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12/1/06 - New Winter Itinerary for the Costa Concordia |
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Genoa – December 1, 2006: A new winter itinerary has been launched for the Costa Concordia, Costa Crociere’s flagship christened last July. Having completed her schedule of 7-day summer cruises in the Western Mediterranean, from November 26, 2006 through April 4, 2007 she is offering 10- and 11-day cruises to Greece, Turkey and Cyprus. The 10-day itinerary departs from Civitavecchia and Savona, with stopovers in Olympia, Athens and Rhodes (Greece), Cyprus and Alexandria (Egypt). The 11-day cruise includes the additional port of call of Izmir (Turkey).
During the stopover in Athens, the Costa Concordia’s Guests will have the opportunity to go on a guided tour of the exhibition entitled “Myths and Archetypes in the Sea of Knowledge”, which opens on December 4 at the Greek capital’s Byzantine and Christian Museum. The exhibition is promoted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the support of Costa Crociere and the Regional Administrations of Campania and Sicily, and has been staged with the collaboration of the Fondazione Antonio Mazzotta. Being showcased are over 160 works by leading Italian figures in modern and contemporary art, which have been lent by Italy’s most important museums and galleries; the result is an artistic path of development bearing witness to the existence of a common cultural heritage shared by all the Mediterranean countries. Among the artworks two bronze sculptures by Marcello Mascherini, “Fauno disteso” (1958) and “Danzatrice con Colombe” (1959), belonging to Costa Crociere Spa private collection and originally aboard two wonderful Costa’s ships of the past, the “Federico C” and the “Franca C”.
Among the ports called at for the first time by the Costa Concordia on her new cruise route is Izmir, the Turkish city where Costa Crociere’s Chairman and CEO Pier Luigi Foschi was made an honorary citizen in 2004. The arrival of the Costa Concordia in Izmir caps a year that has seen Costa double its schedule here, with a total of 52 calls compared to 26 in 2005. Further growth is forecast in 2007, when Izmir will be a regular port of call on 7-day cruises in the Eastern Mediterranean on the Costa Serena, the sister ship of the Costa Concordia currently under construction in Genoa-Sestri Ponente and due to be christened in May 2007.
As well as the Costa Concordia, the Costa Victoria and Costa Europa will also be offering Mediterranean cruise vacations during the 2006/2007 winter season, with a total of 43 cruises. The Costa Victoria will be operating out of Savona on 10-day cruises to the Canary Islands. The Costa Europa will also use Savona as her homeport with two different routes, one to Egypt and Libya and the other to the Canary Islands. By virtue of these arrangements, Costa Crociere has confirmed its leadership in the Mediterranean all year round; indeed, the Italian Company was the first to market winter cruises in the region about 12 years ago and has been investing heavily in this direction since 2001.
The Costa Concordia (112,000 gross tonnage and maximum Guest capacity of 3780) is a symbol of “Made in Italy” worldwide: built in Italy by Fincantieri, her interiors are decorated by some of Italy’s leading designers and feature works by top Italian artists.
The vessel includes several unique innovations for the global cruise industry. Starting with Samsara Spa, the largest wellness center ever built on a cruise ship (2104 m2). 55 cabins and 12 suites have direct access to the Spa and are linked to a package heralding a new style of wellness vacation. The Costa Concordia also has the largest enclosable outdoor area on any cruise ship (3500 m2), enabling use of the two main pools also on winter cruises in the Mediterranean. In addition, the central pool area is fitted with a giant 18 m2 movie screen, which can be used for daytime projection of video clips and similar entertainment as well as nighttime film screenings. Another exclusive innovation on board is the totally authentic Grand Prix driving simulator, the most accurate representation of F1 ever. Meanwhile, the “Club Concordia”, one of five restaurants on board the ship, has menus devised by the Italian culinary innovator Ettore Bocchia, executive chef at the Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni in Bellagio and a Michelin-Star restaurateur.
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