Arabian Daze - 4

The first part of this series is HERE. 

Our second day in Dubai would be spent on the ship, which was scheduled to depart the port at 10 AM. I was eager to start my favorite part of the day -- breakfast -- after which, my friend and I agreed we would explore the ship. Enjoy the photos!

The best part of cruising is the big breakfast...all you can eat...lots of selection. Yum!

My breakfast: 

My second breakfast (laugh): 

What can I say? Breakfast is my favorite time of the day. ^_^

Immediately outside the breakfast area, on Deck 9, were the swimming pools and large deck area:

View from the ship, looking at Dubai city. Burj Khalifa is the tall, narrow building in the center:

Costa's colors are blue and yellow, which was the theme for all the pool areas. Here are famous blue & yellow hot tubs, with a pool below:

Costa Fortuna's large deck, spread out over Decks 9 ~ 12: 

The coolest feature of this ship was the water slide. Open during certain times, the kids on the ship seemed to really enjoy it!

My friend really liked these classic wooden benches on board. Inside, were life vests: 

I look very happy in this photo because I had just eaten two breakfasts. Woo!

I love cruising!

Those on board with small kids or toddlers would have enjoyed this special play area. I liked the two-tier wading pool. The whole area was fenced off and had cushion flooring so no one got hurt if they fell down. In the back, you can see a small playground area with a treehouse and slide.

One thing I liked about the Costa Fortuna, was the abundant art all through the ship. Here are some:

Kangaroo:

Koala:

My friend wondered: why the Australian theme?? 

A Native American: 

Elevator doors inside the ship:

Tennis:

 We explored the inner areas of the ship's many decks, so check back again to see more of the Costa Fortuna.


~ Information ~ 

Costa Fortuna sails in the Middle East from January to March. Most cruisers we met were similar to us: well traveled, thus wanting something exotic and very different (hence, the Middle East). We saw all ages of passengers but the majority were in their fifties to sixties. Nationalities were mainly German, British, French and Italian. There were two groups from Asia: China and Japan. My Japanese friend was the only Japanese onboard not with a package tour group. (laugh) 

Costa Fortuna's website is HERE. This 8 day cruise with an inside cabin cost $515 (port taxes not incl) per person. We booked one month before departure.

A similar cruise with Costa, through the Middle East from Dubai, is HERE. (departs January, 2015)

The cruise port terminal in Dubai is called Port Rashid. By taxi from the airport (terminal 3) will cost about 60 DHM. (=$16.35). Travel time is 15 ~ 20 minutes.