Costa Cruises is bringing local cuisine and wines to Costa neoRiviera with a Mediterranean Food Festival.
The Mediterranean Food Festival will take place on sailings departing from Savona, Italy, April 11 and 22 and May 3, 14 and 25. During the 11-day voyages, Costa neoRiviera will call at Toulon, France; Salerno and Livorno, Italy; Valletta, Malta; Porto Empedocle, Sicily; with an overnight call at Barcelona, Spain. The May 3 departure also includes a visit to Genoa, Italy.
The cruises will include exclusive food and wine options, chosen in partnership with the University of Gastronomic Sciences of Pollenzo in Italy. The university is a cooking school and home to cultural food center in Italy.
The seminars will cover a variety of topics including "The History of Pasta and its Shapes;" "Wines of the Sea," including wines of coastal areas and Mediterranean islands; "The Mediterranean's Extra Virgin Oils," showcasing oils from Spain as well as the Italian regions of Liguria, Tuscany, Campania and Sicily, Italy; and "Typical Desserts of the Mediterranean."
At Salerno, Italy, natives of the Amalfi Coast will come aboard to host a cooking demonstration for guests on how to prepare handmade fusilli. Those interested in a shoreside culinary experience can book a tour in Barcelona or Salerno to a carefully selected local restaurant.
The Mediterranean Food Festival is part of Costa Cruises' all-new neoCollection itineraries featuring "slow cruising," a new style of cruising with longer, leisurely itineraries and extended time in port. In addition to a more intimate and exclusive onboard atmosphere on its two smaller ships, Costa neoRiviera and Costa neoRomantica, Costa's neoCollection includes custom-developed small-group immersive shore excursions.
Cruise fares begin at $1,149 per person, double occupancy, for the 11-day voyages featuring the Mediterranean Food Festival.
For more information, visit www.costacruises.com.