''Costa Pacifica'' is a ''Concordia''-class

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as "s ...

for

Costa Crociere S.p.A. (), operating as Costa Cruises, is an Italian cruise line founded in 1854 and organized as a wholly owned subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc since 2000. Based in Genoa, Italy, the cruise line primarily caters to the Italian cruise ...

. She was handed over to Costa Crociere on 29 May 2009. Her sister ships, ''

Costa Concordia ''Costa Concordia'' () was a cruise ship operated by Costa Crociere. She was the first of her class, followed by sister ships ''Costa Serena'', ''Costa Pacifica'', ''Costa Favolosa'' and ''Costa Fascinosa'', and ''Carnival Splendor'' built for ...

'' and ''

Costa Serena ''Costa Serena'' is a for the Italian cruise line, Costa Crociere. The name Serena was intended to symbolize harmony and serenity. ''Costa Serena'' was constructed by Fincantieri in Sestri Ponente. She had an older sister ship, , launched in ...

'', were launched in 2006 and in 2007, with ''

Costa Favolosa ''Costa Favolosa'' is a cruise ship ordered for Costa Crociere in October 2007. Based on the design, ''Costa Favolosa'' was laid down by Fincantieri's Marghera shipyard on 5 November 2009 and launched on 6 August 2010. Part of a five-ship expan ...

'' and ''

Costa Fascinosa ''Costa Fascinosa'' is a that was ordered in October 2007 for Costa Crociere. Based on the ''Concordia''-class design, ''Costa Fascinosa'' was constructed by Fincantieri's Marghera shipyard in Venice. Part of a five-ship expansion of the Costa C ...

'' launched in 2011 and 2012 respectively.

Concept and construction

''Costa Pacifica'' is the third ship of the ''Concordia''-class, preceded by sister ships ''

'' and ''

'' and was followed by ''

'' and ''

'' on 2011 and 2012, all part of the expansion program of Costa which entailed an investment of 2.4 billion

Euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

, and is currently the largest fleet expansion program in the world. ''Costa Pacifica'' was ordered on 14 December 2005, by

Carnival Corporation Carnival is a Catholic Church, Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgy, liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (o ...

, the parent company of Costa Crociere. The bow section of ''Costa Pacifica'' was built at the

Fincantieri Fincantieri S.p.A. () is an Italian shipbuilding company based in Trieste, Italy. Already the largest shipbuilder in Europe, after the acquisition of Vard in 2013, Fincantieri group doubled in size to become the fourth largest in the world (2014 ...

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

shipyard and was launched on 24 July 2007. The section was then towed to Fincantieri's Sestri Ponente in August 2007 for further work, which also marked the announcement of the ships name. She was launched at Fincantieri's Sestri Ponente shipyard on 30 June 2008. She returned to Sestri Ponente from her sea trials on 30 March 2009, for the fitting-out process.Costa Luminosa and Pacifica getting ready for their record-breaking debut
''Cruise Industry News''. 30 March 2009. Retrieved 8 May 2010 Almost 3,000 workers helped in the construction of ''Costa Pacifica''. She was later christened at

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

on 5 June 2009, in a dual christening ceremony, together with ''Costa Luminosa''.

Amenities

''Costa Pacifica'' has 1,504 passenger cabins of various sizes. There are five dining areas, thirteen bars, four swimming pools, various water and health related facilities and a theater. ''Costa Pacifica'' is also the first cruise ship to have an onboard recording studio.Costa Pacifica delivered
''Cruise Industry News''. 29 May 2009. Retrieved 8 May 2010

Operation history

The maiden voyage of ''Costa Pacifica'' was on 6 June 2009, an eight-day cruise and departed in

Savona Savona (; lij, Sann-a ) is a seaport and ''comune'' in the west part of the northern Italy, Italian region of Liguria, capital of the Province of Savona, in the Riviera di Ponente on the Mediterranean Sea. Savona used to be one of the chie ...

, with a special 48-hour layover in

Palma de Mallorca Palma (; ; also known as ''Palma de Mallorca'', officially between 1983–88, 2006–08, and 2012–16) is the capital and largest city of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. It is situate ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. In the entire 2009 summer season, ''Costa Pacifica'' offered seven day cruises in the Western Mediterranean, with calls at

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Marseilles Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, Palma,

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

and

. During the 2009-2010 winter season, ''Costa Pacifica'' departed from Rome and Savona, offering 10- and 11-day cruises in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. In Summer 2010, she offered seven day cruises in the Western Mediterranean, with calls at Rome, Savona, Barcelona, Palma, Tunis, Malta and

Catania Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...

Incidents and accidents

On 11 December 2012 ''Costa Pacifica'' struck a piling while maneuvering into dock at the Port of

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The cause of the damage is blamed on heavy wind, an gash was left on her hull above the waterline. Her itinerary was not delayed.

References

External links

*
Ship Builder's Page On ''Costa Pacifica''

{{Concordia class 2008 ships Maritime incidents in 2012 Ships built by Fincantieri Ships of Costa Cruises