Costa neoRiviera, the 47,000 gross ton ship currently known as Grand Mistral of Iberocruceros, will commence its career in the costa fleet by operating seven night cruises from Dubal with start in November, German sources say.

The cruises will offer extended stay in the ports of call – Muscat in Oman and in Abu Dhabi, in line with the slow cruise concept introduced by Costa neoRomanica, the former Costa Romantica that underwent a major upgrade before re-emerging under its new name, T-Online, the German source on the Internet says.

Costa neoRomantica was built as Mistral in 1999 in France for Festival Cruises, the Athens based operator that collapsed in the agtermath of the 9 September 2001 terrorist attacks in the US. Costa Crociere and Iberocruceros are both part of Carnival Corp & plc, the Anglo-American cruise shipping group.