Costa Diadema Debuts in Argentina and Uruguay

Costa Diadema Debuts in Argentina and Uruguay

One of three Costa Cruises ships in South America this season, the Costa Diadema recently offered its first-ever cruise to Argentina and Uruguay.

The 3,700-guest ship debuted in the two countries as part of a seven-night itinerary that includes visits to Buenos Aires and Montevideo, as well as the Brazilian ports of Santos and Itajaí.

Sailing from multiple homeports, the cruise will be offered through early April and also includes three days at sea.

“We had great demand for this itinerary in the 2023-24 season, so we decided to increase our offering in this region,” said Renê Hermann, Costa’s Brazil president.

The Costa Diadema takes over the itinerary from the smaller Costa Favolosa, which had been sailing to Argentina and Uruguay for the past two summer seasons.

While most of the ship’s capacity will be allocated to the Brazilian market, passengers will also be able to embark in Argentina.

“We’ve also seen significant demand in the country, and we’ll have guests embarking there too,” Hermann told Cruise Industry News.

In addition to the Costa Diadema, Costa’s 2024-25 deployment in South America also includes the Costa Favolosa and the Costa Pacifica.

The Costa Pacifica opened the company’s season in South America after arriving in Brazil in late November.

Sailing from Santos and Rio de Janeiro, the 2009-built vessel will be fully dedicated to the Brazilian market through late March.

Offering longer itineraries in the region, the Costa Favolosa is also offering cruises to Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay.

The vessel’s eight- to nine-night itineraries sail from Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires and Montevideo and visit destinations that include Punta del Este, Balneário Camboriú and Ilhabela.

After completing its schedule of seven-night cruises in the region, the Costa Diadema is scheduled to offer short cruises from Santos before returning to Europe in late April.

Costa Introduces Costa Voyages, Longer Itineraries

Costa Introduces Costa Voyages, Longer Itineraries

Costa Cruises is launching Costa Voyages, a new cruise experience designed to explore extended itineraries, according to a press release.

Starting in September 2023, Costa Cruises will offer itineraries ranging from 10 to 14 days, allowing guests to visit destinations and explore them in-depth.

Voyages include visiting destinations such as the Canary Islands, Turkey, Egyptian pyramids, the Azores, Israel and Morocco and exploring the various European cultures, from Normandy to Spain.

In addition, guests can look forward to exclusive food and beverage experiences on every cruise including sampling the 14 new desserts created by the Master of pastry chefs, Iginio Massari.

The main restaurants will offer three different dinners including a new, exclusive menu included in the price and created by Costa chefs including Bruno Barbieri, Hélène Darroze, and Ángel León.

Onboard, guests can relax and enjoy a drink or two at the special Banquet Night Party, a buffet with ice sculptures carved by master ice sculptors and a live DJ set.

Rock and roll enthusiasts can look forward to the Rolling Stone exclusive show onboard while photography amateurs can engage in dedicated photography sessions organized by the Japanese brand Canon.

Costa Voyages will also organize games inspired by the 1960s and 1990s, such as “Double interview” for couples, “Musichiere” and “C-Music” with quizzes, challenges and more. There will also be a range of workshops and creative labs and an exclusive guided tour of the behind-the-scenes areas of the ship.

The Costa Voyages cruises will be available from September through November 2023, from April to June 2024, and from September to November 2024, onboard six ships, including the Costa Favolosa, Costa Fortuna, Costa Firenze, Costa Fascinosa, Costa Pacifica and the Costa Diadema.

The Costa Pacifica will take guests to explore Egypt and the Holy Land in 2023, while the Costa Fortuna will take over in 2024. The Costa Favolosa and the Costa Fortuna will take guests to Morrocco to explore local traditions and visit the Hassan I Mosque.

The Costa Firenze and Costa Fortuna will visit the Canary Islands in 2023 and the Costa Diadema in 2024. Four ships will take guests to Portugal in 2023, including the Costa Firenze, Costa Fortuna, Costa Favolosa and the Costa Fascinosa, while the Costa Diadema will join them in 2024.

The Costa Fortuna will be visiting Turkey in 2023 and 2024, while the Costa Firenze, Costa Fascinosa, Costa Diadema, and Costa Favolosa will offer sailings that combine the North and South of Europe into a single vacation.

Costa Ship Shuffle for Brazil Due to LNG Supply Chain Challenges

Costa Ship Shuffle for Brazil Due to LNG Supply Chain Challenges

Citing uncertainty and recent world developments, Costa Cruises has announced changes to its 2022-2023 program in South America.

According to a statement issued in the local market, the company will no longer operate the 2021-built Costa Toscana in Brazil during the season.

Instead, the Costa Firenze will debut in the country, taking over the program previously announced for the LNG-powered ship.

Citing world developments in the energy market, Costa said it decided to “assure the arrival of three vessels in South America, bringing the new Costa Firenze in place of the Costa Toscana.”

The company said that the LNG needed for the Toscana “could only be sourced through international operations.”

With the change, the 2020-built Costa Firenze is now set to offer a series of seven-night domestic cruises in Brazil.

Departing from Santos and Salvador, the program takes place between December 2022 and April 2023.

Taking the title currently held by the Costa Diadema, the Firenze will become the largest ship ever operated by Costa in South America, the company said.

In addition to the Costa Firenze, Costa’s 2022-2023 program in South America also includes the Costa Favolosa and the Costa Fortuna.

Starting in December, the Favolosa is set to offer seven-night cruises to Argentina and Uruguay. The program runs through April and features departures from two Brazilian ports: Santos and Itajaí.

Returning to the region after a ten-year hiatus, the Costa Fortuna will also be based in Brazil. Sailing from Rio de Janeiro, the vessel is set to offer eight-night itineraries to several destinations in Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay.

Both ships will also offer departures from Buenos Aires and Montevideo.

Costa Details Full Cruise Fleet Restart Plan

Costa Mediterranea in the Port of Amsterdam, Photo credit Spacejunkie2

Costa Cruises has detailed its full cruise fleet restart plan, starting with the Costa Toscana sailing on March 5, according to the Carnival Corporation brand.

Deployment and sales are now open from spring 2022 to winter 2022-2023, with ships calling at 179 ports with cruises from three to 127 days.

"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 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."

Summer Season Start Up Program:

• Costa Toscana - March 5 (Mediterranean)
• Costa Favolosa - April 28 (Mediterranean)
• Costa Venezia - May 1 (Mediterranean)
• Costa Smedalra - May 7 ((Mediterranean)
• Costa Pacifica - June 4 (Mediterranean)
• Costa Luminosa - Atlantic Islands 
• Costa Fortuna - June 12 (Northern Europe)
• Costa Diadema - May 5 (Mediterranean)
• Costa Fascinosa - May 1 (Atlantic Islands)
• Costa Deliziosa - April 15 (Mediterranean)
• Costa Firenze - April 7 (Mediterranean)

For the height of the summer season, four ships, the Costa Fortuna, Costa Favolosa, Costa Fascinosa and Costa Diadema, will be deployed in Northern Europe.

Costa said that for winter 2022-2023, it will deploy the Firenze in the Middle East while the Venezia will stay in Istanbul for 11-day cruises for the winter. The Diadema will offer two-week sailings to the Canary Islands. The Costa Pacifica and Costa Fascinosa will be in the Caribbean while the Costa Smeralda will be offering one-week cruises in the Western Mediterranean. The Costa Toscana, Costa Favolosa and Costa Fortuna will be in South America.

In addition, the Costa Deliziosa will be offering a world cruise, departing from Venice on January 6, 2023, or from Savona on January 11, 2023.

The Costa Luminosa's grand cruises are also back, departing from Genoa on January 8, 2023, and from Buenos Aires on February 27, 2023, going from the Mediterranean to Tierra del Fuego and back, sailing up the Amazon River to Manaus.

Also of note, Costa said the Serena's program to resume cruising in Asia will be announced soon.

Covid-19 forces Costa Cruises to revise winter programme

Costa Deliziosa

Carnival Corporation brand Costa Cruises has altered its schedule for winter 2020-2021 because of travel restrictions and the continuing Covid-19 crisis.

The Italian cruise line said Costa Smeralda will operate an Italian-only itinerary to replace a voyage to Italy, France and Spain that would have started from November 14.

Costa Deliziosa (pictured) will continue operating its current one-week itinerary in Italy and Greece until January 3, 2021, instead of visiting Montenegro and Croatia as originally planned.

Costa Diadema will postpone the start of long cruises in the Mediterranean to April 6, 2021, offering 14-day cruises to Turkey and 14-day cruises to Egypt and Greece.

Costa Firenze cruise ship

New ship Costa Firenze, which is currently in the final stages of completion at the Fincantieri shipyard in Italy, will be delivered as planned in mid-December 2020 but will begin offering its seven-day cruises in Italy, France and Spain only from February 28, 2021.

Finally, Costa Favolosa cruises in the Caribbean are cancelled and the ship will return to operate from April 2, 2021, with mini-cruises in the Mediterranean.

The 2021 world tour by Costa Deliziosa is also cancelled, with guests offered the chance to book the 2022 voyage.

Third Costa Ship Back Cruising: Smeralda Departs From Savona

Costa Cruises now has three ships back in cruise operation as the Smeralda departed from Savona on Oct. 10 with guests aboard.

The ship joins the Deliziosa and Diadema as the Costa ships back in operation.

All three ships are sailing under the Costa Safety Protocol which is a strict set of new health and safety requirements including COVID-19 testing for all guests and crew. 

The LNG-powered ship will now offer five week-long itineraries through early November, calling at Italian ports La Spezia, Cagliari, Naples, Messina and Civitavecchia/Rome.

"It is very exciting to see our flagship depart once more from Savona, Costa's main port in the Mediterranean," said Michael Thamm, Group CEO of Costa Group and Carnival Asia.

"We are gradually returning to cruising with an increasing number of ships, in a safe and responsible way, thanks to new health protocols. The return of Costa Smeralda, which represents the most advanced vessel in our fleet in terms of reducing environmental impact, is also a renewal of our commitment to sustainable cruise development, which will be one of the key points in the recovery of our sector in the coming years," Thamm noted.

Savona is playing a leading role in the company's restart, with the Smeralda scheduled to homeport in the Italian city through the end of 2021. Plans call to offer different itineraries, per local regulations, that will include Italy, France and Spain.

Starting in November, the Costa Diadema will also dock at the Palacrociere cruise terminal in Savona and will offer 12-day cruises to the Canary Islands, 14-day cruises to Egypt and Greece, and 14-day cruises also to Turkey.

The Costa Fortuna, Costa Favolosa and Costa Fascinosa will also arrive in Savona, offering mini-cruises in the Mediterranean and 10-day cruises to Portugal.

Costa Venezia Set for Trieste Christening

Costa Cruises announced that the new Costa Venezia will be christened in Trieste on March 1, 2019, before transiting to China.

She is one of seven new ships being delivered to Costa Group by 2023, marking a total investment of some 6 billion euro, the company said. 

The Costa Venezia will be the company's largest ship in China at 135,500 tons, and with capacity for 5,100 guests.

While christening details are still being worked out, Costa said there will be a full city-wide fireworks display, and multiple giant screens for spectators to watch the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The event will be attended by around 1,500 guests from China, South Korea, Japan and several European countries, and they will also have the opportunity to discover Trieste and its surrounding area, as the ship will be moored in the city until March 3, when it will depart for its first cruise.

"We are very happy to be celebrating the naming of Costa Venezia in such a beautiful Italian city as Trieste. Costa was the first company to operate in China in 2006 and over the years we have established ourselves as a leader, offering a product focused on Italian excellence. Costa Venezia will feature other unprecedented innovations, designed specifically to offer Chinese customers a real Italian experience, marking a new era for both Costa and the whole Chinese market, which is among the most promising in the world in terms of future growth," Mario Zanetti, President of Costa Group Asia.

The Mayor of Trieste Roberto Dipiazza stated: "It is a great pleasure for the city of Trieste to host the naming ceremony of this new ship by Costa. With great pride, both from an institutional and personal point of view, I applaud this new jewel, which is the result of the work of the best talents in shipbuilding and Italian design who reside in our region and city. Our expertise, our values are well rooted in the Costa Group. This new ship, along with the other “queens” that we had the pleasure of admiring in our Gulf, will be another ambassador of Made in Italy in the world. There is a strong bond of mutual respect between Trieste and the Costa Group, that I am sure will continue to strengthen in the future."

The first Costa Venezia cruise will depart from Trieste on March 3, 2019, and sail to Greece and Croatia. On March 8, the ship will be back in Trieste for the start of its maiden cruise: a 53-day journey as the ship moves to Asia.

The Costa Venezia will be the second Costa ship named in Trieste as in 2011 the Costa Favolosa was named in the port.