Costa to Open China Cruises on Costa Allegra to Worldwide Sales

Costa Cruises will soon open the books on its cruises from China on the Costa Allegra to the rest of the world. The sailings, which have been marketed in China, will also be made available to the U.S. market in the next few weeks, Costa said.

Costa, which is owned by Carnival Corp., in July became the first international cruise line to offer cruises to Chinese nationals on voyages that departed from mainland China. The Costa Allegra’s itineraries leave from Shanghai and Hong Kong.

But Carnival Corp. chief operating officer Howard Frank had said during its third-quarter conference call in September that business with the Costa Allegra was “more of a challenge” than Carnival had anticipated.

The company was reevaluating the program in Shanghai, he said. “We’re hopeful and we’re positive, and we’ll stay with it for awhile,” he added.