Costa Cruises Will Return to Sailing Around Italy in March

After months away from the high seas, Costa Cruises will begin sailing again in March.

The Italian cruise line, part of the Carnival Corporation, announced that its cruise season will restart on March 27, according to a press release shared with Travel + Leisure.

The flagship Costa Smeralda will begin the season with three and four-day cruises around Italy, including stops at Savona, La Spezia, Civitavecchia, Naples, Messina, and Cagliari. From May 1, the ship will resume one-week cruise itineraries in the western Mediterranean, sailing around Italy, France, and Spain.

The Costa Luminosa will resume service on May 2, departing from Trieste. The ship will sail one-week cruises around Greece and Croatia.

As passengers head back to ship vacations, the cruise line has introduced new safety and health procedures under the "Costa Safety Protocol." The ships will have limited capacity and boarding will be staggered and require COVID-19 tests and temperature checks for both guests and crew. Physical distancing and face masks may be required when in public parts of the ship.

All other Costa cruises are canceled through the end of May. Passengers can find out more information about how to rebook on the Costa Cruises website.

Costa cruises briefly resumed sailings around Europe, departing from Italy, in September.

Around the world, cruise lines have implemented new rules and procedures for passengers returning to sailings while several cruise lines have canceled itineraries for the coming months. Canada has banned cruises from docking in ports until at least 2022.

Several other cruise lines, including American Queen Steamboat Company and Saga Cruises, announced plans to resume sailings in the summer, but they will only allow passengers aboard who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Other cruise lines, like Norwegian, announced they will require crew to be fully vaccinated before they resume sailings.

Cailey Rizzo is a contributing writer for Travel + Leisure, currently based in Brooklyn. You can find her on Twitter, Instagram, or at caileyrizzo.com.