Costa Classica

By Marlet D. Salazar, Contributor

11/15/2009

There are many ways to see the world. Adventurers can go backpacking. Corporate people often fly on business class. Some tourists wait for the next airfare promotion. Or one can travel in style.

Cruising is perhaps the ideal relaxing vacation. It is very laidback, unhurried and even a little lavish. That is why it is — has always been — popular among Westerners.

In a recent visit to Manila, Italian cruise ship Costa Classica brought with it 1,300 tourists. Steered by captain Giancarlo Cha, the cruise ship docked at the Manila South Harbor at 8 a.m. The 12-hour stay was part of the ship’s 14-day cruise that includes Hong Kong, Kota Kinabalu, Brunei, Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang and Sanya in China.

Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim and Tourism Secretary Ace Durano welcomed Cha and Costa Cruises Pacific Asia operations, sales and marketing director Dario Rustico in a simple ceremony at the ship’s Colloseo Theater. Also present were Magsaysay Maritime Corp. president Marlon Rono and chairman Eduardo Manese.

Costa Classica is one of the 14 cruise ships of Costa Cruises, considered as Europe’s number-one cruise company. Costa Cruises operate under Costa Crociere S.p.A., an Italian company that boasts of 60 years of experience in the maritime business. It operates in the Mediterranean, North Europe, the Baltic Sea, the Caribbean, South America, Dubai, the Far East and the Indian Ocean.

Durano welcomes the influx of tourists as Manila is included in the destinations of Costa Classica and its two other sister ships, Costa Allegra and Costa Romantica. The latter is set to dock in Manila in April next year.

Costa Cruises had its initial, and perhaps, test cruise in 2006 with 1,000 guests aboard Costa Allegra. Seeing the response of the market, the company doubled its capacity and sent the second ship, which is Costa Classica; Costa Romantica will follow suit.

About 80 percent of Costa Cruises’ market is composed of Europeans. Apart from Australians, the other Asia-Pacific market includes the Japanese and Chinese. Dario said there were about 160 Japanese onboard Costa Classica during that cruise.

The cruise’s market demographics are actually seasonal, according to Rustico. “During summer, we have many families with kids. In winter, there are more senior. There is also a period for honeymooners,” he said. It may also depend on the nationalities, usually depending on their country’s holidays.

During Costa Classica’s stay in Manila, a number of passengers took a tour assisted by travel agents and Costa Corcierre’s local partner, the Magsaysay Maritime Corp. The others opted to stay in the ship and enjoy the tropical climate.

Magsaysay provides manpower to Costa Cruises. Rustico said there are about 25 percent of Filipinos employed in Costa Classica.

The cruises’ stay in a particular city also depends on the arrangement the company has with the government. In Tonga, Costa Cruises may stay overnight while in Dubai, it stays for two nights. “This is to offer people a chance to enjoy the city.”

Costa Classica is a 14-story luxury ship with the eighth floor as the main deck where function rooms, theater, café and library are located. On the ninth and 10th floors are the spa, gym, duty-free shop and casino (which are closed when the ship docks). On the top deck is the buffet restaurant, which serves different dishes that cater to the varied nationalities the ship serves.

It has a total of 654 cabins, which include six for guests with disabilities.

To ensure that the cruise is far from boring, Costa Classica has seven bars, disco, two swimming pools, four Jacuzzis and jogging track. The theaters on two decks hold shows and performances during the cruise.

The Italians bring their love of the arts with 23,000 art collections boarded in all its ships. Costa Classica’s Tivoli Restaurant on the eighth floor is a gallery of exquisite murals from the Renaissance and the Roman times. The Colloseo Theater also teems with paintings and other artworks.

Rustico sees a growth in the Asian market as the economy in the region seems to pick up. He also noted the construction of terminals that makes docking of cruise ships possible in many ports such as China and Singapore. Also, Rustico said that many Europeans choose Asia as a tour destination because, “we find the region ‘exotic.’”

“I personally believe that the next decade will benefit much of Asia,” he said in an interview with Filipino journalists onboard Costa Classica. “The region is responding — the governments, the travel agents and the market.” He, however, feels that China and Hong Kong are the most promising market so far.

Costa Classica may not be the biggest — but the most popular — cruise ship in the fleet of Costa Cruises, but Rustico explained that “the type and number of vessels we bring in to the region depend on how fast the market will develop. If the market develops faster, we will see very big ships to stimulate the demand.” The ship took its maiden voyage in 1991 with a maximum capacity of 1,680 guests.

These Italian cruises experience minor refurbishing every two years and a total refurbishing as the management sees it necessary.

Costa Cruises is looking at more expansion as it celebrated six decades of maritime business in 2008. From this year until 2012, Costa Crociere is set to build five more ships totaling its fleet to 17.

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