Celestyal Experience

The vessel as built had a gross tonnage of 53,049 tons and 7,781 tons deadweight (DWT). Costa Romantica measured 220 m (721 ft 9 in) long overall and 181.9 m (596 ft 9 in) between perpendiculars with a beam of 30.8 m (101 ft 1 in). The vessel is powered by four diesel engines with two propellers creating 22,800 kW (30,600 hp). This gives the ship a maximum speed of 19.5 knots (36.1 km/h; 22.4 mph).[1][2]

In November 2011, Costa Romantica underwent a refurbishing. Two new half decks were added as a part of the refurbishment, as well as 111 new cabins, 120 cabins and suites with a balcony and several new amenities including bars and lounges. This increased the gross tonnage of the ship from 53,000 to 56,769 tons.[3][4] The length increased to 220.6 m (723 ft 9 in).[3]

The cruise ship has capacity for 1,578 passengers in 789 cabins. Cabins range in size from 17.2–40 m² (185–431 sq ft) of which 74 have a balcony. The ship has a crew of 662.[3]

The vessel was constructed by Fincantieri at their yard in Marghera, Italy with the yard number 5899. The cruise ship's keel was laid down on 23 April 1992 and the vessel was launched on 28 November 1992. Costa Romantica was completed on 25 September 1993 and entered service in November of the year.[1][3] The vessel was registered in Genoa, Italy and is owned and operated by Costa Crociere.[5]

On 25 February 2009, a small fire erupted in one of the engines and in one of the electric generators of Costa Romantica off the coast of Uruguay, about 10 km (6.2 mi) from the city of Punta del Este. After the incident, the vessel was stalled for more than 24 hours and for a long period there was no electricity or running water. Costa Romantica was partially repaired and was able to sail to approximately 1 km (0.62 mi) from the coast where she was then evacuated by landing ships. The passengers were sent home and Costa Romantica's next scheduled cruise was cancelled.[6]

In November 2011, Costa Romantica underwent a €90 million refurbishing at San Giorgio del Porto shipyard in Genoa. After the contract was awarded to San Giorgio del Porto, the shipyard workers at Fincantieri began a week of strike action. After the refurbishing, the ship was renamed Costa neoRomantica and started her first journey with the new name in March 2012.[4]

In early 2017, Costa neoRomantica arrived in Hong Kong to operate cruises in the Asia market.[7] In February 2018, Costa neoRomantica served as The J Winter Fashion Show 2018 setting in Hong Kong.[8]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, cruises from China aboard Costa neoRomantica were cancelled at the end of January and early February.[9] This was later extended through the end of February. While awaiting permission to sail, the vessel remained in Vietnam.[10][11] On 26 March the ship with no passengers on board, anchored at the roadstead of Vladivostok, Russia to refresh the ship with water, fuel, and food. However, it was denied entrance as the Russian sanitary officials stipulated the dock workers to be quarantined for 14 days. No COVID-19 cases on board were reported.[12][13]

In mid-2020, the ship was sold to Celestyal Cruises for an undisclosed amount.[14] In August she was renamed Celestyal Experience.

• "Costa Neoromantica (8821046)". Equasis. French Ministry for Transport. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
• "8821046 Costa Neoromantica". Leonardo Info. RINA. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
• "Costa Romantica (8821046)". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
• Ward, Douglas (2019). Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships 2020 (28th ed.). Singapore: Berlitz. ISBN 978-1-78573-250-8.

• Official website