A grand entrance for MSC Cruises’ newest ship

Designed to ensure even cleaner air emissions and improved overall environmental performance both at sea and ashore, the vessel will be named in Hamburg Saturday evening where it has been berthed for the past four days, following its handover in France.

Extensive intro

The 331mtr long, 2,421 lower berth ship capable of carrying up to 6,634 passengers is part way through a series of celebrations and introductions, spanning 27 days, eight countries and 11 ports and welcoming onboard over 14,000 travel agents from around the world in MSC Cruises’ most extensive new ship introduction.

Signature features and more

15mtr longer than MSC Meraviglia and MSC Bellissima, the newcomer has many of the signature features found on these such as the two deck Yacht Club, Marketplace Buffet, Jean-Philippe Chocolat & café, Masters of the Sea British pub, Aurea Spa, Cirque du Soleil at Sea and virtual digital cruise assistant – ZOE – in every cabin, but the extra length has enabled a reconfiguration of some of the public areas and some new additions.

Beating heart of the ship

The beating heart of the ship, both in the day and evening, is the 93mtr-long Mediterranean Promenade lined with shops and restaurants including a much larger French bistrot featuring 26 original etchings from Edgar Degas’ Danse Dessin series and a prime spot for a larger HOLA! Tapas Bar by two-starred Michelin Chef Ramón Freixa.

The 1,200sq mtr of dedicated retail space features 12 boutiques selling brand names such as Bally and Salvatore Ferragamo plus a dedicated area for the MSC Foundation launched this week and a new restaurant Il Campo, serving same food as in the main dining restaurants but in a smaller, quieter setting for guests purchasing the Aurea Experience package.

Elsewhere, there is a larger dedicated children’s area designed in partnership with Chicco and LEGO, and in the Sportsplex the Drone Academy and Spy Mission for teenagers.

Carousel Lounge additions

New elements in the Carousel Lounge on MSC Grandiosa include the addition of 80 kinetic LED spheres spread across the space to provide depth and a visual background for the audience sitting across the room and a new 2mtr lift in the centre of the 360° rotating stage developed by Cirque du Soleil to bring more focus on the solo ground for the juggling act for COSMOS and the contortion act on EXENTRICKS - the two new shows designed specially for the ship.