Costa’s new concept is based on enabling guests to explore destinations through unique experiences, both on board and ashore. To build these experiences, the company has focused on three key areas – cuisine, tours, sustainability – with a new visual identity to communicate them. The concept is in line with the principles of its “Manifesto for value-driven, sustainable and inclusive tourism”, the decalogue that outlines the company’s commitment to grow together with local communities.
“Now our ships are sailing again, we decided to completely renew our offer. The innovations are so significant that we can talk about a whole new way of travelling with Costa. We want everyone who holidays with us to enjoy unique, enriching experiences, discovering destinations in the most authentic, insightful, sustainable way possible” – explains Mario Zanetti, President of Costa Cruises. “For more than 70 years Costa has been synonymous with cruise travel. At this very important time for the recovery of tourism we wanted to rewrite the future of cruises in a way that is more responsible and mindful of people and the planet, with the aim of steering the sector back to the constant growth it saw before 2020”.
When it comes to cuisine, Costa has called on the expertise of three of the world’s finest chefs: Bruno Barbieri, Hélène Darrozeand Ángel León. The exceptional trio of starred chefs has explored authentic local recipes from the destinations visited by Costa ships, reworking them with their own personal know-how. To ensure guests enjoy their culinary voyage to the full, enabling them to discover destinations on board even before they reach them, Costa Cruises has created two major new features: the Archipelago restaurant and Destination Dishes.
Destination Dishes are individual recipes designed by the three chefs, interpreting the traditions and flavours of the places guests will be visiting the following day. They are available at main restaurants on all Costa ships, included in the price of the cruise.
The new Archipelago restaurant, available on Costa Smeralda and coming soon to other ships in the fleet, gives guests a truly unique culinary experience with three menus to choose from, one by each chef. The menus offer 5 exquisite dishes created to explore each part of the sea route through its cuisine. Both the restaurant’s concept and design are equally as innovative. Archipelago features “island” tables for a more intimate experience, framed by a copper sculpture enclosing unique pieces of driftwood, installations made using wood salvaged from the shore. There is a special focus on the theme of sustainability. The chefs’ menus, just like the Destination Dishes, were designed with the greatest attention for the ingredients – most of them sourced from local producers – and how they are prepared, in order to prevent food waste. But that’s not all. The driftwood decorating the islands was salvaged as part of “Guardians of the Coast”, the environmental education programme for the protection of the Italian coastline run by the Costa Crociere Foundation. For every dinner eaten at the Archipelago, Costa will donate part of the proceeds to Costa Crociere Foundation to support environmental and social projects.
When it comes to tours, the company has rethought its entire range to enable guests to explore hidden, rarely visited gems. The itineraries have also been redesigned to accommodate the longest-ever stopovers in ports, giving guests whole days to unhurriedly explore their destinations and make the most of their whole cruise. So Costa tours become genuine experiences discovering the essence of each place, allowing guests to enjoy the most genuine traditions, flavours and colours, and creating value for local communities.
Costa’s transformation is so far-reaching that the company has decided to transform its distinctive sign too, with a new visual identity. The biggest innovation lies in the company logo, particularly its most recognisable element: the iconic “C”, that has been accompanying Costa on seas world-wide for over 70 years. The new “C” brings together two different motifs in a sinuous, enveloping embrace: the earth, seen in yellow in the lower part of the logo, and the sea, in blue in the upper part, joined in the same experience thanks to cruises with Costa.
Costa’s latest innovations are already available on ships currently in service: Costa Smeralda, the flagship powered by LNG (liquefied natural gas) pioneering sustainable innovation, and Costa Firenze, offering week-long cruises around the western Mediterranean; Costa Luminosa and Costa Deliziosa, with week-long cruises around the eastern Mediterranean; Costa Diadema, now running 10-day cruises to Spain and Portugal. Innovations will then be extended to the next ships gradually returning to operate, including the new flagship Costa Toscana, the second LNG-powered ship in the fleet, in service from March 2022.
