Costa Cruises Presents the Perfect Getaway for Chocoholics

No matter how travelers like their chocolate – white, light, or dark – Costa Cruises is offering the perfect sailing to explore all things decadently delicious: ChocoCruise. Setting Sail in November 2023 aboard Costa Toscana, the themed cruise is entirely dedicated to chocolate and will feature five master pastry chefs to offer workshops, lectures, and of course, signature chocolate treats to enjoy.

Costa Cruises to Offer Chocolate-Themed Cruise

Costa Cruises (part of the Carnival corporation family) has partnered with Belgian-Swiss chocolate manufacturer Barry Callebaut to offer an amazing voyage every chocolate lover will drool over: ChocoCruise – Explore the World of Chocolate.

This richly themed voyage will set sail aboard Costa Cruises’ flagship, Costa Toscana, on November 17, 2023 for seven of the most delicious nights in the Mediterranean.

From breakfast to dinner and every treat in between, guests will be sailing on waves of chocolate with both savory and sweet dishes, cooking demonstrations, chocolate workshops, and more as they visit top culinary destinations during the 7-night sailing.

The sailing departs from Genoa, Italy and will visit Marseille, France; Barcelona, Spain; Cagliari, Sardinia; and both Naples and Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy before arriving back in Genoa on November 24, 2023.

Master Pastry Chefs Onboard

Onboard as special presenters for ChocoCruise will be five world-renowned, award-winning pastry chefs from five different countries, each bringing their own insights to chocolate and associated pastry techniques for guests to discover.

The five pastry masters for ChocoCruise 2023 are Alberto Simionato (Italy), Joël Perriard (Switzerland), Philippe Bertrand (France), Ramon Morató (Spain), and Alexandre Bourdeaux (Belgium). Each pastry chef will share a signature chocolate dish, showcasing their own chocolate influences and techniques.

Alberto Simionato, for example, share dishes with both bakery and ice cream influences, while Philippe Bertrand offers creative decadence with a passion for perfection and global influences with inspirational trends. Ramon Morató delves into innovative desserts and brings teaching expertise to help others develop their flair for chocolate.

Joël Perriard has worked worldwide leading confectionary circles, and Alexandre Bourdeaux brings a lifetime of baking experience combined with extensive traveling to his chocolate recipes.

Each of the master pastry chefs has years of expert experience working in different restaurants, authoring cookbooks, presenting workshops, and more, all of which helps to elevate their own chocolate expertise.

Read Also: How to Make Carnival Cruise Line’s Melting Chocolate Cake

Also on board ChocoCruise will be Riccardo Bellaera, Costa Cruise Line’s Corporate Pastry & Bakery Chef. Since 2012, Bellaera has crafted unique pastries for all Costa ships, balancing crispness, sweetness, and acidity in his award-winning creations.

In 2022 and 2023, Bellaera won the “Different Visions Great Ideas” award at Sigep in Rimini, the International Exhibition of Ice Cream, Pastry, and Bakery.

Even beverages will offer chocolate flair on this sailing, with two Italian master bartenders presenting unique chocolate cocktails in partnership with Bacardi.

Beyond Chocolate on Costa Toscana

Guests may be immersed in chocolate during ChocoCruise, but the 185,010-gross ton Costa Toscana offers much more than just delicious desserts. The LNG-powered ship debuted in 2021, and features 11 restaurants and 19 bars and lounges for guests to enjoy a wide variety of culinary creations.

Also onboard are 13 pools and hot tubs, the Splash Aqua Park, the Solemio beauty spa and salon, and much more.

Costa Toscana offers a varied schedule of Mediterranean and Arabian Peninsula sailings. In late November, the ship will reposition to Dubai and Abu Dhabi for exclusively Arabian itineraries, before returning to the Mediterranean in March 2024.