Costa Venezia is a Vista-class cruise ship operated by Costa Cruises, a division of Carnival Corporation & plc. She exclusively serves the Chinese market, having debuted in Shanghai on 18 May 2019. At 135,225 GT, with a capacity of 4,208 passengers, she is currently the largest ship in the Costa Cruises fleet until the debut of Costa Smeralda in late-2019.

History

Planning and construction

In January 2016, Carnival Corporation announced that they had made firm their commitment with Fincantieri to expand Costa Cruises' Asia fleet, with two vessels at 135,500 GT each, with a guest capacity of approximately 4,200 passengers. The contracts were finalized in April 2016, which were built off of a memorandum agreed upon between the cruise line and the shipyard earlier in 2015. The ships, comprising a new class of vessels in Costa's fleet, were planned to carry an interior design that would hone in on Costa's Italian traditions for their Asian clientele to experience.

On 1 November 2017, Costa Cruises announced that the first of the two vessels built specifically for the Chinese market would be named Costa Venezia. The announcement came at the coin ceremony for the ship at the Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone. On 22 June 2018, Costa Venezia was floated out from the shipyard and additional details were also announced about the ship's interior design and facilities, revealing that many of the key features of the ship would be inspired by Venetian landmarks and their architecture, including the ship's main atrium, theatre, and restaurants. She completed her first round of sea trials on 27 December 2018 and began the second round on 18 January 2019.

Delivery and christening

Fincantieri officially delivered Costa Venezia to Costa Cruises on 28 February 2019 in Monfalcone.

Costa Venezia's godmother, Gan Beiye, a frequent cruiser with Costa Cruises, officially christened the vessel at the naming ceremony on 1 March 2019 in Trieste.

Itineraries

Costa Venezia held a vernissage cruise on 3 March 2019, departing from Trieste to Greece and Croatia, before arriving back in Trieste on 8 March. Her official inaugural voyage was a 53-day cruise that departed on 8 May from Trieste to Tokyo. Beginning on 18 May 2019, Costa Venezia has been homeported year-round in Shanghai, serving exclusively Chinese guests on itineraries around East Asia.