Costa Cruises restarts today from Savona

The flagship of the Italian company sets sail from the port of Savona for the first cruise in 2021

Costa Cruises restarts today from Savona
Photo: Costa Cruises

Costa Smeralda, Costa Cruises’ flagship, leaves today the port of Savona for a weeklong cruise in Italy. It is the first ship of the Italian company to resume operations in 2021, officially kicking off the summer season, which will see a total of four Costa ships cruising the Mediterranean.

Mario Zanetti, President of Costa Cruises, stated:

“The cruise and tourism sector is essential for the recovery of the Italian economy. Suffice it to say that, before the pause due to the Covid-19 emergency, our company generated an economic impact of €3.5 billion at national level, with over 17,000 direct and indirect jobs, working with about 5,000 partners. We hope that today's restart will be a sign of a return to normality, for us, for our guests, whom we are pleased to welcome back onboard, and for all the suppliers working in our sector".

Costa Smeralda's first cruise features an all-Italian itinerary, visiting Savona, but also Civitavecchia/Rome, Naples, Messina, Cagliari and La Spezia. Guests can choose to book the entire itinerary, for a week-long holiday, or split it into three- and four-day mini-cruises, to experience a shorter holiday.

Health and safety procedures have been enhanced through the adoption of the Costa Safety Protocol, the protocol developed by the company together with scientific experts and Italian authorities, which contains operational measures related to all aspects of the cruise experience, both on board and ashore. 

Costa's restart takes place with the most advanced ship in the fleet in terms of reducing environmental impact. Indeed, the Costa Smeralda is the first cruise ship of the company to be powered by LNG, the most advanced propulsion technology currently available for reducing emissions. The ship's entire daily water requirements are met by directly transforming seawater using desalinators; energy consumption is reduced to a minimum thanks to an intelligent energy efficiency system; waste is managed on board with 100% separate collection for recycling of plastic, paper, glass and aluminum.

Costa Smeralda is the first of a total of four ships that will operate for Costa in summer 2021, offering cruises in the Mediterranean.