A second Costa Cruise ship has started sailing this week. Costa Luminosa will sail from the port of Trieste, Italy, to the eastern Mediterranean. The vessel’s itinerary will include several ports in the Adriatic Sea and throughout the Greek Isles.
Costa Cruises has plans for a total of four ships to sail this summer, and while it is certainly not a full restart yet, the resumption of one of Europe’s largest cruise lines will be welcomed by the various stakeholders.
27 Voyages Scheduled Until November
Costa Luminosa will sail on 27 voyages throughout the summer until late fall from Trieste. Ports included in the vessel itinerary include Bari, Corfu, Athens, Mykonos, and Katakolon. The return to service of Costa Luminosa was celebrated by various dignitaries, including Costa President Mario Zanetti, who highlighted the importance of Costa Cruises to the region.
Costa President Mario Zanetti:
“With the restart of the Costa Luminosa, we are finally bringing cruises back to the Adriatic Sea and Greece, one of Europe’s most popular tourist destinations, and reviving a sector of great importance to the economy of many European countries, including Italy, as well as the eastern part of the Mediterranean,”
It doesn’t come as a surprise that Zanetti hailed the economic factor during his speech. Before the start of the pandemic, Costa cruises had an annual economic impact of €13 billion in Europe alone and supported over 63,000 jobs.
Also Read: Carnival’s Costa Brand is Back With Cruises in the Mediterranean
Trieste plays a vital role for Costa in general, while the line has plans to build up the port city even more now Venice has banned large cruise ships from entering the city.
“We are particularly pleased to be resuming from Trieste, a city that has always welcomed us warmly, and which will be the home port of Costa Luminosa not only this year, but also in 2022. We look to the future with optimism, and we are working to make Trieste even more strategic for cruises, promoting a sustainable development and a quality guest experience”.
Two More Vessels to Follow
The launch of Costa Luminosa is the second of four vessels that will be sailing this summer. While other cruise lines have gone for a more all-out approach, Costa is taking a resumption significantly slower than, for example, MSC Cruises.
With the various stops and restarts that Costa has experienced over the last months and the costs involved, it comes as no surprise the company takes the same phased-in approach other Carnival Corporation ships are taking.
On May 1, flagship Costa Smeralda, the 5,200 passengers, 185,000 tonnes, sister ship to Carnival’s Mardi Gras, and P&O UK’s Iona, started sailing from Savona in an all-Italian Itinerary.
From July 3, she will sail on a more international itinerary with port calls in Italy, Spain, and France. June 26 will see Costa Deliziosa sail with one-week cruises from Greece, and July 4 will mark the arrival of Costa Cruises’ newest ship, Costa Firenze.
The new Vista Class vessel Costa Firenze is inspired by the Florentine Renaissance and is a sister ship to Carnival Vista, Horizon, Panorama, and Costa Venezia. Although the 133,500 tonnes, 3,936 passenger vessel was designated to sail in the Costa China part of the cruise line, she will now sail on one-week cruises in Italy. The expectation is that the vessel will sail to China for the 2021-2022 winter season and the 2022 summer season.
