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Costa partners with Ryder Cup plus launches Cruise & Golf packages

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The Cruise & Golf programme will offer golf enthusiasts the opportunity to play at clubs in Italy, France and Spain during port calls
Costa Cruises has been named Official Cruise Line of the 2023 Ryder Cup, and will launch a ‘Cruise & Golf’ programme in May that enables golf enthusiasts the opportunity to play at multiple clubs in the Western Mediterranean during port calls.

Cruise & Golf package

Bookings for the one-week Western Mediterranean cruises onboard Costa Smeralda open February 1, with the vessel calling Savona, Marseille, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Palermo and Civitavecchia/Rome.

Reservation for the Cruise & Golf programme is made by adding one of two golf packages to the booking – which include three or four ‘Green Fees,’ respectively – for access to some of the most popular golf clubs in the western Mediterranean.

In Italy, these include Marco Simone, the official home of the 2023 Ryder Cup, Golf Nazionale, the technical center of the Italian Golf Federation, Olgiata Golf, which has hosted the Italian Open several times, Acquasanta Golf, one of Italy’s oldest golf clubs and Golf Club Garlenda, surrounded by ancient olive groves and pine forests in the western Ligurian Riviera.

Clubs visited in Spain are Real Club de Golf El Prat, which has hosted the Spanish Open 10 times, the PGA de Catalunya, ranked number one among golf clubs in Spain and among the top four in Europe, the Son Gual, ranked one of the best golf clubs in Continental Europe, Alcanada, designed by Robert Trent Jones, with sea views, and Arabella Golf in Mallorca, which features courses Son Vida, Son Quint and Son Muntaner.

The Golf d'Aix Marseille, which hosts the most prestigious national tournaments, the Golf Bastide de la Salette, with spectacular views over the Garlaban mountain chain and Marseille, the Golf d'aix-en-Provence and the Golf Sainte Baume are clubs on the programme within France.  The Marco Simone, the PGA de Catalunya and Alcanada are available for an additional cost as an add on to the package booking.

Dedicated service

Dedicated transfers from the ship to the golf clubs and back are included, in addition to priority embarkation and disembarkation at the beginning and end of the cruise, customised transport and storage of golf equipment on board, and a welcome kit in the cabin.

In addition, there is a special offer dedicated to golf enthusiasts and those accompanying them to enjoy Costa Smeralda’s restaurants, including the Archipelago restaurant, offering menus created for Costa by three top chefs, Bruno Barbieri, Hélène Darroze and Ángel León, and to try a range of treatments and services in the Solemio onboard spa and beauty salon.

Excursions will take place, as scheduled, for non golfers. 

Ryder Cup

The Ryder Cup tournament, hosted in Italy for the first time at Rome’s Marco Simone Golf & Country Club, takes place from September 29 to October 1, 2023, with Costa Cruises its official cruise partner. Roberto Alberti, SVP & chief commercial officer, Costa Cruises, said: To achieve our goal of becoming the reference company in the world of golf, we have come up with a special initiative, never seen before. Our partnership with the Ryder Cup 2023, one of the most popular sporting events in the world, will allow us to reach all golf enthusiasts, while with our new Cruise & Golf formula, we will offer them and their families a holiday that combines the best of golf with the best of cruising.’

He went on to add: ‘Cruise & Golf will also help to promote the golf clubs of the countries visited and, more generally, represents an opportunity to foster local tourism, considering that six out of 10 passengers declare they want to return to the places visited during the cruise.’

Alberti’s comments were followed by Guy Kinnings, Ryder Cup director and deputy CEO of the European Tour group, who said: ‘The Ryder Cup is a full entertainment spectacle, so it felt like a natural fit to work with Costa Cruises to build out a fully rounded experience for their customers as the Ryder Cup heads to Italy for the first time.’