23 June 2015 – MSC Cruises has announced that sales for the inaugural summer 2017 cruises of MSC Meraviglia, its first next generation of ship, will open today for an exclusive two week pre-sale.
Sales for cruises aboard this ground breaking 315-m long ship will first open exclusively to MSC Club members, as befits a programme that rewards and best serves loyalty guests across MSC Cruises’ growing fleet. Then, on the 5th of July, sales will open to the public to meet the already strong demand from other cruise lovers and experienced travellers.
The dedicated webpage for MSC Cruises’ newest next-generation ship is available here.
Gianni Onorato, Chief Executive Officer of MSC Cruises, declared: “The opening of sales marks yet another decisive milestone in MSC Cruises’ expansion plan, especially as MSC Meraviglia’s inaugural cruise will take place in two years’ time. MSC Meraviglia is a true maritime marvel and will be one of the greenest and safest ships in the industry, as well as one of the most technologically advanced”.
“We are thrilled to offer MSC Club members the first pick to book their unique holiday experience so far in advance, another way in which we provide best-in-class service. This ship is perfect for cruising year-round in any destination almost everywhere around the world in outstanding comfort and style. The demand we are seeing for our product translates the eagerness with which MSC Meraviglia is awaited” he added.
MSC Meraviglia will be the biggest and most innovative cruise ship ever built by a global European-based cruise line. The cutting-edge 5,700-guest, 167,600-GRT ship — due to be delivered in May 2017—will spend her first summer sailing the western Mediterranean, and will be the first to have three homeports: Genoa, Marseille and Barcelona. MSC Meraviglia will be perfectly able to call at any cruise port in the world, meaning travellers from the more than 150 countries from which MSC Cruises sources its guests will be able to explore more of the best destinations.
MSC Meraviglia will be a ship full of cutting-edge technology and will feature a range of services ranging from ‘Near Field Communication’ technology to mobile applications and the use of smart devices throughout the ship, thus enabling guests to interact with the ship and the onboard community or select and plan their activities. This technology will also allow guests to make payments, access their cabins or geo-locate children, friends and onboard locations using their cruise card or smartphone. Another jaw-dropping feature, and an industry first, will be a 480-square-metre LED screen, which forms the entire ceiling of the ship’s interior promenade. Like a digital sky, this LED image vault will beam out compelling images and vistas day and night – including highly impactful visual events – creating a variety of powerful atmospheres at all times.
With such an innovative ship, the Company also introduces new cabins that will enhance the holiday experience, with specially crafted Family and Super Family cabins, duplex cabins and an extended MSC Yacht Club, the wholly self-contained luxury area on the prestigious foredecks, a vast solarium and a private lounge and restaurant. She will be packed with extraordinary features that make it ideal for cruising all year-round in any destination, including wide dining options and entertainment choices, stunning panoramic spaces, a large theatre and a spectacular amusement park linked to an outdoor aqua park, as well as a three-deck interior promenade.
MSC Meraviglia is the first of two identical ships on order from STX France, the second of which will be entered in to service in 2019. In addition, MSC Cruises has options for two further Vista project ships to be delivered by 2022.
In other news, MSC cruises yesterday proceeded to the steel-cutting of the first of its other new generation of ships, MSC Seaside, during a ceremony held at Fincantieri’s shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy. The ship is set to debut in November 2017, and will be christened the following month in Miami – the first time an MSC Cruises’ ship is christened in the USA. In addition, MSC Cruises’ Miami-based cruise operations – which include from autumn 2015 the stunning 139.072 GRT MSC Divina – will benefit from a newly renovated and expanded dedicated berth and terminal at PortMiami, further signifying the Company’s strong ambitions in the North American market and to providing guests with a best-in-class quality of services.
SOURCE MSC Cruises