The Italian cruise line Costa Cruises plans to use the cruise ship Costa Mediterranea to return the Indonesian and Filipino crew back home. The ship will embark on a one month voyage from Itlay to the Far East with a final stop the port of Shanghai. Before setting sail on this long journey Costa Mediterannea will stop in La Spezia to diembark European crew and pick up the Filipino and Indonesian crew from the cruise ship Costa Pacifica. The next port-of-call will be Brindisi, where Costa Fortuna Filipino and Indonesian crew will embark on Costa Mediterranea. All three ships are safe with no positive case of COVID-19, the company said.

In a letter sent to the crew, Costa Cruises said they are deeply thankful for the dedication and care all the crew provided to the guests and towards one another during extraordinary circumstances such as these. Costa Cruises said it was humbled to see so many of the crew going above and beyond and truly embodying the W.I.D.E spirit.

Costa Cruises plan to repatriate Filipino and Indonesian crew back home: 

Costa Mediterranea will sail to the port of La Spezia where is due to arrive on April 10th to disembark European crew and continue disembarking crew not requested for operational reason. The crew scheduled to disembark will be able to safely reach home according to the current restrictions in their home countries.

All the other crew, with the exception of Filipino and Indonesian crew and crew requested for manning the ship, will be transferred to Costa Pacifica which is a safe ship with no positive case of COVID-19. For these crew members the company is working with governments and air companies in order to guarantee safe travel back home. At the same time, Costa Pacifica Filipino and Indonesian crew members will be transferred to Costa Mediterranea.

Costa Mediterranea next port of call will be Brindisi where is scheduled to arrive on April 14th and transfer Filipino and Indonesian crew from Costa Fortuna, which are not requested for operational reasons or maintain minimum safety of the vessel.

Costa Mediterranea will be sailing from Brindisi on April 18th to the Far East to reach as final destination the port of Shanghai. The arrival to Indonesia and the Philippines is estimated within mid-May. Once reaching these destinations Costa Cruises will have coordinated debarkation in cooperation with the local government and the managing agencies to ensure everyone can reach home safely.

“Our thoughts and hearts are with you and your families and of course with all nations and individuals worldwide who are affected and suffered from COVID-19 disease and restrictions.” Costa Cruises said.