Costa Cruises will bring around 236,000 passenger to the port in the coming year, an increase of 26% compared to 2014.
Giuseppe Carino, Costa's vp hotel operations commented: 'La Spezia is a strategic port for Costa. We are working with Port Authority, Municipality and local institutions to develop cruising in La Spezia, as demonstrated by the weekly positioning of Costa Diadema in the coming year.'
Lorenzo Forcieri, chairman of the Port Authority of La Spezia, stated: 'It is a great honour for La Spezia to host Costa’s flagship every week. We also look to Costa for future plans: we want to strengthen our co-operation with the company by offering new shore excursions for guests to discover the city and its surroundings.'
The 132,500gt ship will call La Spezia at 9.30am every Friday, departing at 11.30pm on a seven day itinerary that includes stops in Savona, Marseille, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca and Naples.
Tours include exploring the city and tasting the typical “farinata” and local white wine; an excursion by jeep to the Apuane Alps, with a visit to the characteristic Carrara marble quarries and a break to taste croutons with lardo di Colonnata or visits to Florence, Cinque Terre, Lucca and Pisa.
La Spezia will also host Costa Serena on a transit call on November 17, and from March 20 to April 9 2015, for the renovated Costa Celebration, during West Med itineraries.
