Costa Firenze is the new Costa Cruises ship due to come into service in October 2020. Currently being built at the Fincantieri shipyard in Marghera, Italy, Costa Firenze is a135,500 gross tons ship with capacity for over 5,200 guests; she is the sister ship of Costa Venezia, which was launched in Trieste, Italy, on March 1 this year.
Costa Firenze and Costa Venezia are the Italian company’s first ships specifically designed for the Chinese market. Before being positioned in Asia, Costa Firenze will spend a whole month in the Mediterranean, in October 2020, allowing all of Costa’s customers in Europe and around the world to be the first to experience a truly unique vacation on board the new ship. Cruises will be available for booking starting from tomorrow (May 7): there will be five 5-to-7-day cruises and one 51-day positioning cruise to China.
“Given the success of the inaugural cruises of Costa Venezia, we have decided to keep Costa Firenze in the Mediterranean for a whole month before its positioning in Asia,” says Neil Palomba, President of Costa Cruises. “Costa Firenze is part of an expansion plan for the Costa Group that includes a total of 7 new ships being delivered by 2023, for a total investment of over 6 billion euros. The next ship to come into service, in October 2019, will be Costa Smeralda, a real tribute to Italy’s finest and our excellence.”
Costa Firenze’s first cruise will sail from Trieste to Savona, Italy, departing on October 1, 2020, calling atBari, Italy; Barcelona, Spain; and Marseille, France. On October 8, 2020, the ship will leave Savona for a short cruise to Marseille, Barcelona and Savona. On October 12, 19 and 26, Costa Firenze will depart from Savona for three 1-week cruises including Naples, Italy, (replaced by Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy, for theOctober 19 cruise), Messina, Italy, (replaced by Palermo, Italy for the October 19 cruise), Barcelona and Valencia, Spain, and Marseille. The final cruise available will be the positioning cruise to China: a fantastic 51-day itinerary starting from Savona on November 2, 2020 and ending in Hong Kong on December 22, 2020. The journey will be a discovery of a host of different cultures, landscapes and flavours. From the Mediterranean, the ship will sail to Dubai, through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea, calling at Naples, Messina, Greece, Israel, Jordan and Oman. From Dubai to Abu Dhabi, futuristic cities built in the desert, the ship will continue to India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Malaysia. The final part of the cruise will be devoted to the Far East: Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and finally China. The itinerary can also be subdivided into three separate legs, Savona-Dubai (19 days), Dubai-Singapore (20 days) and Singapore-Hong Kong (14days), which can also be combined with each other.
Like its sister ship Costa Venezia, Costa Firenze will offer a series of innovations designed specifically for the Chinese market, where the Italian company was the first to operate in 2006 and is currently the leader, allowing guests to discover Italian culture and lifestyle.
“Costa Venezia and Costa Firenze are the proof of Costa Cruises’ long-term commitment to China market,” stated Mario Zanetti, President of Costa Group Asia. “Costa Cruises is also dedicated to bringing the Italian Aesthetic lifestyle to Chinese guests while delivering Italian culture and experience to them. Together with Costa Venezia, the arrival of Costa Firenze will help boost the development of Chinese cruise industry.”
The ship is inspired by the city of Florence, representing centuries of Italian culture and history. During the Costa Firenze cruises, guests together with their families and friends will have a chance to immerse themselves fully in Italian beauty and aesthetic, which will take shape in various aspects of life on board: from interior design to dining, from entertainment to hospitality.
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