Costa Favolosa is a cruise ship operated by Italian cruise line Costa Crociere, ordered in October 2007. Based on the Concordia-class cruise ship design, Costa Favolosa was laid down by Fincantieri's Marghera shipyard on 5 November 2009 and launched on 6 August 2010. Part of a five-ship expansion of the Costa Crociere fleet, the vessel entered service in July 2011.[2]
Design and description
The vessel is based on the Concordia-class cruise ship design already in service with Costa Crociere.[3] At ,[2] she can carry up to 3,800 passengers in 1,506 cabins; six more than previous Concordia-class ships.[4]
Construction and career
Costa Favolosa and sister ship costa Fascinosa were ordered in October 2007 as part of a €2.4 billion expansion of the Costa Crociere fleet, with five ships entering service between 2009 and 2012 to increase the company's passenger capacity by 50%.[5][6][3] Costa Favolosa cost €510 million to build.[4]
The names of the two ships were selected via competition. The first phase saw 16,000 pairs of names submitted by travel agents and their customers from around the world, after being asked to suggest names. These names were to evoke the idea that the ships were magical and glamorous places. 25 name pairs were shortlisted and placed on the company's website, where over 42,000 visitors voted on their favourite. Favolosa (Italian for "fabulous") and Fascinosa ("fascinating" or "glamorous") were selected as the winning name pair.[5] The first section of the cruise ship was laid down at Fincantieri's Marghera shipyard on 5 November 2009.[5] The ship was launched from the builder's dry dock on 6 August 2010.[7] Costa Favolosa is the fifteenth ship in service with Costa Crociere.[5]
COVID-19 pandemic
In March 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, the ship departed from Guadeloupe. Six of the disembarked occupants of the ship tested positive for COVID-19.[8] On 26 March, as the ship stopped 3 mi offshore from Miami, Florida, the United States Coast Guard reported the evacuation of seven sick crew members, out of the 1,009 who stayed aboard.[8][9][10]
An update by CNN on 3 April stated that the ship was then docked near Miami. Seven crew members and the sick passengers had been evacuated. Other passengers had disembarked in Guadeloupe.[11] On 8 April an Indian crew member died from the disease after the ship was disembarked and was sent into Miami Hospital on 29 March.[12] On 8 May it was reported that four of the 78 Belgian nationals who were vacationing on the ship had died.[13]
External links
References
- Advanced Masterdata for the Vessel Costa Favolosa VesselTracker, 2011, retrieved 8 September 2011^
- The Costa Favolosa, The Largest Italian Cruise Ship, Entered Service in Venice Fincantieri, 30 June 2011, retrieved 10 September 2011^
- Company profile Costa Cruises, retrieved 16 February 2010^
- Costa Crociere orders two new cruise ships from Fincantieri Costa Cruises, 18 October 2007, retrieved 16 February 2010^
- Costa Favolosa and Fascinosa Cruise Industry News, 3 November 2009, retrieved 16 February 2010^
- Teijo Niemelä. Costa Deliziosa handed over Cruise Business Review, 31 January 2010, retrieved 16 February 2010^
- Teijo Niemelä. Costa Favolosa launched in Marghera Cruise Industry News, 6 August 2010, retrieved 7 August 2010^
- Michael Bartiromo. 2 Costa cruise ships heading toward Florida with dozens of sick crew members on board Fox News, 26 March 2020, retrieved 5 April 2020^
- Katelyn Massarelli. Multiple sick crew members on Costa Magica, Costa Favolosa to be evacuated off Miami NBC-2, 26 March 2020, retrieved 5 April 2020^
- Morgan Hines. Two Costa cruise ships to anchor with sick crew in Miami for 'life-critical' care USA Today, 26 March 2020, retrieved 5 April 2020^
- Francesca Street. Cruise ships are still scrambling for safe harbor CNN, 3 April 2020, retrieved 3 April 2020^
- More Coral Princess cruisers leave ship; Costa Favolosa crew member dies of coronavirus USA Today, 7 April 2020^
- Gestorven na droomcruise die nooit had mogen uitvaren hln.be, 8 May 2020, retrieved 8 May 2020^