Travel themes have become a popular trend in recent years from guided tours, to hotels, to cruises. And travel companies are coming up with more innovative ways to draw in customers.
They want to provide the dream vacation, with every desire met and every luxury available.
So it may come as no surprise that one cruise line has a very unique cruise coming up. One that may be the way to a woman’s heart – and the way out of the doghouse for the man in her life.
Can’t live with ‘em, can’t live without ‘em.
As a woman, I’ll be the first to admit this about my gender: We are unpredictable.
We want our boyfriends or husbands to empathize with our feelings and read our minds. And we definitely don’t want to have to ask you to do something that obviously needs to be done.
Then there are the hormones, the fatigue, the stress of balancing work and family – all during an era where we’re supposed to do it all perfectly without being a total witch.
It’s not easy and we’re not always nice to be around. We’ll tell you nothing’s wrong because you’re supposed to know! And when we say, “Fine, whatever,”…run for your life!
But now there’s a surefire way to get back into our good graces for whatever sin you’ve recently committed.
Yes, flowers are nice… maybe a bottle of wine and a bubble bath (while you watch the kids!), but what we really love is chocolate.
And it doesn’t have to be anything fancy. Sometimes my hubby will notice my terrible mood and toss a Hershey bar in my direction before he runs the other way. It usually does the trick.
But it’s nothing compared to what awaits on Costa Cruises’ new themed Mediterranean getaway.
Set sail for relationship bliss…
Well, at least temporary bliss for the duration of this dream cruise. We’re not responsible for your actions, gentlemen, once you get home.
This eight-day cruise is all about the luxury of chocolate and its importance to our happiness on this planet.
The themed voyage is the first of its kind, a collaboration between the Italian cruise line and the team behind the Eurochocolate Festival – an international chocolate-lovers extravaganza that takes place annually in Perugia, Italy.
The maiden voyage on the Costa Pacifica sets sail from Civitavecchia, Italy on April 16th, 2020, and includes stops in Genoa, Barcelona, Malta, and other stunning ports of call – all of which have planned chocolate-themed activities in conjunction with the cruise.
Perugia itself is a little bit like Italy’s version of Hershey, Pennsylvania. It’s home to famous little hazelnut chocolates called Baci with little love notes inside each piece, kind of like our Hershey’s Kisses.
While in Perugia, guests can tour the Chocolate House and Historical Museum, which recounts the region’s chocolate history.
If that’s not enough, there’s the Hotel Etruscan Chocohotel, with rooms decorated in every shade of chocolate-brown yumminess, a chocolate-themed menu, and chocolate tastings. And that’s just one city on this fantasy journey.
In Barcelona, guests can visit the city’s own chocolate museum, the Museu de la Xocolata.
This museum examines the origins of chocolate – from pre-Columbian cultures to Christopher Columbus’ first encounter with the famous bean, to its evolution into an “element located between a legend and reality.”
That’s the best description of chocolate I’ve heard yet.
Just want to stay on board?
No need to even leave the ship. You can visit beautiful Italian cathedrals and Mediterranean villas another time. And who needs those crowds? You’re here for the chocolate, remember?
There are several scheduled presentations by chocolate experts – lectures on its history, cooking demonstrations (you can use chocolate for anything!!), pastry classes, and learning how to make your own chocolate treats.
Master chocolatiers will be aboard ship to create spectacular desserts and teach you about proper chocolate and wine pairings (could this get any better?), whip up a “chocolate-infused dining experience,” and even craft specialty chocolate cocktails (ok, even better).
There will be chocolate sculptures, chocolate fountains, and of course, chocolates on your pillow. And plenty of information on the 2020 Eurochocolate Festival in case you want to go back.
This cruise is the perfect gift for the lady in your life for Valentine’s Day, your anniversary (which you would never forget), or just because you’ve been a jerk this year and need to redeem yourself.
So I’ll see you there, and I’ll buy your wife a chocolate cocktail while we commiserate about how men just don’t understand us.
Chocolate, here we come!
