''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 Tourism, tours k ...

for Costa Crociere. She was handed over to Costa Crociere on 29 May 2009. Her sister ships, '' Costa Concordia'' and '' Costa Serena'', were launched in 2006 and in 2007, with '' Costa Favolosa'' and '' Costa Fascinosa'' launched in 2011 and 2012 respectively.

Concept and construction

''Costa Pacifica'' is the third ship of the ''Concordia''-class, preceded by sister ships '' Costa Concordia'' and '' Costa Serena'' and was followed by '' Costa Favolosa'' and '' Costa Fascinosa'' on 2011 and 2012, all part of the expansion program of Costa which entailed an investment of 2.4 billion

Euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...

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

Carnival Corporation Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...

, 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 ( ; ; , 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 province. The ...

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 ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

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 (; ) is a seaport and (municipality) in the west part of the northern Italian region of Liguria, and the capital of the Province of Savona. Facing the Ligurian Sea, Savona is the main center of the Riviera di Ponente (the western se ...

, with a special 48-hour layover in

Palma de Mallorca Palma (, ; ), also known as Palma de Mallorca (officially between 1983 and 1988, 2006–2008, and 2012–2016), is the capital and largest city of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. It is ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

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

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of 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 c ...

, Palma,

Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

and

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

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

and

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. 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 on Sicily, after Palermo, both by area and by population. Despite being the second city of the island, Catania is the center of the most densely populated Sicilian conurbation, wh ...

Incidents and accidents

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