The Costa Diadema today touched the water for the first time during her technical launch ceremony at the Fincantieri shipyard in Marghera.
Once the work to fit out her interiors has been completed, the Costa Diadema (132,500 gross tons and 1,862 staterooms) will be delivered on October 30, 2014.
Costa Cruises has invested a total of around 550 million euro in the construction of the Costa Diadema. The project is employing a total of approximately 1000 shipyard workers plus another 2500 employees of allied industries.
The benefits in terms of employment extend beyond the yard, especially regarding the fitting-out of the interiors of the cruise ship, with the involvement of about 400 contracted suppliers, most of which are Italian firms.
Costa Crociere S.p.A. CEO Michael Thamm commented: “The Costa Diadema will be our new flagship and our tangible commitment to the future success and growth of our Company. She is the 10th cruise ship built in Italy by Fincantieri for Costa since 2000, with a total investment worth almost 5 billion euro. This investment creates wealth and employment for the country as a whole – not only during the building, but also when the ships are in service. The Costa Diadema’s winter itinerary will include 3 ports in Italy: Savona, Civitavecchia and La Spezia. At the same time, thanks to her innovative features, the Costa Diadema will open up new horizons for Costa.”
Fincantieri’s CEO, Giuseppe Bono, commented: “It’s many years now that we’ve been applying Italian know-how to form a winning team with Costa. We hope that the country as a whole is proud of these two major companies and will not fail to support their continued growth. We’re also convinced that “Costa Diadema”, the largest ship ever built for Costa Crociere, bodes very well for the future development of our companies and the entire industry”.
The Costa Diadema’s technical launch ceremony was carried out according to seafaring tradition. The launch started with the welding of a coin at the base of what was once the mainmast, a custom considered to bring good luck. Then, the shipyard director Antonio Quintano invited the godmother, Ms. Franca Grasso, to cut the ribbon and break a bottle of champagne against the bow of the Costa Diadema. Once the dry-dock basin where the ship took shape over the last few months had been filled with water, the hull finally had the chance to touch the sea for the first time.
In order to highlight the strong link between Costa and its guests, the godmother is a member of the CostaClub (Costa Cruises loyalty club) coming from Giarre (Sicily), who was chosen through a selection onboard Costa ships cruising in the Mediterranean Sea at the end of October and beginning of November 2013, involving over 12,000 guests. Additional 3 Costa Club guests – one from Villefranche sur Mer (France); one from Steinfurt (Germany); one from Engelberg (Switzerland) – were selected; they took part in the ceremony as “bridesmaids” for the coin welding.
The Costa Diadema’s distinguishing features will be comfort combined with top quality food&wine and entertainment. The new flagship’s interiors will be even cozier, roomier and more modern in terms of facilities and layout of her public areas. The Costa Diadema will offer large, split-level rooms directly overlooking the sea and conveniently interconnected, thus evoking the atmosphere of a buzzing seaside resort.
Among the many innovations on board are new food and wine tasting treats in the shape of the Vinoteca, Birreria (beer house), Japanese Teppanyaki, Pizzeria in Piazza Pizza and Gelateria.
There will also be new forms of fun and entertainment on board with the advent of the Country Rock Club, the place to go to hear legendary ‘Classic Rock’ music, and the ‘Star Laser’ room featuring different styles of interactive laser games including the Laser Maze, where you can have fun with your friends.
“Shopaholics” will love the Portobello Market Piazza, the heart of a 1100 m2 area consisting of designer stores and retail outlets. On the other hand, if you want to enjoy the sun, sea and spectacular ocean vistas, there is an open-air promenade with cabanas extending over 500 meters.
Meanwhile, the purpose-built Samsara Spa on three levels, located on the upper decks, will offer Guests the chance to enjoy the regenerating experience that is the “wellness cruise”.
In Winter 2014/15 Costa Diadema will be deployed on a 1-week itinerary including the chance to visit two of Italy’s must-see cities – Rome and Florence – on the one cruise. The port calls are Savona, Marseille, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Civitavecchia and La Spezia.
