Costa has assigned names to two new ships set to sail in 2011 and 2012. These will be the 16th and 17th ship in the Costa fleet and I must admit that I am sad to say that I have never sailed with Costa.
Most interesting about the naming process is that Costa invited travel agents and passengers from over 40 countries to submit pairs of names for these two ships. The list of pairs follows:
Gala–Argentea
Favolosa–Gaudiosa
Aurora–Argentea
Fascinosa–Favolosa
Favolosa–Gioiosa
Favolosa–Meravigilosa
Dorate–Brillante
Emozioine–Passione
Perla–Cristallo
Solare–Lunare
Carina–Graziosa
Ausea–Zefira
Amorosa–Graziosa
Briosa–Solare
Estate–Primavera
Feuce–Divina
Ametista–Affira
Argentea–Dorata
Esotica–Incatata
Festosa–Radiosa
Musa–Ninfa
Viva–Vera
Australe–Boreale
Eletta–Divina
Fauna–Flora
Without doubt, I can say that none of these would have been the names that I submitted, but then again, I wasn’t asked. For a non-speaker of Italian, the names might be difficult to remember; I have met people who have cruised who can’t name the particular ship that they sailed on, knowing only the name of the cruise line. To them the name of the ship was a trivial detail not worth remembering.
In the case of Costa, that detail would be equally trivial and perhaps unpronounceable.
So which of the pairs were chosen? Are they easy to pronounce? The Fascinosa–Favolosa pair won the contest. Fortunately, Italian is very phonetic – if you know the sounds of the letters or combinations of letters. Fortunately, Meravigilosa wasn’t chosen as a name, not that it isn’t a marvelous one, but far too long and intimidating. The Favolosa will focus on its interior design; Costa compares it to an enchanting castle. The Fascinosa incorporates glamour with the intent of inciting emotion and passion, not surprising for a company that strives to provide an Italian experience. The Favolosa premiers in 2011 and the Fascinosa follows in 2012.
Costa seems to be in the clever business lately as evidenced by the ship-naming process. In addition, it got into the Guinness World Records for the first simultaneous christening of ships, the Pacifica and Luminosa.
There are excellent deals on Costa sailings right now – some of their 7-day Caribbean offerings start at just $299.
Sail Away