New Italian flagship to grace Marseilles for christening
Costa Serena, the new flagship of Costa Cruises, the number one cruise company in Europe and South America, will be christened in Marseilles on May 19, 2007. The event will include an official ceremony, in accordance with maritime tradition, as well as an inaugural show, in accordance with Costa’s tradition for such events.
Costa Serena (112,000 gross tonnage and total guest capacity of 3780) is the twelfth member to join the Costa fleet, Europe’s largest and most advanced, and is currently being fitted out at Fincantieri’s Genoa-Sestri Ponente shipyard. She is set to enter service at the end of May this year.
Costa’s new flagship will set sail from Venice on her maiden cruise on May 26, 2007. Every Sunday between June and November 2007 Costa Serena will depart from the port of the city of canals on seven-day cruises calling at Bari, Olympia (Greece), Izmir and Istanbul (Turkey), and Dubrovnik (Croatia). In winter 2007/2008 Costa Serena will offer 10- and 11-day cruise vacations to the Canary Islands.
Costa Cruises has been present in France for almost 60 years, and it is the country’s number one cruise company, accounting for more than 50% of French cruisers. The number of Costa Cruises’ French passengers has almost quadrupled since 1993, exceeding the 120,000 mark in 2006 – a record for the cruise industry in France. The company now ranking fourth among France’s main tour operators including Club Méditerraneé, Nouvelles Frontières and Jet Jours.
Costa Serena will feature all the main innovations offered by sister ship Costa Concordia:
- Samsara Spa, the largest wellness center ever built on a cruise ship (over 2100 m²). The number of Samsara cabins, i.e. those with direct access to the Spa, will increase to 99 (there are 67 on the Costa Concordia), comprising 87 staterooms and 12 suites, thus offering even more cruises dedicated to wellness;
- Two swimming pools with a sliding glass roof, one astern and the other at mid-ship on the same deck. In addition, the central pool area will be fitted with a giant 18 m2 movie screen, which can be used for daytime projection of video clips as well as night-time film screenings;
- Totally authentic Grand Prix driving simulator, the most accurate representation of F1 ever;
- The menus in Costa Serena’s à la carte restaurant will be devised by the Italian culinary innovator Ettore Bocchia, executive chef at the Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni in Bellagio and a Michelin-starred restaurateur.
The interiors of the ship will be designed by American architect Joe Farcus, the central theme being Greek and Roman mythology; this will be apparent in the numerous works of art onboard.
In addition to Costa Serena, Costa Cruises has commissioned three more ships – all from Fincantieri – which will enhance its fleet, Europe’s largest and most advanced, currently 11-strong with total capacity of approximately 20,500 lower berths in dual occupancy cabins.
For more information or to book go to http://www.costacruises.co.uk/ or call 020 7940 4499
Report by Chitra Mogul
Chitra Mogul
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