Costa Cruises has confirmed that it will send a fifth vessel to sail in Asian waters next year.
Starting in April 2017, the 1,800-passenger Costa neoRomantica will be based in Asia year-round, homeporting in Shanghai.
On 18 March 2017, the ship will embark on a 23-day cruise from Mauritius to China, calling at the Seychelles, Maldives, Colombo, Phuket, Singapore, Danang and Hong Kong, before arriving in Shanghai on 10 April.
Once in China, the ship will undergo a dry-dock renovation to customise it for its new Asian clientele. Its first Chinese cruise is then scheduled to set sail from Shanghai on 24 April 2017.
“The deployment of a fifth Costa ship in Asia in 2017, in addition to the two new fleet members that will be built specially for Costa Asia, will allow us to continue to significantly grow the Asian cruise market in particular China, which is set to become the second largest in the world by the end of the decade,” said Costa’s CEO, Michael Thamm.
At present there are three Costa ships cruising in Asia, while a fourth, the Costa Fortuna, will arrive in Shanghai later this month. In addition, Costa recently placed an order for two new ships to be designed specifically for the Chinese market. Delivery of these two vessels is scheduled for 2019 and 2020.
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