Costa Firenze Added Into Operations, Sails from Savona

Posted on 6 July, 2021 by Spacejunkie2

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.

Málaga Welcomes Mein Schiff 2, First Cruise Ship Since Pandemic

Posted on 21 June, 2021 by Spacejunkie2

Málaga has become the first port in Spain’s mainland to host a cruise ship upon the restart of operations after a 15-month pause.

According to a press release, TUI Cruises’ Mein Schiff 2 arrived from the Canary Islands on June 16 at 6:15 a.m.

Carrying 1,275 passengers, she stayed in the port until 7 p.m. of the same day, when she departed for Palma de Mallorca to start domestic itineraries in Spain.

The Mein Schiff 2 will be visiting Málaga again on June 22 and July 6, according to the MedCruise Association.

To mark the special first sailing, representatives from the port and the destination have met with Tom Roth, the captain from Mein Schiff 2, and handed a commemorating plaque.

“Today is a very important day for Málaga, (which) proves how governmental bodies have worked together, and will keep working together, for Málaga, a cruiser-friendly destination,” said the President of the Port Authority of Malaga Carlos Rubio.

The Mayor of Malaga Francisco De la Torre said that cruise tourism will help reactivate tourism in Málaga, which is an “essential cruise destination for cruise lines.”

Roth highlighted that “this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

According to the press release, TUI Cruises developed a “bubble” cruise experience, allowing only organized excursions, which guarantees that the anti-COVID-19 safety measures are respected, thus benefiting both the passenger and the crew, as well as the population of the destinations visited.

In Málaga, cruise passengers visited the city and other towns nearby in small groups, having chosen emblematic places of the historical city centre of Málaga, as well as Ronda, Mijas or Marbella, among others, supporting the recovery of the economy.

The Mein Schiff 4 was also in the Málaga port on June 16, arriving at 3 p.m. for a technical stop with no passengers.

Palfinger Completes First Cruise Drydock Since Pandemic

Posted on 10 November, 2020 by Spacejunkie2

Palfinger Marine has completed its first major refurbishment jobs since the start of the pandemic, according to a press release.

The job involved servicing 18 lifeboats and 20 winches for the Allure of the Seas from Royal Caribbean International.

To complete the job, 11 technicians from Palfenger’s U.S. service office travelled to Naventia’s shipyard in Cádiz, Spain, where they joined five LSA- and seven refinishing technicians from Palfinger Spain.

Palfinger’s Florida-based Operations Manager Josh Lozano has celebrated the resumption of major cruise operations at Palfinger.

“Slowly but surely, we were able to resume our work after the lockdown, starting with the first successful service job for the Allure of the Seas,” he said.

Together, the technicians working on the Allure refinished the canopies on 18 lifeboats – which can carry up to 370 people each – and inspected the boats and release gear.

This work included “cleaning and maintaining the release hooks as well as inspecting the boats according to MSC.402 and other regulations required by class and flag,” the company stated. The jobs took 30 days to complete.

Lozano said that they have also been performing two cruise drydocking in Italy and Singapore, utilizing the company’s corresponding local offices. Additional planned inspections were performed by the company’s UK office.