Tag Archives: Costa cruise

Former Costa neoRomantica To Be Scrapped

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The Antares Experience – formerly known as the Costa neoRomantica and Celestyal Experience – is getting scrapped, according to Gadani Ship Breaking Yard.

The Pakistani shipyard posted several photos and videos of the former Costa Cruises ship on its Facebook page.

The ship was originally launched as the Romantica in the 1990s and renamed as the neoRomantica after Costa gave it a 90-million-euro upgrade in 2011-2012 adding two half decks, new staterooms and additional balcony-equipped accommodations.

Celestyal Cruises took delivery of the ship in summer 2020 and renamed it as the Celestyal Experience, according to the Secondhand Market Report by Cruise Industry News. The 1,800-guest ship immediately became the largest ship in the company’s fleet but, sadly, never sailed for the cruise line.

Celestyal CEO, Chris Theophilides, previously said that the purchase of the Experience allowed the cruise line to see “many more destinations.” It was expected to sail on March 5, 2022, with the seven-night Three Continents itinerary, calling in Greece, Turkey, Israel, Egypt and Cyprus. The ship’s sales price was not disclosed.

However, those operational plans were quickly scrapped as the pandemic showed no signs of stopping, and Celestyal published a statement on selling the ship – at the time to an undisclosed buyer. The vessel shortly reemerged as the Antares Experience.

Coast Guard Seeks Public’s Help Developing Mass Casualty at Sea Lifesaving Device

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Costa Concordia after the initial disaster

Here’s a scenario for you… a cruise ship is sinking at sea and hundreds, if not thousands of people are in need of immediate rescue. Due to conditions, lifeboats are inoperable or infeasible. What’s the best option for rescue? That’s a question the Department of Homeland Security needs your help figuring out.

In collaboration with the U.S. Coast Guard, the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate has released the “Mass Rescue Operations Lifesaving Device Broad Agency Announcement” solicitation seeking the public’s help in coming up with innovative technology to respond to mass-casualty events at sea.

The solicitation asks innovators, industry, academia, and laboratories to submit solutions for a large capacity-floating device to keep survivors out of the water during mass rescue operations.

The U.S. Coast Guard Research and Development Center (RDC) will provide technical support to DHS S&T throughout the effort to help with the development of the device.

“We’re looking forward to working with the public to help develop their innovative ideas into a practical and useable design,” said RDC Commanding Officer, Capt. Dan Keane. “If successful, the mass life-saving device will give first responders additional capability and capacity to respond quickly to a mass rescue situation.”

Specifically, the solicitation seeks an effective solution for providing short-term lifesaving and rescue assistance in disasters that render existing systems, such as onboard lifeboats, inoperable or infeasible. The Coast Guard wants to develop a non-standard, one-time use, large capacity, an ultra-lightweight floating device that will be deployed from air or vessel during a mass rescue operation to mitigate the loss of life.

For example, if a large ferryboat or cruise ship is unexpectedly stranded or sinking, the ship’s staff may not be able to deploy the lifeboats. Coast Guard aircraft or vessels could respond and deploy mass rescue devices at the scene to better maintain passengers until all can be rescued.

“The purpose of a large-capacity floating device is to solely keep survivors out of the water during a mass rescue operation,” said S&T Program Manager Angela Blair. “The commercial marketplace already has large, flotation devices, but these are too heavy to be deployed from a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter or easily lifted over a vessel’s bulwark for deployment.”

White papers are due by 2 p.m. EDT on August 5, 2021.

“The Coast Guard is excited to work with industry to develop this cutting edge, mission-critical, lifesaving capability,” said Tom Gorgol of the Coast Guard office of search and rescue.

For more information, visit the mass rescue solicitation on SAM.gov.

Costa Firenze Added Into Operations, Sails from Savona

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The new Costa Firenze is leaving the port of Savona today on her first cruise.

Designed and built by Fincantieri in the Marghera shipyards, the Costa Firenze is inspired by the Florentine Renaissance according to the Italian brand.

Starting later this month and through August, Valletta is also part of the itinerary. 

“Costa Firenze is the perfect ambassador of Italian style, which we have combined with a series of product innovations designed especially for families and couples,” said Mario Zanetti, president of Costa Cruises. “This is the fourth Costa ship to resume service this summer, confirming the gradual return to normality of our company and the cruise industry, which is of great economic and employment importance for our country”.

With the Firenze now in service, the Smeralda will now offer a different itinerary, marking the return of Costa to France, with weekly calls at Marseille, and to Spain, with weekly calls at Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca, in addition to Savona, Civitavecchia/Rome and Messina.

And starting in September, the Costa Firenze will expand its itinerary to France and Spain, sailing to Savona, Civitavecchia/Rome, Naples, Ibiza, Barcelona and Marseille. During the winter of 2021-2022, the Costa Firenze will be positioned in Dubai. The week-long cruises will visit the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman, with calls at Abu Dhabi, Doha, Muscat and a multi-day stopover in Dubai, with specific packages for visits to Expo Dubai 2020, as Costa Cruises is the Gold Sponsor of the Italian Pavilion at Expo Dubai 2020.

Costa’s restart plan also includes the Costa Fascinosa scheduled to return to service on September 23 from Savona for 10-day cruises to Lisbon, and the Costa Diadema, on September 26 from Savona with long cruises to Turkey and Greece or Spain and Portugal.