Tag Archives: Costa cruise

Carnival CEO Donald ‘Very Disappointed’ in CDC Guidance

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Carnival Corporation CEO Arnold Donald said he was “very disappointed” in the CDC’s guidance released last week on the company’s business update call on Tuesday morning.

Donald mentioned the company has 30 ships in U.S. waters that have achieved “green status” per CDC guidelines, and that the company was continuing to work with the agency and current administration to find practical approaches to resume cruising in a way that is in the best interest of public health.

He said he aimed to have all nine Carnival Corp. brands sailing this summer and that ships will come back on a staggered basis with occupancy rates ramping up over time.

Donald noted an acceleration of booking trends globally, with an AIDA ship sailing the Canaries and restarts set in the UK and Italy shortly.

Donald was also quick to note 59 of 90 of the company’s ships were outside of the Conditional Sail Order, and restarts were being worked on in Asia and Australia.

Costa Will Start Cruising Again in May

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Costa Cruises announced that it will start cruising again in May, citing restrictions in place in Europe and other European countries to contain COVID-19.

In line with the new plan, the Costa Smeralda’s departure from Italy is planned for May 1, with three- and four-day mini-cruises or alternatively a seven-day cruise, calling at Savona, La Spezia, Civitavecchia, Naples, Messina and Cagliari.

From June 12, the Costa Smeralda will return to sailing one-week cruises in the Western Mediterranean, with visits to Italy (Savona, Civitavecchia and Palermo), France (Marseille) and Spain (Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca).

The departure date of Costa Luminosa, the second Costa ship scheduled to resume service, is now postponed to May 16 from Trieste, and the following day from Bari, confirming its program of one-week cruises in Greece and Croatia.

Costa Restarts Cruises With New Program From March 27

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Costa Cruises will be restarting service on the Costa Smeralda from March 27 and on the Costa Luminosa from May 2. This was announced by its parent company, Carnival Corporation, in a press release.

“The cruise ships of Costa Cruises … are ready to set sail again and offer guests holidays filled with leisure and relaxation, along with enhanced health and safety protocols,” the company said.

The Costa Smeralda program will consist of an unchanged itinerary across Italy for three- or four-day mini-cruises or, alternatively, a 7-day cruise, calling at Savona, La Spezia, Civitavecchia, Naples, Messina and Cagliari.

On May 1, the Costa Smeralda will return to one-week cruises in the Western Mediterranean with visits to Italy (Savona, Civitavecchia and Palermo), France (Marseille) and Spain (Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca).

The Costa Luminosa will be departing from Trieste from May 2, and the following day from Bari, confirming its program of one-week cruises in Greece and Croatia, according to the press release.

“Costa is working with national and local authorities of the countries included in the itineraries of its ships outside Italy to define the details of the restart of cruise operations, with enhanced health and safety measures through the implementation of the Costa Safety Protocol,” Carnival Corporation wrote. “The protocol contains operational measures related to all aspects of the cruise experience, both onboard and ashore, which were implemented in the past months of cruise operations.”

All other cruises scheduled until the end of May, and not included in the program updated on Feb. 17, will be cancelled. Costa is in the process of informing travel agents and customers affected by changes.