It was an absolutely stunning day in Bergen last summer when Costa Pacifica docked at Bontelabo. The following photos were taken as she made her departure from the city on 08/07/14.
I have now updated this post with additional photos and information, as I work to refresh the archive of photos taken before this blog was up and running.
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| Close-ups of Costa Pacifica alongside in Bergen |
Costa Pacifica was built in Italy in 2008/09. She is the third of Costa's Concordia-Class ships, following on from her ill-fated sister Costa Concordia.
With a length of 290m and a gross tonnage of 114,500 she can accommodate up to 3780 passengers, served by a crew of 1100.
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| The sun cast some wonderful reflections on her hull |
With little to distinguish between the majority of large ships in Costa's fleet, Costa Pacifica settled easily into her service role, and has had a reasonably successful career to date.
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| Deck workers stand by as Costa Pacifica swings away from her berth |
Probably the only significant incident was a collision with a piling whilst docking in Marseille in December 2012. This cut an 8-foot gash in the side of her hull (see a photo in the Cruise Law News article
here). Thankfully the damage was superficial, and Costa Pacifica was able to continue without serious delay.
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| Also in port was Phoenix Reisen's cruise ship Albatros |
Despite being modern and 'blocky' in design, Costa Pacifica is (along with her many sisters and near-sisters across the brands of parent company Carnival) a reasonably attractive ship, with her smartly angled superstructure going some way to disguise and soften her apartment-block-like features.
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| Costa Pacifica's imposing bow towers over the quayside |
As she pulled away from her berth at Bontelabo the bright sun was reflected back up onto her hull, making for some great shots of her turning ready for departure.
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| The dark shadows and clear skies emphasise Costa Pacifica's smart profile |
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| The glass on the balconies catches the light |
After putting her bow in the right direction, she slipped smoothly out into byfjorden, passing under the Askøy bridge before continuing on to her next port of call.
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| Costa Pacifica eases her way into the fjords |
Costa Pacifica is scheduled to call into Bergen five times during the 2015 season, so expect to see her featured on this blog again soon.
Now, that's a big boat!
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