Costa Cruises, the Italian cruise company, is celebrating a double inauguration. While the new flagship, the Costa Concordia is being delivered in Italy, on the other side of the globe the Costa Allegra will be…
Costa Cruises, the Italian cruise company, is celebrating a double inauguration. While the new flagship, the Costa Concordia is being delivered in Italy, on the other side of the globe the Costa Allegra will be making its debut in China.
Costa is the world’s first international cruise company to have received a licence from the government of the People’s Republic of China to operate in the local market, departing from ports located in Chinese territory.
Starting on 3 July the Costa Allegra (weighing in at 28,500 tons and with a maximum capacity of 1,000 guests) begins her cruise program from Shanghai, marketed exclusively in China and Asia. The five-day itinerary will include calls to Nagasaki (Japan) and Cheju (Korea). The 2006-07 winter programme has also already been defined: starting in November, the Costa Allegra will move to the south of China, operating five-day cruises from Hong Kong with calls in Sanya (China) and Vietnam (Halong Bay).
The Costa Allegra’s debut in China was celebrated with a two-day mini-cruise from Hong Kong to Shanghai that departed on 30 June. This was followed by a spectacular event on 2 July in the port of Shanghai where a new cruise terminal will be inaugurated with the arrival of the Costa Allegra.
“It is very gratifying and extremely exciting to officially inaugurate our first cruise season in China,” declared Pier Luigi Foschi, Chairman and CEO of Costa Crociere SpA. “We are honoured that the Italian Ministry for the Environment and Territory, and of the General Director for the Environmental Protection and Development, Mr. Corrado Clini, decided to attend the Costa Allegra event in Shanghai. This authoritative participation praises Costa Cruises long effort to realize a company strategy committed to the respect of the environment..We hope that this important ceremony will be, for our Ministry for the Environment, an opportunity to celebrate the extraordinary projects that it’s going to realize in the Chinese Territory”.
For her debut in China, the Costa Allegra, one of eleven ships in Costa’s fleet, was completely refurbished at a cost of 12 million euros. The objective of the restyling operation was to offer the ship’s future Chinese guests a tailor-made cruise experience to satisfy their tastes, but with a European style.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales. She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
