Summer is approaching, and with it the desire and the possibility to finally plan moments of leisure, relaxation and vacation with blue sea and yellow sun. These are precisely the colors of Costa Cruises, which today announces its programs for the 2021 summer, with enhanced health and safety protocols and exciting new features for cruises to beautiful destinations in the Mediterranean.
Featuring extended stays at ports of call and organized shore excursions exclusive to Costa guests, the Italian company’s Mediterranean cruises will include two ships in the west and two in the east with sailings to Italy, France, Spain and Greece, and itineraries accessible from 13 different ports of embarkation. Each ship will also feature the Costa Safety Protocol, which includes enhanced health and safety procedures for all aspects of the cruise experience, both on board and ashore, which were implemented in the past months of cruise operations.
“We have updated our program for this summer based on a scenario of port and destination re-openings that is becoming increasingly clear and that now allows us to better plan our operations and offer extraordinary cruise vacations to the many guests who look forward to relaxing and memorable holidays,” said Mario Zanetti, President of Costa Cruises. “We decided to focus on destinations in the Mediterranean, close to our European guests, that can be discovered or re-discovered in a truly unique way. Now we can finally say that the Costa summer begins, and we cannot wait to welcome our loyal guests as well as newcomers – all of whom can count on us for high-quality service, dining and entertainment, wonderful destinations and an exceptional onboard experience with enhanced safety protocols.”
The new summer itineraries will feature extended stops in ports of call to allow guests to spend more time on shore. Costa will also introduce a renewed program of excursions that will allow guests to discover off-the-beaten-path locations that are exclusive for Costa guests. The onboard experience will be further enriched by new menu options featuring “destination dishes” linked to the locations visited by Costa ships.
Costa’s two newest and most innovative ships will operate in the Western Mediterranean: Costa Smeralda, the LNG-powered flagship, and Costa Firenze, the new ship inspired by the Florentine Renaissance and delivered last December, which will experience a real debut.
As already announced, the first ship to depart will be Costa Smeralda, on May 1, which will take guests to beautiful Italian locations on three- and four-day mini-cruises that will make it possible to enjoy a shorter experience or, alternatively, a week-long cruise, calling at Savona, La Spezia, Civitavecchia, Naples, Messina and Cagliari. This Italian itinerary will be extended until July 3, when the ship will return to offer week-long cruises visiting Savona, Marseille, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Palermo and Civitavecchia.
Cruises in Italy will continue to be available on Costa Firenze, which will set sail on her first trip on July 4, with an all-Italian itinerary that includes Savona, Civitavecchia, Palermo, Naples, Messina and Cagliari. From September 12 until mid-October, Costa Firenze will also be offering one-week international cruises including Savona, Civitavecchia, Naples, Ibiza, Barcelona and Marseilles.
On the eastern side of the Mediterranean, two other ships will sail, the twins Costa Luminosa and Costa Deliziosa.
Costa Luminosa is confirmed to depart on May 16 from Trieste, and the following day from Bari, focusing on the Greek destinations of Corfu, Piraeus (Athens), Mykonos and Katakolon.
Costa Deliziosa will resume cruises from June 26, offering a week-long itinerary with Venice, an extended one-day and one-night stop in Mykonos, followed by Katakolon, Corfu and Bari.
Costa is working with the national and local authorities of the countries included in the itineraries of its ships to define in detail the modalities of its operations.
The summer season in Northern Europe and all other cruises scheduled until mid-September 2021 not included in the itineraries updated today, are cancelled due to the level of uncertainty on the reopening of several destinations which does not currently guarantee the feasibility of the itineraries. Costa is in the process of informing travel agents and customers affected by the changes with detailed information ship by ship.
The new itineraries for summer 2021 will be progressively available on our systems over the next few days.
