Launched in 1993 as “Costa Romantica”, Costa neoRomantica is the second of the two Costa Cruises Classica-class ships, together with Costa neoClassica (now Grand Classica).

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 56,769-ton, 1,344-passenger old cruise ship Costa Romantica started a whole new life after the 2011 refurbishment resulting in the new Costa neoRomantica ship. The new Romantica added some 3,000 tons to her weight, along with two brand new half decks and many new cabins (including with balconies). A service fee of six euros (approximately $7.20) is included to the onboard account of every traveler, every day. Half that sum is charged for kids under the age of eighteen years. This sum is divided as follows: two euros to the cabin steward(ess), two euros to the waiter and assistant waiter, and two euros to the personnel in Il Giardino. A 15 % service fee is included in bills for beverages and for salon and spa services.

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.

Costa neoRomantica Japan cruise review. Cruise vlog

Cruise itinerary program

Costa neoRomantica itinerary program was previously based on late spring Atlantic crossings, summer Canary Islands cruises and early fall trip Around the World.

Starting in April 2017, the ship was based in Asia. Costa neoRomantica arrived in homeport Shanghai on April 10, 2017, following a 23-day repositioning cruise (departing March 18) from Port Louis and visiting Port Victoria, Male, Colombo, Phuket, Singapore, Da Nang, and Hong Kong. The ship was then drydock refurbished in Shanghai to be customized for the Chinese passenger sourcing. neoRomantica's first Asian cruise started on April 24, 2017 (roundtrip itinerary out of Shanghai).

The new Asian itineraries visit popular port destinations in Korea (Sokcho, Busan), Russia (Vladivostok) and Japan (Aomori, Hakodate, Kanazawa, Maizuru, Niigata, Sakaiminato, Sakata).

For summer 2019, the ship was homeported in Japan for roundtrips from Tokyo, Yokohama, Kobe, Fukuoka. Itineraries ranged from 4- to 8-night visiting ports in Japan, Korea, and Russia. In 2020, neoRomantica is homeported in Sanya China. Costa Asia's China fleet in 2020 consisted of 4 liners (Firenze, neoRomantica, Serena, Venezia).
Cabins

Costa neoRomantica has a total of 789 cabins (of which 34 Suite, 46 Balcony, 507 Inside, 56 Spa rooms) in 14 grades. Most Costa neoRomantica staterooms are 175-sq. foot Oceanview rooms. 27 are the wheelchair accessible cabins. The largest aboard Costa neoRomantica is the Grand Suite (505 ft2).