Costa resuming operations in Asia with Costa Serena

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Mario Zanetti, president, Costa Cruises (left) signs the agreement during a ceremony held on board Costa Toscana in Dubai
Costa Cruises is returning to Asia with a series of charter cruises operated by Costa Serena in cooperation with local Asian partners kicking off between June and September.

The vessel will offer 30 sailings in total: six in June, dedicated to the South Korean market, with 24 for the Taiwan market from July to September.

Prior to the pause in operations in January 2020, the 3,780-passenger Costa Serena offered cruises In East Asia, with departures from China. News reports last month indicated the line would be returning to Taiwan, but a Costa spokesman at the time stated the information was ‘not official.’ 

The agreement

Signing of commercial agreements for the series of cruises took place in Dubai onboard Costa Toscana, deployed in the Arabian Gulf through winter 2022/23.

The ceremony was attended by Costa President Mario Zanetti and SVP & COO Roberto Alberti, as well as representatives of the 10 local partners supporting Costa Serena's Asia programme.

A sign of Asia’s recovery

‘The restart of Costa Serena, ahead of her original schedule, is further confirmation of the growing appreciation of Costa cruises in all the global markets where we operate,’ stated Zanetti. ‘In particular, the new cruises announced today are an important signal for the recovery of the industry in Asia.’

He went on to add that the line has achieved ‘this significant result thanks to our historic presence in Asia and established relationship with local partners, as well as the recent reopening to cruising of some countries in the area.’

Itineraries

The itineraries, of four to seven days, include various destinations in East Asia such as Sasebo, Kagoshima, Otaru, Hakodate, Naha, Miyakojima and Ishigaki in Japan. Departures are scheduled from the ports of Busan, Sokcho and Pohang in South Korea, and Keelung, Taiwan.