Costa Cruises is revamping its its sales organization operating in the North America cruise market. Ruben Perez, veteran of the Costa brand in the US, will leave his role as General Manager, Costa Cruises North America. Effective now, the North America market will be served through a new sales organization led by Erik Jaramillo, who is promoted to Head of Sales, Costa North America. In this role he will oversee strategic and national accounts, charter and incentives, and field sales, reporting to Dario Rustico, GM of North & South America. "We are sincerely grateful to Ruben for his recognized contribution to the Costa brand in U.S over the years and for his long contribution to the whole Costa organization, said Mario Zanetti, President Costa Cruises. Jaramillo has been part of Costa in various positions over many years. Jaramillo joined Costa Cruises in 1996 and held positions in sales, inventory control, e-commerce and web services, revenue management, and business intelligence. The Costa North America sales department will be bolstered with the introduction of Yeniss Palacio, Priscilla Reyes and Becky Tate who join as business development managers, reporting to Jaramillo. Tate joins Costa as BDM with more than 35 years in the travel industry. She will oversee Central and North Florida and the East Coast. Reyes will be responsible for the West Coast and Canada, while Palacio is BDM for South Florida, the Mid west and Caribbean. 

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Cosita Cruises celebrates its landmark 75th anniversary this month with a series of events in its birthplace, Genoa. Events kick off from the 19 until 27 October. Costa launched in Genoa in 1948, with the maiden voyage of first ship, the ‘Anna C.’ On the evening of  20 October, Costa will host the Monumental Tour. Open to the public in Piazza Matteotti, it features electronic music, cultural heritage, and digital art, created by the French DJ and producer Michael Canitrot. The main façade of Palazzo Ducale, will come alive with a show of Genoa themed images and lights, depicting its history and the sea. There will be a cocktail party onboard Costa Toscana, Costa Cruises' flagship that calls in the port of Genoa every Friday. Closing the evening will be a special showcase by the renowned Italian artist, Malika Ayane, performing on board the Costa Toscana for the occasion. The 75th anniversary celebration program also includes an initiative to support local organisation Community of Sant'Egidio. On 19 October, at the cloister of the Basilica of Santissima Annunziata, Costa Cruises' chefs will prepare a special lunch for around 150 guests of the Community. Costa Crociere Foundation has been supporting the Community of Sant'Egidio since 2015. On 23 October, the Italian comedian Angelo Pintus will perform his show at the Politeama Genovese theater. The entire proceeds of the evening will be donated to the Gaslini Paediatric Hospital in Genoa. Costa will double the total amount. A second event dedicated to the Gaslini Hospital will be on 27 October: a group of young patients from the hospital and their families will come onboard Costa Toscana, in Genoa. They will also be joined by Mattia Villardita - "SpiderMan", the man who dresses as the superhero and visits hospitals in the Liguria region. Also, Costa will be the brand sponsor of the 40th annual assembly of ANCI, the National Association of Italian Municipalities, which will take place at the Blue Pavilion of the Genoa Fair from 24-26 October. As part of this event Costa will host a workshop dedicated to 'Guardiani della Costa', the national environmental education and 'citizen science' project for Italian students which is promoted by the Costa Crociere Foundation. "We are happy that Costa has organised a great series of initiatives to share and celebrate this milestone with the people of Genoa," - said Marco Bucci, Mayor of Genoa.

Carnival Corp owned Costa Group, has teamed up with methanol producer, Proman. They signed an MOU to develop methanol as a marine fuel for sustainable cruising. The partnership aims to accelerate the decarbonisation of the existing fleet by boosting the supply of sustainable methanol. It would see methanol-fueled new builds. Methanol is emerging as a leading alternative fuel due to its easy-to-handle properties. All forms of methanol, whether natural-gas based, low-carbon or renewable, can be blended. "The technology to retrofit a vessel for methanol is available today.  Our methanol products can facilitate the transition to low carbon intensity fuels." said Tim Cornelius, Proman's MD of Corporate Development.

Carnival Corp is further reducing its fleet with three more Carnival cruise ships being sold off. In a business update the company will ‘remove three additional smaller-less efficient ships.’ It includes two ships from the Costa Cruises fleet. It cites ‘the continued closure of China, and Costa’s significant presence there.’ “The fleet optimization strategy will approximate the 2019 capacity Costa dedicated outside of Asia to its core markets in Continental Europe.” It has already sold or scrapped more than 20 older Carnival cruise ships since the pandemic.

Carnival Corp is sending two ships in Costa Cruises’ fleet to America. Costa Venezia and Costa Firenze will shift to the North American market, creating a new sub-brand within Carnival Cruise Line. They will become ‘Costa by Carnival’ ships, offering Costa’s Italian style to American guests Costa Venezia and Costa Firenze will be deployed in the US in 2023 and 2024 respectively. “We are excited to see these iconic Costa ships make their debut in the US under the leadership and operation of our sister brand,” said Mario Zanetti, president of Costa Cruises. “Given the slow restart of the Asian operations and the strong restart of cruises in the US, we decided to seize this opportunity.” It is a unique opportunity for guests who ‘love the culture, food and vibe of Italy,’ said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.