'New' Costa Victoria Due in Savona

Costa Victoria, renovated thanks to the installation of panorama verandas in 242 cabins and 4 minisuites, will be premiered in front of 400 travel agents coming from the North West of Italy on February 13.

Costa Victoria, one of the 10 ships in the Costa Crociere fleet after a facelift involving the addition of panorama verandas with private views to 242 cabins. The balconies were installed during a one-month stop when Costa Victoria was dry-docked at the German Lloyd Werft shipyard in Bremerhaven, where she was built. The work involved the fitting of panorama balconies to 242 oceanview cabins on decks 9 and 10, as well as to 4 minisuites on deck 11 – in all, 43% of the ship’s oceanview cabins. This was the first time that refurbishing of this kind had been carried out on a cruise ship that was already in service. The installation of the new verandas, which measure about 4.5 sq. m. in the oceanview cabins and roughly 9 sq. m. in the minisuites, also provided the chance to revamp other areas on board the ship. The buffet terrace, located on the stern lido on deck 11, has been extended by 60 sq. m., while two panorama promenades – each about 140 m in length – have also been added to deck 11, one on either side of the ship.

On February 13 the “new” Costa Victoria will premiered in front of 400 travel agents coming form the North- West of Italy. Then she will leave from the Savona Palacrociere on Saturday 14th February 2004, when she resumes her winter programme of Mediterranean cruises, scheduled until 7th March 2004. Her 11-day itinerary takes her to Egypt, Cyprus, Turkey and Greece, with stopovers in Naples (Italy), Messina (Italy), Alexandria (Egypt), Cyprus, Marmaris (Turkey), Rhodes, Athens and Katakolon (Greece). With the advent of the upgraded Costa Victoria, some 44% of the fleet’s oceanview cabins are now fitted with verandas overlooking the sea. Considering only the new design cruise ships built after 1996 (Costa Victoria, Costa Atlantica, Costa Mediterranea and Costa Fortuna), this figure is even higher, at 72%. This is another example of the way in which the Company is determined to further enhance the quality of the service offered to its Guests, offering them the most popular and sought after facilities. Costa Crociere is currently Europe’s number one company when it comes to offering balconies.

Costa Victoria, which was in fact built by the Lloyd Werft shipyard and entered into service in 1996, is 75,000 gross tonnage, 252 metres in length and 32 metres in breadth. She can accommodate up to 2,394 Guests in 964 cabins. Facilities on the 14 passenger decks include 3 swimming pools (one with a roof), 4 jacuzzis, 3 restaurants, a buffet, a pizzeria, 9 bars, a theatre, disco, gym, beauty salon, spa centre, Internet café, and casino. The interiors of the Costa Victoria were designed by the Italian architect Pierluigi Cerri, and feature mosaics by Emilio Tadini.

During the 2003/2004 winter season, the “new” Costa Victoria is sharing the Savona Palacrociere, the new cruise terminal co-financed and managed by the Company, with Costa Europa and the new flagship Costa Fortuna. Both of these vessels are currently offering 11-day cruises to Spain, Morocco and the Canary Islands. By virtue of this presence Costa has furthered its firm commitment to winter cruising in the Mediterranean in 2003/2004, offering a total of 40 cruises (33% more than last winter) and 6,200 lower berths (up 165% on last year’s figure).