as I documented last November after my visit to Royal Caribbean’s Splendour of the Seas during her dry-dock in Cadiz.
Also new on Romantica are the vast Samsara Spa, completre with a gym, thalassotherapy pool, treatment rooms, sauna and Turkish bath, as well as a dedicated spa restaurant.
Passengers also gained a wine and cheese bar, a coffe shop (not our High Street Costa brand), a pizzeria and an extra night club.
It was a twist of fate that brought neoRomantica to Malta last week; the ship is currently operating itineraries originally scheduled for Costa Concordia.
About the Author: John Honeywell
John Honeywell is a travel writer specialising in cruise ships and cruise travel. Winner of CLIA UK's Contribution to Cruise award 2017.
Oh dear. Norwegian Epic’s got a lot too answer for with all that stuff above the bridge. Not pretty