Costa Cruises has taken delivery of the new 5,200-passenger Costa Firenze, an LNG-powered vessel. Built by Fincantieri's Marghera shipyard in Venice, Italy, the 135,500-gross-ton vessel is the fourth of seven new ships scheduled for delivery to Costa Group by 2023, a total investment of more than $7.3 billion.
Michael Thamm, group CEO of Costa Group and Carnival Asia, both part of Carnival Corporation, said in a press announcement that he hopes people will soon be able to travel again and that more ships will set sail and contribute to revitalizing tourism in Italy, the rest of Europe and globally. Looking beyond the pandemic, he also said that Costa's goal is to create a future of sustainable and zero-emission cruising: "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."
Giuseppe Bono, CEO, Fincantieri, noted that Costa Firenze is the third cruise ship his company has delivered since September. He also expressed appreciation that the ship's name reflects one of the most famous cities of art in Italy and the world. Most importantly, though, "the delivery is an important moment because it is the concrete demonstration that the company is getting back to its normal production activity," emphasized Bono.
"I would also like to underline that the financial and economic situation of Fincantieri has not changed significantly compared to what we communicated in the previous quarters," he said, adding that Fincantieri has proven resilient and avoided cancellation of orders.
Interior Features
Among Costa Firenze's interior highlights? Inspired by the Renaissance, the ship's design offers common spaces that reflect the harmony of a stroll through a Florentine street or square.
The ship will offer Mediterranean cuisine and guests will have a choice of 13 bars and seven restaurants. (See photo of the ship's steakhouse by Costa Cruises below.)
For families, the ship offers an "adventure park" onboard. On the sustainability side, Costa Firenze's environmental performance has been acknowledged by RINA, an international certification organization, as a Green Star 3.
Two Itineraries
The ship will operate two different week-long, western Mediterranean itineraries. Starting on February 28, 2021, the first itinerary will include Genoa, La Spezia—with excursions also departing to Florence—and Naples, all in Italy, plus Valencia and Barcelona, Spain, and Marseille, France.
The second itinerary, operated between May and October 2021, will feature Genoa and Civitavecchia (Rome) and Naples, Italy, as well as Ibiza and Barcelona, Spain, and Marseille. After October 2021, the ship will move to Asia to join sister ship Costa Venezia.
Headquartered in Genoa, Italy, Costa Group has 28 ships operated by Costa Cruises, AIDA Cruises (serving the German-speaking market) and Costa Asia. Three more new ships are expected to arrive by 2023.
For more information, visit www.costacruises.com.
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