Cruise & Ferry Itinerary Planning 2020

evolution that may enable new generation vessels to be deployed, both in terms of vessel size and technology – for example, LNG refuelling options not yet being available,” says Alovisi. Costa operated Black Sea cruises until 2013 and these itineraries achieved high satisfaction ratings among passengers. “Unfortunately we were forced to cancel them from our deployment due to the security risk, political instability and in order to comply with our corporate guidelines. Safety and security are our utmost priorities, still our willingness and hope is that we will be able to return, as soon as possible and safely, to such amazing destinations,” says Alovisi. Before the crisis, signs of a Black Sea revival were very strong. It’s a region that Costa and others will be watching closely as it presents a series of itinerary opportunities to less travelled destinations that are very appealing to cruise passengers. North Africa also dropped off Costa itineraries due to security and political issues. “Again we’re willing and hope to return to grow our presence in such amazing destinations, but it has to be in compliance with our safety and security measures and corporate guidelines,” says Alovisi. “We are already offering cruises to Morocco and the great news is we have started returning to Egypt beginning this winter with amazing 14-day cruises.” East and west Mediterranean cruises are high performers for Costa across the seasons. “We have excellent results in both the west and east Mediterranean, where we offer seven-day and longer cruises, such as 12-day itineraries towards the Canary Islands or 14-day itineraries calling at Greece and Egypt,” says Alovisi. The two-week cruise from Rome to Savona in May 2021 on Costa Diadema is a good example, calling at Palermo, Athens, Izmir, Istanbul, Crete, Barcelona and Marseilles. One of the significant attributes of operating in the Mediterranean is the capacity it offers to easily revitalise itineraries with new calls. “The possibility to refresh a Mediterranean offering is endless, yielding unique experiences all year round to fulfil the desires of virtually any guest. Even the same “Every port that we add to our itineraries must have an excellent score from our guest ratings” Costa Smeralda was one of the first cruise ships to resume sailing from Savona, Italy after the pandemic 5 7