Catching Up with Costa Cruises’ Dario Rustico

Costa Cruises has spent the past year reaching out to the travel agency community in North America to find out what it needs to do to strengthen its trade ties in the U.S. and Canada. In 2026, travel advisors will begin to see some of those learnings translated into tangible changes.

That’s according to Dario Rustico, general manager of the Americas at Costa Cruises.

Travel Market Report recently spoke with Rustico to find out what advisors in North America need to know about the Italian cruise line.

Italian Roots, International Experience

When considering what clients might enjoy about a Costa cruise, Rustico emphasized the importance of understanding the line 78-year heritage. Though the brand is now a part of Carnival Corp., it’s first and foremost an Italian company.

“It’s an Italian company, with headquarters based in Genoa and flying an Italian flag,” he said.

But while Costa was “born and raised in Italy,” its development has been “quite global” with large numbers of guests from all over the world including Europe, and Latin and South America.

Expert Listening = Changes Coming

Costa’s international flair doesn’t just influence the onboard experience, Rustico said. It’s also informed how the line has learned to work with the travel trade all over the world.

“Having grown up throughout the decades in different countries has allowed Costa to develop a listening and learning approach,” Rustico explained. “It’s very important to listen and understand how to customize the offer that we do to both our customers and the travel trade partner.”

With the goal of increasing its market share in North America, Costa has spent the past several months “gathering surveys” and “understanding what we need to improve,” Rustico added.

In 2026, Costa will put those learnings into action.

“We are going to deploy a new system for payments and automatic reconciliation,” Rustico said.

In the first half of 2026, Costa will also launch a new academy platform “to make sure that the training is specific for the needs of the North American travel trade.”

The line is also “readjusting” the contact center to “make sure that the service level is in line with what we are agreeing to with our travel partners,” Rustico said. Specifically, Costa is working to make sure that the contact center is faster and more accurate.

Yet more improvements could be on the horizon as well, depending on what the brand hears from travel advisors.

“We are always ready and eager to listen, to learn, to improve,” Rustico said.

Telling the Right Story

Listening to advisors and customers is also about discovering what misconceptions North Americans might have about the brand, particularly because the brand is not well known in the U.S.

(For some, Costa is confused with MSC Cruises. For others, they’re only knowledge of Costa Cruises is the Concordia.)

“When you’re not in [someone’s mind] everyday, there are certain ideas that can develop… it is precisely our job to make sure that this doesn’t happen and our offer is clearly understood.”

Part of making this happen is to get travel advisors onboard Costa sailings, Rustico said, adding this is especially important because of how international Costa ships are.

“It’s not a regular North American brand,” he said. “It’s very important for us to make sure that everybody that goes onboard our ships is aware that there are a wide array of different nationalities and different languages.”

To that end, Costa has put in place a FAM program “to make sure travel agents can experience our product, see firsthand what we offer and the uniqueness of our offer. You can tell as much as you want, but it’s much easier to see it with your own eyes.”

Costa will offer a series of Seminars at Sea in 2026, with the first one scheduled for March.

TMR asked Rustico who is eligible for these FAMs.

“We are open to everybody that is willing and eager to learn and to work with us to promote the Costa brand,” he said. He added that while many of the spots will got to advisors who were specifically invited, they are open to anyone who shows a genuine interest.

“We are with our arms open to welcome everybody that wants to learn more,” he said.

The Costa Guest

Because the onboard Costa experience is different from what most North American cruisers are familiar with, TMR asked Rustico, who is the right client for Costa Cruises?

The main characteristics of the perfect Costa guest, he said, are curiosity and openness.

“Travelers that are open to international environments and an international crowed that are willing and curious to learn about other cultures. Curiosity is a very important aspect because you need to be curious, willing to and thirsty to learn from other cultures and see how they act…,” he said.

He added that it’s “very enriching” to travel with people from different cultures “where you can learn a lot and absorb lots of knowledge.”

Rustico told TMR he believes “there are a lot [of people] in America that are willing, eager to learn, and to see things differently. They don’t want a copy and paste of the same…”

Caribbean Done Differently

During our conversation, Rustico pointed out other differences between Costa and other cruise lines. For instance, while Costa might not be top of mind when thinking about Caribbean cruising, the brand does maintain a presence in the Caribbean. It just does things a bit differently.

“Post-COVID, we decided to diversify our strategy in the Caribbean,” Rustico explained.

Instead of cruising out of Miami or Fort Lauderdale, like so many other cruise lines do, Costa offers cruise out of the Dominican Republic, with itineraries that start in either Romana or Santo Domingo. Cruises can also embark some of these itineraries in Guadalupe.

“We wanted to offer something a little bit different from the regular cruises out of Miami and Fort Lauderdale. With these departing from the Dominican Republic, we can touch different places that are not so easy to reach from Miami,” Rustico said.

He added that while the D.R. might be farther away than the typical U.S.  homeport, it’s still “very close” to the U.S., being a “just a few hours flight” for many cruisers.

“Sea & Land” Program

Rustico also spoke with TMR about Costa’s unique “Sea & Land” program, a concept the cruise line introduced in early 2025 featuring exclusive experiences that can only be had “at sea” and which Rustico said exponentially enrich the overall cruise experience.

This might include stopping in the middle of the ocean and turning off the lights for perfect stargazing or spending the night in Ibiza with an Ibiza-based DJ brought on to the ship for an Ibiza-style dance party.

“We have a lot of these moments, these at-sea destinations that have been created and are executed in a very special way,” he said.

The concept has proven to be successful, with Net Promote Scores (NPS) for these “magic moments” coming in at “extremely high” levels.