Fascinosa Looks Fab

At last, some good news for beleaguered Costa Cruises - the Costa Fascinosa, the largest Italian-flagged cruise ship, has entered service for the big Italian-based line in Venice to a significant fanfare and positive reviews.

Costa's new flagship weighs in at 114,500 tons and carries 3,800 guests and was delivered by the big Fincantieri shipyard in Venice on May 5. She is the joint-largest Italian-flagged cruise ship, together with her sister Costa Favolosa.

The company, which is still dealing with the loss of Costa Concordia in February, has invested a total of €510 million in the newcomer, with the construction process in Fincantieri’s Marghera shipyard involving the labour of around 3,000 yard workers plus a further 7,000 contractors.

After a successful maiden voyage, Fascinosa will spend the rest of the 2012 summer season (until the end of November) operating on seven-day cruises from Venice and Bari to Greece and Croatia. In winter, she will transfer transatlantic for South America cruises to Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay. Then, in summer 2013, she will be back in the Eastern Mediterranean on one-week holidays to Greece and Turkey, with departures from Venice and Bari. 

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Work Begins On Costa Fascinosa

By guest blogger Steve Newman

Work is underway at Fincantieri’s Marghera (Venice) yard on the construction of the Costa Fascinosa. This continues Costa Cruises’ fleet expansion programme with the laying of the keel on the newest addition. The ship is the 16th fleet member for Costa, the largest Italian travel group and one of Europe’s most popular cruise companies, and is due to enter service in spring 2012.

The keel-laying took place on September 3 and the first full section of the hull, a block 12 metres long and 295 tonnes in weight, was also laid. The Fascinosa, sister ship of the Costa Favolosa, will be able to accommodate up to 3,780 guests and will be 114,500 gross tonnage.

Fascinosa is actually one of two new Costa ships currently under construction in the Fincantieri shipyard. In addition, work is also proceeding on the Favolosa, which underwent a technical launch on August 6 and is set for a debut in July 2011. The construction of each new ship involves the labour of around 3,000 people, comprising both Fincantieri’s own employees and about 500 contracted suppliers, most of which are Italian firms.

Costa has a total of 14 ships, which offer the chance to visit some 250 separate destinations in the Mediterranean, Northern Europe, the Baltic Sea, Caribbean, South America, the United Arab Emirates, the Far East and the Indian Ocean.

For further information, look up http://www.costacruises.co.uk/

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Is Costa Taking Italian Connection Too Far?

OK, it's fairly evident Costa Cruises are keen to maintain their Italian 'heritage,' despite being owned by the giant Carnival Corporation. But is there any real need to take the names of their next two ships ever more firmly into Italian territory?

To my mind (and eye), the names of Costa Favolosa (2011) and Costa Fascinosa (2012) are just plain awkward and clunky - unless they are intended purely for the Italian market.

Following hard on the heels of Luminosa (May this year) and Deliziosa (January 2010), it is definiutely a trend of Romanesque proportions, and I'm not so sure it is a trend which will sit comfortably with their English-speaking clientele.

Or am I just being Italian-ist?

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