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Agents tour MSC Divina, train on MSC Book during maiden NYC call

MSC Cruises
MSC Divina pays first visit to New York
More than 900 travel agents toured MSC Divina during the ship's maiden call at New York City on Wednesday and Thursday.

The occasion was marked by a plaques and keys ceremony and facilitated a briefing for retailers by MSC Cruises USA executives and training in the new MSC Book online reservations system.

MSC Divina Capt. Pier Paola Scala; Elizabeth Shearin, vp cruise operations for the New York City Economic Development Corp.; and Kenneth Winkler, general manager for Ports America, exchanged plaques during a ceremony watched by several hundred agents.

MSC Cruises USA president Rick Sasso and Ken Muskat, evp sales, public relations & guest services, briefed agents on the company's growth plans, particularly its aggressive expansion strategy for North America.

Agents also were able to participate in an hour-long demonstration of the newly unveiled MSC Book and to give the system a try.

MSC Divina stopped overnight at the Manhattan Cruise Terminal as part of a repositioning cruise to the Mediterranean for the summer season.

Passengers will be able to embark at Civitavecchia (Rome) on Saturdays or Barcelona on Wednesdays for cruises to La Spezia, a late-night stay affording the ability to visit Pisa, Florence, Portofino and Cinque Terre, and Palma de Mallorca, also a late-night stay, as well as Naples, for access to Pompeii, Capri, Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast.

Upon MSC Divina's return from the Mediterranean in November, the ship will sail year-round to the Caribbean from PortMiami.