Tomorrow AIDAblu will depart from Civitavecchia for a one-week itinerary devoted entirely to Italy. The restart of AIDAblu, the fourth Costa Group ship to resume cruises, will generate further benefits to the Italian tourism ecosystem by bringing German guests to visit Italy.
Aida Cruises, the German brand of the Costa Group, restarts from Italy for the resumption of its cruises. AIDAblu will depart tomorrow from Civitavecchia for her first cruise after the pause for the Covid-19 emergency. She will sail a seven-day itinerary visiting Italian ports, calling at Naples, Palermo, Catania, La Spezia and with an overnight in Civitavecchia/Rome. The voyages will be offered weekly until November 28.
AIDAblu is the fourth ship of the Costa Group to resume operations. She is following in the footstepes of Costa Deliziosa, Costa Diadema and Costa Smeralda – three ships of the Costa Cruises brand – which restarted in September and October.
Costa Smeralda was also today in the port of Civitavecchia, together with AIDAblu, as part of her first cruise, which departed on 10 October from Savona with calls only in Italian ports.
Also read: Costa Smeralda sets sail on first voyage
The restart of AIDAblu is an important milestone for Costa Group, as it marks the return to cruising after a long pause for its German brand AIDA Cruises. Restarting operations in Italy is a logical decission as all of the group’s ships fly the Italian flag and the group is headquartered in Italy.
Thanks to the cruises departing from Civitavecchia, guests will have the opportunity to visit five Italian destinations – Naples, Palermo, Catania, La Spezia and Civitavecchia/Rome – in a single holiday.
The resumption of sailing from AIDA Cruises and Costa Cruises is part of a phased-in approach by Costa Group to resume operations gradually, with enhanced health protocols developed in coordination with government and health authorities. Based on health and mitigation guidelines in Germany and Italy, the AIDA health protocols implemented on all of the brand’s cruises include measures encompassing the entirety of the cruise experience, from booking to disembarkation.
The measures include guests and crew being tested for COVID-19 with negative results required prior to boarding. Other protocols include regular temperature and health checks for guests and crew, physical distancing guidelines, facial coverings when physical distancing is not possible, capacity control and increased sanitization measures, as well as guided shore excursions managed by AIDA to maintain health protocols.
Update 24/10/2020: AIDA has replaced the stops in Naples and La Spezia with Messina and Syracuse.