GENOA — Awaiting the arrival of new ships ordered for Costa Cruises and Costa Asia, Costa has announced the sale of Costa neoClassica. It also plans to reposition Costa Victoria to the Mediterranean.

Starting March 30 2018 Costa Victoria will return to regular cruises in the Mediterranean. The ship has been operating mainly in China since 2012. In the Med Costa Victoria will offer a Balearic Islands-focused itinerary, with stops in Savona, Olbia, Minorca, Ibiza (overnight), Palma de Mallorca and Tarragona (overnight).

The itinerary was originally planned for Costa neoRiviera, which will instead be positioned in Bari to replace Costa neoClassica.

Awaiting the arrival of four new ships starting from 2019, which will permit Costa Cruises to grow further in Europe and Asia (two ships are for the Costa Cruises market and two for Costa Asia), Costa has accelerated the renewal of its fleet, formalizing the transfer of Costa neoClassica, one of its longest-serving ships. As of March 10, 2018, once its schedule of cruises between India and the Maldives is complete, Costa neoClassica will no longer be part of the Costa fleet.

From June 2018, Costa neoRiviera will then replace Costa neoClassica, offering one-week itineraries dedicated to the Greek islands, with Bari as the only home port.

The company will protect guests already booked on Costa neoRiviera and on Costa neoClassica, and has taken steps to inform guests and travel agencies over next weeks.

Before returning to operate in the Mediterranean, Costa Victoria will perform scheduled dry-dock refurbishing works at the Chantier Naval de Marseille.