The Caribbean in the Italian Style

The pretty girl in the white sun dress leans against the ship’s rail, toying with a red carnation. It seems to be sunset in the photograph, and, not far away from her, his back to the camera, is an Italian officer in white uniform and epaulets, looking at her. From this angle, he looks like Rossano Brazzi.

The ad copy tells us, in the style of a romance novel: “She spoke no Italian. His English amused her . . . And when they parted . . . jasmine rode the wind. They had cruised Italian-style. She for the first time. He for the thousandth. And neither would ever be the same.”

That’s enough to make any warm-blooded female run out and sign up for “Cruising Italian Style.” While we didn’t observe, at least firsthand, any jasmine riding the wind, there was a fair amount of action after midnight on the new CostaRiviera in the Caribbean.

From Togas to Tenors

Costa Cruises has pulled out all the stops on this one, from a Nero and Messalina look-alike contest on Roman toga night to a rotund Neapolitan tenor singing your favorite Italian songs by request nightly beside your dining table.

How do the passengers respond? Nearly half of them tied on their bed sheets for the Roman Bacchanal evening; the whole dining room joined the tenor on the chorus of “Funiculi Funicula” while twirling their dinner napkins over their heads.

Don’t make the mistake of confusing the CostaRiviera with the party-time swinging single ships, because there’s more substance and quality here than that.

The ship is, in effect, brand-new, $38 million worth of renovation and refurbishing from the hull up on the ex-Marconi (late of the Italian Line). The ship was launched in 1963 and spent the last five years laid up in Genoa after a disastrous last season cruising out of New York to the Caribbean. A gleaming white hull and bright blue-and-yellow smokestack sets the theme for the linens, dishes and deck towels used on board. (The latter are so popular that some 250 of them are stolen every week, so don’t be surprised if you find plain towels by the time you get on.)

New Furnishings

All the bathrooms, plumbing and electrical wiring are new, along with cabin furnishings and even cabin configurations. Public rooms have been extended fore and aft, providing larger showrooms and increased deck space above. A new swimming pool and, one deck above, three Jacuzzis are popular gathering spots; a fully equipped gym and indoor and outdoor exercise classes were rarely crowded. The sauna, oddly enough, carries a small surcharge and requires reservations.

The most expensive cabins are on the all-new Amalfi deck above the public rooms, but unless you have your heart set on a double bed (available only in category 14 for $1,595 or $1,645 per person, double occupancy, depending on season), you’d be better off to move down a couple of decks to categories 9, 10 or 11 for $1,345 to $1,475. The deluxe outside cabins on Amalfi deck often have obstructed views, and you end up looking at a lifeboat instead of the sea and sky.

Except in the lowest-priced categories (from $965) where there are upper and lower berths, you’ll find the cabins spacious and comfortable enough. The decor in all the cabins is in low-key pastels of blue, rose and cream; closet and drawer space is adequate for a seven-day cruise.

The modular bathrooms are all identical, with good mirror and makeup light, a curved curtained shower area and a high step-up from the bedroom. Because of the latter, and of the great number of stairsteps and broken levels throughout the ship, it would not be easily accessible to wheelchair-bound passengers, even though the company has made some effort in that direction by installing ramps over some raised thresholds in the public areas.

Special Touches

Some charming Italian touches on board: a pizzeria serving custom-made pizzas in the afternoon and late evening; a gelati cart parked in the Via Veneto shopping promenade with half a dozen fresh fruit flavors made on board; espresso and cappuccino available in the dining room and bars; such appetizers as prosciutto and melon, crisp fried calamari or fresh tomatoes and mozzarella served at table while you peruse the menu; live music nightly at dinner.

And a few shortcomings: flat, overly bright lighting in the otherwise appealing Grand Prix Bar; slow and sometimes confused bar service from the pretty Austrian and Swiss waitresses; deck areas that get littered because there’s too little picking up after untidy passengers; a noisy cafeteria and too little Italian-style magic in the La Dolce Vita lunchtime buffet.

The casino is big and busy, with more than 100 slots, six blackjack tables, two roulette wheels, a craps table and a baccarat table. The large, comfortable Riviera Lounge converts to a disco late at night, and may be still going strong at 4 a.m. The daily schedule is jampacked night and day with things to do, at least three activities an hour all day at sea.

CostaRiviera entertainment is better than Caribbean-average, supplemented by a main orchestra or Czech musicians and a poolside steel band quartet that plays through the midday and on balmy evenings when midnight buffets turn out to be deck barbecues.

The ship’s ports of call are St. Thomas on Tuesdays, St. Croix on Wednesdays and Nassau on Fridays. Ship buffs will enjoy having three full days at sea on this one-week cruise, with plenty of time to check out the five shops on board (Gucci items, French perfumes, Italian-made sportswear, watches and cameras) for duty-free merchandise.

CostaRiviera is Italian registry, and made its debut in December, 1985. It sails year-round from Port Everglades, Fla., every Saturday, and the cruise price of $965 to $1,645 per person, double occupancy, includes round-trip air fare from more than 100 gateway cities. Lower category inside singles are $1,290 and $1,340, depending on season, and outside singles $1,450 and $1,500. Third and fourth persons can share a cabin with two full-fare passengers for only $495 (adults) and $295 (under 12) plus air fare.