A trip to make the heart sing
Savour a lovely Med voyage and opera festival at an unbelievable price
IF it’s Italy, it must be the opera. Combine it with a cruise and you’ve got a magical experience like no other. Do it at a price that seems unreal and you’ll be singing yourself. Cruise Nation, the leading cruise package creator, has come up with a chorus of seven-night cruises from Venice which combine with a three-night stay in the romantic city of Verona and tickets to the opera from only £649pp including flights. Mamma Mia!
Whether you regard yourself an opera fan or not the event is an unmissable, extravagant spectacle at the Verona Arena, a Roman masterpiece of an amphitheatre and the biggest open-air theatre in the world.
What’s more, many of the cruises have a Latin edge themselves, Italian-themed offerings from Costa and MSC.
And then there’s one departure (July 19) where the opera tickets are for a gala evening with the great Plácido Domingo.
On other evenings, masterpieces you could find yourself humming along to include Madame Butterfly, Tosca, Aida and Rigoletto.
It’s a fabulous way to enjoy the sultry summer in the southern Med. The bulk of the Costa cruises visit the Italian city of Trieste, the Greek island of Mykonos, tiny Katakolon on the Greek mainland (where you can relax on the little beach or join the crowds for a tour to Mount Olympus), Corfu and the beautiful walled Croatian city of Dubrovnik.
An alternate itinerary visits the fabulous Greek isle of Santorini with its clifftop town and the sun-drenched Italian city of Bari along with Mykonos, Dubrovnik and Crete.
Costa Luminosa is big and with a jolly, bustling feel.
The food is splendidly Italian – but think small interim pasta dishes in the sophisticated main restaurants rather than big plates of spag bol, while the alwaysavailable pizza, simple and to the point, is a favourite of all ages.
THE pair of MSC cruises follow different routes, one featuring Kotor in Montenegro, a fabulous old town on an inland fjord accessible only by a twisting waterway, and Athens’ port Piraeus, itself with picturesque marina and tiny beach while the city with its iconic Acropolis is only a short ride on quaint electric train.
Other opera cruises include the July 1 sailing on Cunard’s grand Queen Victoria. The voyage from Civitavecchia, near Rome, to Venice, starts at £899.
And a Venice six-night round-trip on Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Star, departing July 14, from £949, with free premium drinks package, offers a lively, activity-packed cruise that provides a rich contrast to Verona.
Verona, a short drive from Venice, is suitably romantic destination in itself, a charming spot for combining with a cruise. Highlights include Juliet’s House, supposed location of the balcony love scene from Shakespeare’s Romeo And Juliet, and the Renaissance cathedral. INFORMATION: 0800 408 0757/cruisenation. com