Costa Favolosa

Costa Favolosa is a large cruise ship operated by Costa Crociere, the Italian cruise line. The vessel belongs to the Concordia class and was developed as part of a major expansion of Costa's fleet during the late 2000s and early 2010s. Its sister ship is Costa Fascinosa. Together, the two vessels formed part of a broader five-ship program intended to increase Costa Crociere's passenger capacity substantially. The ship was ordered in October 2007. Its construction was assigned to Fincantieri's Marghera shipyard in Venice, Italy, where the first section was laid down on 5 November 2009. Costa Favolosa was launched from the builder's dry dock on 6 August 2010 and entered service in July 2011. It was the fifteenth Costa Crociere ship in service at the time of its entry into the fleet. At approximately 114,500 gross tons, Costa Favolosa was designed to accommodate as many as 3,800 passengers in 1,506 cabins. The ship follows the general architecture and layout of earlier Concordia-class vessels while incorporating six additional cabins compared with the preceding ships in that class. As a cruise product, it combines passenger accommodation, dining, entertainment, leisure, and onboard hospitality facilities within a single large vessel. The available reference material does not provide a complete current list of onboard venues or the ship's current itinerary schedule. The names Costa Favolosa and Costa Fascinosa were selected through a public naming process organized by Costa Crociere. Travel agents and customers worldwide submitted approximately 16,000 pairs of proposed names. A shortlist of 25 pairs was then presented for public voting on the company's website, attracting more than 42,000 visitors. The selected names were intended to convey an atmosphere of magic, glamour, and fantasy. In Italian, “favolosa” means “fabulous,” while “fascinosa” conveys the idea of being fascinating or glamorous. The ship's early career was shaped by Costa Crociere's capacity-growth strategy. The wider expansion program was reported at a value of approximately €2.4 billion, while Costa Favolosa's individual construction cost was reported as €510 million. These figures describe the shipbuilding and fleet-expansion context rather than the financial performance of the vessel as a standalone business. Costa Favolosa also became associated with the operational disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2020, after departing Guadeloupe, several people who had disembarked tested positive for COVID-19. When the ship was offshore from Miami, the United States Coast Guard assisted in evacuating seven seriously ill crew members from the 1,009 crew members remaining aboard. Other passengers had already disembarked in Guadeloupe, and the vessel was subsequently docked near Miami. The pandemic episode also included reported deaths among people connected with the voyage, including an Indian crew member who died after being transferred to a Miami hospital and four of 78 Belgian nationals reported dead by 8 May 2020. These events were part of the wider cruise-industry health crisis and are the principal documented controversy associated with the ship in the supplied references.

Costa Favolosa was conceived during Costa Crociere's large-scale fleet expansion in the second half of the 2000s. In October 2007, Costa ordered the ship together with its sister vessel Costa Fascinosa. The pair formed part of a five-ship program planned to enter service between 2009 and 2012. The expansion was intended to increase Costa Crociere's passenger capacity by approximately 50 percent and was reported in the reference material as a €2.4 billion investment program. The ships' names were chosen through an international customer and travel-agent competition. Participants proposed roughly 16,000 pairs of names, after which 25 pairs were shortlisted. Costa Crociere then invited visitors to vote on the finalists through its website. More than 42,000 visitors took part in the public voting process. Favolosa and Fascinosa emerged as the winning pair, with names designed to evoke a magical and glamorous cruise environment. “Favolosa” is an Italian word meaning “fabulous.” Construction of Costa Favolosa took place at Fincantieri's Marghera shipyard in Italy. The first section was laid down on 5 November 2009, and the completed vessel was launched from the dry dock on 6 August 2010. The ship was based on the Concordia-class design already used within Costa Crociere's fleet. With a gross tonnage of about 114,500, it was designed for up to 3,800 passengers and contained 1,506 cabins. The cabin total was six higher than that of earlier Concordia-class ships. Costa Favolosa entered service in July 2011 and became the fifteenth Costa Crociere ship in service. Its construction cost was reported as €510 million. This figure should be understood as the reported cost of building the vessel, not as revenue, profit, valuation, or another performance measure. The ship's role was to provide high-capacity cruise accommodation and leisure services within Costa Crociere's expanding fleet. The supplied material does not document a complete chronology of individual itineraries, onboard refurbishments, route changes, or later ownership changes. The most significant documented episode in Costa Favolosa's operating history occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic in March and April 2020. The ship departed Guadeloupe, and six people who disembarked were subsequently reported to have tested positive for COVID-19. On 26 March, while the ship was approximately three miles offshore from Miami, the United States Coast Guard reported the evacuation of seven sick crew members. A total of 1,009 crew members remained aboard at that point. By early April, the vessel was docked near Miami, while sick passengers and crew members had been evacuated and other passengers had disembarked in Guadeloupe. An Indian crew member died after being transferred to a Miami hospital on 29 March. On 8 May, reports stated that four of 78 Belgian nationals who had vacationed aboard the ship had died. The episode illustrates the acute health, evacuation, and disembarkation challenges faced by cruise operators during the first phase of the pandemic. Beyond the pandemic-related incident, the available reference material provides no documented executive history, major rebranding, acquisition, bankruptcy, or subsequent design-generation change for Costa Favolosa. The ship remains identified as a Costa Crociere-operated Concordia-class cruise vessel.

• 2020

  COVID-19 operational crisis

  [1]Costa Favolosaen.wikipedia.org

  The ship experienced illness, medical evacuations, emergency docking, and reported deaths during the early COVID-19 cruise-industry crisis.

• 2011

  Enters service

  [1]Costa Favolosaen.wikipedia.org

  The vessel entered service with Costa Crociere in July and became the fifteenth Costa ship in service.

• 2010

  Ship launched

  [1]Costa Favolosaen.wikipedia.org

  Costa Favolosa was launched from the builder's dry dock on 6 August.

• 2009

  Construction begins at Marghera

  [1]Costa Favolosaen.wikipedia.org

  The first section of Costa Favolosa was laid down at Fincantieri's Marghera shipyard on 5 November.

• 2007

  Costa Favolosa ordered

  [1]Costa Favolosaen.wikipedia.org

  Costa Crociere ordered Costa Favolosa in October as part of a five-ship fleet-expansion program.

A large Costa Crociere cruise ship positioned around high-capacity leisure cruising, onboard hospitality, entertainment, and a theatrical, glamorous identity reflected in its name.

• Cruise ship · 2011

  Costa Favolosa cruise ship

  Costa Favolosa is a Concordia-class passenger cruise ship operated by Costa Crociere. The vessel measures approximately 114,500 gross tons and was designed to carry up to 3,800 passengers in 1,506 cabins. Its product is the complete cruise experience delivered aboard one ship, combining accommodation with hospitality, dining, entertainment, and leisure services. The ship entered service in July 2011 after construction by Fincantieri at Marghera.

• 2020

  COVID-19 outbreak and emergency disembarkation

  Following positive COVID-19 tests among people who disembarked in Guadeloupe, seven sick crew members were evacuated offshore from Miami. The vessel was later docked near Miami, and deaths among people connected with the voyage were reported.

  Source

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• 2007Public naming competition

  International

  Costa Crociere invited travel agents and customers worldwide to submit ship-name pairs. Around 16,000 pairs were received, followed by a shortlist of 25 pairs and a public online vote that attracted more than 42,000 visitors.

  Outcome. Favolosa and Fascinosa were selected as the winning names for the sister ships.

  Source

• 2007

  Commissioning within Costa Crociere's fleet expansionStrategy

  Background

  Costa Crociere ordered Costa Favolosa and Costa Fascinosa as part of a five-ship program designed to expand fleet capacity and increase passenger capacity by approximately 50 percent.

  Action taken

  The company commissioned a Concordia-class vessel from Fincantieri for delivery during the 2009–2012 expansion period.

  Aftermath

  Costa Favolosa entered service in July 2011 as the fifteenth Costa Crociere ship in service.

  Reported construction cost. €510 million (Ship construction; reported in connection with the vessel's delivery)

  Source

1. 1Costa Favolosaen.wikipedia.org