Mykonos Magic

Mykonos Magic is a  owned by Seajets since 2023. Formerly operating as Costa Magica by Costa Crociere, a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc, the  vessel joined sister ship  in 2004 and were referred together as Fortuna-class ships; together, they became the largest ships in the Costa fleet at her time of delivery. Costa Magica paid homage to some of the most famous destinations in Italy including Positano, Portofino, Bellagio, and Sicily, which were incorporated into her public areas and restaurants. 19 years after her debut, Costa sold Costa Magica to Greek/Cypriot ferry company Seajets in 2023 and she was subsequently renamed Mykonos Magic.

Design and description
The vessel was designed by the American architect Joe Farcus and is the sister ship to . As built Costa Magica had a gross tonnage (GT) of 102,857 and . This later increased to 102,784 GT and 9,859 DWT. The cruise ship measures  long overall and  between perpendiculars with a beam of .

The ship is powered by two diesel engines turning two fixed pitch propellers creating . Ward states the ship has two azimuth thruster pods. This gives Costa Magica a maximum speed of . The vessel is also equipped with seven electric generating sets creating .

As Costa Magica she had 1,359 cabins total, ranging in size from , with 522 having a balcony. The cruise ship has capacity for 2,718 passengers and has a crew of 1,068. There is a nine-deck atrium with a bar on the lowest level, a  spa and a three-deck theatre.

Construction and career
The ship was constructed by Fincantieri in Genoa, Italy with the yard number 6087. The vessel was laid down on 1 September 2002 and launched in November 2003. She was completed on 26 October 2004 and entered service in the following month. The vessel was owned and operated by Costa Crociere and registered in Genoa.

2020 COVID-19 pandemic

On 12 March 2020, two passengers aboard were reported to have tested positive for COVID-19 while quarantined in Martinique. The ship, with 3,300 people on board, had been disallowed entry to several sea ports including Grenada, Tobago, Barbados and Saint Lucia, due to over 300 Italian nationals on board. On 16 March, the ship was allowed only to take on provisions and refuel at St. Maarten with no one allowed to leave the ship.

It was later reported that passengers from the ship disembarked in mid-March leaving just the crew aboard. The ship then travelled to Miami, Florida but was not allowed to dock there. 13 crew members were evacuated from Costa Magica and  to hospitals in Miami after displaying COVID-19 symptoms. The rest of the crew were tested aboard both ships which were lying  off Miami and Eventually, the ship stopped three miles (4.8 km) offshore from Miami, and on 26 March, the U.S. Coast Guard reported evacuation of six sick crew members from the ship. On 30 March, those who tested negative were taken to the airport and put aboard charter flights to repatriate them to their home nations. Those who tested positive remained aboard the ships, which then sailed for Europe.

An update by CNN on 3 April 2020 stated the ship remained near Miami after "six crew members with respiratory symptoms were evacuated from the ship, and then transported to a hospital". The Port of Miami had not provided consent for the vessel to dock but all passengers had previously disembarked at Guadeloupe.

Canceled transfer to Carnival Cruise Line
On 23 June 2021, it was announced that Costa Magica would be rebranded and transferred to the Carnival fleet in mid-2022, receive a new Carnival name and funnel, and would most likely join the Sunshine-class. On 14 June 2022, Carnival revealed that Costa Magica would remain in the Costa fleet, with  to be transferred instead.

Sale to Seajets
On 8 February 2023, Costa Magicas sale to Seajets, a Greek/Cypriot ferry company, was reported. She was later laid up in Greece and renamed Mykonos Magic.

Notes

Citations

References

External links

 Official website
 Costa Magica current position

2003 ships
Ships built by Fincantieri
Ships built in Genoa
Cruise ships involved in the COVID-19 pandemic
Ships of Costa Cruises