The long-stranded cruise ship Goddess of the Night better known as the former Costa Magica finally has a new home. After years of lay-up, filed start, and abandoned brand dreams, the 105,000-GT ship has been sold by Seajets to China’s Tianjin Orient International Cruises.
Seajets’ failed cruise arm, Neonyx, had attempted to relaunch the vessel as an adults-only party ship in Greece, but that project failed. Now the ship is heading east, reemerging with a fresh identity. Her temporary name Vision will reportedly give way to her official Chinese-market name: Ideal, with service expected to begin from Tianjin in summer 2026.
If Tianjin Orient sounds familiar, it’s because the company already operates the former Sea Princess, now renamed Dream, which has been sailing for the Chinese brand since 2023. The arrival of the former Costa Magica will create a two-ship fleet pairing “Dream” and “Ideal”.
Built in 2004 at Fincantieri’s Sestri Ponente yard, Costa Magica was part of Carnival Corporation’s Destiny-class evolution and remained one of Costa’s most recognizable ships. But after the COVID shutdown, she was laid up and later sold to Seajets, joining a growing list of big-ship purchases made by the Greek operator during the pandemic.
Neonyx promised a flashy restart, yet the plan fizzled. The ship instead became a controversial floating hotel during the 2024 G7 summit in Italy, drawing widespread complaints over cabin conditions—another nail in the coffin for its European revival.
Now the story shifts. According to multiple reports, including a Chinese travel-agency statement circulating online, the ship is preparing for a full handover and repositioning to Asia. She will sail from Tianjin as Ideal, joining the booming post-pandemic Chinese cruise revival.
Seajets, for its part, has been offloading some of its pandemic-era cruise acquisitions. Of the eight large ships it snapped up since 2020, three have already been sold or scrapped; four others, including the former Oceana, Majesty of the Seas, Veendam, and until now Costa Magica—remain laid up at various Greek ports.
