Carnival Firenze
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | Costa Firenze |
| Namesake | Florence, Italy |
| Owner |  Carnival Corporation & plc |
| Operator | Costa Cruises |
| Builder | |
| Yard number | 6273 |
| Launched | 6 November 2019 |
| Acquired | 30 September 2020 |
| In service | October 2020 |
| Identification | IMO number: 9801691 |
| Status | Under construction |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Template:Sclass- |
| Tonnage | 135,500 GT |
| Length | 323 m (1,059 ft 9 in) |
Costa Firenze is a Template:Sclass- under construction at Fincantieri's shipyard in Marghera for Costa Cruises, a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc, and will become the sister ship to Costa Venezia.
History
Planning and construction
Carnival Corporation entered a strategic agreement with Fincantieri in March 2015 for five cruise ships for delivery between 2019 and 2022.[1] On 30 December 2015, Carnival Corporation and Fincantieri signed a memorandum of agreement for four cruise ships, with two then-unnamed ships for Costa Asia among the four.[2] This announcement coincided with Carnival Corporation's unveiling of its plans for the expansion of the Costa Asia fleet, which would consist of two vessels at 135,500 GT each, with a guest capacity of approximately 4,200 passengers per vessel.[3] The contracts for the two newbuild vessels were finalized in April 2016.[4] The two ships, comprising a new class of vessels in Costa's fleet, were designed to be sister ships and continue carrying Costa's Italian-style interior designs and features while hosting an Asian clientele.[3]
On 6 May 2019, Costa Cruises announced that the second of the two vessels built specifically for the Chinese market would be named Costa Firenze, named after Florence, Italy, and have interior features inspired by Florentine history and culture.[5] The ship was floated out from the shipyard on 6 November 2019.[6]
Delivery
Costa Firenze is scheduled to be delivered on 30 September 2020.[6]
Operational career
Carnival Corporation announced on 6 May 2019 that Costa Firenze would initially spend her first month sailing in the Mediterranean, calling in ports in Italy, Spain, and France.[7] Her maiden voyage was scheduled for 1 October 2020, departing from Trieste and calling in Bari, Barcelona, and Marseille, before arriving in Savona.[7] Then, she was to depart from Savona on 2 November to begin a 51-day cruise to Hong Kong, arriving on 22 December.[7]
However, in late-August 2019, Costa Cruises announced changes to Costa Firenze's maiden deployments.[8] These changes scrapped the maiden voyage and her month of Mediterranean sailings that were planned and the ship will, instead, head for Singapore immediately following her delivery and debut for Chinese customers on 20 October.[8][9] But on 13 July 2020, it was reported that Costa will revert back to deploying Costa Firenze to Europe, scheduling her to sail weekly itineraries in the Mediterranean after being delivered, and also operate all cancelled sailings of Costa Toscana through 2021 due to the ship's delayed delivery.[10] Costa Firenze is now scheduled to begin operating in China in late-2021.[10]
References
- ^ "Fincantieri: Five Next-Generation Ships for Carnival Corporation" (Press release). Fincantieri. 27 March 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
- ^ "Fincantieri: 4 Cruise Ships for Carnival" (Press release). Fincantieri. 30 December 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
{{cite press release}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b Leppert, Jason (4 January 2016). "Carnival Corp. Announces Four New Cruise Ships for Three Brands". TravelPulse.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Leppert, Jason (4 April 2016). "Carnival Corp. Celebrates Koningsdam and Finalizes New Ship Orders for Costa, P&O and Princess". TravelPulse.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Costa Names 2020 Newbuild for China Costa Firenze". Cruise Industry News. 6 May 2019. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b "Costa Firenze Floats Out at Fincantieri". Cruise Industry News. 6 November 2019. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c "Costa Cruises Presents Costa Firenze, the New Ship Arriving October 2020" (Press release). Carnival Corporation & plc. 6 May 2019. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
{{cite press release}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b Kalosh, Anne (27 August 2019). "Costa ship shuffle strengthens Mediterranean presence". Seatrade Cruise News. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Costa Cruises Celebrates Float Out of Costa Firenze" (Press release). Fincantieri. 6 November 2019. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
{{cite press release}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b "Costa Firenze Set to Stay in Europe 2021 Before Heading to China". Cruise Industry News. 13 July 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
