Costa Serena

The 2007-built Costa Serena cruise ship is the second Concordia-class liner, with sisterships Concordia, Favolosa, Pacifica. Fascinosa and also Carnival Splendor.

The vessel (IMO number 9343132) is currently Italy-flagged (MMSI 247187600) and registered in Genoa.

NEWS: For four months in 2023 (June thru September) Costa Serena was chartered to Asian tour operators for operations in South Korea and Taiwan.

History - construction and ownership

Costa Cruises is a Genoa-headquartered subsidiary company owned by Carnival Corporation. Costa is Europe's second-largest cruise line (after MSC) with year-round operations in the Mediterranean. Costa was founded in 1854 as a cargo shipping company. It started passenger shipping services in 1947, with regular Transatlantic crossings between Europe (Italy) and South America. In 2000, Costa Cruises was acquired by Carnival Corporation (shipowner).

The 3000-passenger ship Costa Serena is Carnival Corporation ownership, built in Italy with the European market in mind. Together with the sunken Costa Concordia, Serena is among the largest ships in Costa's fleet. She is the 12th vessel of Costa Cruises. Serena's decor is calm, with blue and orange colors and heated woods. Standard balcony cabins' size is decent - about 20 m2 / 220 ft2, laid out like newer Carnival ships' staterooms. The two big mirrors give the illusion of space. No bathroom conveniences are provided apart from shower stuff and soap, but you might ask for moisturizer or shampoo.

Besides the ship's staff and crew, Costa cruise passengers are also served by Peper robots - the latest cyborg technology implemented fleetwide in 2016. These humanoid robots greet and guide passengers upon embarkation. They also assist them throughout the cruise by providing information and tips on onboard dining, entertainment, enrichment program (workshops, pre-scheduled events), casino and shopping promotions, shore excursions and tours. Pepper robots are mobile and communicate in 3 languages (English, German, Italian). They can also interpret human emotions by analyzing voice tones and facial expressions.

Decks and Cabins

Costa Serena staterooms (1507 total, in 13 grades) include 70 Suites, 524 Balcony, 321 Oceanview and 592 Inside cabins. Most staterooms are sized 185 ft2 / 17 m2 (~40% of all staterooms) and have a private step-out balcony. Wheelchair-accessible cabins are 28. The largest accommodations are the Grand Suites (335 ft2 / 32 m2 with terrace sized 120 ft2 / 11 m2). There are also Spa staterooms (87, including 12 Spa Suites) and single cabins (13).

The boat has 14 decks of which 8 are with cabins.

Shipboard dining options - Food and Drinks

Ristorante Vesta is Serena's 2-tier forward formal restaurant. It offers fixed seating options for early and late dining. The restaurant serves starters, appetizers, main courses of fish or meat, side dishes, salads and desserts (vegetarian options and special dietary requirements are also available). Ristorante Ceres is the ship's 2-tier aft formal restaurant, featuring fixed seating options of 6:30 p.m. or 9:00 p.m. The Samsara Restaurant, located on deck 3, offers a range of healthy food with the latest cooking techniques and a selection of special ingredients. The restaurant is free to guests in the Samsara cabins, whilst other passengers can dine there for a charge (booking required). Costa Serena also offers complimentary 24-Hour Room-Service.

Follows the complete list of Costa Serena restaurants and food bars.

• Ristorante Vesta (complimentary forward Dining Room, operates with open seating Breakfast and Lunch, 2 assigned seatings for Dinner - at 6:30 pm and 9 pm)
• Ristorante Ceres (complimentary 2-level aft Dining Room with 2 fixed Dinner seatings)
• Club Bacco Restaurant (specialty a la carte restaurant; Steakhouse menu and extensive wine list; dinner-only, reservations required)
• Ristorante Samsara (serves healthy and low-calorie food; with a complimentary dining room for guests in Samsara Spa cabins, and a specialty restaurant for other passengers, at surcharge/reservations, required)
• Ristorante Buffet Prometeo (self-service buffet restaurant, complimentary; offers breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea at 4-5 pm, and dinner; in the evening is transformed into Pizzeria, complimentary, with waiter service).

Introduced in 2021, "Destination Dishes" are complimentary and available at the MDR's/main dining rooms fleetwide. They are based on individual recipes designed by a "celebrity chef trio" (Bruno Barbieri/Italian, Helene Darroze/French, Angel Leon/Spanish) and interpret the traditional food of the destinations to be visiting by the ship on the following day of the voyage.

Shipboard entertainment options - Fun and Sport

Costa Serena ship provides a casino, theater, library, 4 swimming pools, and 5 jacuzzis plus SPA. If you plan to make the best use of the SPA, we highly recommend Samsara Spa suites and cabins. The main features are their doors which have bamboo-effect and their restful decor with calming colors. You'll find also orchids in vases, along with gorgeous bedding, herbal teas, eco-cotton bathrobes, together with a lovely Elemis goodies box in the bathroom. The spa pack includes welcome consultation, 2 classes and 2 spa treatments with 2 tanning sessions, along with unlimited access to Thermal Suite and dining in Samsara. There are 5990 artworks onboard.

Follows the complete list of Costa Serena lounges, clubs and other entertainment venues for kids, teens, and adults.

• Teatro Giove (3-tiered theatre and main show lounge; hosts grand scale show productions, musicals, classical concerts, ballet performances, circus, and laser light shows)
• 4D cinema room (featuring 3D films with moving seats)
• Grand Bar Apollo (with its own dance floor and stage for live performances; hosts quiz games and fashion reviews)
• Bar Sport Victoria (with big-size HDTVs)
• Bar Classico Ercole (Cigar Lounge and Bar; also selling cigars and fine liquor)
• Galleria d'Arte (Pacifica's Art Gallery)
• Sala Carte (cards room)
• Casino Giano (served by Giano Bar)
• Serena Atrium (multi-deck Atrio Pantheon - an open-floor area with live music and entertainment, served by Pantheon Lobby Bar)
• Recording Studio (authentic CD-recording; charges EUR 35 per hour)
• Sala da Ballo Cupido (lounge with dance floor and own bar)
• Piano Bar Minerva (stage for cabaret performances, live music, own dance floor)
• Salone Luna (grand lounge with round-shaped bar and stage)
• Discoteca Pan (Disco Nightclub with DJ program nightly)
• Internet Point (Internet computers room); Biblioteca Clio (Library)
• Galleria Shops (duty and tax-free shops for brand watches, jewelry, perfumes, fashion clothes, Costa-logo merchandise, sportswear, gifts, tobacco, and liquor)
• Area Foto (Photo Gallery and Shop)
• Mondo Virtuale and PlayStation World (virtual gaming lounges)
• Caffetteria Juventas (chocolates, specialty coffee bar, and patisserie)
• Bar Scuderia Costa (themed bar Formula 1 with Grand Prix simulator)
• Cappella (Wedding Chapel, also used for religious services)
• Squok Club (kids lounge with Mini Club (3-6 yo) and Maxi Club (7-11 yo) playing rooms; with complimentary kids program and supervised activities; complimentary babysitting)
• Teen Zone (teenagers' lounge with Teen Junior (12-14 yo) and Teen Club (15-17 yo) rooms; complimentary supervised activities, themed parties, sports contests)
• Centro Banessere Samsara (2-level Spa and Wellness complex, with Fitness and separate Spinning/Aerobics Room; Venus Beauty Salon, Massages and Treatments Rooms, Japanese TeaRoom, Relaxation Room, Thermal Suites, Solarium, Tepidarium (heated loungers), Laconium (low humidity sauna), Aroma Steam Baths, Thalassotherapy pool, Turkish Bath, Solarium, Saunas, Kinesis Room. All passengers in Samsara Spa staterooms have free access to most of the Spa complex)
• Lido Sole pool area (lido pool with two Whirlpools, huge LED screen, PlayStation nights; served by Lido Sole Bar and Grill); Sole Balcony
• Lido Urano pool area (with two Whirlpools; served by Urano Bar)
• Lido Iris Pool area (with a retractable glass roof and Whirlpool)
• Lido Squok (kids' mini Aquapark)
• Solarium (open-air relaxation area)
• Campo da Gioco (combined court for tennis and basketball); Pista da Jogging (Power Walking/Jogging Track), doubled with a Roller Skating Track; Putting Green Area; Virtual Golf Game.

Itineraries

Costa Serena itinerary program was initially based on Western Mediterranean roundtrips from the Italian homeports Savona and Civitavecchia-Rome. The ship also offered Transatlantic crossings (between South America and Europe) on repositioning in spring and fall.

Since April 2015, Costa Serena is deployed in Asia and homeported in China (Tianjin-Beijing and Shanghai). The ex-China roundtrips visit ports in Japan and Korea. These voyages are only for Chinese nationals and bookable only through Chinese travel agencies.

Due to the Coronavirus crisis, Costa ship Serena was paused for ~3 years (2022-2023) and restarted operations in June 2023. The ship's first post-COVID season included a total of 30 voyages (June thru September) targeting specifically the source markets of Taiwan and South Korea. For June 2023 were scheduled 6 departures from South Korea (homeports Busan, Sokcho, Pohang), followed by the July-August-September schedule of 24 departures from Taiwan (homeport Keelung).

Costa Serena's East Asia 2023 itineraries raged between 4 and 7 days in length and visited Japan's port cities Kagoshima, Sasebo, Otaru, Hakodate, Miyakojima, Ishigaki, Naha.

Between December 2023-March 2024, the boat was deployed in the Caribbean and homeported in Pointe-a-Pitre (Guadeloupe) operating two different 7-day roundtrip itineraries combinable into a 14-day B2B/back-to-back. IItinerary 1 visits Bonaire (Kralendijk), Aruba (Oranjestad), Curacao (Willemstad), Grenada (St Georges), Martinique (Fort de France). Itinerary 2 visits Tobago (Scarborough), Grenada (St Georges), Barbados (Bridgetown), St Lucia (Castries), Martinique (Fort de France).

Serena is Costa's 2nd Concordia-Class liner (first cruise on May 19, 2007, from Marseille), with tsisterships Fascinosa, Favolosa, Pacifica, Concordia (sunk in 2012) and Carnival Splendor. Ship's theme is "Classical Mythology" - Greek Gods and Goddesses. One of the most beautiful onboard facilities is Samsara Spa. The 99x Spa staterooms (cabins and suites) are decorated with pastel colors, orchids in vases, doors with bamboo-effect, baths with Elemis products, herbal teas, eco-cotton bathrobes. On Deck 5 are the MDRs Vesta and Ceres (main restaurants). The top-deck waterslide and the 9-story Atrium lobby make Serena's layout resembling a "Carnival Fun Ship".

In 2009, the liner was featured in the National Geographic' documentary series "Cruise Ship Diaries".

The Costa ship's namesake is the riverboat AmaSerena (2015-built).

Asia cruise itineraries

On May 12, 2014, the shipowner Carnival Corporation announced that in 2015 Serena will be deployed for year-round operations in China. The cruise itinerary program was scheduled to start in April 2015, with roundtrips from Shanghai China. joining there the Costa ships Atlantica and Victoria.

On April 24, 2015, Costa Serena made her maiden visit to China, arriving for the first time in her new home-port Shanghai (Wusongkou International Cruise Terminal). The Costa Asia cruise company confirmed that Costa Fortuna will join the line's China-based fleet in early 2016. Serena’s arrival increased the Costa line's capacity on the Asian market by 74%, thus reinforcing the Costa Asia’s leading position on the Chinese market. The fleet of Costa Asia cruise ships in 2016 also included Luminosa, neoRiviera, and Fortuna.

On September 21, 2017, Costa announced a partnership with Juventus (football club). The deal allows Costa to offer exclusively a Juventus onboard experience on all Costa Asia ships. This includes Juventus football content available 24/7 on all cabin TVs, talks and presentations (club history and memorabilia) at the ship's “Juventus Museum” and purchasing branded souvenirs at the themed "Juventus Shop".

All Costa Asia ships also feature a Juventus-branded mini club and character meetings by the Juve's official Jay Mascot (zebra). Onboard sports activities include a Juventus football training program (for all kids ages 5 to 14) modeled after the club's Juventus Academy (soccer school). The program is managed by Juve-trained coaches. The ever first "Juventus Museum" at sea was opened on Costa Serena on January 31, 2018.