MSC Cruises Reveals New Vista Class Ships

MSC Cruises has marked a key milestone in its $5.4 billion growth plan as the first steel for its new Vista generation of megaships was cut this week at STX France, during a ceremony in Saint-Nazaire. At the steel-cutting ceremony, MSC Cruises Executive Chairman Pierfrancesco Vago revealed that the cutting-edge 4,500 guest (double occupancy), 167,600-GRT ship—due to be delivered in May 2017 and open for bookings from June 2015—will be named MSC Meraviglia. She 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 the biggest and most innovative cruise ship ever built by a global European-based cruise line,” said Vago. “We chose a name that denotes the sense of awe and wonderment felt when you experience the ship’s stunning features, which only an MSC cruise, with its unique Mediterranean-style, can deliver. MSC Meraviglia brings together the industry know-how of MSC Cruises, a young, bold company built upon 300 years of seafaring tradition and the expertise of one of the most advanced shipyards in the world. Today, building started on a true maritime marvel.”

Among the ships’ features will be specially crafted ‘cluster cabins’ for families and an extended MSC Yacht Club, the wholly self-contained luxury area on the prestigious foredecks, which will be enhanced with duplex suites, a vast solarium and a private lounge and restaurant. They will be packed with extraordinary features that make them ideal for cruising in summer and winter, 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 will also feature a range of technological advancements, such as ‘Near Field Communication’ technology, enabling guests to do things like make onboard payments, access their staterooms or geo-locate children, simply by using their cruise card, bracelet or smartphone. Another jaw-dropping feature will be a 5,167 square foot 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 scheduled visual events–creating a variety of powerful atmospheres at all times.

Designed for unrivalled agility, MSC Meraviglia and the other upcoming Vista project ships will be able to call at any cruise port in the world, meaning guests from around the world will be able to explore more of the best destinations on one of MSC Cruises’ next generation ships. 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. The Vista project is the result of a lengthy development process under STX’s ECORIZON® program to create cleaner, smarter, more efficient ships. They will be water emission free, and their hulls and propulsion systems will be optimized for extreme energy efficiency. Scrubber technology will neutralize fumes and CO2 emissions in accordance with the latest international maritime regulations. In addition, the ship is fully compliant with the Safe return to Port requirement.

Image Courtesy MSC Cruises