The Costa Fascinosa, the 16th member of the Costa Cruises fleet, which is currently being fitted out in Italy at Fincantieri’s Marghera shipyard, will be the new flagship of the largest Italian travel group and Europe’s no.1 cruise company.

She is due to make her debut on May 2, 2012 on the first of two vernissage mini cruises taking the
new flagship to Savona (Italy), where her naming event will be held on May 6, 2012. The first of the
two mini cruises, from Venice, will be calling at Dubrovnik (Croatia), Capri and Savona; the second premiere cruise will depart from Savona on May 7 with stopovers in Corfu (Greece), Kotor
(Montenegro) and Venice. Throughout the summer season until the end of November, the Costa
Fascinosa will be offering 8-day Eastern Mediterranean cruises, with departures from Venice and
Bari, to discover the archeological site of Olympia, the wonderful Greek islands of Santorini and
Rhodes, and the old town of Dubrovnik (Croatia).

As her name suggests (Fascinosa is Italian for “charming”), the Costa Fascinosa (114,500 gross tonnage and 3,800 total Guests) has been designed to act as a tribute to all things that exude charm – people and places synonymous with allure and seduction. The central theme for her interiors conceived by architect Joseph Farcus is the atmosphere inspired by great historic films, the protagonists who made them famous and the works that brought success to the most celebrated theatres in the world.

The investment for the construction of the Costa Fascinosa – sister ship (same gross tonnage and Guest capacity) of the Costa Favolosa, named in Trieste (Italy) on July 2, 2011 – is worth around 510 million euros. After the Fascinosa, Costa plans to build another cruise ship in the Marghera yard; the new building, which will be 132,500 gross tonnage and carry 4,928 total Guests, is scheduled for delivery in October 2014. Since 2000, Costa Cruises has ordered a total of 10 new ships from Fincantieri’s Italian shipyards, with a total investment worth over 5 billion euros. Meanwhile, February 2012 will see the debut of the Costa neoRomantica, the result of the 90 million euro makeover of the Costa Romantica; this radical refurbishment is being carried out at the San Giorgio del Porto and T. Mariotti yards in Genoa.