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Costa Marina

Costa Marina
The Costa Marina is a Axel Johnson class cruise ship sailing under the Costa Cruises flag. Although she feels like a modern ship with large windows offering passengers wide open views of the surrounding area as the ship cruises past, passengers may be surprised to find she was originally built as a container ship called the MS Axel Johnson in 1969. In 1986, she was purchased with the intent to convert her into a cruise ship and called the MS Regent Sun. However, she was laid up and never sailed as a cruise ship under this name. A year later she was renamed to the MS Italia, but still remained laid up. Finally in 1988, Costa Cruises purchased the ship and renamed her the Costa Marina. Costa arranged for the ship to be rebuilt into a cruise ship in Genoa in Italy and she was finally able to sail with cruise passengers in 1990.

The Costa Marina had an extensive refit in 2002, to refresh and replace many of the more tired facilites. The ship in more recent times has been marketed to the German tourism business with

The Costa Marina decor and theme was based around blending indoors and outdoors through the use of artwork and furnishing. The ship has plenty of distinctive glass walls including a glass wall at the stern, practically as high as the ship itself. A mixture of light and water, displayed against these glass walls make the Costa Marina a fabulous sight to behold.

In recent years, some passengers have commented on the state of the ship and its age. Costa have announced that the Costa Marina will be leaving the fleet at the end of 2011 which will upset many return passengers. The ship will be replaced with new, more modern ships.

Ship Stats

Launched: 1969
Start of service: 1969
Decks: 9
Lifts: 6
Length: 174.3 m
Beam (width): 25.8 m
Tonnage: 25,500 GRT
Propulsion: 2 Propellers
Speed: 22 knots
Capacity: 760passengers
Crew and staff: 389
Registry: Genoa, Italy

Ship Features

3 restaurants
4 bars
Disco & casino
air-conditioned throughout
3 Jacuzzis, 2 pools
Wellness Centre with gym, treatment rooms, sauna
card room, library with internet access
Chapel
stabilised worldwide satellite telephone, telex and fax
Squok Club with PlayStation Entertainment & medical centre

Ship particulars

Food
Dining is available in several different ways. The Cristallo restuarant offers formal multiple course meals, whilst the stern buffet offers a more relaxed attomsphere, with various international food styles and types.. As a special alternative there is also the Laguna Club restuarant at a small charge. In the premium Laguna Club, passengers dine under a large glass dome and eat from fine china and crystal glasses whilst being treated to fine foods and wines.

Excercise

The Wellness Centre has a small but well appointed exercise facility with a number of machines to assist you in burning away the extra pounds obtained in the fine foods on board the Costa Marina. There is always the swimming pool and hydromassage pools or why not relax with a massage or another treatment or two..

Formal nights

The Costa Marina, as with all Costa ships do have formal evenings. On average it is roughly two over the seven days and three over 12 days. But this is dependent on other matters such as itinerary. Dress code varies, many of the passengers do attend and dress up, with a good mix of shirts vs dinner jackets. Staff have been known to ask people to change dress to attend the formal dining. Again avoidance by using another part of the ship is possible and the formal night is not compulsory.

Smoking

The Costa Marina allows smoking on the open decks, in cabins, including balconies, and in designated smoking areas in most public rooms