For many travellers, a cruise provides a gateway to exploring the world. Each itinerary provides a chance to experience cultures, cuisines and adventures, with each destination offering a taste of a different way of life. For a passenger, exploration becomes as easy as stepping off the gangway.
But behind that step lie years of preparation and a planning process that brings together a range of commercial, operational and environmental considerations. Working on a global scale, cruise lines must assess the appeal of destinations alongside port infrastructure, sailing distances, guest demand and the costs and practicalities of operating a particular route. At the same time, changing environmental requirements, including emissions rules and shore power provisions, are adding further considerations to deployment decisions.
For Costa Cruises, these factors are considered as part of an integrated planning process that not only assesses logistics and guest appeal but also emphasises commercial viability.
“Itinerary design and commercial planning are closely connected,” says Davide Truscello, pricing, itinerary and revenue planning director at the cruise line. “A port is not simply a destination; it is an integral part of the overall value proposition of an itinerary.”
This thinking extends to how Costa evaluates individual destinations. “Our objective is not to build the simplest or least demanding itinerary, but the one that offers the strongest experience for our guests within a sustainable operating model,” he says. “A destination that strengthens the distinctiveness of the product and the quality of the guest experience can add more to the itinerary than a more straightforward alternative. Ultimately, itinerary planning is about balancing guest appeal, operational feasibility and long-term commercial sustainability, which is why commercial thinking is part of the process from the earliest design stages.”
Data underpins these decisions. “We combine several layers of information,” explains Truscello. “First, we analyse guest demand and experience, including booking patterns, guest satisfaction scores and feedback from previous deployments. Second, we assess commercial performance indicators internally to understand how a destination contributes to the overall itinerary.”
Costa also monitors broader market trends and competitive developments to understand how guest preferences evolve and how destinations are positioned within the wider cruise market. Operational and logistical information is also important in forming the final judgement. “The assessment therefore brings together guest demand, commercial considerations, operational feasibility and factors such as fuel consumption, emissions and shore power availability,” says Truscello.
Costa Cruises sees consistent interest in its itineraries to destinations such as the Norwegian fjords in Northern Europe (Photo: Costa Cruises)
Environmental regulation adds a further variable to the equation. “Regulation is becoming an increasingly important factor in itinerary planning, although it is not the sole driver,” says Truscello. “The industry is adapting to new requirements on emissions, shore power and environmental compliance, while some destinations are also introducing capacity restrictions or new operating rules. We support these objectives and are investing accordingly.”
The timing of new requirements is another consideration for the cruise line. “From a cruise line perspective, predictability is essential,” he says. “Itineraries are planned, contracted and sold well in advance, so stable frameworks and realistic implementation timelines allow us to adapt properly and to communicate clearly with our guests. Sufficient lead time allows cruise lines to incorporate new requirements effectively into itinerary planning and guest communication.
“We therefore place growing value on ports that combine strong guest appeal with long-term operational reliability, infrastructure readiness and shore power capability. Ports that combine early infrastructure planning with clear and stable frameworks create the right conditions for long-term cruise development.”
With such a variety of commercial and logistical factors to take into account, striking the balance between delivering a smooth sailing and a fulfilling experience for guests is a delicate task. But Truscello suggests the relationship between performance and guest satisfaction is a complementary one. “I do not see the two factors as competing ones,” he says. “In our experience, the itineraries that perform best over time are those that generate high satisfaction, repeat guests and positive recommendations.”
The cruise line therefore looks closely at the experiences guests value, including distinctive destinations, time in port and opportunities to experience places in a more immersive and authentic way. “Some choices are made with a longer horizon in mind,” he says. “Improving port sequencing or the quality of the destination experience may not change the near-term picture, but it builds loyalty and strengthens the product over time.”
The Mediterranean, Costa Cruises’ home market, remains the line’s central focus (Photo: Costa Cruises)
Truscello points to several itineraries as examples of the success of Costa’s approach. They include the seven-day Canary Islands fly-and-cruise programme, which combines a short-haul holiday for European guests with a destination suited to winter travel, and the Greece fly-and-cruise programme from Athens, launched a few years ago. Each year, the cruise line also introduces special cruises for loyal customers, including its Northern Lights cruise in October and its world cruises.
“Although these products are targeted at different customer segments, their common appeal is clear: each one offers a distinctive, memorable experience that is difficult to replicate through other forms of travel,” says Truscello.
The Mediterranean, Costa’s home market and the region where the brand was born, remains central to its itinerary planning. Truscello sees opportunities for further itinerary development in the Eastern Mediterranean.
“In parts of the Eastern Mediterranean, strong destination appeal is accompanied by varying levels of infrastructure readiness for cruise operations,” says Truscello. “Terminal capacity, berth availability, passenger flows and transport links vary considerably from port to port. Where that infrastructure is well developed, the guest experience is noticeably stronger. This is a port-by-port observation rather than a comment on the region as a whole, though.”
Beyond the Mediterranean, Truscello highlights one further region as particularly popular among guests. “Northern Europe is the other area where we see consistent guest interest,” he says. “The fjords, North Cape and Northern Lights itineraries attract guests who are looking for distinctive, experience-led travel, and that appetite has remained solid.”
Ultimately, Truscello sees the itinerary planning process as a synthesis, with a successful voyage delivering commercial success through smooth operation and outstanding experiences that leave guests satisfied. He therefore views the ideal destinations for an itinerary as the ones that can deliver on all those fronts.
“The destinations that work best for us are those that combine guest appeal with operational reliability and well-prepared port infrastructure,” he says. “That combination is what makes a destination a strong long-term partner.”
Discover more insights like this in the 2027 issue of Cruise & Ferry Itinerary Planning. To get content like this on a regular basis, subscribe to the print editions or free digital editions of our Cruise & Ferry publications.