Chinese travellers can visit St Mark's Square and ride a gondola on new Venice-themed cruise ship
Chinese cruise passengers no longer need to venture to Italy to experience the romance of La Serenissima thanks to a new Venice-themed ship.
The ship, Costa Venezia, boasts its own St Mark’s Square, gondolas, Italian cuisine and a Venetian carnival. It is designed specifically for the Chinese market and can hold up to 5,260 passengers.
Following her vernissage (preview) cruise to Greece and Croatia, which set sail on March 3, and an inaugural cruise, she will be sailing between Shanghai and Japan and will be available exclusively to Chinese guests.
Michael Thamm, group CEO of Costa Group and Carnival Asia, said: “Costa Venezia will help us to further develop the cruise market in China, which has a great unexplored potential.”
He added that 2.5 million Chinese people choose to go on a cruise each year, less than two per cent of the total number of Chinese people who travel abroad.
The number of cruise passengers from across Asia reached over four million in 2017, a record, according the Cruise Line International Association’s (CLIA) 2018 Asia Cruise Trends report. It added that 91 per cent of Asian passengers cruised within the region.
Mario Zanetti, president of Costa Group Asia, said: “From conception to delivery, everything about Costa Venezia has been designed having the Chinese customer in mind. Costa Venezia will continue to offer the authentic Italian experience that is a hallmark of Costa, but with further innovations that have never been seen before and which are designed to meet the needs of the local market even better”.
Costa Venezia is part of Costa’s expansion plan, which includes seven new ships between now and 2023, with an investment of €7bn. This will bring its fleet up to 34, including five ships in Asia.
The ship’s interiors are dedicted to the symbols and places of Venice. The atrium is reminiscent of St Mark’s Square and the theatre recalls the floating city’s La Fenice opera house. The two gondolas on board are designed by craftsmen in the Squero di San Trovaso, a Venetian boatyard.
Passengers will also be able to attend an on-board costume party recreating the famous Venice carnival, complete with masks.
In the Gondola Lounge, they can experience a trip on a gondola using Virtual Reality glasses. The lounge will also host activities such as Venetian mask design, Venetian dance classes, art and craft classes and games shows.
Meanwhile, passengers can walk on a red carpet into the Lounge delle Stelle for the Costa Venezia Film Festival and enjoy Italian-style productions in the Teatro Rosso.
Less Venice-themed are the 11 karaoke rooms, wide range of gambling opportunities and restaurants serving Chinese food.
Italian dining options will include the two main restaurants, Marco Polo and Grand Canal, which will offer Italian, Venetian and Chinese cuisine.
Also on offer are Casanova Restaurant (with a menu created by the Italian chef Umberto Bombana of the three-star Michelin restaurant 8 ? Otto e Mezzo BOMBANA); Napoli Pizza; La Fiorentina Steak House; Lanai BBQ restaurant; Frutti di Mare seafood restuarant and Gelateria Dolce Vita, serving Italian gelato.
Italy-based Costa Cruises, which is owned by Carnival Corporation, was the first to introduce cruises to the Chinese market in 2006.
Arnold Donald, president and CEO of Carnival Corporation, said: “The delivery of Costa Venezia is a further step in the growth of a strong and sustainable cruise industry in China, which someday we believe will be the largest cruise market in the world.”
Carnival Corporation, which owns Costa Cruises, is working with the Fincantieri shipyard and the China State Shipbuilding Corporation to build vessels in China.
Other European-based cruise lines have tapped into the Chinese/Asian market, including Princess Cruises, which designed its Royal Class ship, Majestic Princess, with the Chinese market in mind.
Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Joy was also purpose-built for the Chinese market with a capacity for 3,900 passengers. However, this year it is being permanently relocated to the US West Coast with seasonal sailings to China.
