On January 14, Costa Cruises celebrated the launch (float-out from drydock) of the company's newest ship - Costa Toscana at the Meyer Shipyard in Turku Finland.
Toscana (like the sisterships of the Excellence/Helios class) is LNG-powered. Costa Group, which manages three Carnival Corporation-owned subsidiaries (AIDA Cruises, Costa Asia, Costa Cruises) was the industry's first to introduce the LNG technology, having ordered 5 LNG-powered newbuilds, of which two (AIDAnova and Costa Smeralda) are already operational. The vessels are part of Carnival's global fleet expansion plan (including 7 units for Costa Group delivered by 2023) or investment of EUR 6+ billion.
During the official float-out ceremony, Costa Toscana touched the sea for the first time, with the flooding of the basin where she has been built in recent months.
Toscana is currently scheduled to enter service in December 2021. The liner will debut in Brazil in the 2021-2022 season. The inaugural New Year’s Eve voyage will depart from Santos (Sao Paulo) on December 26, 2021, with a 7-day itinerary to Salvador de Bahia and Ilheus, and returning to Santos on January 2, 2022. From January 2 to April 10, 2022, Toscana will offer 15 cruises with the same itinerary, embarking in both Salvador and Santos.