Engineering:Celestyal Experience

Costa neoRomantica, August 2012
History
Name:	1993–2011: Costa Romantica 2011–2020: Costa neoRomantica 2020–2021: Celestyal Experience 2021–2021: Antares Experience
Owner:	Costa Cruises (1993–2020) Celestyal Cruises (2020–2021) Beacon & Bay Shipping Services (2021–2021)
Port of registry:	1993–2020: Genoa, Italy 2020–2021: Limassol Cyprus 2021: Monrovia, Liberia
Builder:	Fincantieri, Marghera, Italy
Yard number:	5899
Laid down:	23 April 1992
Launched:	28 November 1992
Completed:	25 September 1993
Maiden voyage:	November 1993
Out of service:	January 2020
Identification:	IMO number: 8821046 Call sign: IBCR (1993–2020) MMSI number: 247817000 (1993–2020)
Fate:	Sold For Scrap In December 2021
General characteristics as built
Class and type:	Classica-class cruise ship
Tonnage:	53,049 GT 7,781 DWT
Length:	220 m (721 ft 9 in) oa 181.9 m (596 ft 9 in) pp
Beam:	30.8 m (101 ft 1 in)
Decks:	12
Propulsion:	4 × diesel engines, 2 shafts, 22,800 kW (30,600 hp)
Speed:	19.5 knots (36.1 km/h; 22.4 mph)
Capacity:	1,578 passengers
Crew:	662

Antares Experience (formerly Costa Romantica, Costa neoRomantica and Celestyal Experience) was a cruise ship completed in 1993 by Fincantieri in Italy as a sister ship to Costa neoClassica. She was refurbished in 2003 and, from 2017, assigned to the Asian market. In 2019, the ship was to be a residential cruise ship, with renderings posted by Storylines. The ship was sold in 2020 to Celestyal Cruises. It never operated for Celestyal and was sold again and renamed Antares Experience in September 2021. It has since been sold for scrap in late 2021 and is no longer in service.

Design and description

The vessel as built had a gross tonnage of 53,049 tons and 7,781 tons deadweight (DWT). Costa Romantica measured 220 m (721 ft 9 in) long overall and 181.9 m (596 ft 9 in) between perpendiculars with a beam of 30.8 m (101 ft 1 in). The vessel is powered by four diesel engines with two propellers creating 22,800 kW (30,600 hp). This gives the ship a maximum speed of 19.5 knots (36.1 km/h; 22.4 mph).

In November 2011, Costa Romantica underwent a refurbishing. Two new half decks were added as a part of the refurbishment, as well as 111 new cabins, 120 cabins and suites with a balcony and several new amenities including bars and lounges. This increased the gross tonnage of the ship from 53,000 to 56,769 tons. The length increased to 220.6 m (723 ft 9 in).

The cruise ship had capacity for 1,578 passengers in 789 cabins. Cabins ranged in size from 17.2–40 m² (185–431 sq ft) of which 74 had a balcony. The ship had a crew of 662.

Construction and career

The vessel was constructed by Fincantieri at their yard in Marghera, Italy with the yard number 5899. The cruise ship's keel was laid down on 23 April 1992 and the vessel was launched on 28 November 1992. Costa Romantica was completed on 25 September 1993 and entered service in November of that year. The vessel was registered in Genoa, Italy and was owned and operated by Costa Crociere.

On 25 February 2009, a small fire erupted in one of the engines and in one of the electric generators of Costa Romantica off the coast of Uruguay, about 10 km (6.2 mi) from the city of Punta del Este. After the incident, the vessel was stalled for more than 24 hours and for a long period there was no electricity or running water. Costa Romantica was partially repaired and was able to sail to approximately 1 km (0.62 mi) from the coast where she was then evacuated by landing ships. The passengers were sent home and Costa Romantica's next scheduled cruise was cancelled.

In November 2011, Costa Romantica underwent a €90 million refurbishing at San Giorgio del Porto shipyard in Genoa. After the contract was awarded to San Giorgio del Porto, the shipyard workers at Fincantieri began a week of strike action. After the refurbishing, the ship was renamed Costa neoRomantica and started her first journey with the new name in March 2012.

In early 2017, Costa neoRomantica arrived in Hong Kong to operate cruises in the Asia market. In February 2018, Costa neoRomantica served as The J Winter Fashion Show 2018 setting in Hong Kong.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, cruises from China aboard Costa neoRomantica were cancelled at the end of January and early February 2020. This was later extended through the end of February. While awaiting permission to sail, the vessel remained in Vietnam. On 26 March the ship with no passengers on board, anchored at the roadstead of Vladivostok, Russia to refresh the ship with water, fuel, and food. However, it was denied entrance as the Russian sanitary officials stipulated the dock workers to be quarantined for 14 days. No COVID-19 cases on board were reported.

In July 2020, the ship was sold to Celestyal Cruises, renamed Celestyal Experience and laid up at Piraeus, later at Eleusis. In September 2021, due to the pandemic, Celestyal sold the ship, while still in lay-up, to Beacon & Bay Shipping Services of Dubai, who renamed her Antares Experience, reportedly for on-sale for future trading. It was later reported that she was sold for scrap. In November 2021, the ship sailed to the Gadani Ship Breaking Yard in Pakistan for scrapping and was beached on 3 December.

References

• "Costa Neoromantica (8821046)". French Ministry for Transport. http://www.equasis.org/EquasisWeb/restricted/ShipInfo?fs=Search&P_IMO=8821046. 
• "8821046 Costa Neoromantica". Leonardo Info. RINA. https://www.leonardoinfo.com/home/ship/4652/data/propulsionElectrics. 
• "Costa Romantica (8821046)". Miramar Ship Index. https://www.miramarshipindex.nz/ship/8821046. 
• Ward, Douglas (2019). Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships 2020 (28th ed.). Singapore: Berlitz. ISBN 978-1-78573-250-8.