Costa Toscana Postcard #2 – Dubai & Embarkation

We had a great night’s sleep and were awake just before the 7:30 alarm, the bedding was amazing with some of the best pillows I have ever slept on.  Our package included breakfast which was a buffet system and we were able to enjoy this sat outside.

It was odd trying to associate where we were and with it being Christmas Eve.  We had a quick exploration of the hotel grounds before heading back to the room in preparation for checking out and getting our prearranged transfer to the cruise terminal.  Our car arrived bang on 10:00 and there was some initial confusion over whether it was the Marina Terminal or Port Rashid but after reassuring the driver we set off to the Marina Terminal.

The journey took 30 minutes and once again we found a practically deserted terminal, check in was super quick and we were onboard by 10:45.  First impressions were very positive, the ship is very big and there are some amazing spaces, in fact, today there were too many to take in all at once. 

The muster is split into two parts, the first involves watching a video and the second involved visiting your muster station wearing your life jacket, the latter at a designated time of 4:00pm.  Today we had lunch in the buffet (La Sagra Dei Sapori), after asking what vegan options were available, Nicole spoke with the supervisor who actually made a couple of special dishes for her. He explained that the buffet is not the best of places for vegans but if we ask for him in future, he will always get something made up special. How’s that for service! 

After lunch we made our way to our cabin to see if the luggage had arrived, it had so we unpacked. It’s not the biggest of cabins but it is very functional with lots of little innovative ideas. There are enough sockets to go around with 3 USBs too. It’s nice and bright with plenty of colours and the bathroom although compact is bright, airy and very well-designed space.

The side of the shower that backs onto the cabin has a glass panel which has a curtain cabin side. The glass is misted at torso height for a bit of privacy but it does provide so nice natural light in the bathroom.  After our muster part 2 we ventured up on deck to enjoy some sunshine and have a quick drink before coming back to the cabin for a shower followed by dinner. We had a choice of dining rooms and selected the smallest of the lot which is called Le Anfore, all of the restaurants carry the same menu and all look absolutely stunning despite the fact that there isn’t a tablecloth in any of them.  Our restaurant was very quiet which prompted me to ask our waiter if he knew how many people were onboard and he said that it is around 2300 so not even 40% full. 

We came back to the cabin at 10:00 to watch the drone show which although still incredible to see, wasn’t a patch on either of the two we saw here earlier in the year. I had totally forgotten how stunning the  Marina end of Dubai looks at night, what an incredible panorama.

We spent the remainder of the evening moving from venue to venue sizing up the best places to go. Our current favourite is the Colosseo which is the centre of the ship and a rework of the atrium, as the name would suggest it is a round venue but has all the equipment that the theatre does and we enjoyed two really good musical acts there last night.  We eventually returned to the cabin at 11:30 to watch the sailaway and I managed to fall asleep on the balcony. All I can say is what an amazing day, a Christmas Eve like nothing I have ever experienced before. All that remains for me to do in this post is to wish you all a very Happy Christmas.