By
Alex Smith |
Costa Cruises is to expand its presence in Italy by including calls in Sicily and Sardinia in its 2020 itineraries.
New flagship Costa Smeralda will be calling at Caligari, Sardinia once a week during summer 2020, before visiting Palermo, Sicily during the winter. Meanwhile, Costa Pacifica, which had previously stopped at Cagliari, will now visit Catania, Sicily.
Costa Smeralda will be in Cagliari every Thursday from 1 October to 8 April 2020, making a total of 18 calls. The port will be part of a one-week itinerary, which also includes Marseilles, France and Barcelona, Spain.
From 1 October 2020 to April 2021, the ship will begin visiting Palermo, replacing Cagliari on the itinerary. Costa Smeralda will be joined by Costa Fortuna, which will call at the port every Friday over the winter. In addition, Costa Diadema will be stopping in Palermo every Tuesday from April to September 2020, increasing the total number of calls by Costa ships to the port to 77.
Costa Pacifica will call at Catania every Wednesday from June to November 2020, totalling 36 calls. The vessel’s itinerary will also include stops in Genoa, Italy and Malta.
“Sicily and Sardinia are two regions where the demand for Costa cruises is growing all the time,” said Neil Palomba, president of Costa Cruises. “The changes we have made to the 2020-2021 itineraries will allow our Sicilian and Sardinian customers to leave comfortably from a port near home to experience the truly innovative product offered by Costa Smeralda, which represents the best of Italian cruising hospitality. Furthermore, for guests embarking onboard Costa Smeralda in other ports, Cagliari and Palermo are two extremely attractive destinations that will further enrich their holiday experience.”
Costa Smeralda will be the first Costa Cruises’ ship to be fuelled by LNG, followed by her sister ship Costa Toscana, which is due for delivery in 2021. The ship will feature 11 different restaurants, 19 bars, a spa area and a waterpark, while the onboard Costa Design Collection Museum will display the excellence of Italian design.