The Grimaldi Group keeps expanding its presence in Sardinia: starting from next April, the Savona-Porto Torres maritime connection will start operating, with the ro/pax vessel Zeus Palace (CruiseMapper) being deployed on the route.
From 11 April until 1 July 2022 and then again from 19 September to 31 December 2022, the new route will operate three times a week, departing from Savona every Tuesday and Thursday at 8.30 pm and every Saturday at 6.30 pm. Departures from Porto Torres are scheduled every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, always at 8.30 pm. During the summer season, and precisely from 2 July to 18 September 2022, the number of weekly departures will rise to six in both directions. Until 13 August, from Monday to Saturday, departures are scheduled from Savona at 10.00 pm and from Porto Torres at 10.00 am. From 14 August departure times will be reversed, with sailings from Savona at 10.00 am and from Porto Torres at 10.00 pm.
In the low season (11/4 - 1/7 and 19/9 - 31/12) a weekly call is also scheduled in Cagliari, where the ship, coming from and heading to Porto Torres, will arrive every Saturday at 8.00 pm and then depart at 11.59 pm.
The ro/pax vessel Zeus Palace flies the Italian flag and can carry up to 1,720 passengers and about 2,000 linear meters of rolling freight (cars, vans, trucks, semi-trailers, etc.).
The ship has 202 cabins (for a total of 796 beds) of various types (inside, oceanview and superior-class), all with en suite facilities and air conditioning, some of which are equipped for passengers with reduced mobility. In addition, with the purchase of a special pet kit, all cabins can accommodate pets traveling in tow. In addition, the lounge has 212 comfortable reclining seats. The services and facilities offered on board include the self-service restaurant, cafeterias, swimming pool with solarium, shops, children's play area and evening entertainment with live music.
Besides being large and comfortable, the Zeus Palace is a modern unit with a high environmental performance, thanks to the application of top-of-the-range silicone paints on the hull, to the optimized propulsion system with innovative blade profile and to the exhaust gas cleaning system that reduces sulphur and particulate emissions.
"Sardinia has been at the centre of our investments for years as part of our broad strategy that aims at territorial continuity between mainland Italy and the country’s major islands," said Emanuele Grimaldi, Managing Director of the Neapolitan shipping group. "With the launch of the Savona-Porto Torres line, we add a new, efficient service to our network: a further, important opportunity for all our customers who travel or transport freight between Northern Italy and Sardinia".
The Grimaldi Group currently operates an articulated network of maritime connections to and from Sardinia. These include the historic Civitavecchia-Porto Torres-Barcelona route and other regular lines for the transport of both freight and passengers, such as Civitavecchia-Olbia, Naples-Cagliari-Palermo and Civitavecchia-Arbatax-Cagliari, as well as numerous freight only services linking Porto Torres with Genoa, and Cagliari with Genoa, Livorno, Salerno and Valencia/Sagunto.