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Costa Cruises Holds Coin Ceremony For Costa Venezia, The First Costa Ship Built For Chinese Guests
Thecoin ceremony was held at Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone (Italy).
Costa Veneziawill enter service in 2019, bringing new authentic Italian experience toChinese guests.
Genoa, November 1, 2017 - Costa Cruises, the Italian brand of CarnivalCorporation & plc (NYSE/LSE:CCL; NYSE: CUK), the world's largest cruise company, today held the traditional coin ceremony forits new ship Costa Venezia atFincantieri, one of the world's largest shipbuilding groups, shipyard inMonfalcone (Italy). She will be the first Costa ship built and designed specificallyfor Chinese guests, entering into service in 2019.
During the coin ceremony, one newly minted commemorative coinwas officially placed in the ship's keel as a symbol of good luck and blessingsfor the crew and passengers onboard the ship and her future journeys. The eventconnected Italy and China to mark this milestone, which was attended bygovernment officials, trade partners and senior executives from CostaCruises.
"Costa Cruises is thrilled to have a new ship that is built to offer thebest experience to Chinese consumers," said Michael Thamm, CEO of CostaGroup and Carnival Asia. "The CostaVenezia demonstrates our strong commitment and confidence in the world'sfastest growing cruise market. Her arrival in 2019 will further enhance ourofferings for Chinese guests to reinforce our leading position in China."
Costa Venezia will be 135,500 tons, offering2,116 passenger cabinsfor a total of 5,260passengers. The design of the ship will be dedicated to the city of Venice.Chinese guests onboard will enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime experience immersing themselvesin a multi-sensory "virtual" trip in Venice, featuring food, art, music andentertainment. Come nightfall, guests may join an onboard version of theCarnival of Venice, the city's famous festival known for its elaborate masks.
"Withthe Costa Venezia, Costa Cruises is proud to showcase the allure of one ofItaly's most famous and culturally rich cities and regions to Chineseconsumers," said Mario Zanetti, President of Costa GroupAsia. "The planned addition of the shipto our Asia fleet is part of our continued efforts to innovate and consistentlyexceed our guests' expectations by providing authentic and memorable Italianexperiences to everyone who sails with us."
Theinaugural cruise of Costa Venezia will be departing in early March 2019 fromTrieste (Italy) to Shanghai, visiting countries such as Greece, Israel, theUnited Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Vietnam and Japan, following Marco Polo'sfamous journeys between Italy and China. Tickets for the world inaugural cruisewill be available also for European guests.
A second ship speciallydesigned for Chinese guests, sister to Costa Venezia, will be delivered by Fincantieri in 2020. Costa's new ships forAsia will be the 13th and 14th cruise ships built in Italy by Fincantieri forCosta, with a total investment worth more than 6 billion euro. The projects areexpected to employ thousands of shipyards workers and employees of alliedindustries in Italy. The benefits in terms of employment will extend beyond theyards, especially regarding the fitting-out of the interiors of the cruise ships,with the involvement of contracted suppliers, most of which are Italian firms.
In addition to Costa Venezia and hersister ship, the Costa Group has an additional four new ships (two for AidaCruises and two for Costa Cruises) to be delivered by 2021, that will be thefirst-ever cruise-ships powered at sea by Liquefied Natural Gas, built by Meyershipyards in Turku (Finland) and Papenburg (Germany).
With the arrival of Costa Venezia,Costa Cruises will reposition Costa Fortuna, one of the five Costa ships nowoperating in Asia, back to the Mediterranean to reinforce its cruise options inthis strategic region.
In 2006Costa Cruises was the first international cruise company to enter China, and ithas established a leading presence in the market. With the kick off of "Costa's New Decade"in China, it will strive relentlessly to exceed guest expectations by continuouslyinnovating to deliver the most delightful onboard experiences.
Costa cruises are marketed in China as"Italy at Sea", offering an authentic Italian and European experience forChinese guests, with high-quality hospitality, style, cuisine and entertainment.
The Costa Group is theleading cruise company in Europe, headquartered in Genoa (Italy). The 27 shipsof the brands Costa Cruises, AIDA Cruises and Costa Asia together have a totalcapacity of 76,000 beds. The fleet will be further strengthened by six newvessels by 2021. The company has a global workforce of 27,000 employees workingonboard and in its 20 offices in 14 countries.
For additional details:
Costa Cruises
Press Office - Tel. +39010 5483523 / 010 5483068 - costapressoffice@costa.it
Gabriele Baroni –Communication Director – mob. +39 3497668013 - baroni@costa.it
Davide Barbano - MediaRelations Manager - Tel. +39010.5483523 - +39 334.6525216 – barbano@costa.it
Cristiano de Musso – Headof Corporate Communication – Tel. +39 010 5483068 – mob. +39 3346805095 -demusso@costa.it
Press releases and photosare available at www.costapresscenter.com
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