Construction of Costa Toscana has begun at the Meyer Turku shipyard, where sister ship Costa Smeralda is nearing completion
Costa Cruises, the Italian brand of Carnival Corporation & plc, the world’s largest leisure travel company, today celebrated the first steel-cutting for Costa Toscana, the brand’s second ship that can be powered in port and at sea by liquefied natural gas (LNG), at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland.
Costa Toscana is the second of two new sister ships ordered by Costa Cruises that can be powered in port and at sea by LNG, the world’s cleanest burning fossil fuel. The first of these, Costa Smeralda, is nearing completion at the Meyer Turku shipyard and will enter service in October of this year, followed by Costa Toscana, which is expected to be delivered in 2021.
In total, following AIDAnova’s launch at the end of 2018 as the world’s first cruise vessel to be powered at sea and in port by LNG, Carnival Corporation has an additional 10 next-generation “green” cruise ships on order, with expected delivery dates between 2019 and 2025 for AIDA Cruises, P&O Cruises (UK), Carnival Cruise Line and Princess Cruises, in addition to Costa Cruises.
The introduction of LNG to power cruise ships is a ground-breaking innovation that supports the company’s environmental goals with the virtual total elimination of sulfur dioxide emissions (zero emissions) and particulate matter (95 to 100% reduction). The use of LNG will also substantially reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide. The gas will be stored in special tanks on board and will be used to generate the energy required for navigation and onboard services, thanks to dual-fuel hybrid engines.
Costa Smeralda and Costa Toscana are an integral part of the strategic plan for carbon footprint reduction, defined by Carnival Corporation’s 2020 sustainability goals and fully implemented by Costa Cruises and the company’s eight additional brands. Carnival Corporation achieved its 25% carbon reduction goal three years ahead of schedule in 2017 and made additional progress on that goal with a 27.6% reduction in emissions from operations in 2018.
With gross tonnage of over 180,000 and more than 2,600 staterooms on each ship, Costa Smeralda and Costa Toscana are part of the Costa Group’s fleet expansion plan that includes a total of seven new ships scheduled to enter service by 2023. Carnival Corporation’s Costa Group includes the company’s Costa Cruises, Costa Asia and AIDA Cruises brands. AIDAnova, the first of these new ships, was launched at the end of 2018, followed by Costa Venezia, the brand’s first ship designed for the Chinese market, at the end of February 2019.
“The steel-cutting ceremony for Costa Toscana is another step forward in our sustainable development plan,” said Neil Palomba, president of Costa Cruises. “LNG propulsion for cruise ships is a major innovation, pioneering a new era in the use of low-carbon fuels that will significantly reduce exhaust emissions to help protect the environment without compromising on safety, in line with our top priorities.”
Palomba continued: “Once again, Costa Cruises is paving the way for the industry as a whole: in accordance with our global vision aimed at sustainable development, we were the first to invest in this technology, which is now really starting to take hold. However, a lot remains to be done in terms of the ready availability of gas bunkering infrastructure to ensure the seamless transition to LNG. Costa Toscana and her sister ship Costa Smeralda may be highly innovative products, but they will retain that inimitable Italian hospitality that has been Costa Cruises’ hallmark since the brand’s inception, conveying the exhilaration of ocean travel and providing enhanced guest experiences for repeat and first-time cruisers alike.”
“Modern shipyard for modern ships,” said Jan Meyer, CEO of Meyer Turku. “With the first Costa Cruises’ ship, Costa Smeralda, being delivered in October, both of these ships will have lots of beautiful design and interesting features – and, of course, very high-quality work and best-in-industry engineering. We are very proud to build these ships for Costa.”
The Italian cruise line’s two new flagships, Costa Toscana and Costa Smeralda, will be tributes to the very best of Italy and, accordingly, each is named after one of the country’s loveliest and most popular areas, Tuscany and Costa Smeralda (“costa” is Italian for “coast”). On Costa Smeralda, all decks and public areas are named after – and designed based on – iconic Italian places.
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The food and wine offerings onboard will feature the finest Italian culinary traditions, with the collaboration of prestigious partner suppliers. The ship will have 11 different restaurants, including one specifically conceived for casual family dining, 19 bars, a splendid spa area with 16 treatment rooms, an onboard waterpark with waterslides, four pools and a dedicated facility where kids can hang out and make new friends their age. Costa Smeralda will also have her very own museum: the CoDe – Costa Design Museum – showcasing the excellence of Italian design.
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Costa Smeralda is set to make her debut on Oct. 20, 2019, with a 15-day preview cruise from Hamburg to Savona featuring two-day stopovers in some of Europe’s best cities for history and culture including Hamburg, Rotterdam, Lisbon, Barcelona and Marseille.
The official naming of Costa Smeralda will be celebrated at a special ceremony on November 3 in Savona. From there, the following day, the new flagship will set sail on a 6-day inaugural cruise to Barcelona, Marseille and Civitavecchia.
Costa Smeralda will be deployed in the Western Mediterranean through April 2021 on one-week cruises porting in Savona, Marseille, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Civitavecchia and La Spezia. Additionally, Costa Toscana’s cruise program will be announced in the next few months.
