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Celestyal Cruises acquires Costa NeoRomantica

Celestyal Cruises has acquired Costa Cruises’ Costa NeoRomantica.

The deal comes just a week after Costa parent Carnival Corporation confirmed it would dispose of 13 ships.

Celestyal Cruises, which has traditionally focused on cruises around the Greek isles, said it was “important to look to the future with optimism”, despite currently pausing its operations due to the pandemic.

The 1,800-passenger ship was built in 1993 and last refurbished in 2012. It has 789 cabins, 132 of which have balconies. It will be Celestyal’s third ship, sailing alongside Celestyal Olympia and Celestyal Crystal.

The line said details of the ship’s delivery and deployment would be announced at a later date, but added that its existing 2021 and 2022 itineraries remained unchanged.

Chris Theophilides, chief executive of Celestyal Cruises, said: “While Covid-19 has brought a temporary pause to our operations, it is important that we look to the future with optimism and continue to deliver on our strategic plan to grow the business and enhance the award-winning Celestyal experience through investment.

“I’m delighted with the addition of this mid-size cruise vessel to our fleet. She is ideally suited to our business model and is very well appointed following her significant transformation in 2012.

“I’m confident that she will prove to be a very popular choice amongst our valued guests and will allow us to continue providing truly unique experiences to our valued guests for years to come.”

Costa’s sister brand Holland America Line today confirmed it was disposing of four ships – Amsterdam, Maasdam, Rotterdam and Veendam. Two of the ships – Amsterdam and Rotterdam, have been acquired by Fred Olsen Cruise Lines and will be renamed Bolette and Borealis.

Last week, P&O Cruises confirmed it had sold one of its oldest vessel, Oceana.

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