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July 18, 2023

The first Club Cruise 2023, Costa Cruises‘ event cruise to discover Norway and the Lofoten Islands, onboard Costa Favolosa, ended a few days ago. A 15-day itinerary that enchanted guests with breathtaking views and stunning unspoiled nature, not to mention special activities and entertainment onboard.

Let’s see in detail what happened in the Cruising Journal story!

After a trip to Amsterdam, we arrived at the Costa Favolosa in IJmuiden, where our cruise began after a quick boarding procedure. The ship, decorated with ClubCruise2023 themed streamers, already gave the feeling that this was going to be a unique and special cruise.

Our itinerary between mythology, nature and adventure lasted 15 days and touched ports like Stavanger, Andalsnes, Molde, Trondheim, Bodo, Narvik, Lofoten, Maloy and Bremerhaven.

Once again, there was no shortage of special events and surprises for C|Club members.

A classic and always eagerly anticipated moment of the Club Cruise were the competitions among the members, which included dancing, cards and cooking. The special judge for the Mystery Box-style cooking competition was celebrity chef Bruno Barbieri, who personally tasted the dishes prepared by the 5 competing teams to determine the finalists. The chef then tried his hand at preparing a live dish by “getting in the game” himself. Barbieri was also the protagonist of a surprise: he became the barista of the Diamond Atrium Bar, preparing and serving coffee to all passengers. As for the card competition, the special guest was Roberto Viaggi of the Italian Bridge Federation, who, in addition to presiding over the Burraco competitions, gave real bridge lessons onboard, a game of logic and not luck that fascinated many people.

In terms of culinary experiences, Chef Angel Leon was also onboard to present a new creation. His cuisine is known to be constantly evolving, and this time he delighted us with a pizza with seafood burrata and plankton, and it was delicious! He also told his story and the story of his restaurant. Instead, the stars of the table were always the Destination Dish with new dishes from the three star chefs Angel Leon, Helene Darroze and Bruno Barbieri. A special menu created for this Club Cruise and served one evening in the main restaurants was unprecedented: an exquisite vegetarian menu curated by the chefs onboard.

Not to be missed were the meetings with Franco Alvisi, the onboard lecturer, who captivated us with his tales of mythology, Vikings, trolls, nature, whales and the midnight sun. Stories, tales, lots of trivia that fascinated us, but above all deepened our knowledge of the destinations we visited.

And we haven’t even mentioned the shows and parties!

In addition to the classic shows that took place every night in the theater with top acrobats, dancers and singers, there were no less than 4 shows never seen before on this Club Cruise. Singer Ruben Anthony, with Latin blood but known in Holland, set the Costa Favolosa Theater on fire with a show dedicated to the Dutch guests. Stage presence, rhythm, flow, suddenly the whole theater was on its feet dancing. The comedian Didou, known for his performances at the Jamel Comedy Club, was the protagonist of a show dedicated to the French guests, offering moments of fun and laughter that never ended! For the German guests, the illusionist Marco Bruser enchanted the theater with his magic tricks, leaving everyone speechless. Finally, “Dire Strato”, the Dire Straits tribute band, performed a full rock show.

As for the Party, in addition to the classic Revival, Silent Night, Rock Night and more, two exclusive “itinerary-themed” Party enlivened the Club Cruise. The first was the Viking Party, with ad hoc decorations and costumes to create a real Viking atmosphere, where after a show by the entertainment team and a dinner buffet, we hit the dance floor to theme music, ending with a late night DJ set. The second was the Midnight Sun Party, where the protagonist was the sun itself, which flooded the central pool with light and Nordic atmosphere. Ice sculptures, a rich dessert buffet (where even the banquet was made of ice), all-white outfits and lots of music made the evening unique, and you could see it in the smiles of the passengers!

Onboard, we also tried the culinary experiences offered by Costa Favolosa, namely a dinner at Sushino at Costa, where we tried both the all-you-can-eat formula and the aperitif. An evening at Archipelago, where you can enjoy one of the 3 menus created by the 3-star chefs, experiencing a culinary journey, in this case through Norway, with wine pairings for each course, in an elegant and very friendly environment. Good ice cream at Amarillo, the ice cream shop onboard. A pizza at the Pizzeria Pummid’oro, of unique quality! Dinner at Teppanyaki, where fun at the table is guaranteed, with a totally animated and engaging dinner. We also had the opportunity to dine at the Club Favolosa restaurant, in an intimate and elegant setting, with high quality express dishes.

In addition, we enjoyed the privileges reserved for C|Club members, highlights include a visit to the coveted Bridge Deck, which is definitely a unique thrill, where we were shown and explained all the mechanisms and operation of the equipment, and a full day at the sole sole mio spa, including sauna, tepidarium and jacuzzi, with an hour of relaxation with a relaxing massage.

A truly unique experience, with special activities both onboard and ashore (such as organized excursions to discover Norway), good food and lots of fun! We can already look forward to the next Club Cruise 2023, which will take place in September among the colors and flavors of Tunisia and Morocco, departing from Marseille, Barcelona, Savona and Civitavecchia from September 21 to 24.

For more information and to view all departures, visit Cruisetopic.com

Don’t miss more updates, news and reviews of Costa Cruises on Cruising Journal.

Giorgia Lombardo

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