Costa Cruises plans to restart cruises next week

Carnival Corporation announced today that Costa Cruises will begin sailing again on September 6, 2020 in Italy.

A limited amount of sailings will begin on two ships that wil sail from Trieste and Genoa, Italy, carrying only Italian passengers.

Originally the ships had itineraries that would visit Greece, but will only visit Italian ports.

In addition, Costa will reduce passenger capacity and follow enhanced health protocols to stem the spread of COVID-19. All Costa guests will undergo health screenings, including temperature and swab tests, and must take Costa-approved shore excursions on land.

The Costa Deliziosa will sail 7-night cruises from Trieste and visit five ports in Southern Italy, including Bari and Brindisi in Puglia, Corigliano-Rossano in Calabria and Siracusa and Catania in Sicily.

Costa Diadema will start up with her first sailing on Sept. 19 from Genoa, calling at Italian ports in the Western Mediterranean, including Civitavecchia/Rome, Naples, Palermo, Cagliari and La Spezia.

The Costa Safety Protocols are a set of comprehensive set of health and hygiene protocols designed for he cruise line that include temperature checks and health screenings for every guest before they board the ship.

"We are engaged with a large number of medical experts and scientists around the world, and they are providing us with extremely valuable insight that we are using to develop new and enhanced protocols that are in the best interest of our guests, crew and overall public health," said Arnold Donald, CEO of Carnival Corp. "In areas of the world where community spread is largely mitigated and authorities are supportive of a gradual return to service over time, we look forward to again welcoming guests on board."