Fincantieri Delivers Costa Venezia

The new built-for-China Costa Venezia has been officially delivered by Fincantieri in the presence of the Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister of Italy, Matteo Salvini and of the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Transport of Italy, Edoardo Rixi.

At 135,500 tons and 323 meters in length, the Costa Venezia will be the biggest ship introduced by Costa to the Chinese market, where the Italian company was the first to start operating in 2006.

Costa Venezia

As Michael Thamm, Group CEO Costa Group and Carnival Asia, explained: “The Costa Venezia will help us to further develop the cruise market in China, which has a great unexplored potential. Suffice to say that, currently, 2.5 million Chinese people a year choose to go on a cruise vacation, which is less than 2 percent of the total number of Chinese people who travel abroad. Moreover, Costa Venezia further strengthens Costa’s bond with Italy: it is a ship built in Italy, by an Italian shipyard, which flies the Italian flag and which will make Chinese guests experience unforgettable Italian experiences.”

Giuseppe Bono, CEO of Fincantieri, said: “For us the Costa Venezia is the emblem of what we are able to do and where we intend to arrive, but she is also the product of the historical partnership with Carnival Corporation and Costa Crociere, which enhances the tradition of Italian manufacturing and know-how, projecting them towards other borders.

“As a consolidated industry leader, our contribution to the cruise industry, considering the units we delivered and those we have on order, will count on 143 ships in the coming years, with 1 cruise passenger in three sailing on our jewels. As soon as the Costa Venezia will enter into service in China, putting on show what we are able to realize in a still unexplored market, I am sure that a new chapter will be opened in the successful history of Fincantieri.”

Zanetti (right) signs for the new ship

Arnold Donald, President & CEO of Carnival Corporation, said: “The delivery of Costa Venezia is a further step in the growth of a strong and sustainable cruise industry in China, which someday, we believe will be the largest cruise market in the world. The growth of the Chinese cruise industry will continue to open the world to millions of Chinese travelers and bring ever increasing prosperity to its people.”

“As the first ship built specifically for the Chinese market, Costa Venezia marks the start of a new era, not only for Costa and Fincantieri but also for the Chinese cruise industry as a whole”, says Mario Zanetti, President of Costa Group Asia. “From conception to delivery, everything about Costa Venezia has been designed having the Chinese customer in mind. Costa Venezia will continue to offer the authentic Italian experience that is a hallmark of Costa, but with further innovations that have never been seen before and which are designed to meet the needs of the local market even better,”

The Costa Venezia naming ceremony is planned for March 1 in Trieste, with a spectacular air show by Frecce Tricolori acrobatic team and a firework display involving the whole city. 

On March 8, the ship will be back in Trieste for the start of its inaugural cruise: a 53-day trip following the tracks of Marco Polo through the Mediterranean to the Middle East, South East Asia and the Far East before docking in Tokyo.

The ship starts her China-based program from Shanghai on May 18.

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