Europe has had a bad summer, what with the heat, then the floods and (what do you get when you put those two together?) the humidity. But October and November will be much cooler, with winds coming down from the Alps and through the Balkans to set things right. It's a good time for a cruise, especially on Costa, the Italian line with Italian cuisine and entertainment. Some trips start as low as $729 (cruise only, no airfare).
That fare is for a seven-night Western Mediterranean and, as all prices below, is per person sharing a double cabin. A 10-night journey to the Canary Islands on the Costa Allegra starts at $999. There is a Greece cruise of seven nights on the Costa Atlantica beginning at $829, and one to Spain and Portugal on the Costa Romantica for eight nights from $1,029. The latter includes port calls at Barcelona, Alicante, Gibraltar, Lisbon, Cadiz and Malaga.
Depending on the cruise category, departure date and ship, a Costa cruise might even call at fabled Dubrovnik, the walled city on the Adriatic, or sleepy Corfu, once home to vacationing royalty from all over Europe, just down the coast a bit.
Outside the Mediterranean, Costa has seven-night Eastern & Western Caribbean cruises on the Costa Atlantica starting from just $549, a Southern Caribbean & Panama journey on the Costa Victoria of 10 nights from only $849.
The prices are for minimum grade cabins on selected ships and sailings. Other categories slightly higher, they say. For all cruises, air add-ons are available from most gateways. Certain restrictions apply and the number of cabins is limited. On the Caribbean and Canary Islands sailing, government taxes will be additional.
For more information and to make bookings, contact Costa Cruises at 800/33 COSTA or look at their Web site, www.costacruises.com.