Costa Smeralda is leaving the port of Savona for a week-long cruise in Italy. It is the first ship of Costa Cruises to resume operations in 2021. The departure officially kicks off the summer season, which will see a total of four Costa ships cruising the Mediterranean.
The restart of Costa Smeralda was celebrated this morning at the Palacrociere terminal, in the presence of Costa Cruises President, Mario Zanetti. He was joined by local authorities: Ilaria Caprioglio, the Mayor of Savona; Paolo Emilio Signorini, the President of the Western Ligurian Sea Port Authority and Francesco Cimmino, the Captain of Savona Costa Guard.
Costa Smeralda’s first cruise features an all-Italian itinerary, visiting Savona, but also Civitavecchia/Rome, Naples, Messina, Cagliari and La Spezia. Guests can choose to book the entire itinerary, for a week-long holiday, or split it into three- and four-day mini-cruises.
Health and safety first
Health and safety procedures have been enhanced through the adoption of the Costa Safety Protocol. The protocol contains operational measures related to all aspects of the cruise experience, both on board and ashore. The measures include: a reduction in the number of guests; swab tests for all guests before embarkation and after half of the cruise; swab tests for the crew before embarkation and regularly during their stay on board; temperature checks every time guests disembark and re-enter the ship and every time they enter the restaurants. social distancing on board and in the terminals; new ways of using on-board services; enhanced sanitation and medical services; and the use of protective masks when necessary. Also as part of the safety protocol destinations can only be visited with protected excursions.
A new holiday experience
As for the holiday experience, guests will be able to enjoy new features, including a totally renewed excursion program, which will allow them to discover off-the-beaten path destinations, exclusively for Costa guests, and new menu proposals, with dishes related to locations visited by the itinerary.
Moreover, Costa’s restart takes place with the most advanced ship in the fleet in terms of reducing environmental impact. Indeed, Costa Smeralda is the first cruise ship of the company to be powered by LNG, the most advanced propulsion technology currently available for reducing emissions. The ship’s entire daily water requirements are met by directly transforming seawater using desalinators; energy consumption is reduced to a minimum thanks to an intelligent energy efficiency system; waste is managed on board with 100% separate collection for recycling of plastic, paper, glass and aluminum.
Next year Costa Cruises is offering a wide selection of voyages aboard the new Costa Toscana in the Mediterranean, Grand Cruises to the Amazon and a return to Israel and Egypt. Find out more about the highlights of Costa Cruises’ 2022-23 season here.
Four ships for summer
Costa Smeralda is the first of a total of four ships that will operate for Costa in summer 2021, offering cruises in the Mediterranean. On May 16, Costa Luminosa will restart, offering week-long cruises to Greece. On June 26, Costa Deliziosa will be back on one-week cruises to Greece. On July 4, Costa Firenze, the new ship inspired by the Florentine Renaissance, will be sailing on a one-week itinerary in Italy. Alongside with the return of the Costa Firenze, from July 3 Costa Smeralda will be back on international itineraries, with week-long cruises in Italy, France and Spain. For more details visit ‘Costa Cruises resumes operations with 4 ships in the Med‘.