Costa Cruises Reveals Fleet Will Shrink to 8 Ships in 2026
Fans of Costa Cruises, the Carnival Corporation brand that caters mainly to the Italian market, have seen the cruise line’s fleet get smaller in recent years, and that trend will continue in 2026, when yet another ship will depart the line.
In a Strategic Path update issued on May 9, 2025, Costa Cruises confirmed that the 2,700-guest Costa Fortuna, which the line notes is its longest-serving ship, will be transferred to a new, unnamed, owner in September 2026.
Costa Fortuna, a Destiny-class ship that entered service in 2003, will operate her scheduled cruises in the Mediterranean through the summer/fall 2025, with departures from Barcelona, Marseille, and Savona.
In December 2025, the ship will deploy to Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, for a winter series of island voyages. In April 2026, Costa Fortuna will return to the Mediterranean and sail cruises featuring port calls in the Western and Eastern Mediterranean.
Before her transfer out of the fleet, the ship is scheduled to sail Greece and Turkey cruises from Athens and Istanbul in summer 2026.
Costa Cruises provided no reason for the ship’s planned departure from the fleet, which has decreased by three vessels in the last three years.
The cruise line, a sister brand to Carnival Cruise Line, saw the former Costa Luminosa, Costa Venezia, and Costa Firenze all transferred to the sister line.
Each of the three ships are now known as Carnival Luminosa, Carnival Venezia, and Carnival Firenze, with the latter two operating as the line’s Fun Italian Style ships. They joined the Carnival fleet in 2022, 2023, and 2024, respectively.
Since 2001, Costa Cruises has invested some 200 million euros ($225 million USD) in upgrades to its fleet as part of the five-year Strategic Path, which will conclude in November 2025 with the renovation of Costa Serena.
The 3,700-guest Concordia-class ship, launched in 2007, will undergo substantial improvements, including renovated suites, redesigned pools, lounges, and main dining rooms, and a new food court with eateries such as Pizzeria Pummid’Oro, and Sushino@Costa.
Following her dry-dock, Costa Serena will sail a world cruise from Tokyo to Buenos Aires in 2026, positioning the ship for South American cruises in winter 2027. The ship will offer Mediterranean voyages in the spring of that year.
“Our goal is to provide unmatched experiences for our guests while embracing innovation, sustainability, and exceptional value for money,” said Mario Zanetti, president of Costa Cruises.
“We are also investing in our fleet to enhance onboard experience and introducing new itineraries, including Costa Serena new deployment for 2026-2027. The strategy path that we started a few years ago is strengthening our offer in our key markets with a portfolio of unique vacations,” Zanetti added.
Costa Cruises to Operate With Eight Ships Starting 2026
Costa Cruises has no new ship orders pending, making it likely that the brand will operate with eight ships for some time — unless another goes up for sale.
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In addition to Costa Serena, those vessels are Costa Toscana, Costa Smeralda, Costa Deliziosa, Costa Diadema, Costa Fascinosa, Costa Favolosa, and Costa Pacifica.
The ships sail global itineraries and attract mostly Italians and other Western Europeans. However, the three ships that were transferred to the Carnival Cruise Line fleet all sailed from US ports, giving North American cruisers a taste of Italian themes and designs in shipboard decor.
The 4,000-guest Carnival Venezia, whose design is inspired by the city of Venice, will soon reposition from Port Canaveral to New York and sail summer season Bermuda and Caribbean cruises from the Big Apple.
Carnival Firenze, with decor modeled on the city of Florence, is based in Los Angeles, where the 4,100-guest ship sails Mexican Riviera and California coastal cruises.
Carnival Luminosa is not operating as a Fun Italian-style ship. The 2,260-guest vessel is currently deployed to Seattle for a summer series of Alaska voyages.