Cruise operator Carnival said on Wednesday that its Italian subsidiary was ready to set sail again after having enhanced both health and safety protocols.
Carnival stated Costa Cruises’ restart would begin with the departure of its flagship Costa Smeralda on 27 March, with an unchanged itinerary, sailing guests to Italian locations.
From early May, Costa Smeralda will return to sailing one-week cruises in the western Mediterranean, with visits to Italy, France and Spain.
Carnival added that a second ship, the Costa Luminosa, will also be back in service, departing from Trieste from 2 May.
“Costa is working with national and local authorities of the countries included in the itineraries of its ships outside Italy to define the details of the restart of cruise operations, with enhanced health and safety measures through the implementation of the Costa Safety Protocol,” said Carnival.
In an attempt to stop the spread of Covid-19 amongst its numbers, capacity on the ships will be limited, while swab tests will be required for all guests and crew, temperature checks will take place when disembarking and re-embarking the ship, shore excursions will be protected, physical distancing will be enforced on board and at cruise terminals, enhanced sanitation and medical services will be made available and the use of protective face masks will be requested when deemed necessary.
As of 1030 GMT, Carnival shares were up 0.72% at 1,376.90p.
