She is the first vessel of the "Concordia" ship class, with sisters "Costa Serena", "Costa Pacifica", "Costa Favolosa", "Costa Fascinosa" and "Carnival Splendor" built for Carnival Cruise Lines. "Costa Concordia" entered service in July 2006 and was one of the largest ships to be built in Italy, at . The later "Carnival Dream" class weighed 130,000 GRT, and are also built in Fincantieri.