Costa Cruises Unveils Names of Newest Fleet Members: Costa Favolosa & Costa Fascinosa

MIAMI, Nov. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- After more than 16,000 suggestions from more than 40,000 travel agents and fans around the world, the names of the 16th and 17th ships in the Costa fleet have been selected. The two sister ships, set to debut in 2011 and 2012, will be named the Costa Favolosa and Costa Fascinosa. The selections were chosen as a result of Costa's "Send Us a Sea of Names" project whereby travel agents and fans sent in name suggestions for the two ships. The final selections were chosen based on their definition of the all-encompassing magic, glamour, emotion and passion reflected on all of Costa's ships.

The Costa Favolosa and Costa Fascinosa, (114,500 gross tons with a double occupancy of 3,000 each) will be delivered in summer 2011 and spring 2012 respectively. The two new sister ships, built by Fincantieri at its Marghera shipyard, are part of a major fleet expansion plan for Costa with five new ships due for delivery between 2009 and 2012. This plan includes the launch of the Costa Luminosa the Costa Pacifica (June 2009) and the Costa Deliziosa (set to debut in January 2010) for a total investment worth 2.4 billion Euros. The Costa Favolosa will be the first of the two new vessels to enter service. The laying of the first "building block" is set to take place on Thursday, November 5 at Fincantieri's Marghera shipyard.

The choice of names was guided by 40,000 travel agents in over 40 countries who submitted more than 16,000 pairs of names as part of the "Send Us a Sea of Names" project. The initiative encouraged travel agents, customers and web users all over the world to take part in the search for the names for the two new Costa flagships. The submissions were summarized in a list of 25 pairs of names posted on www.worldofcosta.com . All web site visitors were invited to choose their favorite pairing. More than 42,000 votes were received.

Magic, glamour, emotion and passion are elements that have always inspired Costa Cruises in the design of its ships and the creation of a unique and unforgettable cruise experience. The Costa Favolosa is intended to be the epitome of ship interior design, interpreting the excitement and emotion of people who see cruises as a magical voyage in a "contemporary enchanted castle." The Costa Fascinosa is designed to express the special glamour of a cruise ship and her capacity to ignite strong emotion and passion.

Costa Cruises is Italy and Europe's Number One Cruise Line. For the past 60 years its ships have sailed the world, offering the best in Italian style, hospitality and cuisine and providing dream vacations with the best in fun and relaxation. In 2008, 1.2 million guests chose to cruise with Costa, a record for the European cruise industry. The company's 14 fleet members, each with her own distinctive characteristics and unique style, all fly the Italian flag and sail each year to 250 destinations in the Mediterranean, Northern Europe, the Baltic Sea, the Caribbean, South America, the United Arab Emirates, the Far East and the Indian Ocean. Three additional ships are on order through 2012.

Costa Cruises has been certified by RINA (Italian Shipping Register) with the BEST4, an integrated system of voluntary certification of corporate compliance with the highest standards governing social accountability (SA 8000, issued in 2001), environment (UNI EN ISO 14001, 2004), safety (OHSAS 18001, 1999) and quality (UNI EN ISO 9001, 2000). All ships in the Costa fleet have been assigned RINA's Green Star notation certifying that they are operated in compliance with the highest environmental protection standards. Costa Cruises is an official partner of the WWF for the protection of the marine ecoregions of the Mediterranean, the Greater Antilles and Brazil. In Mediobanca's 2008 survey of over 3,700 Italian enterprises that recorded revenue of at least 50 million euros the previous fiscal year, Costa Crociere S.p.A. ranks 72nd in terms of sales and in 12th place in regards to profitability.