Costa Cruises has said it is returning a third ship back to cruise operations in a further sign of recovery for the battered cruise market.

The 183,900-gt Costa Smeralda (built 2020), the Italian line’s new flagship, will kick off with a one-week voyage sailing on 10 October.

The LNG-fuelled ship will call at the Italian towns of Savona, La Spezia and Cagliari, followed by Naples, Messina and Civitavecchia.