Tourism Breaking News
Costa Cruises continues its gradual restart plan for 2022. From 5 March, the date on which the new Costa Toscana, star of the recent edition of the Sanremo Music Festival, will set sail for her first cruise, an increasing number of the company’s ships will return to service, joining those already sailing. Next summer, the company’s entire fleet will resume operations, with all four of the new ships delivered in recent months – Costa Toscana, Costa Smeralda, Costa Firenze and Costa Venezia – deployed in the Mediterranean. Also, for the summer period, with the hope of favorable regulations, the company is planning to carry out again shore excursions in free mode, and, in light of the gradual relaxation of the measures in place, is working to be able to make them already available as early as this spring.
Costa’s program includes a total of more than 1,800 cruises from spring 2022 to winter 2022-23, allowing guests to discover 179 destinations around the world, with cruises lasting from 3 to 127 days. All these cruises will feature the new product innovations the company has been working on in recent months, with an innovative range of shore excursions and an outstanding gastronomic offer featuring world-class chefs.
“We are seeing the growth in demand for holidays, and I am sure that this trend will increase further in the coming weeks” – said Roberto Alberti, SVP & Chief Commercial Officer of Costa Cruises. “We think our offer is the best ever, thanks to elements that combine unique experiences, both onboard and ashore. Our rich itinerary program suits for every need and includes some great new features, such as cruises to Turkey. Our cruise experience has been profoundly enriched and will allow guests to discover destinations in an authentic way, also thanks to extended stops in some ports. Furthermore, our guests will be able to enjoy their vacations on a fleet with latest generation ships, which combine sustainable innovation with entertainment, hospitality and well-being”.
After Costa Toscana, Costa’s restart program includes Costa Favolosa on April 28, with “mini cruises” in the Mediterranean, Costa Venezia on May 1 from Istanbul, with a new and unique one-week itinerary in Turkey and Greece, and Costa Smeralda on May 7, offering a one-week itinerary in the western Mediterranean. Costa Pacifica will resume operations on June 4 from Bari, exploring Greece and Malta. The two-week cruises to the Canary Islands and the Azores, originally planned with the Costa Pacifica in April and May, will be carried out by Costa Luminosa, while Costa Fortuna will return operating in Northern Europe on June 12.
After the winter season in South America, Costa Diadema will also return to the Mediterranean, offering a cruise to Lisbon on May 5, as well as Costa Fascinosa, which will be leaving on May 1 for a cruise to the Azores, dedicated to Costa Club members. Back from the Caribbean, Costa Deliziosa will resume her Mediterranean cruises from April 15, while Costa Firenze, having completed her season in Dubai, will be positioned in Genoa on April 7, to begin her program of cruises in Spain, Italy and France.
In summer 2022, the sister ships Costa Smeralda and Costa Toscana, powered by liquefied natural gas, together with the Costa Firenze, will offer week-long cruises in the western Mediterranean, while Costa Venezia will continue with her new itinerary in Turkey and Greece, departing from Istanbul. Costa Pacifica, Costa Deliziosa and Costa Luminosa will be operating in the Eastern Mediterranean with one-week cruises. Four ships, Costa Fortuna, Costa Favolosa, Costa Fascinosa and Costa Diadema, will be deployed in Northern Europe, visiting the Baltic capitals, the Norwegian fjords, the North Cape and Iceland.
The ships of the Costa fleet will take guests to discover the most beautiful destinations in the Mediterranean and Northern Europe in safety, thanks to the Costa Safety Protocol, the health protocol developed by the company together with scientific experts and the authorities.
“In 2021 we safely recorded on our ships more than 1.5 million passenger movements, achieving a truly unique and exceptional record considering the context in which we operated. We also reached previously unprecedented levels of customer satisfaction, thanks to the efforts and investments we have made since the restart of our operations. I am
confident that the return to free shore excursions, which we are planning for next summer and which we hope can be anticipated as early as next spring, will be an extra incentive to choose a Costa cruise” – added Roberto Alberti.
Costa’s program will be rich and complete also in winter 2022-23. Costa Firenze will be deployed on week-long cruises to the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman, departing from Dubai. Costa Venezia will be operating from Istanbul, with 11-day cruises to Turkey, Israel and Egypt, while Costa Diadema will be offering two-week cruises to the Canary Islands, calling also in Lisbon. Costa Pacifica and Costa Fascinosa will be visiting the most beautiful islands in the Caribbean. Costa Smeralda will be offering one-week cruises in the western Mediterranean. Costa Toscana, Costa Favolosa and Costa Fortuna will be positioned in South America.
From next winter, Costa’s grand voyages will also be back. Costa Deliziosa will be offering the Around the World cruise, departing from Venice on January 6, 2023, or from Savona January 11, 2023. The itinerary will take guests to India and the Maldives, then to South Africa and Namibia, and then to South America, up the continent’s Pacific coast, through the Panama Strait and even visiting New York before returning to Europe. The Costa Luminosa Grand Cruises will be equally spectacular, departing from Genoa on 8 January 2023 and from Buenos Aires on 27 February 2023, going from the Mediterranean to Tierra del Fuego and back, sailing up the Amazon River to Manaus.
Costa Serena’s program to resume cruising in Asia in 2022 will be announced over the next few weeks.
