Costa Cruises will test all passengers for Covid-19 starting with its first cruise since the shutdown, the Costa Deliziosa's Sept. 6 sailing from Trieste, Italy.
Passengers will first get an antigenic Covid-19 swab test in order for the line to identify any suspicious cases. Those cases will then be subjected to a more definitive polymerize chain reaction (PCR) test to determine whether to allow those passengers to embark. The line will continue performing tests on any passengers on ships that subsequently return to service.
On its initial itineraries, passengers will only be allowed to visit the ports on what the line is calling “protected shore excursions” organized by Costa. As part of the line’s Costa Safety Protocol program, the tours will ensure social distancing by limiting group size, using sanitized buses; requiring tour guides to wear masks; and offering items such as disposable headphones.
The line's first ships will only sail in Italy and are reserved exclusively for Italian guests. The Costa Deliziosa will sail every Sunday until Sept. 27 offering cruises from Trieste to Bari, Brindisi, Corigliano-Rossano, Siracusa and Catania. The Costa Diadema is scheduled to follow on Sept. 19 with a seven-day cruise from Genoa in the Western Mediterranean to visit Civitavecchia, Naples, Palermo, Cagliari and La Spezia.
It will be the second major European line to launch service on large cruise ships. MSC Cruises just completed its first week of cruising, also from Italy.
Updated with additional information about Costa's plans for shore tours.