The excitement had begun earlier in the week as hundreds of travel agents and press boarded the Costa Pacifica in Savona, Italy for a short pre-inaugural cruise. The Costa Pacifica had been delivered to Costa by the Fincantieri shipyard in Genoa just three days earlier, and we were the first passengers to sail on the new ship. The ship stayed overnight in Savona, allowing us time to explore the new vessel, which is a sister ship to the Costa Concordia launched in 2006 and the Costa Serena launched in 2007. We also did a day trip from Savona to Santa Margherita and Portofino, two lovely Ligurian coastal towns. Costa Pacifica then tested her sea legs on an overnight cruise to Barcelona, returning to Genoa the afternoon before the christening.
When the Costa Pacifica arrived in Genoa, we could already see finishing touches being added to the temporary amphitheater on the dock. The Costa Luminosa arrived at midday on the day of the christening, and she moored on the opposite side of the amphitheater. Seeing the two new ships (the Costa Luminosa had been delivered to Costa less than a month earlier) docked across the pier from each other was quite a sight.
The inaugural day of June 5 started with a press conference featuring all of the key players in the construction of the new ships, along with various levels of government representatives. At the conference, Mr. Pier Luigi Foschi, Chairman and CEO of Costa Crociere announced an investment of 550 million euros in the company by the European Investment Bank. This loan will be used to finance the four new Costa vessels launched between 2009 and 2012.
That afternoon, passengers from the Costa Pacifica and Costa Luminosa streamed back and forth between the two new ships. It was great fun to see the similarities and differences between them. The two most obvious differences are the size and the decor. The Costa Luminosa is 92,600 tons and carries 2826 passengers. The Costa Pacifica is 114,500 tons and carries 3780 passengers. Although Carnival Corporation designer Joe Farcus is responsible for the interiors of both ships, they look quite different. The Costa Pacifica is the "ship of music", and is filled with music and musical visuals like violins and music notes and clefs. Each public space has its own theme music, as do the cabin decks. As you move from space to space, the sounds change, and you can tell where you are by the music being played. The Costa Luminosa is the "ship of light", featuring lots of marble and Murano glass fixtures. She is a new class of Costa ship and is the company's most exclusive and innovative. Her decor is more subdued than the Costa Pacifica. Both ships are beautiful and were built in Genoa by Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri, using 6000 workers and over 900 million euros.
Late in the afternoon, the passengers on both ships gathered on the upper decks for an air show presented by Frecce Tricolori, the Italian Air Force's national aerobatics team. The 313th Aerobatics Training Squadron have represented Italy well while entertaining millions since the 1950's. Currently the team has 90 men and 10 aircraft.
For about 30 minutes the nine planes streaked overhead, showing the red, green, and white colors of the Italian flag and performing a variety of terrifying (for those of us on the ground) manuevers. It was a great way to start the festivities and get everyone in a party mood.
Following the air show and cocktail party, Costa served a gala inaugural dinner in the two restaurants on the Costa Pacifica. The Italian menu was supervised by two Michelin-star chefs--Ettore Bocchia, Executive Chef at the Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni in Bellagio, and Pino Cuttala, chef at the Ristorante La Madia in Licata. Bocchia also serves as the Costa Cruises Corportate Chef R&D. The menu was superb and mouth-watering, featuring:
- smoked swordfish with wild thyme, marinated in oil, with a tomato, garlic and oregano sauce, couscous with Trapanese Pesto and croutons;
- pheasant and broad bean ravioli;
- herb-crusted Kobe beef with baby pak choi, fondant potatoes and sweet and sour peppers;
- fillet of wild scorpion fish with parsley sauce, sprinkled with finely mixed breadcrumbs, black olives and artichokes, and served with mashed potatoes; and
- Sicily and Piedmont parfait with orange marmalade and Barolo Chinato wine.
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