Costa Cruises Holds Coin Ceremony for the New Costa Smeralda

Costa Cruises, the Italian brand of Carnival Corporation celebrated the traditional coin ceremony for its new ship, Costa Smeralda, on July 4 at the Meyer shipyard in Turku, Finland. Entering service in 2019, Costa Smeralda will be the first cruise ship to be marketed broadly to consumers around the globe, particularly in Europe and Italy, that will be fully powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG). 

During the ceremony, some commemorative coins were positioned along the keel of the ship as a symbol of good fortune for members of the crew, passengers and future voyages. This symbolic moment, which is part of shipbuilding tradition, was celebrated with an event attended by the senior management of Costa Cruises and the Meyer Turku shipyard. Elisabetta Moraci, a 28-year-old from Messina, Italy, second deck officer in the Costa fleet, served as godmother of the event.

Costa Smeralda's debut is expected on October 20, 2019, with a 15-day maiden cruise from Hamburg to Savona. The itinerary includes two-day stopovers European cities like Hamburg, Rotterdam, Lisbon, Barcelona and Marseille.

The Costa Smeralda christening ceremony will be celebrated in Savona on November 3, 2019. The six-day inaugural cruise will depart from Savona on November 4, 2019, and sail to Barcelona, Marseille and Civitavecchia (Rome). Costa Smeralda will then continue to sail around the western Mediterranean until April 2020, offering weeklong cruises including Marseille, France; Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca, Spain; and Civitavecchia, La Spezia and Savona, Italy.

With a gross tonnage of more than 180,000 tons, Costa Smeralda will offer over 2,600 rooms. Delivery of a second vessel, the sister ship of Costa Smeralda, also built by Meyer-Turku, is expected in 2021.

For more information, visit www.costacruise.com.

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