Costa Cruises announced major news with the strengthening of the Italian line in the Mediterranean – a historic destination topping the preferences of its passengers – starting from 2020.
In winter 2020-2021 Costa Fortuna offers a couple of new 14-day itineraries, that mark Costa’s return to Israel and Turkey.
- The first, departing from Savona, Italy on December 6, 2020, and February 7, 2021, visits Marseille, Barcelona, Iraklion, Izmir, an overnight call in Istanbul, Athens, Palermo, and Naples.
- The second itinerary, that also departs from Savona on January 10, 2021, and March 7, 2021, visits Marseille, Barcelona, Iraklion, an overnight visit to Haifa, Kusadasi, Palermo, and Naples. During the rest of her winter season, Fortuna offers 1-week Western Mediterranean itineraries, also visiting Valencia.
The presence of Costa Cruises in the Mediterranean Sea will be boosted with the arrival of Toscana and Smeralda, the two new flagships currently under construction at Meyer shipyard in Turku.
From November 2019, Smeralda will offer 1-week Western Mediterranean cruises together with Costa Toscana, scheduled to enter service in 2021. The two liners constitute an environmental breakthrough as they will both be powered by LNG (liquefied natural gas), the cleanest burning fossil fuel in the world, both at sea and in port, minimizing environmental impact.
Another new addition, Firenze, currently under construction at Fincantieri Marghera, will be deployed in Asia earlier than planned. Costa Firenze and her sistership Venezia, which was launched last March, are the first ships of Costa specifically designed for the Chinese market, where the company was the first to start operating back in 2006 and is a market leader. In order to meet the increasing demand from Asian and Chinese guests, after her delivery, due on September 30, 2020, Firenze will head to China and no longer operate on Italy, Spain, and France itineraries scheduled for October 2020.
As a result of the changes, in winter 2020-2021 Mediterranea will replace Fortuna, offering the same itineraries out of Singapore to Cambodia, Thailand, and Malaysia. The company is planning changes to the program of Costa Victoria after September 9, 2020, and to the Caribbean program of Luminosa in winter 2020-2021, which are no longer available for booking.