Costa Cruises Lines

What began as a fleet of cargo ships that operated between Genoa and Sardinia in the mid-1800's until the introduction of passenger services in 1947, Costa cruises is now the largest and most modern cruise fleet in all of Europe. Acquired by Carnival Corporation in 2000, Costa Cruises is now one of eleven brands operated by Carnival Corporation & PLC while still remaining an inherently Italian company with a distinct Italian personality.

Costa Cruises offers cruisers an "Italian Style" offering which combines the sophistication of a European vacation with the identity of the cruise line's Italian background. Costa's fleet of ships can be found all across the globe, not just Europe, and some of their destinations include the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, Northern Europe, the Arabian Gulf, Asia, the Indian Ocean and trans-Atlantic.

• Costa Allegra    • Costa Atlantica   • Costa Concordia   • Costa Victoria  • Costa Deliziosa   • Costa Favolosa   • Costa Fortuna   • Costa Luminosa   • Costa Magica   • Costa Marina   • Costa Mediterranea   • Costa Pacifica   • Costa Serena

Over the years, Costa cruising has been known for the heavy and extensive smoking aboard their ships but recent Italian regulations have curtailed that habit and now smoking is limited to designated areas only making the dining halls smoke-free. Another feature that Costa cruises was known for is their All-Italian staff. Today, cabin and dining room stewards are as multi-cultural and diverse as it gets with Swedes, Koreans and Indians in the mix. One of the main advantages of this is that they now speak english, which gets rid of one of the main criticisms that used to exist of the cruise line. In July 2006, Costa Cruises launched it's newest and largest ship ever, the Costa Concordia which was then followed in May 2007 by the Costa Serena. Two years later, sister ship Costa Pacifica came into service and two more Concordia-class vessels are expected to debut in the spring of 2011 and 2012. As being arguably the most innovative and forward thinking cruise line in Europe, Costa has designed a brand new, Panamax sized prototype ship called the Costa Luminosa. It's smaller than the Concordia class ships at just 92,000 tons but this ship, along with it's sister, the Costa Deliziosa, represents a more intimate and premium cruising experience.

Speaking of the Fleet, Costa Cruises introduced it's 984 passenger North American flagship, the Costa Riviera, in 1985. The nineties saw major improvements and additions for the cruise fleet as they added the Costa Marina in 1990, the Costa Classica and Costa Allegra in 1992, the Costa Romantica in 1993 and the Costa Victoria in 1996. As the company approached the 2000s, they launched the massive 2,680 passenger Costa Atlantica which was the largest cruising vessel ever built by a European company. This launched the company's coming of age and was prompted snatched up by Carnival Corporation that same year. As part of the Carnival Corporation, the Costa Atlantica was the first to offer the Carnival Cruise Lines design sensibility as it was designed by Carnival's very own Joe Farcas who has had a hand in every new build since.

Costa's relationship with their new owners has since been a good one as they have seen their largest ever fleet expansion under Carnival Corporation's watch as the Costa Europa came on board in 2002 as well as the Costa Mediterranea, which came into commission in June of 2003. Costa's amazing building and expansion continued well into the decade with many more larger and exquisite vessels added to the fleet. These additions include the 2720 passenger Costa Fortuna which was the largest ever to fly the Italian flag, the Costa Magica, the Costa Concordia, the Costa Serena and the Costa Pacifica. Even with such a large fleet of ships, two more are expected to join the brood in spring of 2011 and 2012, the Costa Favolosa and the Costa Fascinosa respectively.

As one of the few cruise lines that sails the Mediterranean all-year round, Costa offers one of the industry's most diverse selection of Mediterranean itineraries which also include Western Europe and the Baltic. As the expansion speeds up, Costa is also exploring new and more exotic parts of the world such as Dubai, Bahrain and Oman. Their new ship, the Costa Luminosa, is being based in Dubai for winter 2010.

It has also now positioned Costa Allegra and Costa Classica year-round in the Far East. There are two-week itineraries from Singapore and Hong Kong, sailing to Vietnam, China, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei, and short cruises from China that visit Japan, aimed at the Chinese market.

Costa Fortuna, Costa Atlantica, Costa Magica, Costa Mediterranea and Costa Romantica are in the Caribbean and Americas for winter 2008/09 and autumn 2009. Costa Fortuna has seven-night cruises from Ft. Lauderdale calling at various Caribbean islands; Costa Atlantica sails weekly from Guadeloupe for St. Maarten, La Romana and Catalina Island, Tortola, Antigua and St. Lucia.

Costa Mediterranea is based at Santos, Brazil, offering seven-night cruises calling at Buenos Aires, Punta del Este in Uruguay. Costa Magica is based at Santos and sails weekly along the Brazilian coast. Costa Romantica is based in Buenos Aires and visits Brazil and Uruguay on seven-, eight- and nine-night cruises.

Costa Concordia, Costa Serena and Costa Marina sail year-round in the Mediterranean on various eight-, 10- and 11-night itineraries. Costa Concordia is based at Civitavecchia, the port for Rome; Costa Serena and Costa Marina are based at Savona.