Costa Voyager to take over Allegra itineraries

Costa Cruises is replacing the 28,500-ton, 1,000-passenger Costa Allegra with the 24,400-ton, 927-guest Costa Voyager, starting March 18. Following the incident aboard Costa Allegra Feb. 27, the company has not determined how long it will take to repair and bring Costa Allegra back into service and restore planned cruises. Costa Cruises continues to conduct inspections and technical evaluations to ascertain what caused a generator-room fire. Costa Voyager is a new-generation ship that entered service in 2000 and was renovated in November 2011. The ship has 416 cabins, three restaurants, four bars, a spa with fitness centre, solarium, swimming pool, two Jacuzzis, theatre, casino, disco and shopping centre. From March 18 to July 1, Voyager will sail itineraries in the Mediterranean and Northern Europe, dedicated to guests from the French market. On July 13, the ship will depart on a nine-day cruise from Amsterdam to Savona. From July 23 to Aug. 20 Voyager will sail one-week cruises in the Mediterranean Sea with calls at Barcelona, Spain; Villefranche, France; Livorno and Capri, Italy; Malta; Cagliari, Italy, and Minorca, Spain. Beginning Aug. 28, it will offer additional cruises of different durations in the Mediterranean for the French market. Costa Cruises is temporarily suspending Costa Voyager’s “Corals and Ancient Treasures”Red Sea itinerary. Guests who have booked this itinerary will be re-protected on equivalent cruises.