Costa Cruises has followed the sister brand Carnival Cruise Line by taking delivery of a brand new cruise ship. Costa Firenze has been handed over from the Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri.
Costa Firenze Delivered
While a lot of attention has been on the new Mardi Gras in recent days, Costa Cruises also took delivery of the new Costa Firenze. The ship was handed over at the Fincantieri Marghera shipyard in Italy on December 22, 2020. The ceremony took place virtually and was also streamed live online.
Michael Thamm, group CEO of Costa Group and Carnival Asia, stated:
“The handover of the new Costa Firenze is a sign of hope and restart for the whole cruise and tourism ecosystems. This ship represents the most tangible evidence of the will of our group to restart. Our hope is that people will soon be able to travel again and that more ships will set sail and contribute to the
revitalization of tourism in Italy, Europe and globally.”“Looking beyond the pandemic, Costa’s goal is to design the future of sustainable and zero-emission cruising and we hope that our long-lasting partnership with Fincantieri can bring our companies to work together on a roadmap that can lead to this ambitious yet essential objective.”
The Costa cruise ship that’s inspired by the Florentine Renaissance is 135,500 gross tons and has a guest capacity of 5,200. She’s part of the Vista-class and sister ship to Costa Venezia that entered service in 2019.
Costa Firenze is part of a seven ship plan to be delivered to the Costa Group by 2023, a total investment of more than 6 billion Euros. Four ships including Costa Firenze have already been delivered. Fincantieri has now built 11 ships out of 14 that the cruise line currently operates.
Also Read: 15 Best New Cruise Ships to Begin Sailing in 2021
Costa Firenze Itineraries
The ship will first sail in the Mediterranean in 2021, providing two different week-long itineraries in the western Mediterranean. The first itinerary, available from Feb. 28, 2021, includes the Italian destinations of Genoa, La Spezia – with excursions also departing to Florence – and Naples, as well as Valencia, Barcelona and Marseille.
The second itinerary, available from May to October 2021, includes Genoa and Civitavecchia, with excursions to Rome, as well as Naples, Ibiza, Barcelona, and Marseille. After October 2021, the ship will move to Asia to join her sister ship Costa Venezia.
Photo Courtesy: Costa Cruises
