Costa Fortuna is a cruise ship for the Italian cruise line Costa Crociere built in 2003 on the same platform as Carnival Cruise Lines' Destiny-class cruise ship. She was inspired by the Italian steamships of the past. Models of these ships are on display in the ship's public areas. In the atrium, models of the 26 past and present ships of Costa's fleet were displayed upside down, on the ceiling, up to, and including, Costa Fortuna herself. She was refurbished between 10 and 16 December 2018 in Singapore and was re-positioned back to Genoa, Italy in March 2019.
Design and description
The vessel was built along the same lines as Carnival Cruise Lines' Destiny-class cruise ship. The aft decks are tiered and have limited open deck space. The vessel has a gross tonnage (GT) of 102,669 and. Costa Fortuna is 272.19 m long overall and 230 m between perpendiculars with a beam of 35.54 m and a depth of 14.18 m.
The ship is powered by a diesel-electric propulsion system creating 34000 kW servicing two azimuth thrusters. There are 1,358 cabins ranging in size from 16.7 - 44.8 m2 of which 522 have a balcony. The vessel has a crew of 1,090. Costa Fortuna has the capacity for 2,702 passengers at dual occupancy and 3,470 passengers maximum. It has four restaurants and eleven bars and lounges. The interior decor is Art Deco.
Construction and career
The ship was constructed by Fincantieri in Italy with a build date of 31 October 2003. Named Costa Fortuna for the daughter of the mythological god of the sea Poseidon, the cruise ship entered service on 17 November 2003. The vessel is owned and operated by Costa Crociere and registered in Genoa, Italy.
In December 2018, the cruise ship underwent an €8 million, six-day refit in Singapore. Prior to the refit, the vessel was based in China. Following the refit, Costa Fortuna was to operate out of Genoa.[1] Costa Fortuna was replaced by Costa Venezia in the Chinese market.[2] For the 2020/2021 season, Costa Fortuna sailed the Mediterranean Sea, with stops in Turkey, Greece and Spain.[3]
Costa Fortuna attempted to dock at Phuket, Thailand on 6 March 2020, but was denied due to coronavirus fears by Thai officials because it was carrying passengers who had left Italy within the last two weeks.[4] On 7 March, the ship attempted to dock at Penang in northern Malaysia, but was denied due to a complete ban on cruise ships. The ship returned to Singapore on 10 March 2020 and all passengers were found well and were allowed to disembark.[4][5]
Margaritaville at Sea
In May 2025, it was announced Costa Fortuna was sold and would transfer out of the fleet come September 2026.[6][7] The buyer was revealed to be Margaritaville at Sea.[8] The ship will be renamed Margaritaville at Sea Beachcomber.[9]
External links
References
- Costa Fortuna to Drydock Before Europe Return Cruise Industry News, 2 October 2018, retrieved 25 March 2020^
- New Ship Spurs Demand in China for Costa Cruise Industry News, 24 October 2019, retrieved 25 March 2020^
- Costa Shuffles Ships, Introduces New Mediterranean Programs Cruise Industry News, 27 August 2019, retrieved 25 March 2020^
- Kieran Corcoran. An Italian cruise ship was turned away from ports in Malaysia and Thailand even though it has no cases of coronavirus on board Business Insider, 7 March 2020, retrieved 25 March 2020^
- Toh Ting Wei. Coronavirus: 600 passengers disembarked from Costa Fortuna cruise ship as of noon, all found to be well The Straits Times, 10 March 2020, retrieved 25 March 2020^
- COSTA CRUISES' STRATEGIC PATH: FLEET ENHANCEMENTS, NEW ROUTES AND AN EVOLVED COSTA SERENA PROMISE EXCITING SEASONS FOR GUESTS^
- Carnival's Costa Cruises to Dispose of Its Oldest Ship^
- All-New Vessel Added to Fleet I Margaritaville at Sea^
- Beachcomber Margaritaville At Sea, retrieved 2025-11-17^