Who we Are
We are Costa
We are a respected and valued diverse global community of more than 20,000 people representing 70 different countries and cultures.
People at Costa are characterized by rich diversity in terms of professionalism, multiculturalism and skills; we respect and leverage the diversity of ideas and thoughts and we are enriched by different world perspectives that help enhance the quality of the service for our Guests.
We are young, explorers and pioneers with a passion
for making human connections.
Who we Are
What we do
As the only Cruise Company sailing the Italian flag, we need the duty and the prestige of being ambassador of Italian values in the world.
For over 70 years, Costa brings happiness and new experiences to global cruising guests to over 250 destinations worldwide in Mediterranean, Northern Europe, the Baltic Sea, the Caribbean, Central and South America, the United Arab Emirates, the Far East, the Indian Ocean, plus Round-the-World cruises.
Our work is meaningful and we can see the impact of our efforts.
Who we Are
How we do it
We make human connections that enrich our community and bring joy to our Guests. We enjoy an international environment rich in cultural diversity that is positive, friendly, and welcoming.
We are team-oriented and know that diversity of thoughts and ideas are key to growing personally and professionally. Empowering our employees with outstanding training and development support to fuel their growth both personally and professionally is key to our People’s Strategy.
Our pioneering spirit is the rudder that
steers our forward-thinking attitude.
Our Company
Our Company
Costa Crociere
Since 1948, Costa Cruises represents hospitality and Italian style. From the beginning, we operate with passion to make our Guests find the most wonderful places all over the world, offering them the opportunity to explore new countries and to meet different cultures, with respect for their identities. As the only Cruise Company sailing the Italian flag, we are proud of being ambassador of Italian values in the world and of representing Italy along the destinations during our itineraries.
Our Company
Costa Group
The Costa Group is the largest Italian travel group and the Europe’s number one cruise operator. It is integral part of Carnival Corporation & plc, the world’s biggest cruise operator, and comprises the brands Costa Cruises S.p.A., AIDA Cruises and Costa Asia. With 29 ships on service, we are headquartered in Genoa (Italy) and sail to over 200 destinations in the Mediterranean, Northern Europe, The Baltic Sea, The Caribbean, Central and South America, the United Arab Emirates, the Far East, the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea, Round-the-World cruises.
Our Company
Carnival Corporation
Carnival Corporation & plc is the world’s largest leisure travel company and among the most profitable and financially strong in the cruise and vacation industries, with a portfolio of nine of the world’s leading cruise lines. We are also the largest cruise company, employing more than 120.000 people worldwide and carrying 12.4 million Guests annually, nearly half of global cruise guests, and we are a leading provider of vacations to all major cruise destinations throughout the world. With operations in North America, Australia, Europe and Asia, its portfolio features Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn, P&O Cruises (Australia), Costa Cruises, AIDA Cruises, P&O Cruises (UK) and Cunard.
Our Company
Looking Beyond
At Costa, responsible innovation plays a fundamental role when we design the ships of the future and develop the onboard experience. This is the reason why we are pioonering the route for innovation and responsible development as founding pillars of our future; we are truly committed to minimize the environmental impact in all the destinations we explore.
Our Values
From W.I.D.E. to W.I.D.E.R. than ever, to be stronger together!
Our Values
Warm Hospitality
We believe in loving our tradition, always keeping an open mind to offer Guests an appealing experience. Our Italian DNA translates into being welcoming, empathic, smiling and always looking for quality with a human touch.
Our behaviours:
- We approach everyone with a positive attitude
- We go the extra mile, anticipating others’ requests and following up
- We remember details about people
Our Values
Innovation
We believe in anticipating our Guests’ needs to be a trendsetter in the industry. Our positive energy leads to a continuous improvement to achieve new heights, modernity and dynamism, seeing things in a sustainable and original way.
Our behaviours:
- We collect ideas to be inspired, driven by a sustainable approach
- We put ourselves in others’ shoes
- We proactively experiment out of the ordinary solutions
Our Values
Diversity
We believe in being open to diversity, a treasure to preserve and trust to attract international Guests and future colleagues. Only mixing different points of view we can become better than we are both as people and as a Company.
Our behaviours:
- We celebrate and value differences
- We replace judgment with curiosity
- We listen to others’ points of view
Our Values
Enrichment
We believe in improving our skills to become the talented professionals our Guests are looking for. We dive into new experiences and perspectives, sharing them with others, coming out of our comfort zone to achieve wider knowledge and growth.
Our behaviours:
- We see things and learn from different perspectives
- We ask for feedback and take corrective actions
- We share ideas, best practices and experiences
Our Values
Responsibility
Responsibility has always been an implicit and primary value for us in Costa. We aim at emphasizing the awareness of the importance of our contribution and our participation within the organization and the environment in which we work to make it better.
Our behaviours:
- We see Responsibility as a right, as a conscious choice of the individual to contribute to the community
- We value Responsibility as a source for the future
- We are safe, eco-aware, transparent and trustworthy
Our Vision and Culture Essential
Our Culture… Stronger Together
It takes each of us to create a stronger, more cohesive culture… across all brands and ABG… across our fleet and shoreside. The base of this culture is our Vision Statement, which steers us as a unified organization with shared values.
Vision Statement
At Carnival Corporation & plc, our highest responsibility and top priorities are compliance, environmental protection and the health, safety and well-being of our guests, the people in the communities we touch and serve, and our shipboard and shoreside employees. On this foundation, we aspire to deliver unmatched joyful vacations for our guests, always exceeding their expectations and in doing so driving outstanding shareholder value. We are committed to a positive and just corporate culture, based on inclusion and the power of diversity. We operate with integrity, trust and respect for each other — communicating, coordinating and collaborating while seeking candor, openness and transparency at all times. And we aspire to be an exemplary corporate citizen leaving the people and the places we touch even better.
Our Vision and Culture Essential
Promoting an open and supportive work environment
An open and supportive environment is one where everyone feels:
- Comfortable speaking up,
- Offering suggestions for improvement,
- And reporting any concerns, mistakes, or errors knowing that they will be treated fairly and free of retaliation.
It is an environment that is built with trust and transparency between leaders and team members, ensuring that employee’s concerns matter, are appreciated, and will be acted upon promptly and properly. “We all contribute towards creating this kind of positive work environment”.
Our Vision and Culture Essential
Know and live our Culture Essentials as Costa Citizens
Behaving ethically and complying with laws, regulations and Company policies is everyone’s responsibility – regardless of our jobs, brands, or even whether we work on ships or on shore.
As part of our ongoing efforts to strengthen our Carnival corporate culture, we needed to unify our efforts and focus on what we all have in common. To that end, Costa has adopted a list of key actions and behaviors that everyone across the Company can remember to help us live out the top priorities from our Corporate Vision Statement, as well as each brand’s Core Values (W.I.D.E.R.).
The Culture Essentials sets out those key actions and behaviors of what we all must do – both as team members and leaders.
Culture Essentials
As a company, we must empower our team members to speak up. All employees are encouraged to speak up about their concerns, and leaders are expected to listen, learn, and communicate effectively while handling these concerns.
Our place in the world
Our place in the world
Sustainability
In Costa Cruises we promote a business model oriented towards sustainable development and the creation of value. Our commitment goes beyond mere responsible management of resources; we are determined to make a tangible contribution to the conservation of resources for future generations. Since we operate in a business setting that is highly diversified and multicultural, we are committed to a balanced approach based on cultural inclusion and capitalizing on the diversity offered both by the local communities with which we interact and by our workforce.
The pursuit of innovative solutions linked to the development of new services must necessarily be based on the determination to implement actions and projects aimed at mitigating our impacts both on the local communities at our destinations and in the sea, i.e. the natural element in which we move. The conservation of the marine environment and its matchless wonders is our top priority.
Our place in the world
Sea
Safeguarding the Environment
Contributing to the preservation of the environment in general and the marine environment in particular is one of our top priorities. This commitment is reflected by a series of specific actions and the constant pursuit of innovative environmental protection solutions. For us, planning sustainable growth means guaranteeing that future generations will continue to be able to enjoy all planet Earth’s natural beauty and benefit from its precious resources.
For Costa, respecting the environment is an integral and vital part of the roadmap to sustainable development. Our fleet expansion and longterm, structured growth go handin-hand with specific efforts to ensure responsible innovation while minimizing our environmental footprint by reducing emissions and optimizing consumption. Our vision focuses on helping mitigate climate change and on the protection of marine ecosystems.
Our place in the world
You
Creating Value
We take many thousands of tourists to the finest destinations all over the world and show them splendid cultural attractions and natural scenery. We are well aware of the positive role played by Costa Cruises and our unique wealth of diversity enabling us to build solid relations with local organizations and to create economic and – above all – social value for local communities.
The Company is committed to active dialogue with stakeholders and to their ongoing engagement. This process involves: our Guests, who are shown a model of tourism based on the principles of respect and sustainable development, the local communities, who we interact with so as to capitalize on the value generated by tourism, our suppliers, direct beneficiaries of the economic impact generated by the Company, and Costa’s people, who deliver unique experiences.
Our place in the world
Tomorrow
Innovating Responsibly
Cutting-edge R&D, innovation and a long-term vision for the complete integration of sustainability are the cornerstones of our approach. Our stakeholders expect tangible results and eco-sustainable solutions in all our fields of operation. We work with a great sense of responsibility and passion in order to create the ships of the future and deliver new travel experiences.
Costa has chosen to take part in a number of innovative sustainable development projects, designed and run jointly with the stakeholders directly involved in the Company’s key processes. Costa sees itself as a team player in a broad context producing long-term synergies implementing models and systems of reference that will have a positive impact with the proactive engagement of everyone sharing the same ideals.
Our place in the world
Costa Crociere Foundation
For our Foundation, making a real difference means doing things differently. It means harnessing potential both within the organization and across the wider stakeholder network. It means maximizing the impact of each project by encouraging philanthropy among employees and partners, establishing lasting partnerships across society and taking advantage of as many non-monetary resources as possible.
Our strength lies in the broad spectrum of resources we have to draw on, from skilled employees on and offshore to a network of suppliers, business partners, public authorities, media contacts and travel agents. Added to this are the financial and material assets that Costa is willing to invest, and the participation of its stakeholders it is ready to encourage. By working together, we can make that difference.
Our History
Our History
1948 – 1968
Where everything starts…
On March 31st 1948, anyone looking from the shore of Genoa would have seen the blue “C” on the yellow funnel of the “Anna C.”, the Costa family’s first transatlantic liner, as it left port. Seventy years have passed since this first voyage from Genoa to Buenos Aires…a new way of exploring the world by sea – cruising Italian style!
In the early 50s, the “Linea C” had already become a symbol of relaxed holidays, signing the first step of our innovative and pioneering spirit.
In 1959, the “Franca C.” was the first ship in the world exclusively devoted to cruises, operating in the United States and the Caribbean.
In the 60s we could claim to be the Europe’s largest cruise company, second in size only to the Soviet Union fleet. Ours are ships of peace, carrying people from many nations who share the unique joy of exploring the world by sea.
Our History
1968 – 1988
The biggest cruise company in the world
In 1968 we launched the fly-cruise concept, making it possible for the first time to take a short cruise on the other side of the world.
To please our most loyal clients, we created the wintertime World Cruise, departing from Genoa in December and returning in March: an innovation, which later becomes a tradition, of voyage for our Guests, changing and enriching their lives forever.
In the 70s our routes, our ships, and our Italian hospitality were ready to create a new holiday concept.
We became the largest cruise company in the West.
The logo, which had already been evolving for some time, changed further in this period, adding a yellow stripe and, for the first time, the word “crociere”. By 1986 we were ready to take the leap from being Costa Armatori to becoming the limited company Costa Crociere.
Our family business, managed by 150 relatives, became a holding company with the Costa family as majority shareholder.
Our History
1988 – 2008
All onboard for fun!
In 1993, we were the first tour operator in Italy to launch a TV spot campaign, with our slogan “Navighiamo per divertirvi”! We run some memorable advertising campaigns in Europe and the US to attract younger clients.
Innovation has always been a priority for us. The true stars of our evolution were the new generation ships of the 90s, designed with distinctive beauty and technological innovation. In order to continue growing while maintaining our Italian identity, we seized the opportunity to join Carnival Corporation, a global leader in the sector.
Ten more new ships joined the fleet in 12 years offering enchanted Italian locations, the glories of the Italian sixteenth and seventeenth century, classical mythology…and, for the first time, a health and wellness spa overlooking the sea.
We greeted the new millenium offering the first ships with Balcony. In 2003 the Palacrociere cruise terminal in Savona was commissioned – followed by the Palacruceros in Barcelona, and on 17 July 2007 we set a historical European record: one million guests in just one year!
Our History
2008 – nowadays
A course towards innovative future
In 2009 we entered the Guinness Book of Records with the launching of two ships in Genoa: it was the first time that a shipowner had launched two ships on the same day in the same port.
With the fleet continuing to grow, we turned our attention to improving facilities for onboard colleagues training, especially focusing on personal development and growth, as we believe that people are our most precious asset.
In this time of great global change, bringing sustainability onboard has allowed us to adopt responsible working practices and initiate unique projects of historical importance.
In 2014 the Costa Crociere Foundation was set up with the aim of supporting programmes with the most influential and innovative non- profit organisations, assisting them to make a positive, concrete and lasting impact in Italy and abroad.
The Costa Group, which includes our sisters AIDA and Costa Asia, is now a global company with a strong and precise identity, firmly set on a course towards an innovative future, conscious of always being able to count on the experience coming from a glorious history.
