MSC double milestone

MSC Cruises has announced that its first Meraviglia-Plus class ship will be named MSC

Grandiosa, with exec chairman Pierfrancesco Vago revealing the title at the STX France shipyard in St Nazaire yesterday.

The cruise line celebrated both the coin ceremony for MSC

Bellissima and the cutting of the first steel for its first MeravigliaPlus class ships, which Vago said marked the “first time that key shipbuilding milestones for two different ships are celebrated on the same day”.

MSC Grandiosa’s name signified “magnificence and grandeur, a fitting name for this even richer, ultra-modern mega-ship,” he said.

The vessel will feature a host of innovations including hybrid power systems, state-of-theart waste management and emission-reducing energy and heat recovery systems.

On board facilities will include what is being promoted as the

first fine art museum at sea, while Grandiosa will also feature a Carousel Lounge, customdesigned to host Cirque du Soleil at Sea.

During the event, two commemorative coins were placed into one of MSC

Bellissima’s blocks and welded (pictured) as a sign of blessing and good fortune for the ship and her crew.

Bellissima is scheduled to enter service in Mar 2019, while

Grandiosa will launch in Nov of the same year. Sales are already available for

MSC Bellissima’s inaugural season and bookings for MSC Grandiosa will open soon.

The new ships are part of MSC Cruises’ €9 billion 10-year investment plan, which will see six of a total of 11 new ships come into service between Jun 2017 and Nov 2020, resulting in a doubling of the MSC Cruises fleet capacity in three and a half years.