Beginning in December 2014, Costa Cruises will deploy two ships, the Costa Mediterranea and the Costa Luminosa, to sail the Caribbean from Miami, Florida. The decision to base two ships in Miami will mark the first time since 2009 Costa has based two ships at a North American port at the same time.
The Costa Luminosa, which is currently sailing from Miami until March 27th, will resume Caribbean sailings from the port on December 20th. The Costa Luminosa will offer guests two, alternating ten night Caribbean itineraries, calling in both the western and eastern Caribbean. Ports of call featured on the Luminosa’s sailings include Nassau or Freeport, Bahamas; Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos; or Princess Cay; Ocho Rios, Jamaica; Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands; Roatan, Honduras; and Cozumel, Mexico.
The Costa Mediterranea, which recently sailed from Miami in 2012, will begin sailing from the South Florida port on December 12th. The Costa Mediterranea will offer guests seven night sailings to the Caribbean. Costa is currently finalizing the Mediterranea’s Caribbean itineraries and will announce the itineraries in the near future.
“Having two ships sailing out of Miami sends a message that our cruises are a hit with guests seeking an international experience in the Caribbean,” said Scott Knutson, vice president of sales and marketing for Costa Cruises North America. “Now guests can choose a weeklong cruise, or those with more time can join us for a 10-day tour of the whole Caribbean.”
The 2014 Caribbean season will mark the second year in recent time Costa has sailed from Miami. Earlier this past year, Costa’s primary competitor, MSC Cruises, based one of their newest ships in Miami, the MSC Divina. After years of competing against each other at Port Everglades, the two lines will once again compete in Miami.
