A second of Carnival Corporation’s cruise lines will restart cruises today when Costa Cruises begins offering sailings on their flagship.
Costa Cruises’ largest cruise ship, Costa Smeralda, will begin offering cruises around ports in Italy. All passengers will be tested before boarding the ship and tested halfway through the voyage. The cruise line has also added new health and safety measures.
The restart of the Italian-flagged cruise line marks an important economic recovery for the entire territory: indeed, before the Covid-19 emergency, Costa Cruises generated in Italy an economic impact of €3.5 billion per year and over 17,000 direct and indirect jobs.
Costa Smeralda’s seven day long itinerary includes Savona, Civitavecchia/Rome, Naples, Messina, Cagliari and La Spezia, and can also be divided into two mini-cruises of three or four days for those who prefer a shorter holiday.
Costa Smeralda cruises departing from Saturday will follow the procedures set out in the Costa Safety Protocol, the protocol developed by Costa Cruises 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 after half of the cruise, visiting destinations with protected excursions, new ways of using on-board services, and wearing a mask when necessary.
Costa Smeralda will be the first of a total of four Costa cruise ships to operate during the summer of 2021, offering cruises in the Mediterranean.
On the days when Costa cruise ships are not operating, 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.
