Costa Cruises has postponed the restart of its ships and will start sailing from May. The decision was taken into consideration following the restrictions still in force in Italy and other European countries to contain the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the latest update Costa Smeralda, which was scheduled to sail on March 27, will now resume cruises on May 1, with 3 and 4-day cruises or alternatively a combined 7-day cruise, calling the Italian ports of Savona, La Spezia, Civitavecchia, Naples, Messina and Cagliari. From 12 June Costa Smeralda will return to offer week-long cruises in the western Mediterranean, which will visit Italy (Savona, Civitavecchia and Palermo), France (Marseille) and Spain (Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca).
In accordance with the recent roadmap for the resumption of international tourism in Greece, the departure date of Costa Luminosa, the second Costa ship expected to return service with one-week cruises in Greece and Croatia, is postponed to May 16 from Trieste, and the next day from Bari.
The resumption of Costa Cruises will continue to be supported by the implementation of the Costa Safety Protocol. Costa protocol contains operational measures relating to all aspects of the cruise experience, on board as well as on land, which have already been applied in the last months of operation of the ships. Among the measures envisaged are the reduction of the number of guests, swab tests for all guests and for the crew, temperature control every time you get off and return to the ship, visit destinations only with protected excursions, physical distancing on board and in the terminals, new ways of using on-board services, enhancement of sanitation and medical services, use of protective masks when necessary.
In addition, the Company is working with the national and local authorities of the countries included in the itineraries of its ships outside Italy, to define in detail the procedures for carrying out its operations.
As previously announced, all other cruises scheduled until the end of May, and not included in the Costa Smeralda and Costa Luminosa itineraries updated today, are canceled. Costa is taking steps to inform travel agents and customers affected by the changes.
