Costa Toscana, Costa Cruises’ new LNG-powered flagship has officially been named in Barcelona, Spain. Chanel, the artist who represented Spain in the last edition of Eurovision, served a Godmother.
Costa Cruises has celebrated the christening ceremony of Costa Toscana, the newest Italian-flagged ship in the Costa Cruises fleet, in Barcelona. Costa Cruises’ new LNG-powered flagship is inspired by the discovery of ‘the art of experiencing the sea’.
Godmother of Costa Toscana is Chanel, a young singer, actress and dancer who enjoyed great success in Spain and in all Europe after her exhibition during the 2022 Eurovison Song Contest. Chanel joined the ship’s Captain Pietro Sinisi for the ribbon-cutting ceremony in which a bottle was shattered on the ship’s bow, as per maritime tradition.
The event was hosted by two exceptional masters of ceremonies: Carlos Sobera and Flora Gonzalez, two real stars of Spanish television well loved by the general public. The ceremony was closed by a performance of the Italian artist Andrea Casta, a ‘globetrotter’ violinist who has performed all over the world with his electric violin and his unique luminous bow.
After the official ceremony the party moved to the outer decks, specifically at the aft of the ship, on the Piazza del Campo terraces, where guests enjoyed the ‘Molecule Show’. The stunning spectacle featured a cluster of three hundred helium-inflated spheres that lift an acrobat over a trapeze, allowing her to fly through the sky above the Barcelona skyline and to create an ethereal, magical, and floating dimension.
The christening aperitif and gala dinner were created by Spanish chef Ángel León. Known as the ‘chef of the sea’ León has been awarded three Michelin stars with his restaurant Aponiente. Together with other two world famous chefs: Bruno Barbieri and Hélène Darroze, Leòn is one of the culinary partners of Costa Cruises.
Costa and the ‘chef of the sea’ join forces for the ‘food of the future’
On the occasion of the christening of Costa Toscana, Costa Cruises and Ángel León are further strengthening their collaboration, addressing environmental sustainability, a theme that both have long been committed to. Through her Costa Cruises’ Foundation, Costa Cruises is in fact supporting a worldwide pioneering project: the development of the ‘marine grain.’
Ángel León’s restaurant Aponiente’s research center has started the cultivation of the Zostera marina in the Bay of Cadiz. The Zostera marina is a plant that helps generate greater marine biodiversity, thus enriching the ecosystem. It contributes to mitigating climate change by absorbing and storing large amounts of carbon, and above all it is able to produce, from its seeds, a ‘superfood’ with great nutritional properties, which could represent a future solution to the problems of hunger and malnutrition. Thanks to the support of Costa Cruises’ Foundation, the cultivated area of the ocean garden, which is currently about 3,000 m2, can be expanded in order to promote the project and export Zostera marina to new coastal areas.
Summer 2022: The desire for cruising
Costa Toscana represents the restart of Costa Cruises’ fleet, which will operate 10 ships this summer. Summer 2022 appears to be heading toward a significant upswing in travel.
At a meeting on board Costa Toscana Mario Zanetti, President of Costa Cruises said: “It is a great thrill to celebrate the christening of our Costa Toscana in Barcelona, a city to which we are particularly attached and where we have been at home since the beginning of our history. For this occasion, we have organized an event to celebrate the start of a summer that marks the serene resumption of travel and vacations. The event also features the excellence of Costa’s offerings in all aspects, from high gastronomy to high quality entertainment, to unique experiences ashore.
According to research commissioned by Costa Cruises from Human Highway in Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria, nearly 14 million Europeans dream of taking a cruise in the next 12 months. The sea seems to be the favorite place in all countries, while ingredients of the ideal vacation include rest, entertainment, gastronomy and discovering new destinations.
Mario Zanetti: “We must take advantage of this upswing to promote a more sustainable tourism that respects the environment and values local communities. Our commitment is expressed not only through technologically advanced ships such as the LNG-powered Costa Toscana, but also by supporting innovative projects whose scope goes beyond the tourism sector, such as Chef Ángel León’s project.”
A travelling smart city
Costa Toscana is a true travelling ‘smart city.’ Thanks to the use of liquefied natural gas it is possible to almost completely eliminate the emission of sulfur oxides (zero emissions) and particulates (95-100% reduction) into the atmosphere. At the same time emissions of nitrogen oxide (direct reduction of 85%) and CO2 (up to 20%) are also significantly lowered. The Costa Group, which includes the Italian brand Costa Cruises and the German brand AIDA Cruises, was the first in the cruise industry to use liquefied natural gas and can currently count on four ships powered by this technology: the AIDAnova, Costa Smeralda, Costa Toscana and AIDAcosma.
The ships also feature several cutting-edge technological innovations designed to further reduce their environmental impact. All daily water needs are met by transforming water of the sea through the use of desalinators. Energy consumption is minimized through an intelligent energy efficiency system. In addition, 100% of separated collection and recycling of materials such as plastic, paper, glass and aluminum are carried out on board. The sea wood that furnish the islands of the new Archipelago restaurant were recovered thanks to the Guardians of the Coast, the environmental education program to safeguard the Italian coastline promoted by Costa Crociere Foundation. For every dinner sampled at Archipelago, Costa Cruises will donate part of the proceeds to support the Foundation’s environmental and social projects.
Italian design, a unique onboard offering and the best of the Mediterranean to explore
Costa Toscana’s interiors are the result of an extraordinary creative project curated by Adam D. Tihany. The designs enhance and bring to life the colors and atmosphere of this wonderful Italian region in a single location. Furniture, lighting, fabrics and accessories are all ‘Made in Italy’ and created by 15 partners who are representative of Italian excellence. The onboard offer is perfectly integrated in this extraordinary context: from the Solemio Spa, to the areas dedicated to entertainment; from the thematic bars, in collaboration with great Italian and international brands, to the 21 restaurants and areas dedicated to the food experience, including the new Archipelago restaurant which offers menus created for Costa by three great chefs, Bruno Barbieri, Hélène Darroze and Ángel León. The topchefs conceived a menu designed to explore the cruise destinations through taste. For the enjoyment of the little ones there is the Splash AcquaPark, with its slide positioned on the highest deck, a new area dedicated to video games, and the Squok Club.
During summer 2022 Costa Toscana offers a week-long itinerary making calls in some of the most beautiful cities and islands of the Western Mediterranean. Ports of call include Savona, Civitavecchia/Rome, Naples, Ibiza, Valencia, and Marseille. During the fall season Palma de Mallorca will take the place of Ibiza.