Tag Archives: Costa Smeralda

Covid-19 forces Costa Cruises to revise the winter programme

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Costa Deliziosa
Carnival Corporation brand Costa Cruises has altered its schedule for winter 2020-2021 because of travel restrictions and the continuing Covid-19 crisis.

The Italian cruise line said Costa Smeralda will operate an Italian-only itinerary to replace a voyage to Italy, France and Spain that would have started from November 14.

Costa Deliziosa (pictured) will continue operating its current one-week itinerary in Italy and Greece until January 3, 2021, instead of visiting Montenegro and Croatia as originally planned.
Costa Diadema will postpone the start of long cruises in the Mediterranean to April 6, 2021, offering 14-day cruises to Turkey and 14-day cruises to Egypt and Greece.

Costa Firenze cruise ship

New ship Costa Firenze, which is currently in the final stages of completion at the Fincantieri shipyard in Italy, will be delivered as planned in mid-December 2020 but will begin offering its seven-day cruises in Italy, France and Spain only from February 28, 2021.

Finally, Costa Favolosa cruises in the Caribbean are cancelled and the ship will return to operate from April 2, 2021, with mini-cruises in the Mediterranean.

The 2021 world tour by Costa Deliziosa is also cancelled, with guests offered the chance to book the 2022 voyage.

Third Costa Ship Back Cruising: Smeralda Departs From Savona

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Costa Cruises now has three ships back in cruise operation as the Smeralda departed from Savona on Oct. 10 with guests aboard.

The ship joins the Deliziosa and Diadema as the Costa ships back in operation.

All three ships are sailing under the Costa Safety Protocol which is a strict set of new health and safety requirements including COVID-19 testing for all guests and crew. 

The LNG-powered ship will now offer five week-long itineraries through early November, calling at Italian ports La Spezia, Cagliari, Naples, Messina and Civitavecchia/Rome.

“It is very exciting to see our flagship depart once more from Savona, Costa’s main port in the Mediterranean,” said Michael Thamm, Group CEO of Costa Group and Carnival Asia.

“We are gradually returning to cruising with an increasing number of ships, in a safe and responsible way, thanks to new health protocols. The return of Costa Smeralda, which represents the most advanced vessel in our fleet in terms of reducing environmental impact, is also a renewal of our commitment to sustainable cruise development, which will be one of the key points in the recovery of our sector in the coming years,” Thamm noted.

Savona is playing a leading role in the company’s restart, with the Smeralda scheduled to homeport in the Italian city through the end of 2021. Plans call to offer different itineraries, per local regulations, that will include Italy, France and Spain.

Starting in November, the Costa Diadema will also dock at the Palacrociere cruise terminal in Savona and will offer 12-day cruises to the Canary Islands, 14-day cruises to Egypt and Greece, and 14-day cruises also to Turkey.

The Costa Fortuna, Costa Favolosa and Costa Fascinosa will also arrive in Savona, offering mini-cruises in the Mediterranean and 10-day cruises to Portugal.

Carnival: Optimistic For Restart in the U.S. By Year’s End

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Carnival Breeze

“At this time, we have every reason to be optimistic we will be sailing in the U.S. before year’s end,” said Arnold Donald, president and CEO of Carnival Corporation, on today’s third-quarter earnings call.

The company’s Costa Cruises brand has already returned to service with two ships in the Mediterranean, soon to be joined by a third ship, the Costa Smeralda, according to Donald. They are sailing weeklong cruises from different Italian homeports. The sister brand, AIDA, is set to launch service later this month, also in the Mediterranean, with German passengers.

Donald explained that the ships are sailing with lower occupancy levels enabling the cruise lines to test and assess their health and safety protocols.

With national brands, Donald said Carnival is ideally positioned for a phased-in return to service, as each brand can be restarted independently, and in most cases with ready access to drive-to markets.

Also, with a small percentage of the fleet entering service, for now, he said, there will be less reliance on new-to-cruise, compared to all previous growth cycles that required the brands to tap more new passengers.

In addition, as Carnival is disposing of some 18 older ships and right-sizing its shoreside organization, Donald said a leaner and more efficient company would emerge.

“All initiatives going forward will be focused on maximizing cash generation and creating shareholder value. The delivery schedules of new ships have been stretched out and there is only one new ship on order for 2024 and one for 2025. This will further reduce our capital expenditures and allow us to repay debt,” he added.

Added David Bernstein, CFO and chief accounting officer: “We are focused on assets that are cash generative, so we can pay down debt, rebuild our balance sheet and get back to investment-grade rating.

“We are working through a number of different financial scenarios, but there is a lot of uncertainty involved so it is difficult to give (financial) guidance. (However), we expect over time to build occupancy up to generate positive cash flow and reduce the cash burn. The start-up occupancy level is less than 50 per cent. Over time, once we know we have things right, we will increase occupancy, while keeping social distancing in mind as well.”

Bernstein noted that the break-even point ranges from 30 to 50 per cent occupancy for different ships.