costa crociere s.p.a. (italian pronunciation: [ˈkɔsta kroˈtʃɛːre]), operating as costa cruises, is an italian cruise line founded in 1948 and organized as a wholly owned subsidiary of carnival corporation & plc since 2000.based in genoa, italy, the cruise line primarily caters to the italian cruise market, but the company's 10 ships, which all sail under the italian flag, provide itineraries sailing to countries globally.in 1924, the company was passed to the founder's sons (federico, eugenio and enrico) and started commercial activities, buying the ship, ravenna.in 1947, the name of the company was changed to linea c.   === costa line === in march 1948, passenger services were introduced, beginning with regular services between italy and south america operated by the ship, anna c. the ship departed from genoa and reached buenos aires 16 days after departure.she marked the start of scheduled operations between italy and south america after being the first ocean liner to cross the south atlantic ocean following world war ii.in 1958, costa commissioned their first purpose-built ship, federico c , which provided a liner service between genoa, italy and buenos aires, argentina via rio de janeiro, brazil.in 1959, the company gradually transitioned into offering more pleasure holidays, with trips being offered in the mediterranean and the caribbean regions.the second purpose built ship, eugenio c, debuted in 1966, designed by famous naval architect nicolò costanzi.linea c went on to own 12 more ships by 1980, making the company the owner of the world's largest fleet of passenger ships.in 1986, linea c changed its name to costa cruises and became a cruise-centered business.the line had decided to modernize its fleet by the late 1980s, and ordered two new ships in 1987, which became costa classica and costa romantica entering service in 1991 and 1993 respectively.the line also converted and completely rebuilt two former container ships into costa marina and costa allegra around the same time as ordering the two new ships.costa wanted to create a new upscale european brand for their new ships and launched the short-lived euroluxe brand.the costa victoria debuted in 1996, and was the largest cruise ship ever built in germany at the time, and largest for the costa.it's completion was cost was covered by selling the much loved classic eugenio costa.the costa victoria would be the final ship completed under the costa family brand before the line was taken over by carnival corporation & plc.the ship was scheduled to have a sister, the costa olympia, which was never completed for the line after the shipyards bankruptcy, and instead the uncompleted hull was sold to norwegian cruise line.in march 1997, carnival and airtours plc purchased costa cruises for $300 million, on a 50:50 basis.at the time, costa cruises was the leading european cruise line, with an estimated market share of 19%.they line would also utilize carnival's designer joe farcus, who undertook the interior design, moving away from the contemporary italian style of the previous ships to more themed public spaces similar to carnival cruise line.the first ship delivered under carnival corp management, was costa atlantica in 2000.in 2000, carnival corporation took full control of costa crociere after buying out airtours' 50% interest for $525 million.carnival corporation would transfer older ships from their other brands to costa, with the costa tropicale(former carnival cruise line tropicale) in 2001, and the costa europa (former holland american line westerdam) in 2002.in 2002, carnival corporation and p&o princess cruises merged to form carnival corporation & plc, bringing together both companies' assets under one corporation.
costa crociere | location | italy
in 1947, the name of the company was changed to linea c.   === costa line === in march 1948, passenger services were introduced, beginning with regular services between italy and south america operated by the ship, anna c. the ship departed from genoa and reached buenos aires 16 days after departure.in 1958, costa commissioned their first purpose-built ship, federico c , which provided a liner service between genoa, italy and buenos aires, argentina via rio de janeiro, brazil.