GENOA, Italy, Sept. 19, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Costa Cruises, the
leading cruise line in Europe and
a part of Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL;
NYSE: CUK), announced that Costa Diadema will depart from
Genoa today. She is the
second Costa Cruises ship to return to the sea with a
complement of guests. Costa Diadema's itinerary, which marks the
return of Costa's cruise holidays to Liguria and the Western Mediterranean, only
includes calls at Italian ports and is reserved for guests resident
in Italy. After Genoa, her next ports of call will be
Civitavecchia/Rome, Naples, Palermo, Cagliari and La Spezia.
"At last Costa's cruises are back in Genoa and Liguria, which has been our home for over 70
years. We're setting sail again gradually and responsibly, with
safety protocols that are unrivalled in the tourism industry. The
initial response from our guests has been most encouraging,"
said Group CEO, Costa Group & Carnival Asia
Michael Thamm. "As
Europe's number one cruise
company, we have a responsibility to turn this difficult situation
into an opportunity to come back stronger than ever, and to
continue to develop the tourism and economic ecosystem of the
destinations. We want to do it in close cooperation with all our
stakeholders and we believe that Liguria has a leading role to play with us in
becoming a model for others to follow based on four cornerstones:
state-of-the-art infrastructures, like the new passenger terminals
in Genoa and La Spezia;
sustainable innovation, to improve environmental performance in
ports, such as shore power, LNG; improved destination management
and tourism development to better respond to the needs of today's
travelers and expand our value creation capabilities; and support
to the social needs of the community, for which we are committed
through our Costa Crociere Foundation."
Liguria is featuring
prominently in Costa's return to cruising, with a total of around
80 calls in this part of north-west Italy between now
and the end of the 2020/21 winter season. From October 10 Savona will be the homeport for
the flagship Costa Smeralda, the company's first vessel
powered by LNG (liquefied natural gas), which will be offering
one-week cruise holidays in the Western Mediterranean. After a
series of cruises intended for the French market, from November Costa Diadema will also be moving to
Savona, for 12-day cruises to the Canary Islands and 14-day
cruises to Egypt and Greece. Costa Firenze, the new ship under construction
at Fincantieri's Marghera yard, will make her debut on December 27, again sailing in the Western
Mediterranean, and calling at Genoa and La Spezia every week.
Meanwhile, from October 22 to
mid-December La Spezia will see the arrival of
AIDAblu, operated by the Costa Group's German brand AIDA
Cruises, on 7-day cruise vacations devoted entirely to Italy. Costa's cruises sailing on or after
September 27 will be available for
all European citizens who are residents in any of the countries
listed in the most recent Prime Ministerial Decree.
The embarkation of guests on Costa Diadema for today's first
departure from Genova has been
carried out in accordance with the procedures set out in the
Costa Safety Protocol, which contains new operational
measures in response to the COVID-19 situation, dealing with all
aspects of the cruise experience both on and off the ship. The
procedures, devised with the support of independent public health
experts, are in line with – and in some cases even stricter than –
the health protocols defined by the relevant Italian and European
authorities. On arrival at the Stazione Marittima in Genoa, with staggered entrance times by virtue
of online check-in, each guest had their temperature scanned,
submitted a health questionnaire and was subjected to an antigen
rapid swab test, with the possibility of an additional
molecular swab test for any suspected cases. Prior to embarking,
crew members were also subjected to a molecular swab test at
intervals and were quarantined for 14 days. In addition, each
member of crew will have a monthly test.
Starting with the first call at Civitavecchia/Roma, the destinations on Costa Diadema's
itinerary can be visited only by joining the protected
excursions organized by the company for small groups of
people on sanitized means of transport, and subject to temperature
measurement before leaving and rejoining the ship. The shipboard
amenities and entertainment have been redesigned based on the
procedures in the Safety Protocol but still retain the
distinguishing features of a Costa cruise holiday, thanks partly to
the physical distancing enabled by the ship's reduced capacity. For
example: repeat performances of the live shows for smaller
audiences; a switch from buffet restaurants to seated dining;
reduced capacity and minimum distance between tables in the
theater, show lounge, bars and restaurants; staggered entrance for
some facilities such as the spa, pools and kids' miniclub with a
limited number of people allowed in at any one time. Also, there is
enhanced cleaning and sanitization in all areas on board, including
cabins, while the shipboard health services have been expanded.
Other health & safety measures are the use of face masks
whenever necessary, hand sanitizer dispensers throughout the ship
and the introduction of self-service clinical thermometer
kiosks.
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SOURCE Costa Cruises