The brand new cruise ship Costa Pacifica arrived in Malta this morning on its maiden call.

The 290-metre long ship is the latest addition to the Costa Cruises fleet and can carry 3,780 passengers and 1,100 crew.

The ship was christened last Friday along with sister-ship Costa Luminosa and started its week-long Western Mediterranean cruise from Savona on Saturday. The itinerary includes Roma, Savona, Marseille, Barcelona, Palma de Majorca, Tunis and Palermo. It will call at Grand Harbour every Friday throughout the summer.

The ship has 13 bars, four swimming pools along with other sports and fitness facilities, casino, discos, library, shopping centre and a range of restaurants. It even has a grand prix simulator!

Costa Cruises last year carried 1.2 million passengers, a record for the European cruise industry. The company has 14 ships.

According to the European Cruise Council, Malta is the fourth most popular port of call in Europe.

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