Costa Smeralda Summer 2026 and Vanchella Family News

 

I made a decision to book a last-minute cruise in June after I realized that we won't have the opportunity to travel together again as a family (Team Sierra!) for quite some time. There is a good reason and a bad reason for this. On the good side, Emily, having completed her very long training program, is beginning her career with Costa Cruises. On the bad side, John is facing some big medical procedures soon. More on both later. 

Since I was booking about two weeks out, and I did not want to deal with flights and hotels, I had just a few choices. There were two MSC cruises, one from Messina and one from Palermo. I do need to cruise with MSC again soon, because I have (finally!) reached Diamond level, and the status goes away after a certain period if one doesn't cruise again. There was also a Costa cruise out of Palermo. After considering the prices, room options, and itineraries, we decided to go with the Costa Smeralda cruise out of Palermo.

This was our itinerary. 

Costa Smeralda is the ship that Emily did her training on. She was on board every Thursday, when the ship was visiting Palermo. So, it was extra fun for her to return on board for her vacation. She even ran into some colleagues from her training period.

In reality, the ports were not terribly important, as we have been to several of these before. Our intent was to enjoy spending a relaxing time together. To that end, I booked a balcony cabin and the drinks package (primarily to not have to worry about water and coffee, but it was also nice to have cocktails or wine whenever we felt like it). I also made a reservation at the Teppanyaki specialty restaurant since it was a celebratory time, as well as Father's Day. Ibiza and Savona were new ports for us. Emily did a beach excursion at the former, and she and I had a walking explore around Savona. I also liked the idea of the extra activities that took place at sea. Although Marsielles was not new for me, it was for Emily. Since it was lavender season, we decided to do an excursion there.

Smeralda is considered a mega-ship, although she is not as big as some others in that category. She has a capacity of about 6,500 passengers. It rarely felt crowded. Our cruise was very enjoyable - great food, service, and accommodations. There was even a bar dedicated to Jazz, where we spent just about every evening enjoying music by a very talented band. We also had a great waiter (who was also usually our guy in the morning for coffee). Maybe he and Emily will be colleagues one day?!

Life on Board

We were fortunate that our balcony was almost always on the shady side! We got to spend a lot of time out there reading and watching the world sail by. Emily's birthday gift from me ... a t-shirt that perfectly blends her English and Sicilian heritage. Learn about Futtitinni here.

The cabins on Smeralda go with the modern trend of see-through showers! Fortunately, there was a curtain, unlike our hotel in Vienna. This was a cute towel animal I've never had before. I liked that there wasn't an animal every night. One night, our steward left us Italian candy; that was a fun treat.

Smeralda has a unique theatre set-up compared to other cruise ships. The Colosseo is a three-story open atrium right in the middle of the ship. On the downside, there are many seats that have a blocked view. On the plus side, you can always walk by and see what's happening, as well as watch rehearsals. I wonder how the performers feel about it? We watched one acrobatic show there. 

The jazz band performed one night in the Colosseo. It was very pretty, all lit up with candles. 

We all agreed that Smeralda is one of the cleanest ships we have ever sailed on. We all really liked the hand washing stations at the restaurants - it provides soap, water, and drying all in one! If only more people would use them. *sigh* One afternoon the English International Hostess gave a talk. I enjoyed learning about Costa's history, crew life, and other fun factoids. And, of course, it is always interesting to hear the stats about how much food is consumed. Speaking of food, a small selection of things we especially enjoyed ...

Ravioli made with pumpkin sauce. Emily tried the Poke restaurant. Something nice about Costa is that they offer several casual specialty spots where the prices are not outrageous. Emily's poke bowl was 8€. We also went one night to the kebab restaurant. I forgot to take piccies, I think it was around 24€. And, there is no additional service charge / tip. Very different from other cruise lines.

A yummy strawberry mouse dessert. Costa makes all of their mozzarella fresh on board. Delish!

Ricotta-filled zucchini and eggplant. I make this pesto / ravioli / arugula dish at home, but I never thought to throw a glob of stracciatella on top. Elevated! I'm going to do that next time I make it.

Our Teppanyaki meal was delicious, and it was entertaining with the funny chef. He had a lot of good songs. I would definitely do this again on a future Costa cruise.

Emily was on point with her outfit. The jacket is from a Japan festival that was in Palermo during her training period. Pretty!

Saluti! We leaned into the tradition of Italian aperitivo each day, as well as enjoying cocktails with Jazz and specialty coffees. John tried a shakerato for the first time. Emily sampled all 4 of the Costa-specific cocktails. 

Sunrises and Sunsets

There was a unique feature on board Smeralda that we took time to explore one afternoon. The ship has a mini-museum of Italian design. Fun! Here are some of the pieces ...

Che interessante!

Savona

Being a new port, and easy to explore without transportation, Emily and I decided to have a walkabout in Savona. 

There were a lot of beautiful boats here.

The Letimbro flows through Savona. Since the dock and port building is on one side, you have to cross a bridge to get into the city. As you might imagine, there is a lot of boat traffic. We got caught having to wait for the bridge both coming and going. The bridge was the type that opens to the side.

After crossing the bridge, we were on the hunt for ABC, Duomo di Savona, Cattedrale dell'Assunta (Savona Cathedral). This cathedral has a special element, its own Sistine Chapel!

We couldn't get a great shot of the exterior, as there were obstacles at every angle. This cathedral was built in the 1500s on the site of a former 13th century church, as well as a more ancient building dating back to the 9th century. It maintains some relics and artwork from the original church. 

Cathedral interior. There were some beautiful frescoes and a lovely organ, as well as many paintings. 

The courtyard was pleasant and peaceful.

The Sistine Chapel was commissioned by Pope Sixtus IV, who also commissioned the Sistine Chapel in Rome. 

Scenes from our walkabout. That tower / castle looking thing is the Coast Guard office. Cool workplace! Savona was very pleasant, and I would enjoy returning there.

This region of Italy is known for focaccia, so you know we had to try that for our snack. Top left is sweet with sugar and raisins, while top right is onion. Bottom is the traditional, with salt. Everyone's favorite was the onion. YUM!

Marsiglia / Provence

At the port of Marseilles, we boarded a bus for our Costa excursion to an area called Luberon, which is in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of France. This tour included a visit to Roussillon, which is famous for its ochre and a visit to a lavender farm and museum in Cabrières d'Avignon. Since there were not enough English speakers to run our own bus, we opted to go on the bus with the Italians and Germans. We did just fine, and our Costa Land Experience Expert onboard (Emily's future colleague) was able to communicate with us in English the couple of times we needed clarification. 

The bus ride was long, but we enjoyed the scenery. At our potty stop, we opted to grab a bag of French potato chips, to do a taste comparison. They were better than US chips, but not quite (pretty close) as good as Italian chips. 

This region was very beautiful. However, it was extremely hot (France was having a heatwave), so I opted to not take the included tour into the area of the ochre. I had a meander around the town, while Emily went with the group.

Charming. At the grocery store, I was able to pick up a bottle of my favourite white wine, since I was in the region from which it originates.

Wooded walking paths through former quarries. Emily was very orange and dusty after!

Our lunch stop was also in Roussillon. We opted for Croque monsieur and a lavender eclair. Yum!

Next, onward to the lavender. So beautiful!

We took a quick spin through the museum's display on the history of lavender growth and production. We wanted to spend more time just enjoying the grounds.

Lavender ice cream!

Ibiza

Since it was soooo hot upon our arrival around lunchtime, John and I decided not to do anything in Ibiza, even though it was a new port for us. However, Emily ventured out to a beach club (which is what one does in Ibiza apparently). John and I enjoyed our balcony and the ship's amenities.

The ship left Ibiza around six, but we stayed out in the water to watch the sunset ... and have an Ibiza party.

Special Events at Sea

Aside from the Ibiza Sunset Party, there were two other special events at sea. The first was the day we approached Marseilles. We were able to watch the sunrise over Calanques National Park. 

Calanques has beautiful shoreline, including white cliffs, reminiscent of Dover. As we sailed around, there was a pianist playing French songs. Unfortunately, for some user error, I lost all of my photos from this experience. WAH! 

The other experience was pausing at the Darkest Point in the Balaeric Sea. They turned off most of the ship lights. It wasn't really something I could capture in a photo, but it was cool to experience more darkness than typical and have a good view of the stars.

In all, it was a wonderful cruise and family vacation. Now onto family news for John and Emily. 

John

Unfortunately, the news I have to report for John is not good. Last November, a little over a year after his hip replacement, he developed a fistula at one of the scars from the surgery. Months later, another fistula developed. Since that time, we have been doing daily bandage changes, interspersed with doctor visits, taking antibiotics, and multiple hospital stays. During these stays, they cut open the incision, cleaned it out, and took a swab to test for infection. Each time the swab came back negative, but there was obviously an infection. 

John's fear was that his prosthetic had developed a biofilm, because this is the worst-case scenario, involving replacement of the prosthetic. In July, he visited an institute that specializes in this type of case, and the doctor confirmed that this is what has happened and that he will need the two-stage replacement surgery. If you want to learn more about biofilm, how it develops, and how it is treated, click here. 

John is currently waiting on a date for the first surgery, but his pre-hospitalization visit for labs, x-rays, and meeting with the anesthesiologist is set for 4 September. Fortunately, he is not in any pain and does not have fever. However, as you might expect, he is upset about having to go through this. If you want to check in on John, I ask that you message him directly. He is in the best position to answer questions about his health and status.

I doubt that you want to see photos of John's fistulas or infections, so I selected these photos. I recently got a new phone, and I'm very happy with the quality of the camera. Also, gelato helps ease the pain!

Emily

In contrast, and ending on a more positive note, Emily has great news. As you might be aware, since last December, she has been working on a training course to begin a career with Costa Cruises. The position she has trained for is called Land Experience Expert, which is a job that helps with shore excursions. It encompasses a lot of different responsibilities, but here is a little video that shows what work on a shore excursion day might look like. 

The training was pretty intense, especially for Emily, as 90% of the course was in Italian, including all of the module exams. The training took place in Palermo, so she had to live and function there during the week, also mostly in Italian, as well as learning the city, bus routes, and so many other things. It was a real immersion experience, and I am amazed at her Italian speaking abilities now, especially considering she also had to study French as part of the training course!

Basic safety training was the final part of the course. This is training required for anyone who works on ships; completion ends in a type of Seafarer's License. The course covered first aid, crowd management, and various types of hazards, but the two most interesting and intense topics were Salvataggio (life saving in water) and Antincendio (firefighting).

Here Emily and her colleagues are learning how to circle up as a defense against sharks. Yikes! 

The trainees had to learn how, then be tested on, to turn over a 16-person inflatable life raft while in the water.

Emily and her colleagues learning how to correctly throw a life ring. She did not have pictures of this, but they also had to dive into the water from the high diving board. Emily enjoyed the week spent in the pool, and her instructor even gave her a nickname - pesciolina (little fish). 

Arriving in the hills high above Palermo to tackle firefighting.

Learning how to use powder-based fire extinguishers. Another task, for which there isn't a photo, was to run under a burning gas pipe to turn off the valve. Double yikes!

Waiting outside the "smoke box," as Emily called it, in firefighting gear. She's at the right-hand end of the line, waving with red gloves. Inside the "smoke box," teams had to: use a CO2 extinguisher on a small fire inside the box; climb up a fire ladder onto the second level; navigate through the dark (imitating a smoky or poorly lit environment); and go through the fire door and come back down. Triple yikes!

Next time you go on a cruise, remember that all of the crew had to do this type of training, in addition to the training for their specific jobs. Impressive and should be appreciated by us passengers!

Training complete, Emily's work was still not finished. She had to go to the Coast Guard in order to have her certificates turned into the Seafarer's License. Then there were six different medical exams to be completed before being issued a medical certificate to work on the ship (all of these involved multiple train trips to various cities and dealing with bureaucracies). Phew! She really has been put through her paces.

Finally, she recently received her ship assignment and contract! As for all new employees, the contract is probationary. It will give Costa the chance to see if they like her and give her a chance to see if this is the career and life for her. Exciting times!

Emily's contract is on Costa Favalosa. She is scheduled to embark on 12 September from Hamburg, Germany. She lucked out with a great itinerary. She will start in Northern Europe, rotating trips in the Norwegian Fjords with trips around Scotland. Then she will be on the Transatlantic portion, ending in the Caribbean. 

John and I are super proud of Emily's efforts toward this - it was not easy - and I hope you'll join us in wishing her a successful first contract. We have a sailor!