A departure port for Costa cruises in the Mediterranean
On April 16, the Costa Pacifica made its first stopover in the bay of Toulon - La Seyne-sur-Mer, inaugurating the company's new departure port...
The inauguration ceremony was an opportunity to recall the Costa cruises project. With 25 stopovers planned in 2025 (from April 16 to October 12), Costa offers weekly departures every Sunday departing from Toulon - La Seyne-sur-Mer.
STRATEGIC TURNING POINT This is part of the development and diversification strategy of the routes of the company, which already operates from Marseille. From now on, Toulon - La Seyne-sur-Mer is added to the departure ports for Costa Croisières cruises across the treasures of the Mediterranean basin, an asset for French and international cruise passengers. “The arrival of Costa in Toulon-La Seyne-sur-Mer marks a strategic turning point for our company.
It is a new gateway to the Mediterranean for our customers, in a region with high attractiveness,” assured Luigi Stefanelli, vice president of global sales at Costa Croisières.
“La Seyne-sur-Mer hopes to sustainably anchor the presence of Costa Croisières on its territory and add this prestigious activity to the entire existing panel,” continued Marie-Claude Paganelli-Argiolas, 5th deputy of the city, delegate for tourism. “This scheduling and new offer proposed by Costa represent an opportunity for all territorial actors, with the common goal: to optimize the capture of these flows and ultimately, the associated benefits in terms of economic spin-offs, jobs, reputation, and attractiveness. To offer the service expected by homeport companies, the Chambre de Commerce et d'Industrie du Var invested in this cruise terminal in La Seyne-sur-Mer, creating a space dedicated to welcoming and checking-in embarking passengers,” added Mme Richaud, vice-president of the CCI.
“By becoming a homeport for Costa Croisières, our destination Provence Méditerranée changes dimension. It is no longer just a stopover, but a real gateway to a complete stay, with concrete benefits for our accommodation providers, restaurant owners, merchants, and service providers. It is a virtuous dynamic that strengthens the link between tourism and local economy,” continued Magali Turbatte, vice-president of Tourisme Provence Méditerranée.
EXPLORING THE MEDITERRANEAN The interest in this region of France, which benefits from direct rail connections to Paris via the TGV, facilitating access for passengers from all over France, makes the bay of Var a destination of great tourist interest. Costa Croisières offers shuttle services linking the port of Var to cities like Nice and Marseille and with the Toulon station to reach the terminal more easily. And for all those who wish to reach the port by car, a parking lot adjacent to the port is also available.
In addition, Costa has set up free trains from Paris and Lyon to the Toulon station, a first for the French market as well as a poster campaign deployed in the Sud-Est and in strategic locations such as the stations of Lyon Part-Dieu, Perrache and Paris Gare de Lyon.
The company offers two new itineraries to explore the Mediterranean from Toulon La Seyne-sur-Mer, aboard the Costa Pacifica, a ship renovated in 2022 (7 days in the Western Mediterranean, discovering the Baléares and the Italian coast). After stopovers in Valence and Palma de Majorque, the ship sets course for Sardaigne with Olbia (Côte d'Émeraude), before reaching Rome (Civitavecchia) and Savone. Passengers stop in Palerme, before setting off for the Greek islands (Crète, Santorin, Mykonos and Argostoli), for an immersion between culture, turquoise sea and local traditions.
• Photos Costa Croisières.
Photos Costa Croisières.