Costa Favolosa, the new “Italian-made” flagship of Costa Cruises, took to the sea for the very first time earlier this month at a traditional ceremony held at Fincantieri’s Marghera shipyard on the occasion of the ship’s technical launch.

Part of a five-ship expansion of the Costa Cruises fleet, Costa Favolosa was launched from Fincantieri’s dry dock in Marghera earlier this month.

Favolosa, which will set sail on her first cruise in July 2011, is the fourth of five new ships due for delivery between 2009 and 2012, for a total investment worth €2.4 billion.

The addition in spring 2012 of Costa Fascinosa, the Favolosa’s sister ship, also being built in Marghera, will complete Costa’s ambitious fleet expansion programme.

The ceremony for the launch observed the protocol laid down for such occasions by seafaring tradition. After the opening of the valves and the gradual flooding of the slipway where the ship has taken shape over the last few months, the hull of the Costa Favolosa was transferred for the first time to its natural element – the sea. The launch was preceded by the welding of a coin to the base of what used to be the mainmast in a ceremony traditionally considered to augur well.

As her name suggests favola is the Italian word for fairy tale and Favolosa is intended to interpret the excitement and emotion of people who view the cruise as a magical voyage in a “contemporary enchanted castle”, a perfect combination of fabulous atmosphere and state-of-the-art hi-tech fun with a truly amazing range of amenities.

“The launch of the Costa Favolosa confirms the strength and leadership of our company,” said Costa Cruises president Gianni Onorato. “Despite the ongoing effects of the economic downturn in 2010 and the uncertain outlook for global tourism, our fleet expansion programme has continued uninterrupted. The strength of our brand, which comes with a guarantee of over 60 years of experience, and the quality of our product have proved to be winning assets, highly appreciated by our customers.

“That is confirmed also by the positive results in terms of bookings achieved this summer and forecasts suggest we will end 2010 with 2.1 mil­lion total guests for the group as a whole, which works out to an incre­ase of around 17 per cent compared to last year,” added Mr Onorato.

Costa Favolosa is set to make her debut on a three-day mini vernissage cruise departing from Venice on July 4, 2011 and calling at Dubrovnik (Croatia) and Koper (Slovenia). This will be followed by her grand inaugural cruise, which leaves Venice on July 7: a 10-day itinerary taking in Israel, Greece and Turkey with stopovers in Bari, Corfu (Greece), Haifa (Israel), Izmir (Turkey) and Dubrovnik (Croatia). Throughout the 2011 summer season Costa Favolosa will be offering seven-day cruises from Venice and Bari to Olympia (Greece), Izmir and Istanbul (Turkey), and Dubrovnik (Croatia).

• Costa Cruises are represented in Malta by Cruises International.