Costa Cruises has been notified by the Finnish Meyer shipyard in Turku of a further delay in the construction of its new flagship Costa Smeralda.
With its new cruise ship LNG propulsion system and many sophisticated rooms with stage and audio/video equipment, the complexity and sophistication of Costa Smeralda is very high. Aside from its unique design features the size of Costa Cruises‘ new flagship is impressive, at 180 000 GT the ship is also much larger than recently built ships at Turku shipyard.
In getting this all to work together with many involved persons and companies, Meyer Turku has had a slower progress speed than needed to create a unique Costa-style vessel.
As a result of this delay, the first Costa Smeralda cruise will now depart from Savona on December 21, 2019. The itinerary, which will be repeated until May 16, 2020, remains unchanged: Savona (Saturday), Marseilles (Sunday), Barcelona (Monday), Palma de Majorca (Tuesday), Civitavecchia (Thursday) and La Spezia (Friday).
Costa Smeralda, like her sister ship Costa Toscana which is due for delivery in 2021, will be powered both in port and at sea by LNG, the world’s cleanest burning fossil fuel, thereby minimizing environmental impact.
Costa Smeralda will be a showcase for and a tribute to the very best of Italy. All her decks and public areas are named after and inspired by iconic Italian places. The ship will feature 11 different restaurants (including one specifically conceived for casual family dining), 19 bars, a splendid spa area with 16 treatment rooms, an onboard waterpark with waterslides, 4 pools and a dedicated facility where kids can hang out and make new friends their age. Costa Smeralda will also have her very own museum: the CoDe – Costa Design Museum, displaying the excellence of Italian design. For more information visit costacruises.com.