Costa Crociere, the leading cruise line company in Italy and Europe, has announced an order for two new 114,200-ton ships to be delivered in 2011 and 2012.
Costa Crociere S.p.a, the Italian subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc, signed an agreement with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri for the construction of the two new vessels at a total cost of approximately €1 billion (€510 million per ship).
The two new ships will be built at Fincantieri’s Marghera shipyard and will be sister ships to the Costa Concordia, Costa Serena and Costa Pacifica, the latter which is currently being built at Fincantieri’s Sestri Ponente shipyard. The new ships will each be able to accommodate 3,780 passengers in total (including all upper berths) or 3,012 guests based on double occupancy.
The two new ships ordered will offer the same innovative elements featured on the other Concordia class ships including the 23,000 square-foot Samsara spa, which is one of the largest spas at sea, complete with exclusive cabins featuring direct access to the spa and a dedicated restaurant.
The ships will also feature two swimming pools with retractable roofs, the central one equipped with a giant movie screen and authentic Grand Prix race car driving simulators, which provide the most accurate representation of Formula One driving available.
In addition, the new ships will boast 17 additional veranda cabins and an overall total of 1,506 cabins, six more than the other Concordia class ships. The two ships will also feature additional innovations to the spa area as well as upgrades to onboard entertainment for both adults and children and teens, among many other new and unique features. Costa’s total capacity will increase by 20% (based on double occupancy) with the addition of the two new vessels, confirming the Italian cruise line’s position as market leader in Europe. The two new orders bring Costa’s fleet expansion program, which began in 2000, to a total value of €5.5 billion and the total number of vessels introduced between 2000 and 2012 to 13. By 2012, when the last of the new orders is completed, the Costa fleet will be 17 strong and have a total guest capacity of approximately 36,700 based on double occupancy.
SMS TRAVEL are the Sales Agents in Malta for Costa Crociere. For more information kindly contact SMS TRAVEL on [email protected], telephone 2577 1224 or log onto www.sms.com.mt.