Carnival Cruise Line is teaming up with Costa Cruises to create a new concept for North American guests when n COSTA® by CARNIVAL® debuts in the spring of 2023 with Costa Venezia sailings from New York. The Costa Venice will be followed by the Costa Florence, which will arrive in the spring of 2024 to sail from Long Beach.
Carnival will manage the ships, which will combine the excellent service, food, and entertainment enjoyed by the guests of the Carnival with the characteristics of the Italian design of Costa. "Costa Venezia and Costa Firenze will bring Carnival's guests the ambiance and beauty of Italy," said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. "We're going to invite our guests to Choose Fun with Carnival, Italian Style!"
"This is an exciting opportunity for us to operate two additional beautiful Vista-class ships in the U.S. and bring a unique experience to those who love the culture, food and vibe of Italy," said Duffy.
"There are lots of ways we plan to create an immersive fan experience for our guests who choose to sail on these ships, which have beautiful Italian-design elements, dining and retail that will deliver Carnival fun leveraging the spirit of Italy from our sister line Costa Cruises."
Mario Zanetti, president of Costa Cruises said, "We are excited to see these iconic ships make their debut in the U.S. under the leadership and operation of our sister brand. Costa providing the beautiful ship with its' Italian design and Carnival delivering FUN, Italian Style!"
Zanetti said that Costa would inform the clients affected by this news.
Duffy said that the ships will continue to work on their regular Costa itineraries until they are assigned to the Carnival for work and deployment on the dry dock. Scheduling and itinerary plans are being finalized, and Venezia’s announcement will soon be given a launch date in spring 2023. Costa Venezia and Costa Firenze is sister ships of Carnival Vista, Carnival Horizon and Carnival Panorama, weighing 135,500 gross tons and accommodating up to 5,260 guests.
