'We wanted to work with Fincantieri, we got closer and today our relations are solid,' said Pierfrancesco Vago, executive chairman, MSC Cruises.
Along with the second ship, MSC Seaview, the company has an option for a third vessel which it will carefully evaluate during 2017 to look for further innovative enhancements, Vago said.
MSC has until the end of 2017 to pick up the option, so it could wait to see how MSC Seaside turns out since that first ship's delivery is scheduled for roughly a year from now.
Fincantieri ceo Giuseppe Bono said the builder has worked hard on this ambitious order to provide the shipowner an innovative product that meets his modern cruise vision.
Now the suppliers for the interiors, including cabins and systems, will come aboard to begin their work, according to engineer Agostino Vidulli, vice director of production at Monfalcone shipyard. At the height of activities there will be up to 3,500 people on the ship, between Fincantieri workers and suppliers.
The builder plans a first engine start-up in January, in preparation for the sea trials at the end of August or early September. Sea trials are expected to take MSC Seaside down the Adriatic and up to Palermo shipyard, where it will go into drydock to be readied for contractual acceptance trials before returning to Monfalcone and the outfitting is completed.
The ship's 323-meter length dictated it go to Palermo’s refit and repair facilities since the dock that's usually used, at Trieste San Marco, is only 295 meters long.
According to Vago, MSC Seaside's hand-over and the Fincantieri-led workforce will be celebrated at an event in Trieste, before MSC Seaside leaves on Nov. 30, 2017, for its 20-night trans-Atlantic ‘vernissage’ cruise to Miami. There, the ship will be christened before beginning Caribbean service on Dec. 23.
The 'ship that follows the sun' Seaside building program is expected to reach a new milestone soon, when work officially begins on MSC Seaview by year's end—although ship blocks were visible under assembly at Monfalcone over the weekend. After its delivery MSC Seaview will begin sailing in the Mediterranean from Naples on June 11.
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