The 16th and 17th vessels to join to range of luxury ships in the Costa Cruises brand have been named after a worldwide search which saw some 16,000 suggestions received from cruise fans and travel agents.

The two new ships will be called the Costa Fascinosa and the Costa Favolosa and will be launched over the next two years. The final decision on the names was based upon how well the Costa concepts of emotion, glamour, passion and magic were reflected in their title.

The addition of the sister ships is part of an overall expansion strategy for Costa Cruises, which brings to five the number of new ships to be released by 2012. The Favolosa and Fascinosa, which both offer occupancy of up to 3,000, will join the Costa Pacifica, the Costa Luminosa and Costa Deliziosa in a package worth around 2.4 billion Euros.

The names were initially provided by travel agents who the company asked to send in a sea of names for the two new ships. Sixteen thousand pairs of names were submitted with the top 25 placed onto the company’s website for voting by site visitors. Over 42,000 votes were recorded.

The Favolosa is designed to reflect an enchanted castle while the Fascinosa seeks to ignite passion and emotion.

Costa Cruises are certified with the Italian Shipping Register which ensures the highest operating standards and also have green star accreditation making them compliant with environmental principles. The group recorded revenue of over 50 million Euros last year and was ranked 12th in terms of profitability.