Costa Smeralda Floated Out

The 180,000GT, LNG-powered Costa Smeralda was floated out at Meyer Turku in Finland on Friday.

The vessel is expected to be ready for delivery to Costa Cruises in October 2019. She will be the first LNG powered cruise ship in the Costa fleet.

The ship's name, Costa Smeralda, recalls one of the  most beautiful tourist destinations in Sardinia (Emerald Coast). The ship will feature 11 restaurants, 19 bars, a spa area with  16 treatment rooms, a water park with slides, four swimming pools and an area  fully dedicated to kids. Costa Smeralda will also have the Costa  Desing Museum, “The CoDe,” dedicated to the excellence of Italian design.

The Costa Group has 28 ships in service, which equates to more than 85,000 beds. The fleet will be further strengthened by five new vessels by 2023, including two for  Costa Cruises, one for Costa Asia and two for Germany-based AIDA Cruises. Once the  new ships have entered service, the Costa Group’s capacity will have increased  by over 50 percent to meet rising  consumer demand for cruising over the next several years.

Costa Smeralda

Delivery: October 2019 (sister ship in 2021)
Flag: Italy
Length: 337m
Width: 42m
Draft max: approx. 8.8m
Gross Tonnage: 183,900
Passenger cabins: 2610
Total passengers: approx. 6,554
Balcony cabin ratio: 63.7 percent
Total crew: 1,646
Service speed: 17 knots
No. of main engines: four

Funnel Lay