MIAMI, Dec. 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Costa Cruises,
the Italian brand of Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE:
CCL; NYSE: CUK), the world's largest leisure travel company,
officially took delivery today of Costa Smeralda, the brand's first
ship powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), the marine industry's
most advanced fuel technology.
The handover ceremony was held at the Meyer shipyard in
Turku, Finland, where the brand's
new flagship was built. Costa Smeralda becomes Carnival
Corporation's fourth new ship of 2019 and its second LNG-powered
ship.
Costa Smeralda is the first of two new sister ships for Costa
Cruises that can be powered in port and at sea by LNG. The second
vessel, Costa Toscana, is currently under construction at Meyer
Turku and scheduled to be delivered in 2021.
In total, following the delivery of Costa Smeralda today and the
launch of AIDAnova at the end of 2018 as the world's first cruise
vessel to be powered by LNG, Carnival Corporation has an additional
nine next-generation LNG-powered cruise ships on order using the
company's innovative environmental design, with expected delivery
dates for these new ships between 2020 and 2025.
The introduction of LNG to power cruise ships is a major
development that supports the company's environmental goals and
significantly improves overall air emissions with the virtual
elimination of sulfur dioxide emissions (zero emissions) and a 95
to 100% reduction in particulate matter. The use of LNG also
significantly reduces emissions of nitrogen oxide and carbon
dioxide.
"Costa Smeralda will be a further boost to the use of LNG in
cruise ships, a technology our company has pioneered in the cruise
sector," said Neil Palomba,
president of Costa Cruises, which has represented Italian style and
hospitality for more than 70 years. "It is an exciting evolution in
maritime transport, as it guarantees a significant reduction in our
environmental impact."
Palomba added: "Costa Smeralda is a significant product
innovation as well, with Italian hospitality remaining a
fundamental and distinctive element of our brand, able to enchant
and excite not only new cruise passengers but also more experienced
ones."
In addition to the innovative use of LNG, Costa Smeralda
incorporates a series of cutting-edge technological innovations
designed to further support environmentally friendly operations.
For example, using onboard desalination systems, Costa
Smeralda sources its daily water requirement directly from the sea.
The ship also implements broad initiatives to minimize energy
consumption, including LED lights, the ability to recover heat
generated by the engines, an innovative hull design to
significantly reduce frictional drag, and elevators that recover
energy by regenerating it into the electricity system.
Single-use plastic products, which have been eliminated
from Costa Cruises ships for most catering purposes and replaced
with alternative materials, will gradually be reduced well in
advance of the upcoming European Parliament directives regarding
single-use plastics reduction requirements. Additionally,
fully separated waste collection and recycling
of materials, including plastic, paper, glass
and aluminum, will be part of an integrated approach
designed to support circular economy projects.
The brand's 4GOODFOOD program dedicated to reducing food
waste and recovering surpluses for social purposes
will also be implemented on Costa Smeralda. The new ship will
feature the innovations of the LAB – Laboratorio del
Gusto Restaurant – which takes an entertaining approach to
involving guests in food sustainability.
Named to honor the spectacular Emerald Coast of
Sardinia, Costa Smeralda is the result of a unique creative
project led by hospitality designer Adam D. Tihany, created to
immerse guests in experiencing Italy's finest all in one place. Tihany relied
on an international pool of four top architecture firms,
commissioned to design the various areas of the ship. All of the
furnishings, lighting, fabrics and accessories are made in
Italy, including many designed
specifically for Costa Smeralda by 15 partners representing Italian
excellence.
Italian design also stars in the CoDe - Costa Design
Museum, the first museum created on a cruise ship. Costa
Smeralda also features the Solemio spa; various entertainment
areas, including the Colosseum featuring screens designed for
high-tech content shows; themed bars in collaboration with major
Italian brands; and 16 restaurants and "food experience" areas,
including a new restaurant for families with children.
Costa Smeralda is scheduled to depart Turku shipyard in Finland on December
6 for the Mediterranean, where it will be refueled with LNG
in Barcelona on December 18, followed by calls to Marseille on December
19 and Savona on December 20,
as part of three presentations with travel agents. On December 21, Costa Smeralda will depart Savona
for its maiden voyage, a weeklong cruise calling on Marseille, Barcelona, Palma de
Mallorca, Civitavecchia and La Spezia.
Costa Smeralda is an integral part of the strategic plan for
carbon footprint reduction, defined by Carnival Corporation's 2020
sustainability goals. In 2017, the company achieved its 25% carbon
reduction goal three years ahead of schedule, and is on track with
its nine other 2020 sustainability targets for reducing its
environmental footprint while enhancing the health, safety and
security of its guests and crew members, and ensuring sustainable
business practices among its nine brands, business partners and
suppliers.
The company and its nine global cruise line brands are committed
to developing innovative solutions that support sustainability and
environmentally friendly operations. In addition to leading the
cruise industry's use of LNG to power cruise ships, the company is
also pioneering the use of Advanced Air Quality Systems on board
its ships and promoting the use of shore power.
Costa Smeralda builds on the success of Carnival Corporation's
additional three ships that debuted in 2019, which include Carnival
Cruise Line's Carnival Panorama, Princess Cruises' Sky Princess and
Costa Cruises' Costa Venezia – the brand's first ship designed and
built specifically for the China
market.
About Carnival Corporation & plc
Carnival
Corporation & plc is the world's largest leisure travel
company and among the most profitable and financially strong in the
cruise and vacation industries, with a portfolio of nine of the
world's leading cruise lines. With operations in North
America, Australia, Europe and Asia, its portfolio features Carnival Cruise
Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn,
P&O Cruises (Australia), Costa Cruises, AIDA Cruises,
P&O Cruises (UK) and Cunard.
Together, the corporation's cruise lines operate 104 ships with
249,000 lower berths visiting over 700 ports around the world, with
17 new ships scheduled to be delivered through 2025. Carnival
Corporation & plc also operates Holland America Princess
Alaska Tours, the leading tour company in Alaska and the
Canadian Yukon. Traded on both the New York and London
Stock Exchanges, Carnival Corporation & plc is the
only group in the world to be included in both the S&P 500 and
the FTSE 100 indices.
With a long history of innovation and providing guests with
extraordinary vacation experiences, Carnival Corporation has
received thousands of industry awards – including recognition by
the Consumer Technology Association™ as a CES® 2019 Innovation
Awards Honoree for OceanMedallion™. A revolutionary wearable device
that contains a proprietary blend of communication technologies,
OceanMedallion enables the world's first interactive guest
experience platform transforming vacation travel on a large scale
into a highly personalized level of customized service. The
prestigious CES Innovation Awards honor outstanding design and
engineering in consumer technology products.
Additional information can be found on www.carnival.com,
www.princess.com, www.hollandamerica.com, www.seabourn.com,
www.pocruises.com.au, www.costacruise.com, www.aida.de,
www.pocruises.com and www.cunard.com.
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SOURCE Carnival Corporation & plc