Second Costa ship returns to service in the Med

A second Costa Cruises ship has resumed sailings in the Mediterranean from Italy to Greece.

Costa Luminosa departed from Trieste as part of a plan by the Italian line to have four ships return to service this summer

The ship’s one-week itinerary includes visits Bari, Corfu, Athens, Mykonos and Katakolon.

A total of 27 cruises are scheduled until mid-November.

Costa Luminosa follows flagship Costa Smeralda which returned to sailing from Savona on May 1.

Costa Deliziosa will restart with week-long cruises in Greece on June 26 followed by new ship Costa Firenze on July 4.

Costa Smeralda will begin sailing international itineraries from July 3, with one-week cruises in Italy, France and Spain.

Enhanced health and safety procedures include reduced capacity, swab tests for all passengers before embarkation and after half of the cruise; tests for crew before departure and regularly on board.

Daily temperature checks are made as well as every time passengers disembark and return to the ship and when they enter restaurants on board.

Visits to destinations only run as “protected excursions”.

Other measures include social distancing on board and in terminals; new ways of using services on the ship; enhanced sanitation and medical services; and the use of protective masks when necessary.

Costa Cruises president Mario Zanetti said: “With the restart of the Costa Luminosa, we are finally bringing cruises back to the Adriatic Sea and Greece, one of Europe’s most popular tourist destinations, and reviving a sector of great importance to the economy of many European countries, including Italy, as well as the eastern part of the Mediterranean.

“Just to illustrate the importance of this restart, before the pause caused by the pandemic, our company generated an annual economic impact of almost €13 billion in Europe, creating over 63,000 jobs.

“We are particularly pleased to be resuming from Trieste, a city that has always welcomed us warmly, and which will be the home port of Costa Luminosa not only this year, but also in 2022.

“We look to the future with optimism, and we are working to make Trieste even more strategic for cruises, promoting a sustainable development and a quality guest experience.”