Costa Cruises – owned by Carnival Group, the world’s largest leisure travel company – is the leading cruise operator in Europe. It operates a total of 28 ships, including Costa Cruise ships and AIDA Cruise ships, with passenger capacity totaling over 85,000. Carnival Group has opened 20 branch offices in 14 countries and has over 30,000 employees from all over the world in its offices and on board its ships.
On March 31, 1948, Anna C, the first ship in the Costa fleet dedicated to passenger transport, left Genoa, Italy, becoming the first ocean liner to cross the Atlantic Ocean after World War II. Over the last 70 years, Costa Cruises has been committed to providing pleasant and refreshing Italian-style journeys to passengers from around the globe with cordial service and delicious cuisine. Currently, the Costa fleet, the largest of its kind in Europe, has a total of 15 ships in service, all flying the Italian flag.
Costa Cruises is the first international cruise line to operate homeport cruises in the China market and has become the leading cruise line in the country. On July 3, 2006, Costa Allegra departed Shanghai, initiating a cruise route with Shanghai as the homeport. On March 1, 2015, the Costa cruise left Shanghai for the first 86-day round-trip global voyage customized for Chinese passengers and traveled across three oceans and five continents to 28 destinations in 18 countries, bringing China into the World Cruise Era. On November 30, 2016, Costa Cruises launched a 46-day cruise to South Pacific islands, opening up a new chapter in global cruise history. Costa Cruises will take passengers across two continents, visiting 12 islands in nine countries and calling at 14 ports, allowing passengers to discover the beauty of South Pacific and unfrequented islands up close. In March 2019, Costa Venezia, specially designed for the China market, officially set sail from Italy and is expected to arrive in Shanghai in May, marking the start of homeport operation.
For over a decade since its entry into the China market, Costa Cruises has been upholding the principle of customer orientation and focusing on innovation and excellence to bring Chinese passengers the most current and high-quality cruise products.