Costa being "Chartered" what does this mean?

[NWHairGal]

I've been reading that Costa can be "chartered" by another company during certain sailings.  Could someone explain what this means, I've never heard of this before.  What differences would you notice as a guest, and how do I figure out if my sailing is "chartered" by a different company?  TY

Edited August 11, 2019 by NWHairGal

[Janet&Carl]

This means that someone else is running the cruise and not Costa- does not usually affect a cruise except you might have a big contingent of passengers that may be on a conference or something.   Or it might be a particular type of cruise for instance a "rock and roll" music cruise. The staff - the food etc... is usually the same.  Certain areas such as a lounge bar might be used by the charter an off limits to everyone else.  But it does not usually affect you.  We once went on a "charter" we didnt know until everyone was walking around in square dancing costumes - it was a square dancing convention - some of the dance rooms were closed to other passengers but otherwise we didn't notice anything different.

 

You may not every know if you are booking a "special" cruise - the only way I can think of to avoid it is to book directly with Costa - they would only sell their own cruises.

 

 

Edited August 12, 2019 by Janet&Carl

[Dancer Bob]

"Charter" is usually taken to mean "whole-ship charter" where the whole ship is booked for a criuise, not just a large group on board. You can only book through the chartering organisation, which provides for whatever special interest is involved. Ships may also be used as temporary hotel space during a special event or long-term to another line, but the term usually used is lease, which has more specific tax and accounting meaning. All companies do it if the price is right, it's hard to know exactly what was meant without the original article.