Costa Luminosa Restarts Cruising From Trieste, Italy

By Susan J. Young May 17, 2021 10:02am

Costa Luminosa set sail from the port of Trieste, Italy on Sunday, becoming Costa Cruises' second ship to resume operations in 2021 and the first to resume cruises in the Adriatic Sea and within Greece. Four Costa ships are expected to resume cruises this summer.

The contemporary line's flagship, Costa Smeralda, departed Savona, Italy on May 1; it's sailing an itinerary exclusively dedicated to Italy. On July 3, that ship will begin sailing week-long international itineraries calling at ports in Italy, France and Spain.

In addition, Costa Deliziosa will restart June 26 with week-long cruises in Greece, and on July 4, Costa Firenze, the line's newest ship, will begin sailing week-long cruises focused on Italian ports.

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Departing Trieste, Costa Luminosa set sail on a week-long itinerary that includes calls at Bari, Italy, and the Greek destinations of Corfu, Athens (Piraeus), Mykonos and Katakolon/Olympia. A total of 27 cruises on this itinerary will operate through mid-November.

Costa Luminosa’s restart was celebrated in Trieste by Mario Zanetti, president, Costa Cruises, as well as Roberto Dipiazza, the mayor of Trieste, and officials from the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, Trieste Coast Guard and Trieste Terminal.

"With the restart of the Costa Luminosa, we are finally bringing cruises back to the Adriatic Sea and Greece," said Zanetti. He added that the Adriatic/Greece comprises one of Europe's most popular tourist destinations and also revives a important sector that's "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 $15.8 billion in Europe, creating over 63,000 jobs," Zanetti stressed. He also said Costa is particularly pleased to be resuming from Trieste, a city that has always welcomed the line warmly, and which will be the home port of Costa Luminosa both this year and in 2022.

He continued: "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."

Health and safety procedures have been enhanced through the adoption of the "Costa Safety Protocol," developed by the company with scientific experts and Italian authorities. It contains operational measures related to all aspects of the cruise experience, both onboard and ashore. These include reducing the number of guests onboard; swab tests for all guests before embarkation and halfway through the cruise; swab tests for the crew before embarkation and regularly during their stay onboard; temperature checks every day, every time guests disembark and re-enter the ship, and every time they enter a restaurant; visits to destinations only on protected excursions; social distancing onboard and in terminals; new ways of using onboard services; enhanced sanitation and medical services; and the use of protective masks when necessary.

As for the holiday experience, Costa said its guests will enjoy new features, including an enhanced excursion program, which will enable them to discover off-the-beaten path destinations exclusively for Costa guests. Guests will also enjoy new menu options that feature dishes specific to the places that Costa Luminosa will visit.

“Trieste welcomes the return of the Costa Cruises ships," said Dipiazza. "In recent years we have developed a very important collaboration with the company that guaranteed a regular presence of Costa ships in our beautiful city. Trieste is a city with a tourist vocation and the return of Costa rewards us for the work we are doing, but above all it means that tourists are back."

For more information on Costa Cruises, visit www.costacruises.com.

Costa Luminosa Restarts Cruising From Trieste, Italy

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