[16][9] Costa Smeralda derives its design and technical template from the original prototype of the Helios class, which would later come to form AIDAnova.

[18][3] 4 July 2018 marked the beginning of the ship's hull assembly with the keel laying and coin ceremonies.

[19] A separate round of sea trials began on 16 November 2019 and was successfully completed shortly thereafter.

[24] Her christening ceremony was scheduled to be on 3 November 2019 in Savona, after which she would begin cruising the Western Mediterranean.

[25] On 29 October 2019, Meyer Turku announced a second postponement in delivery for Costa Smeralda and restated the complexities as the reason for driving the project's timeline beyond the planned schedule.

[7] She officially debuted on 21 December 2019 from Savona for her inaugural cruise, calling in Marseille, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Civitavecchia, and La Spezia.

[28] From April 2021 to October 2021, Costa Smeralda was scheduled to cruise in the Persian Gulf from Dubai for the first time.

[29] In January 2020, the vessel and her 6,000 passengers were quarantined at the Italian port of Civitavecchia following two suspected cases of SARS-CoV-2 (coronavirus) infection related to the COVID-19 pandemic.