Costa Cruises to resume sailing in Mediterranean at the beginning of September

The announcement came a day after the announcement from its competitor MSC, which will be resuming cruises from 16 August. In its statement Costa said, "Following the approval of the Italian Government for the resumption of cruises and the publication of the new health protocol, Costa aims to gradually resume its operations from Italian ports from 6 September 2020."

The company will start on 6 September with the ship Costa Deliziosa for weekly 7-day cruises to Greece from Trieste. A second ship, Costa Diadema, will set sail from Genoa on 19 September for the western Mediterranean between Italy and Malta.

These will be the first cruise ships to set sail sail in the Mediterranean following the months-long suspension of operations. The company said that the other cruises are suspended until 30 September.

The Costa Cruises Group confirmed that "The company has developed the 'Costa Safety Protocol' for its fleet, including new operating procedures in response to the COVID-19 situation."

On Monday MSC Cruises, Costa's main competitor, announced that it will be resuming operations from 16 August. MSC is planning two sailings from Italy (Genoa and Bari on 16 and 29 August) and will be the first international cruise company to resume sailings in the Mediterranean.


Source: AMNA