By
Alex Smith |
Costa Cruises has held a coin ceremony for its new flagship, Costa Toscana, marking a construction milestone at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland.
The ceremony was attended by the ship’s captain Pietro Sinisi, along with the shipyard and cruise line’s management. Following maritime tradition, commemorative coins were placed on the ship as a good luck charm for future sailings.
Two weeks before the ceremony, Costa Toscana left the shipyard to carry out sea trials, during which she successfully passed a series of tests to verify the proper functioning of her systems, equipment and LNG engines. Costa Toscana, like her sister ship Costa Smeralda, is powered by LNG fuel, and will be one of four ships owned by Costa Group using the fuel when she is delivered.
"These additional key steps in the completion of the Costa Toscana confirm our commitment to evolution towards an increasingly sustainable cruise model,” said Mario Zanetti, president of Costa Cruises. “At the same time Costa Toscana, thanks to her excellent and innovative services, will be able to attract new cruise guests, helping us to consolidate our presence in the Mediterranean and our gradual restart plan.”
Costa Toscana is scheduled to be delivered in December 2021. She will depart from Savona, Italy, for her maiden cruise on 5 March 2022, sailing a week-long itinerary that includes Marseille in France, Barcelona and Valencia in Spain, and Palermo and Civitavecchia in Italy. She will remain deployed in the Western Mediterranean throughout the year.