COSTA CRUISES MAKES 2010 SUMMER EUROPE ACCESSIBLE WITH CRUISES FROM JUST $699 PLUS THREE CATEGORY UPGRADES
Seven-Night Mediterranean Sailings in Peak Summer Months Offer Travelers an Affordable and Authentic European Experience
MIAMI (June 1, 2010) – Costa, Europe’s Number One Cruise Line, is making peak-season Europe accessible with Mediterranean cruise getaways in 2010 from just $699 per person. These limited-time fares are available on the new Costa Pacifica as well as the Costa Serena, Costa Concordia, Costa Fortuna and Costa Victoria. Routes featured include Costa’s most popular Mediterranean getaways from Venice and Barcelona. On certain sailings, guests may even be able to enjoy complimentary three-category upgrades.
Sailings include Costa’s popular seven-night Western Mediterranean voyage from Barcelona aboard the Costa Pacifica (114,500-tons; 3,000 dbl occ), which was inaugurated just last summer. The ship features the line’s award-winning Samsara Spa, an onboard recording studio, a Grand Prix race car driving simulator and intimate specialty dining with menus created by Michelin restaurateur Ettore Bocchia. Ports-of-call on the popular voyage include Palma de Mallorca, Tunis, Valletta, Catania, Civitavecchia and Savona.
“Travelers want what I call ‘accessible inspiration’ now more than ever, and this collection of Mediterranean cruises offers just that in peak travel months,” said Maurice Zarmati, president and ceo of Costa North America. “Our price points are accessible enough for travelers to get away at an unbeatable price, all while feeling inspired by the perennially-popular Mediterranean and our authentic onboard European experience.”
Another popular route featured is the seven-night Eastern Mediterranean departure from Venice aboard the Costa Serena, sister ship to the Costa Pacifica. Ports-of-call featured include Bari, Katakolon (Olympia), Izmir, Istanbul and Dubrovnik. Additional routes featured include the Costa Concordia from Barcelona to France, Italy and Tunisia as well as the Costa Fortuna and Costa Victoria to the Greek Isles. Sailings are available throughout June, July and August.
Costa Cruises is Italy’s largest tourism group and Europe’s Number One Cruise Line. For more than 60 years its ships have sailed the seas of the world, offering the best in Italian style, hospitality and cuisine and providing dream vacations filled with fun and relaxation. The company’s 14 fleet members, each with her own distinctive characteristics and unique style, all fly the Italian flag and sail each year to 250 destinations in the Mediterranean, Northern Europe, the Baltic Sea, the Caribbean, Canada/New England, South America, the United Arab Emirates, the Far East and the Indian Ocean. Two more new ships are due to enter service by 2012.
Costa Cruises has been certified by RINA (Italian Shipping Register) with the BEST4, an integrated system of voluntary certification of corporate compliance with the highest standards governing social accountability (SA 8000, issued in 2001), environment (UNI EN ISO 14001, 2004), safety (OHSAS 18001, 2007) and quality (UNI EN ISO 9001, 2008). Costa Cruises has been an official partner of WWF Italia for the protection of the Mediterranean Sea since 2005.
All the ships in the Costa fleet have been assigned RINA’s Green Star notation certifying that they are operated in compliance with the highest environmental protection standards. Costa Crociere S.p.A. is a member of Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), the world’s largest cruise operator.
For more information on Costa Cruises or to make reservations, please contact a travel agent, call (800) GO-COSTA or visit www.costacruises.com.