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Last look inside the Costa neoRomantica before arriving at a scrapyard in Pakistan

Submitted by kgnadmin on

The former Costa Cruises classic ship Costa neoRomantica is the latest vessel heading for the scrapyard. Gadani Ship Breaking Yard reported that the cruise ship is set to arrive at the scrapyard in Pakistan with her beaching expected this week. A video was posted on the company’s Facebook page showing for the last time the elegant interior of the magnificent ship serving in the Costa Cruises fleet since 1993.

As part of Carnival Corporation restructuring plan to dispose older cruise ships during the pandemic, Costa neoRomantica was sold to Celestyal Cruises and renamed Celestyal Experience in July 2020. The Greek cruise line was planning to use the ship for the 2022 cruise season with sailings to Greece, Turkey, Israel, Egypt and Cyprus. sadly, Celestyal Experience never sailed for Celestyal Cruises and was laid up at Piraeus, and later at Eleusis.

Celestyal Cruises sold the ship in September 2021 to Dubai-based company Beacon And Bay Shipping Services LLC and the vessel was renamed Antares Experience. 

In October 2021, Louis group announced that the company is looking for investors who will be able to help find financing and funds for Celestyal Cruises, reported "In Business News."

Speaking to the shareholders during the general meeting of the group, the president of Louis PLC, Kostakis Loizou, stated that "the very large losses suffered by Celestyal in 2020 and 2021 create a liquidity problem". For this reason, he announced the sale of "Celestyal Experience", a move which, as he stressed, strengthened the liquidity of Celestyal Cruises and at the same time will bring a profit of approximately € 3 million.