MSC's 'Seaside' ship has novel shape, exciting water park

Seaside sports a very large lower Lido deck in order to put passengers closer to the sea, while a pair of glass elevators on the port side provide express connections to the upper open decks.

That's where features like 'the most interactive water park ever built on a cruise ship'—in the words of MSC Cruises ceo Gianni Onorato—are found.

The park will have five water slides including 'slideboarding,' which combines racing slide features with video gaming elements. Duelling high-speed AquaTubes will enable competitive racing through 525 feet of twists, turns and drops, on slides that partially extend over the side of the ship and give riders a spine-tingling glance at the sea below. 

Directly connected to the aqua park is the Adventure Trail, a ropes course where passengers can cross-cross between soaring towers, rope bridges, climbs, crawl-throughs and slides high over the water. Explorers on the trail will need to move quickly though as passengers below will be able to use water spray cannons to soak their friends and family.

The park is being built by WhiteWater West Industries of Canada.

From a technical perspective, the ship's design offers better control of the trim and hazard dynamic, Cergol said. Seaside is also logically configured to Safe Return to Port regulations because one engine room is located forward and the other aft.

Cergol acknowledge the close cooperation between Fincantieri and MSC's technical department, led by Emilio La Scala, in designing the 154,000gt vessel, which will be the largest ever built at Fincantieri.

Debuting in 2017, the ship will be based at PortMiami year-round.