#1 Costa’s colors represent olive oil and the ocean.
Yes, the blue represents the blue waters of the oceans and the yellow represents Italian olive oil. For more clarification on the olive oil part, please read on.
#2 Costa was originally founded as a shipping company for olive oil.
Costa cruises was founded in 1854 and originally operated cargo ships, which carried olive oil and textiles between Genoa and Sardinia. It wasn’t t until 1948 that Costa began to carry guests between Italy and South America. These routes across the Atlantic was the very first time Costa sailed as a “cruise line.”
#3 Each Costa ship has a distinct and unique theme.
While Costa may have similarly designed ships, each ship is unique in its own right. What do I mean by this? Each ship’s interior spaces are designed around a central theme. For example, the Costa Mediterranea is themed around 16th and 17th century baroque style art. The Costa Magica is themed around famous Italian destinations, and so on.
#4 Costa’s headquarters is in Genoa, but their home port is in Savona.
Following the roots of Costa’s past, Costa officially established their headquarters in Genoa, Italy where their first ships sailed from. Ironically though, Costa’s primary competitor, MSC, has their primary home port in Genoa while Costa’s primary home port is in Savona, Italy, which is only miles down the coast from Genoa.
#5 Costa is building the largest Italian flagged cruise ship.
Costa’s newest ship was announced with little to no fanfare even though it is a huge project for the company. The Costa Diadema is currently under construction at Fincantieri’s Marghera shipyard and has a scheduled launch date of October 30, 2014. The Costa Diadema will have a GRT of about 132,000 and will carry around 5,000 guests. The Costa Diadema will be Costa’s largest ship and the largest Italian flagged cruise ship ever built.
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Header photo and photo of funnel copyright of Mike Faust. Diadema photo courtesy of Costa Cruises.
