Costa Smeralda is not just the largest cruise in the Costa fleet but among the largest in the world to resume cruises from Italy.
Third Costa Cruise Ship to Resume Operations
The flagship of the Costa Cruises fleet is about to resume cruises, the largest cruise ship in the world to restart operations so far. Starting from October 10 the ship will kick start cruises out of Italy and with new health measures in place.
Costa Smeralda will become the third ship in the fleet to resume sailings and the cruise line has designed a 7-day itinerary that will let guests enjoy the very best of Italy. In total, there are five cruises scheduled for the mega-ship from October 10 to November 7, 2020.
So the cruise ship will offer week-long cruises including calls at Savona, La Spezia, Cagliari, Naples, Messina, and Civitavecchia/Rome until mid-November. Smeralda will become the first LNG-powered vessel to return to service and she follows Costa Deliziosa and Costa Diadema that have already started cruises.
Once the ship does get going again there will be new health protocols in place at all times to make sure there is no outbreak and that guests and crew remain safe. Some of the measures include antigen swab tests for all guests and crew before embarkation, temperature checks while disembarking and returning to the ship, visits to destinations only with protected excursions, and physical distancing onboard and at the terminals.
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Costa Cruises has is working with Italian and European authorities on the safe return to service and all other cruise lines are doing the same with their relevant authorities.
The ship is scheduled to resume her more regular sailings from November 14, 2020, with calls in Italy, France, and Spain out of Savona. Costa Smeralda is is a huge cruise ship at over 185,000 gross tons and a guest capacity of over 5,200 at double occupancy however the ship won’t be sailing at full capacity.
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