Chantiers de l'Atlantique floats out MSC Virtuosa

This is the second Meraviglia-Plus ship after MSC Grandiosa. Virtuosa will now move to a wet dock for further construction and outfitting prior to scheduled delivery in October 2020.

Like Grandiosa, MSC Virtuosa will have a two-story Mediterranean-style promenade lined with restauarants and shops underneath a 305-foot LED Sky Screen, two original new shows from Cirque du Soleil at Sea and the virtual personal cruise assistant Zoe in every stateroom. Further features will be announced.

Environmental profile

The sixth MSC Cruises ship to enter service since 2017, MSC Virtuosa will become the second in the fleet to have a selective catalytic reduction system and next-generation advanced wastewater treatment. The vessel also will be able to connect to shore power, a standard capability across all new MSC cruise ships since 2017.

Other environmental elements include hybrid exhaust gas cleaning, advanced waste management, ballast water treatment systems, equipment to prevent oil discharges from machinery spaces and various efficiency improvements, from heat recovery systems to LED lighting.

Maiden voyage

MSC Virtuosa’s maiden voyage will be a seven-night, six-port western Mediterranean cruise in November 2020 from Genoa. After a winter season in the Mediterranean, the ship will sail in summer 2021 to Northern Europe with itineraries to the Norwegian Fjords and Baltic capitals. 

Third shipbuliding milestone in a month

This marked the third major shipbuilding milestone MSC Cruises has celebrated in the past month at Chantiers de l'Atlantique, following the delivery of MSC Grandiosa and the steel-cuttting ceremony for MSC Europa, which will serve as a pilot for integrating pioneering fuel cell technology aboard the LNG-powered ship.