Costa Cruises has officially celebrated the naming ceremony for its newest cruise ship, the Costa Smeralda. Penélope Cruz served as the ship’s godmother during a ceremony in Savona, Italy, performing the ribbon-cutting duties with the traditional breaking of the bottle against the bow of the ship in the presence of the Master of Costa Smeralda, Paolo Benini. Also starring at the celebration was the Italian multi-starred chef Bruno Barbieri, who presented a special gala cocktail.
The event continued with an acrobatic show called Dream performed in the Colosseo, the ship’s theater. A fireworks display launched from a barge in front of the Priamar Fortress capped off the evening.
The Costa Smeralda is the cruise line’s new flagship, as well as the first in its fleet powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), which the cruise line said virtually eliminates sulfur dioxide emissions, drastically reduces emissions of particulate matter and nitrogen oxides and cuts CO2 emissions by 20 percent. The vessel also incorporates a number of new-to-the-fleet venues, such as the CoDe – Costa Design Museum, as well as the Ristorante LAB, which hosts cooking classes and demonstrations.
Costa Smeralda entered service on December 21, 2019. The ship is operating on a one-week itinerary in the Western Mediterranean with calls at Savona, Marseille, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Civitavecchia/Rome and La Spezia. This summer, the new flagship will also be calling at Cagliari, while a stopover in Palermo is planned starting in winter 2021/22.
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