Costa Cruises' flagship Costa Smeralda left the port of Savona on Saturday, May 1, for a week-long cruise in Italy.
It is the first ship of Carnival Corporation's Italian cruise subsidiary to resume operations in the Mediterranean in 2021. Three other Costa ships will also commence Mediterranean sailings within the year.
Costa Smeralda's current cruise features an all-Italian itinerary, visiting Savona, Civitavecchia/Rome, Naples, Messina, Cagliari, and La Spezia. Guests can choose to book the entire itinerary, for a week-long holiday, or split it into three- and four-day mini-cruises, to experience a shorter holiday.
Costa added that health and safety procedures have been enhanced through the adoption of a new protocol developed by the company together with scientific experts and Italian authorities. Measures under the protocol include a reduction in the number of guests, swab tests for all guests before embarkation and after half of the cruise, swab tests for the crew before embarkation and regularly during their stay on board, temperature checks every time guests disembark and re-enter the ship and every time they enter the restaurants, visits to destinations only with protected excursions, social distancing on board and in the terminals, enhanced sanitation and medical services, and the use of protective masks when necessary.