The quite new Costa Smeralda (inaugurated in 2019) does a tour of Barcelona, Majorca, Sicily, and Rome in December. If you board that tour in Barcelona, you’ll only pay €629 per person! The cruise departs on December 15 and returns to Barcelona on December 22.
Regardless of the cabin type, the price includes all meals, as well as water and tea in the buffet restaurant. Drinks in the à-la-carte restaurants are not included.
The Route
This is how you’d spend the week on board:
- December 15: Barcelona (departs at 18:00)
- December 16: Palma, Balearic Islands (8:00 – 18:00)
- December 17: At sea
- December 18: Palermo, Italy (8:00 – 16:30)
- December 19: Civitavecchia, ~100 km from Rome (8:30 – 19:00)
- December 20: Savona, Italy (8:30 – 17:30)
- December 21: Marseille, France (9:00 – 18:00)
- December 22: Barcelona (arrives at 9:00)
The Ship
The Costa Smeralda has 2612 cabins and was launched in 2019. Its design is based on Italian cities. On board, you’ll be able to speak English, German, or Italian with the staff, while paying in Euros.
Across the 16 decks, there are 16 dining options, 6 of which are included: Tutti a Tavola (Italian), La Sagra dei sapori (Buffet), Il Rugantino, L’Arlecchino, Il Meneghino, and La Colombina (main restaurants).
The entertainment options include shows, a discotheque, a casino, and a theatre. And for physical activity, there are 4 swimming pools, a fitness centre, table tennis, a sports field, a jogging trail, and more. While the internet is not cheap, Costa does offer its social 24h packages, giving you access to social networks for €5/day.
The entire Travel-Dealz team chose the Costa Smeralda for a short team vacation in April 2025. We had a lot of fun onboard. The design of the ship’s public spaces is simple, but varied and entertaining. Our spacious balcony cabins caught us by surprise, as they never felt cramped. Despite the ship’s huge size, we usually didn’t notice the thousands of other passengers – only during meal times, during which the food was miles better than the organization. Especially when scoring a price like this, you are certainly getting your money’s worth on the Costa Smeralda.
Cover Picture: Ditmar Lange