Costa Crociere Spa is celebrating a double inauguration. While the new flagship, the Costa Concordia is being delivered in Italy, on the other side of the globe the Costa Allegra will be making its debut in China.
Starting on 3 July the Costa Allegra (weighing in at 28,500 tons and with a maximum capacity of 1,000 guests) begins her cruise program from Shanghai, marketed exclusively in China and Asia. The five-day itinerary will include calls to Nagasaki (Japan) and Cheju (Korea). The 2006-07 winter program has also already been defined: starting in November, the Costa Allegra will move to the south of China, operating five-day cruises from Hong Kong with calls in Sanya (China) and Vietnam (Halong Bay).

The Costa Allegra’s debut in China was celebrated with a two-day mini-cruise from Hong Kong to Shanghai that departed on 30 June. This was followed by a spectacular event on 2 July in the port of Shanghai where a new cruise terminal will be inaugurated with the arrival of the Costa Allegra.

“It is very gratifying and extremely exciting to officially inaugurate our first cruise season in China,” declared Pier Luigi Foschi, Chairman and CEO of Costa Crociere SpA. “We are honoured that the Italian Ministry for the Environment and Territory, and of the General Director for the Environmental Protection and Development, Mr. Corrado Clini, decided to attend the Costa Allegra event in Shanghai. This authoritative participation praises Costa Cruises long effort to realize a company strategy committed to the respect of the environment..We hope that this important ceremony will be, for our Ministry for the Environment, an opportunity to celebrate the extraordinary projects that it’s going to realize in the Chinese Territory”.

For her debut in China, the Costa Allegra, one of eleven ships in Costa’s fleet, was completely refurbished at a cost of 12 million euros. The objective of the restyling operation was to offer the ship’s future Chinese guests a tailor-made cruise experience to satisfy their tastes, but with a European style. In particular, the new design of the ship’s interiors was inspired by Italian neo-classicism, so highly appreciated by Chinese consumers. A karaoke bar was created along with new restaurants, including an Italian restaurant and one that offers a fusion of Chinese-Asian dishes.

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