Never reactivated after the pandemic, sold twice
The Costa Magica no longer sails for Costa. Completed in October 2004, 272
metres, 1358 cabins, with a decoration by the designer who marked a whole
generation of the group's ships. She served the line from 2004 to 2023.
And here is what sets her apart from the other departed hulls: she was never
reactivated after the pandemic. Laid up in Greece, she stayed there for years
without taking a single passenger, then changed name twice between 2023 and
2025, under successive flags, without ever finding regular commercial service
again.
Where she is today
A relaunch project under a European brand was abandoned with no public
explanation. The ship was finally sold in November 2025 to a Chinese owner, for
the Chinese market, under a fourth name. A trade source noted at the time that
she was the twenty-fourth ship sold by the group since the pandemic.
This page sells nothing. It says where the hull is and under what name,
because the name goes on being searched and the pages published elsewhere are
often out of date.
The ships Costa still operates
The Costa Serena leaves for South America. The Costa Favolosa covers the fjords and the Caribbean.
The Costa Diadema is the most accessible in the fleet. The Costa Deliziosa has the best ratio of cabins
with a balcony.
A fleet halved in six years
Costa operated sixteen ships in 2019. It operates eight since mid-September
2026. That is not a slowdown, it is a contraction: seven hulls were sold or
transferred to other brands, one was scrapped in Turkey, and the latest
departure dates from this month.
The house is Genoese and old. Founded in 1854 in olive oil and textiles, it
moved to shipping in 1924 and to carrying passengers in 1947. An American
group bought half of it in 1997 and all of it in 2000. It has since belonged to
a set of nine cruise brands, where its position has clearly weakened: three of
its ships were transferred to the group's more profitable North American
brand.
A word about 13 January 2012, because there is no reason to skirt it. The
Costa Concordia struck rocks off the island of Giglio with 4252 people aboard.
The toll: 33 dead, including a diver killed during the salvage. The captain was
sentenced to sixteen years. The whole industry drew from it the muster drill
now compulsory before sailing.
From Quebec
The flight is not part of the cruise fare, and none of these routes begins
here. Depending on the embarkation port, expect a direct flight to Europe or a
connection; for the Caribbean and South America a connection is almost always
needed. Arrive the day before at the very least: a cruise ship leaves on
time.
A point of law better read before than after. The carrier is a company under
Italian law; the North American entity is only its sales agent. The contract of
passage provides for Italian law and the courts of Genoa, exclusively, and
invokes the Athens Convention, which caps liability for personal injury.
Nothing establishes that this line holds a Quebec travel agent's licence.
Your protection comes from elsewhere: Voyages AquaTerra holds a licence from
Quebec's Office de la protection du consommateur, and the Compensation Fund for
Customers of Travel Agents covers your file.
