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Costa Cruises (Italian: Costa Crociere S.p.A.) is a British-American owned Italian cruise line, based in Genoa, Italy.
Founded in 1924, the company originally operated cargo ships, until the introduction of passenger services in 1947, with regular services between Italy and South America. The company later converted its entire fleet to full time cruising, and as an independent company became one of the largest cruise operators in Europe. Acquired by Carnival Corporation in 2000, Costa Cruises is now one of eleven brands operated by Carnival Corporation & PLC.
Today, as Costa Cruises Group, the company is one of the main operating companies in the Carnival group, with executive control of the groups activities in Europe. The company is responsible for operation of Costa Cruises in Italy, AIDA Cruises in Germany and Ibero Cruises in Spain. AIDA was previously a subsidiary of P&O Princes Cruises PLC, being transferred to Costa following the merger of Carnival Corporation and P&O Princess in 2002. Ibero Cruises is a new brand, created in 2007 as a joint venture between Carnival Corporation and Orizonia Group.
For full information about Costa Cruises, read our interview with Marco Rosa
The cruise industry has implemented three new safety policies as a direct result of the Costa Concordia accident earlier this year. The new safety policies will come into immediate effect and are: 1. Passage Planning – Cruise lines will be obliged to submit a detailed voyage plan before embarking. This has previously been part of best practice but not mandatory. Concordia captain Francisco Schettino submitted a passage plan but then chose … [Read more...]
The stricken Costa Allegra – which has been stranded at sea for three days – has finally docked in the Seychelles. The ship ran into difficulties on Monday when a fire in the engine room destroyed the power supply, forcing it to be towed to port. Passengers have been without air-conditioning or hot food and have been surviving on supplies and essential items being flown in by helicopter. Many passengers have been sleeping on deck to keep … [Read more...]
A second Costa Cruises ship has run into difficulty in as many months with more than 1,000 people on board and drifting without power in the Indian Ocean following a fire. The Costa Allegra is adrift more than 200 miles southwest of the Seychelles, near Alphonse Island, the BBC reports. The ship is from the same fleet as the Costa Concordia, which ran aground off the Italian coast in January, killing 32 people. The investigation into the … [Read more...]
A massive 88 per cent of our readers said they will not change their travel plans as a result of the Costa Concordia tragedy. Just 10 per cent said they were “quite likely” to change their travel plans and only two per cent said it was “very likely” they would change their plans. When asked who was to blame for the accident 90 per cent said it was down to error on the part of the captain. Cruise International editor Adam Coulter said: … [Read more...]
Costa Cruises has offered an €11,000 compensation package to Costa Concordia passengers to cover “psychological distress” and all costs associated with the cruise including lost luggage. The payment of around £9,000 extends to all the 3,206 passengers who survived the accident – which happened a fortnight ago – including non-fare paying children. The families of those who died or anyone injured who required medical treatment will … [Read more...]
I attended a press conference yesterday set up to answer some of the questions being asked in the wake of the Costa Concordia accident. … [Read more...]
I've been doing the rounds of radio and TV (that's me on Al Jazeera TV on Monday) in the last few days, asking my views on the Costa Concordia accident and whether it will have a long-term impact on people's desire to cruise. Obviously only time will tell and I don't have a crystal ball, but my gut instinct is that long-term it won't. Initial reports indicate people are not cancelling future cruises and are continuing to make bookings. Clearly … [Read more...]
The confirmed death toll in the Costa Concordia accident has reached 11 people, with a further 24 people still missing. With rescue operations moving into Day 6 hopes are now fading to find any more survivors. In further developments, a recording has been released of the ship’s captain Francesco Schettino apparently refusing to return to the ship – despite repeated request from the coastguard. In the recording, Livorno Port Authority … [Read more...]
Emergency crews revise up missing toll from 16 to 29 as rescue mission enters Day 5 Emergency crews working on Costa Concordia have revised upwards the number of people missing to 29 from an original estimate of 16. As the rescue operation moves into Day 5 it looks increasingly unlikely that anyone will be found alive on the stricken ship as rescue workers have now searched all the areas above the waterline. Local coast guard chief Marco … [Read more...]
Costa Concordia accident – Captain took an “unauthorised” route The captain of the Costa Concordia made an “unauthorised” deviation off course that led to the accident on Friday, according to the ship’s owners. “We believe it was human error,” the chief executive of Costa Cruises Pier Luigi Foschi told a packed news conference in Genoa earlier today. “The Captain did not follow authorised routes. Costa cruise … [Read more...]
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