At the opening session of the Seatrade Middle East Cruise Convention in Dubai, the biggest event of the year for cruise operators in the Middle East, the President of Costa Cruises Gianni Onorato confirmed further consolidation in the region for the largest Italian travel group and Europe’s no.1 cruise company.

Next winter Costa Cruises will be reinforcing its presence in the UAE - a cruise destination offered by Costa for the first time in the world back in 2006 - with a great debut: the deployment in the region, for the first time, of the Costa Favolosa (114,500 gross tonnage and 3,800 total Guests), the latest flagship of the Italian-flagged Costa fleet, built by Fincantieri at its Marghera yard and named in Trieste on July 2 this year.

“The Costa Favolosa will be the largest and most advanced ship ever deployed in the region,” announced Costa Cruises President Gianni Onorato. “She will offer our Guests the truly unique opportunity to visit the most intriguing destinations in the UAE and Oman on board an Italian cruise ship providing superb comfort, exclusive services and state-of-the-art hi-tech entertainment: suites and cabins with private balconies, the Samsara Spa, spacious lidos, plus golf and Grand Prix simulators. There’ll be fun for all the family with the Favolosa’s Aqua Park water playground, 4D cinema and PlayStation World.”

Thanks to the positioning of the Costa Favolosa, Costa will make 58 port calls in the UAE in winter 2011/12 and expects to clock up approximately 233,000 passenger movements. From December 16, 2011 through April 6, 2012, the Costa Favolosa will be sailing in the exotic seas of the Arabian Gulf on 7-night cruises with 2 days in Dubai, one-day stopovers in Muscat (Oman), Fujairah (UAE), Abu Dhabi (UAE) and Khasab (Oman) and ending with a further overnight stay in Dubai.

This “Jewels of the Emirates” cruise with an itinerary reminiscent of A Thousand and One Nights offers a tantalizing mix of past and future, unspoiled oases and stunning futuristic architecture, dune surfing, mosques and skyscrapers. This year’s route features the additional port call of Khasab (Oman), which boasts towering cliffs and deep blue water.