Costa Smeralda, Costa Toscana and Costa Firenze: Ship Guide

Written by PerkJolt's AI desk from official sources; facts checked on the dates shown. We may earn a commission from links; it never changes what we recommend.

At a glance

• Who this covers: Costa Smeralda and Costa Toscana (Costa's two LNG-powered sister ships) and Costa Firenze, which is a different ship type and not an LNG ship.
• Smeralda's size on paper: Deck plan runs Deck 4 through Deck 19 plus a Sun Deck; the sky bridge Passeggiata Volare is the highest point at 213.3 feet.
• Style: Interiors by Adam D. Tihany with Italian partner architects; Toscana carries a Tuscany theme in its names for decks and public areas.
• Where they sail: The 2025-2026 itinerary pages for both LNG ships cover the Mediterranean and the United Arab Emirates, as of 2026-10-21; confirm current routes on the Costa itinerary pages.
• Booking add-ons: Costa's MyCosta page offers beverage packages, Wi-Fi and excursions in advance.
• Cabin range: Inside, Ocean View, Balcony, Terrace by the Sea and Suites on Smeralda, with queen beds in every category.
• Paying: Cruises are paid through card travel portals or card cruise credits, not by transferring points to the cruise line.
• Best for: Couples and families who want an Italian-flavoured big ship rather than a quiet boutique one.

Why these ships are worth a closer look

Most cruise ship guides treat a ship as a hotel with a pool. These ships are better understood as a short list of places you will want to be at the right moment: the bow piazza in the evening, the main theatre before a show fills, the quieter bars when the buffet is loud. Smeralda is the first of Costa's two LNG-powered ships, and its public rooms are built around Italian city names rather than generic deck labels. Toscana follows the same design idea, with Tihany drawing on Tuscany for ship, deck and room names.

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That naming matters in practice. When the daily programme says to meet at Trastevere or the Sanremo Theatre, you want to know in advance that Trastevere is the piazza at the bow and Sanremo is the theatre that hosts events and shows. Knowing the map before you board means your first afternoon goes to unpacking and eating, not circling a deck looking for the right stairwell.

Three free highlights worth doing early

1. Walk the piazzas and the promenade. Smeralda lists Trastevere (the piazza at the bow), Piazza di Spagna, and a Promenade and Riviera Lungomare among its public areas. Walk them on embarkation afternoon while the ship is calm; they are the quickest way to learn the layout. Whether any given area is free to enter is something to confirm in the daily programme.

2. Find the design museum. Costa describes CoDe, the Costa Design Museum, as the first museum of its kind on a cruise ship. It is a public area rather than a paid venue in Costa's description, but confirm any charge or opening hours in the onboard programme.

3. Ride up to the sky bridge. The Passeggiata Volare is the ship's highest point at 213.3 feet. Go in daylight for the view and again at sail-away if the weather allows; wind rules can close open decks, so treat it as a bonus.

The five decisions that shape your week

Which ship. Smeralda and Toscana are sisters, so what you learn about one transfers to the other, though Toscana's room and area names follow a Tuscan theme. Firenze is a sister of Costa Venezia, and Costa's own brochure said it was designed for the Chinese market and sails in the Far East, as of that December 2020 document. Check where each ship is sailing in your travel window before you pick.

Which cabin. Smeralda offers Inside, Ocean View, Balcony, Terrace by the Sea and Suite categories, and every category has queen beds. The brochure also notes that Classic Taormina loggia balcony doors can be closed by the crew in bad weather, which is worth knowing if you plan to sit outside in shoulder season.

Which restaurants. Smeralda's named venues include a Teppanyaki restaurant, Pummid'Oro Pizzeria, Tutti a Tavola (the family restaurant) and a buffet called La Sagra dei Sapori. Ask at the Guest Service desk or in the Costa app which ones are included and which carry a cover charge, because that changes by sailing.

Which extras. MyCosta lets you buy beverage packages, Wi-Fi and excursions ahead of time. Costa's My Drinks page says the packages let you order any drink you like through the holiday, but it does not list prices or rules on that page, so read the full terms before buying.

How to pay. Use a card travel portal or a card cruise credit if you have one. Do not plan on transferring points to the cruise line; Costa is not on the transfer chart.

What to do on day one

1. Open the Costa app and check what can still be reserved.
2. Walk the ship once, bow to stern, with the deck plan on your phone.
3. Book any specialty dinner and spa time before the evening rush.
4. Mark your muster point and your cabin's nearest stairwell.
5. Set a gentle plan for the first sea day.

Who should skip this

If you want a small ship with few crowds and a quiet sea day, a ship with 16 food areas and 19 bars is the opposite of that. The brochure's counts are marketing numbers, so confirm what is open on your sailing, but the scale is clear: this is a big, busy, Italian-themed resort.

Cost snapshot

Costa's older US brochure for Smeralda quoted per-person inside-cabin fares and port charges of $80.52 per person; those figures belong to 2019-2021 sailings and are not current prices. For your sailing, fill in the cost sheet in the full guide with current numbers from Costa's own booking pages.

Next step

The full guide walks deck by deck, tells you which cabins to avoid, what to reserve first, how the points side works for a cruise, and gives you a cost sheet and a printable checklist.

This is the free lite guide. The full day-by-day guide, with maps, photo stops, rain plans and the points playbook, is part of PerkJolt All-Access.

Good to know before you go

We checked Costa's own pages on 2026-10-21. Package prices, gratuities, itineraries and port calls move often, so confirm them on costacruises.com or in the Costa app and your booking before you sail. Where a number is not stamped, treat it as a rough guide, not a quote.

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