Costa Deliziosa has become the first Costa cruise ship to resume cruises since the suspension of operations first started back in March.
Costa Cruises Kick Starts Operations
Carnival-owned Costa Cruises has finally commenced operations in Europe starting with one cruise ship. Costa Deliziosa departed Trieste, Italy, on Sunday evening with guests onboard and is the first ship in the fleet to do so since the suspension of operations started earlier in the year.
The ship is sailing a week-long voyage with only calls in Italy and only with Italian guests. The ship is visiting Bari, Brindisi, Corigliano-Rossano, Siracusa, and Catania.
Group CEO, Costa Group & Carnival Asia Michael Thamm, said:
“We’re delighted to be able to welcome our guests on board again after more than five months without cruising and we’re also happy to be restarting operations right here in Italy. Our decision to resume responsibly with Italian cruises for Italian guests is particularly significant for us, since we’ve believed and invested in this country for more than 70 years as the only cruise company flying the Italian flag”
“For the last few weeks, we’ve been working together with the authorities on implementation of the new health procedures that will allow our guests to make the most of their cruise experience while ensuring maximum safety.
Meanwhile, we’re continuously monitoring the situation with a view to gradually reintroducing cruising on more ships from October, with itineraries
extended also to include guests from our other European markets.”
All three sailings in September will in fact only have Italian guests and there will be strict health protocols in place to keep them safe. The procedures have been developed in-line with Italian and European authorities and begin before guests even step aboard the vessel.
On arrival at the terminal in Trieste, with staggered entrance times by virtue of online check-in, each guest will have their temperature scanned, submit a health questionnaire, and be subjected to an antigen rapid swab test. Passengers will not be cleared for boarding unless and until they have tested negative. For any suspected case of COVID-19, it will be possible to perform an additional test with a molecular swab test.
Prior to embarking, crew members have also been tested with molecular swab at intervals and been quarantined for 14 days. In addition, each member of crew will have a monthly swab test.
Also Read: First Two Carnival Cruise Brands Are Resuming Cruises
After Costa Deliziosa, which will be departing from Trieste until the end of the year, Costa Cruises’ next ship due back in service is Costa Diadema, scheduled to leave from Genoa on September 19. Like Deliziosa, she will only be calling at Italian ports and carrying guests resident in Italy, with stopovers in Civitavecchia/Rome, Naples, Palermo, Cagliari, and La Spezia.
Then from October, provided all operations continue smoothly, the flagship Costa Smeralda will set sail, followed in December by Costa Firenze – the company’s new ship under construction at Fincantieri’s Marghera yard.
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