MSC Cruises Announces Grand Opening of Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve Set For October 2018

One of the best-loved ports of call on many Caribbean cruises is a day spent at a cruise line’s private island. To satisfy their guests’ desire for that experience, MSC Cruises has previously unveiled ambitious plans to create an unprecedented exclusive marine reserve island in the Bahamas and has now announced that Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve will open in October 2018.

“As we sat out to finalize construction plans for this one-of-a-kind destination, we realized that to ensure the level of quality and attention to details in both infrastructure and services that our guests have rightfully come to expect from MSC Cruises, it was only appropriate to allot a longer time frame,” said Pierfrancesco Vago, executive chairman of MSC Cruises. “In fact, while working on the final project, it was hard not to further enrich this unique beach destination with new and additional unique services for our guests. This naturally called for more time than originally planned. At the same time, I am also pleased to announce that works on the island have already started in earnest, as originally planned.”

The official ground breaking ceremony for Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve will take place on October 6, 2016 in the presence of the Prime Minister of the Bahamas, The Right Honourable Perry G. Christie, and other high dignitaries from the country’s government.

Working in collaboration with the Bahamian Government and ecologists, MSC Cruises is developing the cay from an industrial site into a flourishing marine reserve that will harmoniously co-exist with the local ecosystem. This is a complex project that will transform the local economy base from resource exploitation to resource conservation and provide a unique, authentic Bahamian experience exclusively for MSC Cruises guests. In connection with the expanded set of services that the island will now make available to its guests upon opening, additional works will include, amongst others, much-expanded quarters for the greater number of personnel that will work on the island to receive and serve MSC Cruises guests six days a week.

MSC Seaside and MSC Divina calls to Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve—formerly scheduled between December 2017 and the new date of its grand opening to guests—will be substituted by calls to Nassau. Further details on these and other related itineraries will be communicated separately and in due course.

Image Courtesy MSC Cruises