Costa Crociere, which is part of Carnival Corp & plc group, says that bookings over the last two weeks for its Easter cruises in 2012 have exceeded figures recorded over the same period for its Easter cruises in 2011, demonstrating that cruising remains one of the most popular types of holiday this Easter.

 

Costa Cruises has five ships operating in the Mediterranean this Easter offering a variety of itineraries. Costa neoRomantica departed on a nine-day Western Mediterranean cruise on 31 March to Savona, Marseilles, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Cagliari, Malta, Catania and Naples, while Costa Mediterranea departs today, 4 April, on an 11-day cruise to Greece, Israel and Turkey, a route also operated by Costa Pacifica, leaving on 8 April. On 6 April, Costa Deliziosa sets sail on a five-day mini-cruise to Savona, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca and Ajaccio, while Costa Serena embarks on a one-week Western Mediterranean itinerary on 8 April visiting Savona, Civitavecchia, Palermo, Palma de Mallorca, Valencia and Marseilles.

 

Among the most popular new cruises in the Mediterranean this season are the mini-cruises of Costa Luminosa, Costa Atlantica and Costa Deliziosa, introduced for spring 2012 and especially suited to first time cruisers and people with a limited time frame who want to make the most of their holiday.

 

For those wishing to venture further afield to more exotic destinations this Easter, there are also one week cruises to the Caribbean on Costa Atlantica and Costa Luminosa, one week cruises to the United Arab Emirates and Oman departing from Dubai on the flagship Costa Favolosa, and two weeks on Costa Classica to Malaysia and Thailand, departing from Singapore.