On Saturday, May 1, Costa Cruises restarts operations from Savona Italy, with its LNG-powered flagship Costa Smeralda. The itinerary is exclusively dedicated to Italy (ports and customers).
Port and local authorities will be present at the port, along with Costa's President Mario Zanetti.
Costa's restart marks a major economic recovery for the territory. Before the COVID crisis, the Italy-flagged company generated in the country an economic impact of EUR 3.5 billion per year and 17000+ direct and indirect jobs.
Costa Smeralda’s 7-day itinerary features Savona, Rome (Civitavecchia), Naples, Messina, Cagliari, La Spezia, and can be divided into 2 mini-cruises of 3 or 4 days for vacationers who prefer a shorter getaway.
Costa Smeralda sailings follow the procedures that are set out in the Costa Safety Protocol developed by the line together with Italian authorities and scientific experts, which features enhanced health and safety measures for all aspects of the experience, both onboard and ashore. The protocol includes swabbing all passengers prior to embarkation and after half of the trip, visiting destinations with protected shore excursions, new ways of using onboard services, mask-wearing when necessary.
Costa Smeralda is the first of a total of 4 Costa ships to operate during the 2021 summer, offering sailings in the Mediterranean.