Costa Toscana, the newest Italian-flagged ship in the Costa Cruises fleet, sailed on March 5, from Savona on her maiden cruise.

Costa Toscana is a latest-generation ship powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), the most advanced technology currently available in the maritime sector to reduce emissions. Costa Group, the parent company of Italy-based Costa Cruises and Germany-based AIDA Cruises, was the first in the world in the cruise industry to use LNG. The company currently has four ships powered by this technology: AIDAnova, Costa Smeralda, Costa Toscana and AIDACosma.

“Costa Toscana is an innovative ship that which fully interprets the new cruise experience, including the exploration of destinations, on which we have been working in recent months. The departure of Costa Toscana also represents a new step in the journey that will bring our fleet back to full capacity this summer. Our restart will bolster an ecosystem that before the pandemic generated an annual economic impact of 12.6 billion euros in Europe, including 3.5 billion in Italy alone, with over 63,000 jobs” – said Mario Zanetti, President of Costa Cruises. “We are seeing an increasing demand for our cruises. Furthermore, as the general situation improves, we expect a simplification of our enhanced health and safety protocols, based on our ongoing monitoring of the pandemic.  The work we are carrying out in this direction with the authorities is already well advanced. I believe that cruises will soon be back to normal, with new protocols that will allow our guests to fully enjoy the experiences on board and ashore, with the return, for example, of free excursions for guests”.

Costa Toscana marks the restart of the Costa Cruises fleet after the pandemic pause. In fact, after Costa Toscana, 7 more ships will return to operation, joining those already in service, until this summer, when the entire fleet of 12 ships will be operational again. From spring 2022 to winter 2022-23, Costa’s schedule includes a total of more than 1,800 cruises, with itineraries ranging from 3 to 127 days in length. The company’s ships will visit 179 destinations around the world, with a completely revamped excursion offer, which provides about 1,800 different tours to enjoy unique experiences in the heart of each place, also thanks to long calls in ports. The gastronomic offer will be just as rich: in total, Costa ships will offer no less than 112 restaurants or food areas throughout the fleet, with new features such as dishes from three great chefs like Bruno Barbieri, Hélène Darroze and Ángel León, who interpret the flavors of the destinations included in the itineraries.

Costa Toscana’s first cruise, departing from Savona on March 5, 2022, included a week-long itinerary visiting Marseille, Barcelona, Valencia, Palermo and Civitavecchia/Rome. Following her debut, the new flagship will remain positioned in the Western Mediterranean until late November. During the summer season she will call at Savona, Civitavecchia/Rome, Naples, Ibiza, Valencia, Marseille, while during the fall season Palma de Mallorca will take Ibiza’s place.

Costa Toscana is a true travelling “smart city”. Thanks to the use of LNG, it is possible to almost totally eliminate the emission of sulphur oxides (zero emissions) and particulate matter (95-100% reduction), while also significantly lowering nitrogen oxide (direct reduction of 85%) and CO2 (up to 20%) emissions.
The ship also has a series of cutting-edge technological innovations designed to further reduce environmental impact. The entire daily requirement of water is met by transforming that of the sea through the use of desalinators. Energy consumption is reduced to a minimum thanks to an intelligent energy efficiency system. In addition, 100% of separate waste collection and recycling of materials such as plastic, paper, glass and aluminum will be carried out on board. The sea wood used to furnish the islands of the new Archipelago restaurant has been recovered thanks to the “Guardians of the Coast”, the environmental education program for the protection of the Italian coastline supported  by the Costa Crociere Foundation. For every dinner served at Archipelago, Costa Cruises will donate part of the proceeds to support the foundation’s environmental and social projects.

The interiors of Costa Toscana are the result of an extraordinary project, curated by Adam D. Tihany, created to enhance and bring to life in a single location the colors and atmospheres of this wonderful Italian region. Furniture, lighting, fabrics and accessories are all “Made in Italy”, created by 15 partners who are highly representative of Italian excellence. The offer on board is perfectly integrated in this extraordinary context: from the Solemio Spa to the areas dedicated to entertainment; from the thematic bars, in collaboration with major Italian and international brands, to the 21 restaurants and areas dedicated to the “food experience”.

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