Costa neoRiviera is set to receive a 50 million Euro refurbishment as the ship leaves the Costa Cruises fleet. After her extensive makeover the ship will join German brand AIDA Cruises as AIDAmira.
The Costa Group has signed an agreement with the San Giorgio del Porto shipyard in Genua (Italy), which will carry out a significant part of the work to transform Costa neoRiviera into AIDAmira.
The restyling work, which will take place from October 30 to November 28, 2019, will involve a total of about 1000 workers, 150 of them working directly for the shipyard.
“This new investment in the city of Genoa, with a local partner like San Giorgio del Porto, is a further tangible sign of our link with Genoa and Liguria and of the positive impact that our Group can have locally.” said Michael Thamm, Group CEO Costa Group and Carnival Asia.
The Costa Group has carried out a study which has provided very impressive results: in just one year, the Costa Group has generated an economic impact in Europe of 12.6 billion euros and over 63,000 jobs. Thanks to the plan to expand and renew the Costa Group’s fleet, the shipbuilding industry accounts for the largest part of this impact. The contribution that comes directly from each guest, amounting on average to 74.60 euros in every port visited, also plays a major role in the impact.
The Costa Group has generated an economic impact in Europe of 12.6 billion euros and over 63,000 jobs.
Italy is among the top destinations for Costa’s guests, with 3.2 million passenger movements, a figure that is going to grow also thanks to AIDAmira, which will be calling at three ports in Southern Italy next summer.
Costa neoRiviera will complete its last eleven-night cruise in the Mediterranean on October 29, 2019 in Savona. The next day the ship will arrive in Genoa where work on her transformation, which will last until November 28, will start. At the end of the operations, a completely renewed ship will leave the San Giorgio del Porto shipyard and arrive in Palma de Mallorca on November 29 to be renamed AIDAmira.
AIDAmira will be the fourth ship in the “AIDA Selection” family, the German brand’s offer designed for travelers who want to discover new destinations in a unique way, with long stops on land and an intimate atmosphere on board.
AIDAmira will have large outdoor spaces, 5 different restaurants, 7 bars, a wellness area measuring 1,100 m² and about 700 cabins, including 125 with balcony or private sun terrace.
After a 4-night vernissage cruise in the Western Mediterranean, the ship will be positioned to South Africa, offering 14-day cruises from Cape Town. From May to September 2020, she will offer two different one-week itineraries, which can be combined into a single 14-day cruise, departing from Corfu: one to Athens, Santorini, Crete and Brindisi, and the other to Malta, Catania, Croton, Olympia and Kefalonia.