The former Costa Magica cruise ship, according to Chinese social media reports citing a communication from the directly involved company, is said to have been sold to the company Tianjin Orient International Cruises. The ship, built in 2004 by Fincantieri in Sestri Ponente (part of the Destiny class of Carnival Corporation), was laid up in Greece after the Greek Seajets took it over in 2023 from Costa Crociere after a period of inactivity caused by the Covid pandemic.
Last year, Seajets had tried to launch the new brand Neonyx with the aim of offering a short cruise product in Greece, but this project never actually set sail.
Now the ship appears to be about to depart for Asia and, according to a post published on social media by a travel agency, it will set sail from Tianjin under the name Ideal starting in the summer of 2026. The former Costa Magica will join the Dream at Tianjin Orient, which is the former Sun Princess and has been sailing for the Chinese brand since 2023.
Renamed by Neonyx Cruises as Goddess of the Night, this ship of 105,000 gross tons, with 1,354 cabins and capable of accommodating 3,470 passengers, in 2024 had unfortunately been at the center of controversy and complaints about the condition of some cabins during its use as a floating hotel to accommodate Police forces for the G7 in Puglia.
In addition to the Goddess of the Night, the Greek shipowner Seajets had purchased seven other cruise ships during the Covid pandemic emergency from mid-2020; three have already been resold to other operators or to demolition yards, while four remained in its ownership (the former Oceana, the former Majesty of the Seas, the former Costa Magica and the former Veendam) and are currently laid up in various ports in Greece.
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