New MSC cruise ship set for Miami debut
The biggest cruise ship debuting in Florida this year is nearly on its way as MSC Cruises took delivery of MSC Seaside at a ceremony in Italy.
The new class of ship that can hold 5,119 passengers at maximum capacity will begin year-round Caribbean sailing from PortMiami later this month.
“MSC Seaside coming into service marks another key milestone in the history and future of our company,” said MSC Cruises Executive Chairman Pierfrancesco Vago. “But she also embodies a pivotal moment for the industry. In fact, she is the first ship of the fifth new prototype that we bring into service and introduces a whollyinnovative product that sets a new standard for the industry to follow. The Seaside Class of ships is designed to bring guests closer to the sea and to operate in sunny waters, while continuing to push the boundaries of maritime and guest-centric technology.”
The ceremony took place at the Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy, where MSC Seaside’s sister ship MSC Seaview is also taking shape and is due in six months.
At 153,516 gross registered tons, MSC Seaside is the largest ship the company has sailed in North America. It will join MSC Divina in Miami for winter sailings and have its naming ceremony on Dec. 21.
Among its unique features are an interactive water park with five slides, one of which will be part-slide, part-video game. The 1,059-foot-long, 134-foot-wide ship’s design also features 463,000 square feet of public space, including 11 dining venues, a double-deck atrium with glass walls offering views of the ocean, waterfront promenade and the line’s largest ship-within-a-ship concept, the MSC Yacht Club, which offers a private lounge, pool and solarium.
One of those restaurants is Asian Market Kitchen by celebrity chef Roy Yamaguchi.
“The great opportunity that I’m having with MSC is that we’re building this from scratch,” Yamaguchi said in 2016. “So I’m building the kitchen that I really want on board the ship to represent the cooking I want to give to the guests.”
MSC Seaside is the second ship to join the MSC fleet this year, coming on the heels of the even larger MSC Meraviglia, which will also make its way to North America by 2019.
Also announced at the delivery ceremony was that MSC, which had an option to contract for a third Seaside-class ship, has instead opted to sign up for two new ships, which the company has dubbed Seaside EVO ships. These will be larger than the Seaside class at a planned 169,380 gross registered tons and a maximum capacity of 5,646 passengers. The two ships are planned for delivery in 2021 and 2023.
The company now sails 14 ships all built since 2003 with 11 more on order through 2026.
“As we are nearing the end of 2017, we can look back on a year when we enjoyed unprecedented capacity growth,” Vago said. “With two of the more innovative new ships in the industry having come into service in the past six months and now with the addition of two Seaside EVO ships to our investment plan, we are now even better positioned to further extend our global footprint.”