Costa Diadema, the fifteenth ship and new flagship of Costa Cruises fleet, was presented today to Costa Cruises at the Fincantieri shipyard. Costa Cruises has invested a total of around 550 million euro in the construction of the Costa Diadema at Fincantieri shipyard in Marghera.

The project has involved approximately 1,000 shipyard workers plus another 2,500 subcontractors and about 400 contracted suppliers, most of which are Italian firms, engaged for the fitting-out of the interiors of the cruise ship. Costa Diadema is the 12th cruise ship built in Italy by Fincantieri for Costa, with a total investment worth more than 5 billion euro.

“Costa Diadema is our new flagship, she will set new standards in the European cruise industry and further strengthen Costa's leadership in Europe. She is the best expression of our new brand positioning: Italy's finest. It`s passion and modern Italian lifestyle, hospitality and elegance" commented Costa Crociere S.p.A CEO, Michael Thamm.

Giuseppe Bono, CEO of Fincantieri S.p.A. said:“Costa Diadema is the 44th cruise ship we have built since 2002, the 12th cruise ship we have built for our friends fromCosta Crociere. This is thus a very special occasion to us and we are very proud to present the latest result of the Italian excellence, which confirms our leading position in ship design and construction for cruise sector, a sector without parallel in terms of technological complexity and competitiveness.” Bono concluded: “Today, during this day of celebration, I express my wish that this fruitful cooperation between two main national companies may continue and bring good luck to the whole country.”

At 132,500 gross tons, more than 300 meters long and 37 meters wide, Costa Diadema has 1,862 guest cabins and will be an Ambassador of Italy’s finest offering the best of Italian lifestyle, entertainment, gastronomy and hospitality. The new flagship’s interiors are even cozier, roomier and more modern in terms of facilities and layout of her public areas. She is a cutting-edge vessel which offers large, split-level rooms directly overlooking the sea and conveniently interconnected, thus evoking the atmosphere of a buzzing Italian seaside resort.

The perfect example is the outside promenade on deck five – a real “terrazza all’italiana”, extending over 500 meters, where guests can go for a stroll and enjoy the spectacular view over the sea, or, even better, relaxing in one of the several bars and restaurants, drinking a cocktail or having a romantic dinner.

After the delivery, Costa Diadema will set sail from Venice on October 30 and will reach Trieste, from which her “vernissage cruise” will start on November 1, then will call at Dubrovnik, Corfù, Malta, Naples, to then end in Genoa on November 7, for the Christening event. After the vernissage, from November 8, she will depart for three 7-day inaugural cruises.

I am hoping that someone gets aboard at some point, "point at Ship Spotting" or "Cruise Ship Director!"

A new innovation is the halving of the forward main restaurant and the conversion of the aft part of the buffet into an open seating dining venue. Passengers here are assigned by virtue of being on the cheapest tickets - and actually told this by the Maitre 'D!

The wraparound promenade has largely seats with chair and table rather than sun lounger, but all the seats on the port side are adjacent to places without outside service. Thus the seats are unused even on warm days.

The buffet is redesigned to accommodate the convertible space and is the worst laid out buffet on any recent large ship.