Former Carnival-Owned Ship Sold to Chinese Cruise Company
Key Aspects:
The former Costa Magica, which once sailed under Carnival’s Costa Cruises brand, has a new owner.
She has been sold to Tianjin Orient International Cruises to expand cruising out of Tianjin, China.
The vessel will likely undergo quite a bit of repairs and refurbishments before debuting to Chinese clientele in summer of 2026.
The former Costa Magica has changed hands once again, and is now bound for a new life in China.
The 2003-built cruise ship has been acquired by Tianjin Orient International Cruises to expand the young company’s presence in the Chinese market.
The brand only just launched in 2023 with Dream (Formerly Princess Cruises’ Sea Princess), and primarily homeports in Tianjin, China.
Travel professionals have reported that the 102,784-gross ton ship will be renamed as Ideal and will join Dream in Tianjin as soon as summer of 2026.
Read Also: Former Carnival Cruise Ships, Where Are They Now?
The purchase price for the former Costa Cruises’ Destiny-class ship has not been publicly disclosed. For context, Carnival Corporation is the parent company of Costa Cruises.
Until this point, the 2,718-guest ship had most recently been under the ownership of a Greek ferry company called Seajets.
She was sold to the brand in February of 2023 by the Carnival Corporation, and has largely been sitting dormant ever since.
As of the time of publication, she is currently docked near Astakos, Greece.
Seajets had plans to begin a party cruise line called Neonyx Cruises, and renamed the vessel as Goddess of the Night. However, these plans never came to fruition.
What Comes Next?
Just as Tianjin Orient International Cruises did with Dream, their newest acquisition will likely undergo some significant refurbishments before re-entering service as Ideal.
This ship, which once operated in North America, will likely be adapted and revamped to cater specifically to Chinese clientele.
Maintenance will also almost certainly be required after sitting dormant for more than a year and for a good chunk of time during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns.
Additional work may also need to be done to bring the re-imagined vessel up to current sanitary codes.
Notably, the ship was chartered to house over 2,600 security and police officers for the 50th Summit of the Group of Seven (G7) in June of 2024.
Instead, she was detained by Italian police in the port of Brindisi, Italy, due to poor sanitary conditions.
According to Reuters, investigators found “significant hygienic-sanitary criticalities and serious accommodation deficiencies, which could amount to the crime of fraud in public supply.”
Additional reports showed that many cabins were rendered unusable by water leaks, malfunctioning toilets, and broken air conditioning.
And at the last minute, officers were sent to stay in local hotels instead of onboard the ship – which was a huge inconvenience.
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It’s unclear what work may have been done at the time to address these issues, but Tianjin Orient International Cruises will certainly take action if satisfactory repairs haven’t been made already.
It’s also unknown when the inevitable overhaul will commence, but the 22-year-old vessel is expected to begin making her way to Asia very soon.