Margaritaville at Sea Islander

Last updated

Costa Atlantica DSC09523.JPG
Margaritaville at Sea Islander as Costa Atlantica in the Aurlandsfjord in 2009
History
Name
  • Costa Atlantica (2000-2023)
  • Margaritaville at Sea Islander (2023-present)
Owner
Operator
Port of registry
Builder
Yard number Kvaerner Masa-Yards 498
Launched11 November 1999
Sponsored by Savannah Buffett (Margaritaville at Sea Islander)
Christened10 June 2024 (Margaritaville at Sea Islander)
Acquired30 June 2000
Maiden voyage
  • 17 July 2000 (Costa Atlantica)
  • 14 June 2024 (Margaritaville at Sea Islander)
In service
  • 17 July 2000 (Costa Cruises)
  • 14 June 2024 (Margaritaville at Sea)
Identification
StatusIn service
Notes [1] [2]
General characteristics
Class and type Spirit-class cruise ship
Tonnage
  • 85,619  GT
  • 53,437  NT
  • 7,500  DWT
Length292.56 m (959 ft 10 in)
Beam32.2 m (105 ft 8 in)
Draught7.8 m (25 ft 7 in)
Installed power
Speed22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph)
Capacity
  • 2,114 passengers
  • (2,680 at full occupancy)
Crew897
Notes [1] [2]

Margaritaville at Sea Islander is a Spirit-class cruise ship previously owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. She was built in 2000 by the Kvaerner Masa-Yards Helsinki New Shipyard in Helsinki, Finland as Costa Atlantica for Costa Cruises. Costa Atlantica was sold to CSSC Carnival Cruise Shipping in 2019. After four years she was sold to Margaritaville at Sea, re-entering service in June 2024.

Contents

Design and construction

Costa Atlantica at Hakata port in July 2014 Costa Atlantica at hakata port.jpg
Costa Atlantica at Hakata port in July 2014

Costa Atlantica, unveiled in 2000, was one of four Costa ships built during the 2000s that were designed with magrodome-covered pool areas and other features that would allow travel to a wide array of destinations. The ship also had the same platform as sister line Carnival's four Spirit-class ships. [3] The ship is 85,619 tons with a capacity for 2,114 passengers with a length of 292.5 m (959 ft 8 in) and a 38.8 m (127 ft 4 in) maximum breadth. [4] Each passenger deck on Costa Atlantica was named after a movie by the Italian director Federico Fellini. [5] She was decorated with Carrara marble, Murano glass accents, and in-laid mosaic tiling, as with Costa Luminosa. [6] She also replicated Venice's Caffè Florian. [7]

Costa Cruises

The ship entered service with Costa in 2000, with Caribbean itineraries during the northern winter, European cruises in the summer, and in the East Coast United States and Canada area during spring and fall. [8] Costa Atlantica sailed on 46-day voyage from Tianjin International Cruise Terminal on 30 November 2016, with more than 2,000 passengers across the two continents, and visiting 12 islands in nine countries, the first cruise from China to the South Pacific Islands. [9] [10]

In November 2018 the intention to sell Costa Atlantica in late 2019 to CSSC Carnival Cruise Shipping was announced, a new joint venture to provide Chinese cruise travelers with their own cruise line. [11] The transfer to the new company was on 12 January 2020 but the ship never entered service and was resold in 2023. [12] [13] Her sister ship Costa Mediterranea did, however, enter service as Mediterranea for the new company, by then named Adora Cruises.

Margaritaville at Sea

The sale of Costa Atlantica to Margaritaville at Sea was confirmed on 16 October 2023 by Carnival Corporation. On 4 December, Margaritaville at Sea revealed that the ship would receive a total makeover before entering service in June 2024. All 1,100 staterooms would be refurbished, as well as the ship's atrium, lido deck and restaurants. Familiar features that debuted on Margaritaville at Sea Paradise would also be featured. [14] [15] Renamed Margaritaville at Sea Islander, the ship began a four-month refit in January 2024 at the Harland & Wolff shipyard, Belfast. [16]

Margaritaville at Sea Islander left Belfast on 19 May 2024 for Tampa, Florida, and commenced her first cruise on 14 June, [17] starting her programme of alternating 4- and 5-night cruises from Tampa, Florida to Key West, Florida, then Cozumel and Progreso, Yucatán in Mexico. [18] The ship's godmother is Savannah Buffett, daughter of Margaritaville founder Jimmy Buffett. [19]

Incidents

In 2010 Francesco Schettino, later the captain of the ill-fated Costa Concordia, was the captain of Costa Atlantica as it entered the port of Warnemünde, Germany, at too high a speed, allegedly causing damage to AIDAblu, also a Carnival Corporation ship. [20]

Coronavirus pandemic

During the coronavirus pandemic, on 20 April 2020, a positive case was reported aboard Costa Atlantica when it was docked at Koyagi Factory of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Nagasaki Shipyard  [ ja ] in Nagasaki, where it was under repairs from 20 February to 25 March. [a] [22] A doctor had collected samples from four suspected cases and conducted PCR tests, with three negative results and one positive. [22] The positive case had suffered a fever beginning on 14 April. [22] About 20 other crew members had started developing fevers in the week before the first case was reported. [21]

Costa Atlantica had 623 crew members of 36 different nationalities, including a Japanese translator and no passengers at the time the first positive case was first reported. [23] [22] There were a total of 56 crew members that have had heavy contact with the positive case. [22] They have all been quarantined, and PCR tests have been planned for all of them. [21] [22] The prefecture has considered requesting assistance from the Self-Defense Forces to help manage the situation. [21]

On 22 April 2020, officials of the prefecture announced that, of the 56 additional tests conducted, an additional 33 crew members had tested positive, bringing the total number of positive cases to 34. [24] The other 23 tests returned negative. [24] On 23 April, it was announced that 48 tests in total have returned positive, with 14 of the positive cases being cooks or people serving food. [25] On 24 April, officials stated that 91 people had tested positive, with one patient being hospitalized. [26] Officials also noted that even though Costa Atlantica had been quarantined upon its arrival in Japan, with its crew ordered not to leave the quay unless they needed to visit a hospital, some crew members had left without informing the officials. [26] On 25 April, Television Nagasaki announced that 57 new cases had been discovered, bringing the total number of positive cases to 148. [27] With the latest cases count at 149, the ship left Nagasaki port on 31 May, bound for Manila. [28]

Notes

  1. ↑ The ship was originally scheduled for repairs in China, but the repair order was transferred to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries after the pandemic began in China. [21]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carnival Cruise Line</span> International cruise line

Carnival Cruise Line is an international cruise line with headquarters in Doral, Florida. The company is a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc. Its logo is a funnel shaped like a whale's tail, with a red, white, and blue color scheme. This trademark funnel design is built onto the line's ships. Carnival is ranked first on the list of largest cruise lines based on passengers carried annually.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carnival Corporation & plc</span> British–American global cruise operating company

Carnival Corporation & plc is a British and American cruise operator with a combined fleet of over ninety vessels across nine cruise line brands and one joint venture with China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC). A dual-listed company, Carnival is composed of the Panama-incorporated, US-headquartered Carnival Corporation, and UK-based Carnival plc, which function as one entity. Carnival Corporation is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, whereas Carnival plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange with an ADR listing on the NYSE. Carnival is listed in both the S&P 500 and FTSE 250 indices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Princess Cruises</span> Cruise line owned by Carnival Corporation & plc

Princess Cruises is an American cruise line owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. The company is incorporated in Bermuda and its headquarters are in Santa Clarita, California. As of 2021, it is the second largest cruise line by net revenue. It was previously a subsidiary of P&O Princess Cruises. The line has 15 ships cruising global itineraries that are marketed to both American and international passengers.

<i>Carnival Valor</i> Conquest-class cruise ship

Carnival Valor is a post-Panamax Conquest-class cruise ship operated by Carnival Cruise Line. The vessel was built by Fincantieri at its Monfalcone shipyard in Friuli-Venezia Giulia. She was floated out on March 27, 2004, and christened by American journalist Katie Couric in Miami on December 17, 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Costa Cruises</span> Italian cruise line

Costa Crociere S.p.A., operating as Costa Cruises, is an Italian cruise line founded in 1948 and organized as a wholly owned subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc since 2000. Based in Genoa, Italy, the cruise line primarily caters to the Italian cruise market, but the company's 10 ships, which all sail under the Italian flag, provide itineraries sailing to countries globally.

<i>Goddess Of The Night</i> Cruise ship built in 2004

Goddess of the Night is a Destiny-class cruise ship owned by Seajets since 2023. Formerly operating as Costa Magica by Costa Crociere, a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc, the 102,784 GT vessel joined sister ship Costa Fortuna in 2004 and were referred together as Fortuna-class ships; together, they became the largest ships in the Costa fleet at her time of delivery. Costa Magica paid homage to some of the most famous destinations in Italy including Positano, Portofino, Bellagio, and Sicily, which were incorporated into her public areas and restaurants. 19 years after her debut, Costa sold Costa Magica to Greek/Cypriot ferry company Seajets in 2023 and she was subsequently renamed Mykonos Magic.

<i>Costa Fortuna</i> Cruise ship for Costa Crociere

Costa Fortuna is a cruise ship for Costa Crociere built in 2003 on the same platform as Carnival Cruise Lines' Destiny class. 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 are 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.

<i>Adora Mediterranea</i> Cruise ship built in 2003

Adora Mediterranea is a Spirit-class cruise ship operated by Adora Cruises in the Chinese market. She was built in 2003 in Finland as Costa Mediterranea for Carnival Corporation & plc's Costa Cruises brand, and began operating with Adora Cruises in 2023 as Mediterranea, then as Adora Mediterranea beginning in 2024.

<i>Margaritaville at Sea Paradise</i> Cruise ship built in 1991

Margaritaville at Sea Paradise is a cruise ship owned by Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line and operating for Margaritaville at Sea. The ship was built in 1991 in Italy for Costa Cruises as Costa Classica. In 2000, a planned lengthening and refit was cancelled at the last moment. She was renamed Costa neoClassica in 2014, then left Costa fleet in 2018 when sold to Bahamas Paradise as Grand Classica. Since May 2022, the ship has been sailing as Margaritaville at Sea Paradise, after the cruise line announced a partnership with Margaritaville Resorts & Hotels.

<i>Spirit</i>-class cruise ship Class of cruise ship owned by Carnival Corporation & plc

The Spirit class is a class of cruise ships built at the Kvaerner Masa-Yards Helsinki New Shipyard in Helsinki, Finland. The ships are operated by Carnival Cruise Lines, CSSC Carnival Cruise Shipping and Costa Cruises. The six ships were built to the original Panamax form factor, allowing them to pass through the Panama Canal. This class has the smallest of the signature smoke stacks that Carnival has on their ships. Carnival's Spirit-class ships also feature a unique funnel design that integrates the skylight dome of the atrium.

<i>Carnival Luminosa</i> Cruise ship

Carnival Luminosa is a cruise ship operated by Carnival Cruise Line. Originally built as the Costa Luminosa, the ship entered service on 5 May 2009. Her design is a hybrid, using elements of Spirit-class and Vista-class. A sister ship, Costa Deliziosa, was launched in February 2010 and is based on the same design. Costa Luminosa departed Civitavecchia, Italy on 3 June 2009, on her 13-night maiden voyage, with ports of call in Savona, Saint-Tropez, Barcelona, Lisbon, Le Havre and Amsterdam.

MS <i>Asuka II</i> Cruise ship built in 1990

MS Asuka II (飛鳥II) is a cruise ship owned and operated by Nippon Yusen Kaisha. She was originally built by the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries shipyard in Nagasaki, Japan, as Crystal Harmony for Crystal Cruises. In 2006, Crystal Harmony was transferred from the fleet of Crystal Cruises to that of Crystal's parent company, Nippon Yusen Kaisha, and entered service under her current name. As of August 2022, she was the largest cruise ship in Japan.

<i>Carnival Vista</i> Cruise ship

Carnival Vista is a cruise ship operated by Carnival Cruise Line. She is the lead ship of her namesake class, which includes two additional Carnival ships, Carnival Horizon and Carnival Panorama, as well as two Costa ships, Costa Venezia and Costa Firenze.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margaritaville at Sea</span> Cruise Line

Margaritaville at Sea is a cruise line that operates cruises out of Florida to the Bahamas and the Caribbean. The company was incorporated in 2018 as Classica Cruise Operator Limited Incorporated. Originally founded as Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line in late 2014, they began operating its first cruises in February 2015 with the now retired Grand Celebration, and later in 2018 with the addition of the Grand Classica. In May 2022, the company was rebranded to Margaritaville at Sea following a partnership between Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line and Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville brand. The Grand Classica was refurbished and renamed the Margaritaville at Sea Paradise. In 2024, a second ship was acquired; the former Costa Atlantica was also refurbished and renamed the Margaritaville at Sea Islander. Before the cruise line's rebranding, Margaritaville at Sea was previously a small chain of Margaritaville-style restaurants and bars that were included or later added to the newer Norwegian Cruise Line ships starting in 2015 with the Norwegian Escape. The partnership with Norwegian Cruise Line ended in late 2019. The restaurants were later unbranded and converted into other dining venues.

<i>Vista</i>-class cruise ship (2016) Class of cruise ship

The Vista class is a class of cruise ships built by Fincantieri in Italy. The ships are operated by the Carnival Cruise Line and Adora Cruises divisions of Carnival Corporation & plc.

Adora Cruises Limited is a Chinese-American cruise line that was scheduled to begin operation in 2020, but was delayed due to COVID-19 pandemic.

<i>Carnival Firenze</i> Cruise ship

Carnival Firenze is a Vista-class cruise ship operated by Carnival Cruise Line, a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc. Originally debuting as Costa Firenze for sister brand Costa Cruises, she was initially commissioned for the Chinese market but was never deployed to Asia following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cruise travel in China. Named after Florence, the 135,156 gross tonnage (GT)-vessel was constructed by Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri in Marghera and delivered in December 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">COVID-19 pandemic on cruise ships</span>

Early in 2020, in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the disease spread to a number of cruise ships, with the nature of such ships – including crowded semi-enclosed areas, increased exposure to new environments, and limited medical resources – contributing to the heightened risk and rapid spread of the disease.

COVID-19 pandemic on <i>Grand Princess</i>

During the COVID-19 pandemic, former passengers of the cruise ship Grand Princess who had tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 were being linked to cruises they had taken on the ship while it traveled between California, Mexico, and Hawaii. After the first confirmed death on 4 March 2020, Grand Princess was rerouted to the San Francisco Bay Area, where it was anchored offshore while test kits were airlifted to the ship. Preliminary testing found 21 positive cases, and the ship later docked in Oakland on 9 March 2020, with over 3,000 people entering quarantine.

References

  1. 1 2 Asklander, Micke. "M/S Costa Atlantica (2000)". Fakta om Fartyg (in Swedish). Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  2. 1 2 "Advanced Masterdata for the Vessel Costa Atlantica". VesselTracker. 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  3. ↑ Sloan, Gene. "Photo tour: The Italian style of a Costa Cruises ship". USA TODAY.
  4. ↑ "Costa Atlantica". Ship Technology.
  5. ↑ "News". Archived from the original on 15 June 2018. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  6. ↑ "COSTA LUMINOSA, A Long Cruise And A Brief Tour – Maritime Matters". Archived from the original on 3 July 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  7. ↑ "COSTA ATLANTICA Operates First World Cruise From China – Maritime Matters". Archived from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  8. ↑ Stern, Steven B. (2011). Stern's Guide to the Cruise Vacation (22nd ed.). Gretna, LA: Pelican Publishing. p. 288. ISBN   9781455615001.
  9. ↑ "Costa Atlantica Completes 46-Day South Pacific Islands Cruise from China". www.cruiseindustrynews.com. 17 January 2017.
  10. ↑ "Costa Atlantica completes China's first cruise to the South Pacific Islands". seatrade-cruise.com. 17 January 2017.
  11. ↑ "Costa Atlantica and Mediterranea sold to new Chinese brand". Cruise Industry News. Charlotte, NC. 6 December 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  12. ↑ "China-US cruise JV welcomes first ship - Xinhua | English.news.cn". www.xinhuanet.com. Archived from the original on 14 January 2020.
  13. ↑ "Carnival and CSSC joint venture Adora Cruises sells 2000-built ship". 16 October 2023.
  14. ↑ "Margaritaville at Sea Adds Second Ship, To Sail From Tampa". Cruise Industry News. Charlotte, NC. 4 December 2023. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  15. ↑ "Margaritaville at Sea Islander".
  16. ↑ Scott, Sarah (19 January 2024). "The cruise ship undergoing glamorous makeover in Belfast and how it will look after". BelfastLive. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  17. ↑ "Margaritaville at Sea Islander Sets Sail to Florida". Cruise Industry News. Charlotte, NC. 19 May 2024. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  18. ↑ "Margaritaville at Sea Islander Ready For Maiden Voyage". Cruise Industry News. Charlotte, NC. 14 June 2024. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  19. ↑ Kalosh, Anne (15 May 2024). "Margaritaville at Sea Islander godmother is Jimmy Buffett's daughter Savannah". Seatrade Cruise News. Colchester. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  20. ↑ "Italy shipwreck captain crashed before in 2010: report". ABC News. Sydney NSW. AFP. 2 March 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  21. 1 2 3 4 "| ABS-CBN News". news.abs-cbn.com.
  22. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "長崎造船所香焼工場停泊客船の乗船者がコロナ感染（長崎文化放送）". Yahoo!ニュース. Archived from the original on 26 April 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  23. ↑ "48 Costa Atlantica cruise crew members have coronavirus; Ruby Princess departs Australia". USA TODAY. 23 April 2020.
  24. 1 2 "33 more crew on cruise ship docked in Japan test positive for virus". Kyodo News . 22 April 2020. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  25. ↑ "Italian cruise ship in Japan has 48 coronavirus cases". Reuters. 23 April 2020. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  26. 1 2 "Ninety-one crew have virus on Italian liner in Nagasaki". Reuters. 24 April 2020. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  27. ↑ "【速報】長崎での客船クラスター 乗組員全員の検査実施 新たに57人感染確認 計148人に". Fnn.jp. 25 April 2020. Archived from the original on 25 April 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  28. ↑ "Virus-hit Italian cruise ship leaves Nagasaki". The Japan Times. 31 May 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.