Türkiye'nin İlk ve Tek Cruise Temalı Seyahat Dergisi

Visit the Aegean Coasts departing from Istanbul, Izmir and Kusadasi with Costa Venezia

While the floating Venice Costa Venezia is sailing in the Turkish coasts, we talked about this magical experience with Costa Turkey Country Marketing Manager Ercan Abitağaoğlu

1. What do you think about the fact that cruise ships have added Turkish ports to their routes after a long hiatus?

The contribution of the fact that cruise ships come to Turkish ports, and even Istanbul port to the country's economy is innumerable. In addition to the fact that thousands of people come to our country and visit our cities every week with our Costa Venezia ship, Istanbul hosts many cruise guests in this sense, as it is the embarkation point for thousands of our European and American guests. While a special plane and cruise package is being prepared for Costa Venezia in cooperation with Turkish Airlines (THY), tourists arriving in Istanbul from all European countries, including Italy, with THY's scheduled flights will board Costa Venezia from Galataport.

2. Will your tours beginning from İstanbul continue throughout the season?

As Costa Group, we are a long-term investor in Turkey. We plan to further increase our operations with new ships and tours in the coming years. We have 4 different routes beginning from İstanbul.

On the first route that will unite Turkey and Greece in a single trip, the trip will end in Istanbul after Mykonos Island and Athens, with the opportunity to explore Izmir and Bodrum after a 2-day overnight stay in Istanbul. On the second route, which will visit the extraordinary centers of Greece as well as Turkey, Costa Venezia will stop by Kuşadası after an overnight stay in Istanbul, and will complete its journey with Rhodes and Heraklion. With the combination of these two routes, our guests can combine Turkey and Greece with a unique 15-day route.

In the winter of 2022-2023, Costa Venezia will travel to Turkey, Egypt and Israel, and will make a 12-day trip covering Bodrum, Haifa, Alexandria and Kusadasi after Istanbul.

3. Can guests only board from Istanbul?

İzmir and Kuşadası boarding is also available for the same programs. While Costa Venezia embarks passengers from Istanbul every Sunday, it will receive passengers from Izmir and Kusadasi every Tuesday. Guests boarding in İzmir will get off at Kuşadası a week later on Tuesday, while guests boarding from Kuşadası will be able to disembark in İzmir in the same way.

4. Costa Venezia became the first large-scale cruise ship to dock at Turkish ports. Can you talk a little bit about the ship?

Costa Venezia is a ship in Venice concept, we call it 'Floating Venice'. We bring floating Italy, floating Venice to holiday lovers in Turkey. Costa Venezia is 323 meters long, 65 meters high and has a total capacity of 5260 passengers. That means it's actually a floating town. I'm sure there are towns in Anatolia that are much smaller than this population. You would appreciate that it is very normal for her attract attention in this sense.

All kinds of holiday opportunities you find in a luxury hotel are available on this ship. The difference is that it is a floating hotel. We offer you the opportunity to taste the special menus of 3 different Michelin-starred chefs. All kinds of dishes are available to suit your palate. There is also an aqua park with 3 slides inside the ship. A dream ship where you will feel yourself in Venice, from shopping stores to cafes.

5. You mentioned that Costa Venezia programs attract a lot of attention. Could you briefly explain the reasons for this?

An operation that came seven years later, we can say that after seven years, Turkish guests will be able to board the ship from Istanbul Galataport, the center of Turkey, in front of their homes, and they will have the cruise holiday they missed again. We should count this as the main reason. Apart from that, we started to take passengers in two different ports of Turkey. İzmir and Kuşadası ports are another preferred boarding point for Turkish passengers. Besides, the possibilities offered by our ship to our guests are endless. A new ship built in 2019. With a total of 13 restaurants and 7 bars, it has a concept that appeals to every taste and understanding of entertainment. When we looked at the route of our ship, we combined the most beautiful Turkish and Greek ports. It is possible to go to the most popular holiday destinations preferred in the country for sea holidays on this tour, and also the guests continue their holiday by going to Greece. Here, it is useful to mention the biggest advantage of the cruise holiday. While visiting many countries and cities, guests don't need to pack any luggage or make any travel plans when traveling from one country to another. While the guests are enjoying their cruise vacation, we are taking them from one port to another.