Costa Cruises Gives 'So Much More Amore' to Wave Season With Cash Giveaways, Onboard Credits and up to 60% off Cruises

MIAMI, Jan. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Costa, Europe's Number One Cruise Line, is giving "So Much More Amore" to wave season this year by offering $8,000 in cash to travel agents and equally sweet rewards for their clients. These include up to $100 in onboard credits for select summer Mediterranean cruises and up to 60% off select 2010 cruises. In addition, travel agents may earn an additional 3% commission on all bookings simply for graduating from C.O.S.T.A, the line's online training academy.

Between now and February 28, travel agents booking any 2010 Winter Mediterranean, Summer Europe, Dubai or Far East sailings will automatically be entered to win a weekly $1,000 cash giveaway. Enticing offers for clients also give "So Much More Amore" including deals and discounts that make Europe and Exotic cruises as affordable as $75 per day or up to 60% off. In addition, they may receive up to a $100 onboard credit per stateroom on select Summer Europe sailings.

"We wanted to create a wave offer that would not only put cash in our travel agent partners' hands, but also help them inspire their clients to discover our Europe and Exotic locales at a fraction of the price," said Scott Knutson, vice president of sales for Costa Cruises North America. "Now more than ever, travelers need to be reminded that the world is full of incredible places and that the convenience of a cruise is the best way to experience them. Costa brings this world to them with an amazing variety of options on 15 ships, 621 sailings and 154 itineraries across the globe, all at an unbeatable value."

Travel agents may also earn an additional 3% commission by graduating from the line's C.O.S.T.A. online sales training academy. Seven engaging, knowledge-packed and easy-to-follow chapters cover everything from Costa's 60-plus years of history to today's present fleet of ships. Travel agents may register for C.O.S.T.A. by visiting www.travelagentacademy.com/Costa/index.html.

For complete terms and conditions of the "So Much More Amore" promotion, travel agents may visit www.costaclick.com or contact Costa's sales department at (800) 327-2537.

Costa Cruises is Italy's largest tourism group and Europe's Number One Cruise Line.  For more than 60 years its ships have sailed the seas of the world, offering the best in Italian style, hospitality and cuisine and providing dream vacations filled with fun and relaxation. In 2008, 1.2 million guests chose to cruise with Costa, a record for the European cruise industry. The company's 14 fleet members, each with her own distinctive characteristics and unique style, all fly the Italian flag and sail each year to 250 destinations in the Mediterranean, Northern Europe, the Baltic Sea, the Caribbean, South America, the United Arab Emirates, the Far East and the Indian Ocean. Three more new ships are due to enter service by 2012.

Costa Cruises has been certified by RINA (Italian Shipping Register) with the BEST4, an integrated system of voluntary certification of corporate compliance with the highest standards governing social accountability (SA 8000, issued in 2001), environment (UNI EN ISO 14001, 2004), safety (OHSAS 18001, 2007) and quality (UNI EN ISO 9001, 2008). All the ships in the Costa fleet have been assigned RINA's Green Star notation certifying that they are operated in compliance with the highest environmental protection standards. Costa Cruises is an official partner of WWF Italy for the protection of the Mediterranean Sea. In Mediobanca's 2009 survey of over 3,700 Italian enterprises that recorded revenue of at least 50 million Euros the previous fiscal year, Costa Crociere S.p.A. ranks 10th in terms of profitability and 65th in terms of sales. In the "Global Reputation Pulse 2009" international study, Costa Cruises ranked first among Italian "service industry" companies. Pulse scores are a measure of corporate reputation of the 600 largest enterprises located in 32 countries worldwide.

Costa Crociere S.p.A. is a member of Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), the world's largest cruise company.

For more information on Costa Cruises or to make reservations, please contact a travel agent, call (800) GO-COSTA or visit www.costacruises.com. Visit Costa on Facebook at www.facebook.com/costacruises.na.

SOURCE Costa Cruises