Costa Cruises has confirmed its position as Europe’s leading cruiseline, carrying 1.2 million passengers in 2008, up from one million the previous year.
It is expecting to carry 1.5 million next year, when it will be operating with three additional ships.
Two of the new ships – the 2,260-passenger Costa Luminosa and 3,008-passenger Costa Pacifica – were launched in Genoa on Friday at the world’s first double christening of ships built by the same yard.
Costa Deliziosa, a sister to Luminosa, launches at the end of January 2010, taking the Costa fleet to 15 ships with total capacity for 38,800 passengers.
The Costa Group, which includes Costa Cruises, AIDA Cruises, for the German market, and Ibero Cruceros, which sells in Spain, recorded total sales of €2.35 billion, up 17% on 2007.
The group also accounted for about 30% of all passengers embarking, disembarking or in transit at Europe’s top ports last year. According to the 2008 European Cruise Council report released last month, these were Barcelona, Civitavecchia, Naples, Venice, Palma de Majorca and Savona.
Costa’s naming ceremony last week, the first in Italy with two ships christened at the same time, was attended by about 4,000 guests, including passengers cruising on both new ships.
The ceremony included an aerial display by Frecce Tricolori National Aerobatic Team and a dual naming, with both godmothers – Olympic fencer Valentina Vezzali for Costa Luminosa and recording artist Noa for Costa Pacifica – cutting the ribbon at the same time.
Facilities on Costa Luminosa, called the ship of light because it has 3,100 LED lights and 120 Murano glass chandeliers, include four restaurants, three swimming pools, a 4D cinema and a roller-skating track. It will be cruising the Baltic and Norwegian fjords this summer, and relocating to Dubai for winter.
Facilities on board Costa Pacifica, dubbed the ship of music because passengers will be able to go on a musical ‘journey’ through the ship, listening to 29 pieces specially arranged for the vessel, include five restaurants, four swimming pools, a water slide and a recording studio where guests can record their own CDs. The ship will cruise the Mediterranean year-round.
Although there have been other dual naming ceremonies – Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Star and Norwegian Sun were named at the same time in 2001, likewise P&O Cruises’ Adonia and Oceana in 2003 – the event has been awarded a Guinness World Record because it was the first such event in Italy with two ships built by the same yard.
Both vessels were built by Fincantieri – Luminosa at the Marghera yard in Venice and Pacifica at the Genoa Sestri Ponente yard – and designed by Joe Farcus, who also designs the interiors of Carnival Cruise Line ships.