Costa Mediterranea Turns 20 Years Old

It is 20 years since the Costa Mediterranea was delivered to Costa Cruises on May 22, 2003. She is now a member of the CSSC Carnival fleet in China.

Originally, the 86,000-ton ship operated in the Mediterranean and Northern European markets, as a sister ship to Costa Atlantica, built in 1999.

The Mediterranea launched its inaugural season in June following its christening by the Spanish model Inés Sastre.

There were seven-night cruises from Genoa to Naples to Palermo to Tunis to Palma de Mallorca to Marseille on the 2,100-guest vessel sailing in the West Mediterranean.

A seven-night cruise program was launched out of Port Everglades for the Costa Mediterranea’s first winter season.

In both the Eastern and Western Caribbeans, the cruises stopped in several ports in the region, such as St. Thomas, San Juan, Nassau, Key West, Progreso, Cozumel, etc.

As part of its 18-year career with Costa, the ship also provided summer programs in other regions, including the Baltic, Eastern Mediterranean, and South America, as well as winter seasons throughout the world.

As part of the pandemic operational pause in 2021, the Costa Mediterranea was delivered to its new owners after being sold to CSSC Carnival in 2018.

As the ship currently lies in Cyprus, it will soon be repositioned to China, where it will join two other newbuilds from Costa Atlantica and CSSC Carnival.

The Mediterranea is built at the Kvaerner Masa Yard in Turku and shares the same design with Carnival’s Spirit Class ship.