Costa Cruceros, the Carnival Corp & plc group cruise brand with a significant focus on South America, has just announced the cancellation of its 2014-2015 season cruises from Buenos Aires. Alan Lam reports.
As the South America season has barely started, Costa announced a major re-programming of its South American itineraries, cancelling four planned departures of Costa Pacifica from Buenos Aires, citing “commercial difficulties” and “economic situation of the region” as the main reasons for this decision.
The company also refers to the growing demand in the Mediterranean as a reason for this strategic move. It is cancelling cruises departing from Buenos Aires on 27 February, 7, 10 and 18 March, so that the ship may return to Europe earlier than expected. Pre-booked passengers will be offered alternative options.
The remaining Costa 2014-2015 South American programme will remain unchanged. Commencing on 10 December the season will now end on the ship’s last transatlantic positioning voyage departing 2 March.
The company also confirms its earlier promise of deploying two ships to South America for the 2015-2016 season.
This development coincides with our earlier report (14 Oct) about the sharp fall in cruise traffic at Buenos Aires for the current season. The “commercial difficulties” may be related to the high operational costs on the River Plate waterway, as mentioned in our earlier report.
