Costa Cruises has cut steel on the new Costa Toscana. The steel cutting ceremony took place on July 30 at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland.
Costa Toscana is the second of two new ships ordered by Costa Cruises, both of which will be powered in port and at sea by liquefied natural gas (LNG). The first, Costa Smeralda, is nearing completion for its October debut, while Costa Toscana is expected to be delivered in 2021.
The introduction of LNG fueling is an innovation that will minimize environmental impact, Costa said. It will mean improved air quality with the virtual elimination of sulfur dioxide emissions and particulate matter. The use of LNG will also lessen emissions of nitrogen oxides and CO2. The gas will be stored in special tanks onboard and will be used to generate the energy required for navigation and onboard services. Costa Smeralda and Costa Toscana are part of a plan for carbon footprint reduction by Costa Cruises and its parent company, Carnival Corporation.
With gross tonnage of over 180,000 and more than 2,600 staterooms on each, Costa Smeralda and Costa Toscana are part of Costa Group’s fleet expansion plan, with seven new ships scheduled to enter service by 2023. The first of these latest additions was AIDAnova, delivered last December, followed by Costa Venezia at the end of February 2019.
As well as using LNG-driven ships, the brands of Costa Group and those of the Carnival Corporation portfolio have also introduced Advanced Air Quality Systems (AAQS), which are exhaust gas cleaning technology. Also known as scrubbers, Advanced Air Quality Systems have been installed on 70 percent of the ships operated by Costa Group and Carnival Corporation. The cruise line said that the system guarantees the almost complete removal of sulfur oxide emissions, a 75 percent reduction in particulate matter and substantial nitrogen oxide emission abatement.
On Costa Smeralda, all the decks and public areas are named after – and designed based on – Italian places. The food and wine offerings onboard will feature Italian culinary traditions, with the collaboration of partner suppliers. The ship will have 11 different restaurants, 19 bars, a spa area with 16 treatment rooms, an onboard waterpark with waterslides, four pools and a facility where kids can hang. Additionally, Costa Smeralda will have its very own museum: the CoDe, Costa Design Museum, showcasing Italian design.
Costa Smeralda is set to make her debut on October 20, 2019, with a 15-day preview cruise from Hamburg, Germany, to Savona, Italy, featuring two-day stopovers in Europe. The official naming of Costa Smeralda will be celebrated at a special ceremony November 3 in Savona. From there, the following day the new flagship will set sail on a six-day inaugural cruise to Barcelona, Marseille and Civitavecchia, Italy. Costa Smeralda will be deployed in the western Mediterranean through April 2021 on one-week cruises porting in Savona, Marseille, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Civitavecchia and La Spezia. Meanwhile, Costa Toscana’s cruise program will be announced in the next few months.
For more information, visit www.costacruise.com.
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