Costa Cruises Restarts Mediterranean
Costa Cruises Restarted Mediterranean Cruises Saturday, May 1, from Savona, Italy, on Its Flagship Costa Smeralda
On Saturday, May 1, Costa Cruises resumed sailing from Savona, Italy, with its LNG-powered flagship Costa Smeralda on an itinerary dedicated exclusively to Italy. To celebrate the restart, local and port authorities were present at the port, along with Costa Cruises President Mario Zanetti.
The restart of the Italian-flagged cruise company marked an important economic recovery for the entire territory: before the COVID-19 emergency, Costa generated an economic impact in Italy of €3.5 billion (US$4.24 billion) per year and over 17,000 direct and indirect jobs.
The Costa Smeralda’s week-long itinerary includes Savona, Civitavecchia (Rome), Naples, Messina, Cagliari and La Spezia; it can be divided into two mini-cruises of three or four days for those who prefer a shorter holiday.
Costa Smeralda cruises will follow the procedures set out in the Costa Safety Protocol, developed by Costa together with scientific experts and Italian authorities, which includes enhanced health and safety measures for all aspects of the holiday experience, both on board and ashore. The protocol includes, for example, swabbing all guests before embarkation and halfway through the cruise, visiting destinations with protected excursions, new ways of using onboard services and wearing a mask when necessary.
Costa Smeralda is the first of four Costa ships to operate during summer 2021, offering cruises in the Mediterranean.
On days when Costa ships are not using it, the Palacrociere terminal in Savona, managed by Costa Cruises, will continue to be used by ASL 2 Savona (local Public Health Unit) for the COVID-19 vaccination campaign, contributing to the distribution of the vaccine in the Savona area.
