Costa Fascinosa

300px Costa Fascinosa close to Corfu
History
Italy
Name:	Costa Fascinosa
Owner:	Carnival Corporation & plc
Operator:	Costa Crociere
Ordered:	October 2007
Builder:	Fincantieri, at Marghera, Venice
Cost:	510 million euro
Laid down:	3 September 2010
Maiden voyage:	6 May 2012
In service:	2012
Status:	Operational
General characteristics
Class & type:	Modified Concordia class cruise ship
Tonnage:	114,500 gross ton
Capacity:	3,780 passengers

Costa Fascinosa is a Concordia-class cruise ship 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 Crociere fleet, the vessel entered service on 6 May 2012. She was Costa Crociere's flagship until the Costa Diadema entered service.

Design and construction

Costa Fascinosa and sister ship Costa Favolosa were ordered in October 2007 as part of a 2.4 billion euro expansion of the Costa Crociere fleet, with five ships entering service between 2009 and 2012 to increase the company's passenger capacity by 50%. Costa Fascinosa cost 510 million euro to build.

The names of the two ships were selected via competition. The first phase saw 16,000 pairs of names submitted by travel agents and their customers from around the world, after being asked to suggest names that . These names were to evoke the idea that the ships were "magical" and "glamorous" places. 25 name pairs were shortlisted and placed on the company's website, where over 42,000 visitors voted on their favourite. Favolosa (Italian for "fabulous") and Fascinosa ("fascinating" or "glamorous") were selected as the winning name pair.

The vessel is based on the Concordia class design already in service with Costa Crociere. Upon completion, the vessel measured 114,500 gross tons. She carries up to 3,780 passengers in 1,506 cabins; six more than previous Concordia class ships.

Costa Fascinosa is the sixteenth ship in service with Costa Crociere. She was laid down on 3 September 2010 and was delivered to Costa Cruises on 5 May 2012.

Operational history

Costa Fascinosa entered service on 6 May 2012, sailing on a preview cruise before entering regular service on 11 May, cruising to the eastern Mediterranean. She will be transferred to South America in November 2012, before returning to the eastern Mediterranean for the summer 2013 season.

Bardo National Museum attack

Main article: Bardo National Museum attack

On 18 March 2015, Costa Fascinosa was in port along with MSC Splendida in Tunis when gunmen opened fire on tourists at the Bardo National Museum, including several on a tour bus from the Costa Fascinosa. Five passengers from the ship were killed, eight passengers were injured.

At the invitation of Costa Cruises, Apostleship of the Sea - the Catholic Church's mission that provides pastoral care for seafarers - held a Mass on board the ship on 21 March 2015 for surviving passengers and crew members. The Mass was celebrated by Bishop Joseph Kalathiparambil, Secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants.

External links

• Official website