Special celebrations were held on Saturday 22nd of February in Savona for the naming ceremony of Costa Smeralda, Costa Cruises’ new flagship, powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG).
The ship’s godmother and star of the event was international celebrity Penélope Cruz, who performed the ribbon-cutting duties with the traditional breaking of the bottle against the bow of the ship in the presence of the Master of Costa Smeralda, Paolo Benini. Also starring at the celebration was the Italian multi-starred chef Bruno Barbieri, who personally conceived and presented a special gala cocktail, giving guests a taste of his creativity and experience.
The event for Costa Smeralda continued with an extraordinary acrobatic show called “Dream” produced by the creative genius of Viktor Klee and staged in the splendid setting of the Colosseo, the innovative and technologically advanced theatre located at the center of the ship, with nine of the world’s best acrobats. The celebrations ended with a spectacular display of fireworks launched from a barge positioned in the stretch of sea in front of the Priamar Fortress, lighting up the sky of Savona and giving the ship a fitting send-off.
"Costa Smeralda is a breakthrough for the cruise industry, as she represents an exceptional combination of environmental innovation, smart technologies and Italian excellence in design, food and experiences," Costa said in a statement.
“It is a pleasure to officially welcome Costa Smeralda to our fleet. This ship is the perfect combination of Italian excellence, which is the key heritage of the Costa brand, and sustainable innovation, for an unforgettable vacation experience. As the market leader in Europe, we are committed to being the first to introduce environmental innovation and lead the way in sustainable cruising for the cruise industry. We were the first company to invest in LNG and we are currently working to develop other sustainable technologies such as battery storage, fuel cells and liquefied gas from renewable energy sources,” said Michael Thamm, Group CEO of Costa Group, which includes Costa and Germany’s leading brand, AIDA Cruises, and Carnival Asia.
“The naming of a new ship is always very exciting – especially in the case of Costa Smeralda, because she is an unprecedented project. A cruise holiday on this ship allows our guests to enjoy memorable experiences both on board and ashore – whether it is the food, relaxation, high-tech entertainment or authentic encounters in the destinations we visit. This is the Costa of the future, providing us with new opportunities to grow the market and attract consumers who have never been on a cruise before,” said Costa Cruises President Neil Palomba.
The Costa Group was the first cruise operator in the world to pioneer the advanced LNG propulsion system and has ordered a total of five new LNG-fueled ships, two of which – Costa Smeralda and AIDAnova – are already in service. They are part of the Costa Group’s fleet expansion plan, with a total of seven new ships slated for delivery by 2023 and an overall investment worth over €6 billion.
Costa Smeralda entered service on December 21, 2019. She is operating on a one-week itinerary in the Western Mediterranean with calls at Savona, Marseille, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Civitavecchia/Rome and La Spezia. This summer, the new flagship will also be calling at Cagliari, while a stopover in Palermo is planned starting in winter 2021/22.
Below Jazz Club and Colosseum (Photo credit: Costa Cruises)
