– The Costa Luminosa, the thirteenth ship in the fleet of Costa Cruises, the leading Italian tourism group and Europe’s no. 1 cruise company, will be delivered tomorrow (30 April) by Fincantieri, the world’s leading cruise ship builder, at the Marghera (Venice) shipyard.
The Costa Luminosa is the company’s flagship, the most exclusive and innovative of the fleet, designed for “high-end” clientele. Weighing 92,600 dwt, she can carry up to 2,826 guests in 1,130 cabins, and 772 of those with private balcony. The symbol of “Made in Italy”, her construction required the professional expertise of 3,000 workers from Fincantieri and roughly 500 linked industry companies, the majority of which are Italian, for a total investment of 450 million.
The Costa Luminosa is the first of 3 new ships to be delivered by Fincantieri to the Italian company in less than one year. The Costa Pacifica (114,500 dwt and a capacity of 3,780 guests), built at the Genova Sestri Ponente shipyard, will be delivered on 29 May; the Costa Deliziosa, the sister ship of the Costa Luminosa, also under construction at the Marghera shipyard, will be delivered at the end of January 2010. Costa’s fleet expansion plan, the biggest in the world, includes also 2 additional new ships to be delivered by 2012. The 5 new cruisers represent a 50% increase in the capacity of the Costa fleet, Europe’s largest: in fact, in 2012, the fleet will consist of 17 vessels with a total capacity of 46,400 passengers.
The Costa Luminosa represents a new type of ship for the Costa fleet, designed for all those customers who seek nothing but the best. Beginning with respect for the environment. The Costa Luminosa is the first ship in Italy and one of the first in the world to be fitted for “cold ironing”: with this special system ships berthed at the dock can receive power from shore without having to keep their engines running to feed the onboard generators.
The style of the interiors, designed by the ingenious architect and interior designer Joseph Farcus, is inspired by the concept of light in all its forms. The Costa Luminosa anticipates contemporary design trends thanks to a distinctive avant-garde style, interiors decorated with premium materials (20 different types of marble, wood, mother-of-pearl, granite, 120 lamps made with La Murrina Murano glass) and the use of LED lights. In addition to prestigious works of art – 288 originals and more than 4,700 multiples – specially commissioned for the ship, beginning with the sculpture by Fernando Botero “Donna Sdraiata 2004” (Reclining Woman 2004) that dominates the central hall.
There will be an incredibly large number of fun and entertaining things to do on board. In particular, with the ship’s “magnificent 5”, meaning 5 innovations based on the use of leading-edge technology: 4D Cinema, to be completely immersed in the adventure with 3D images and special effects; the latest generation Golf simulator with 37, 18-hole courses and a 100 m² outdoor area with putting green; Grand Prix race car simulator; “Playstation World”, an area exclusively equipped with Playstation 3; plus a roller skating track.
Then there’s also the exclusive 3,500 m² “Samsara Spa” wellness centre with the Technogym Kinesis circuit, making its world debut in the sector, and the Club Restaurant with menus created by Ettore Bocchia, Executive Chef of the Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni in Bellagio and one Michelin star.
The Costa Luminosa will be christened together with the Costa Pacifica on 5 June in the Port of Genoa. This is the first time in the world that two cruisers will be christened at the same time, and in the same place: an extraordinary event for which Costa Cruises has applied to Guinness World Records for verification and that will include an incredible overture with the exhibition of the Frecce Tricolori national acrobatic team. The show created for this exceptional event, “Italian Portrait in Music and Light”, will pay tribute to the all-Italian ability for making dreams come true. Starting from the inspirational theme of the ships – music for the Costa Pacifica and light for the Costa Luminosa – the show will re-propose a journey through the best Italian talents and artists known around the world. This will include musical and artistic performances by some of the most important figures in the Italian and international scene, accompanied by maestro Mauro Pagani, a renowned musician with thirty years of experience who composed the sound track for the Costa Pacifica, the first “ship of music”. The evening will end with a show involving the entire city with lights, music and fireworks.
The Costa Luminosa’s first vernissage cruise departs from Venice on 5 May 2009. This new 10-day itinerary in the eastern Mediterranean will include two days in Istanbul and daily calls to Bari, Olympia (Greece), Rhodes (Greece), Smyrna (Turkey), Mykonos (Greece) and Athens (Greece). This will be followed by mini cruises in the eastern Mediterranean, departing from Venice on 15 May, and a second vernissage cruise on 19 May. The Costa Luminosa will then be deployed in North Europe with a spectacular maiden voyage, from Civitavecchia to Amsterdam, which also includes the christening ceremony. During the summer of 2009 the ship will offer fantastic 11 and 14-day cruises to the Baltic capitals, the Norwegian fjords and the North Cape. During the 2009-2010 winter season the ship will operate in Dubai, offering 7-day cruises in the Arabian Gulf (Dubai, Muscat, Fujairah, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Dubai).
