Cruise vacations remain one of the most popular types of holiday this Easter.  In the last two weeks Costa Cruises has recorded booking volumes for its 2012 Easter cruises exceeding the corresponding figures for its Easter cruises in 2011.

The company has  ive ships operating in the Mediterranean for this Easter:  the Costa neoRomantica, departed March 31 on a 9-day Western Mediterranean cruise (Savona, Marseilles, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Cagliari, Malta, Catania, Naples); the Costa Deliziosa sailing on April 6 on a 5-day mini-cruise (Savona, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Ajaccio, Savona); the Costa Serena, leaving on April 8 on a one week Western Mediterranean itinerary (Savona, Civitavecchia, Palermo, Palma de Mallorca, Valencia, Marseilles); the Costa Pacifica, with departure on April 8, and the Costa Mediterranea, with departure on April 4,  on an 11-day cruise to Greece, Israel and Turkey.

Among the most popular recent innovations this season in the Mediterranean are the mini-cruises of Costa Luminosa, Costa Atlantica and Costa Deliziosa, introduced on the market for spring 2012 and especially suited to first time cruisers and people who want to make the most of a getaway vacation but only have limited time available.

For those wishing to venture further afield to more exotic destinations this Easter, there are also one week cruises to the islands in the Caribbean on the Costa Atlantica and Costa Luminosa; one week cruises to the United Arab Emirates and Oman on the flagship Costa Favolosa, sailing out of Dubai; and two weeks on the Costa Classica, departing from Singapore, on a cruise to Malaysia and Thailand.