Tag Archives: Genoa

MSC sets out plans to triple UK passengers

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MSC Cruises has set out ambitious plans to grow the number of UK passengers it serves.

According to chief executive Giles Hawke, the company reckons it can attract 200,000 Britons per year by 2017 – up from 60,000 today and an almost threefold increase.

Mr Hawke made these comments in an interview with Travel Weekly, mentioning a raft of new marketing initiatives intended to support the campaign.

MSC, which mostly serves the Mediterranean cruise market and recently announced it will add a further four ships to its fleet, also plans to charter three flights per week from Heathrow to ferry Britons into Italian ports.

Two of the planes will fly to Genoa, with the other landing in Venice.

In time, though, MSC wants to reintroduce Mediterranean cruises that actually depart from the UK itself, potentially by launching a Fantasia-class ship in 2016.

Work starts to refloat Costa Concordia

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By Phil Davies

Work starts to refloat Costa ConcordiaSalvage workers today started attempting to refloat the Costa Concordia more than two years after it sank off the Italian island of Giglio.

Divers and engineers will oversee the operation to raise the 114,500-tonne ship, which may still contain the body of one of the 32 people who died in the disaster.

The ship’s owner, Costa, hopes to finally raise the rusting vessel from the sea-bed in a week-long operation before towing it away to be scrapped in Genoa.

Engineers plan to raise the vessel from the artificial platform where it has rested since it was righted in another large-scale operation last September, the Times reported.

Nick Sloane, the South African salvage master in charge of the operation, was reported as saying this morning: “The risks are that the ship could bend as it is raised, or the chains underneath it could snap.

“There will be 42 people on board during the first manoeuvre. If disaster strikes we will evacuate through emergency escapes on the bow and stern.”

Once the ship is successfully raised off the platform, air will slowly be pumped into 30 tanks or “sponsons” attached to both sides of the 290-metre Concordia to expel the water inside and raise the ship.

The ship’s captain, Francesco Schettino, is on trial for manslaughter, causing a shipwreck, and abandoning the vessel before all passengers had evacuated.

Russel Rebello, an Indian waiter, is still missing and the refloating will include a new search of the ship as it is raised that may finally recover his body.

MSC PREZIOSA BOASTS NEW AQUA PARK

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MSC PREZIOSA BOASTS NEW AQUA PARK AND ‘VERTIGO’, THE LONGEST WATERSLIDE ON THE WAVES

Wild water features and over-the-water slide ensure bucket loads of fun

MSC Preziosa will be christened in Genoa, Italy, on 23 March 2013 and, as the four-month countdown to her arrival has already begun, MSC Cruises is proud to announce the first of many innovative new features to be found on board; the all new Doremi Castle Aqua Park and Vertigo, MSC Cruises’ longest waterslide to date and the longest single rider body waterslide on the seas.

In prime space on deck 16, Doremi Castle Aqua Park boasts an exhilarating pathway of water features on raised platforms including sprays, fountains, water pistols and valves, each designed to splash, soak and delight in equal measures. A drenching bucket builds suspense by filling up drip by drip over unsuspecting heads, ready to rain down from on high, while the area’s water cannons encourage mischievous interaction between friends, old and new.

While children under 120 cm are not permitted to ride the Vertigo waterslide, they won’t miss out at Doremi Castle, where a double and single slide have been designed especially for them. With fun features to ignite imaginations and spark creativity, Doremi Castle is the perfect place for MSC Preziosa’s smallest guests to splash away the day.

Next to the park, thrill seekers can climb the stairs to deck 18 where they can embark on the wildest ride on the waves. Guests will set off on a journey down, around and even off the side of the ship, through 120 metres of fabulous twists and turns. Certain sections of the slide have even been enhanced with translucent bands of colour which catch the light, creating a wonderful strobe effect as guests zip through at top speed.

Vertigo stats

MSC Preziosa’s waterslide is 13 metres high and 120 metres long, with a diameter of 900 mm.

The maximum weight of each rider is 150 kg, and the minimum height is 120 cm.

Riders will travel at an average speed of 6 m/s.

As it shoots out over the edge of the ship, a nine metre long transparent stretch of slide provides riders with amazing views of the water below, but only if they’re brave enough to keep their eyes open!

Spectators who don’t dare ride for themselves can even have fun from decks below by spotting the more adventurous whizzing through the transparent section.

MSC is a family company which prides itself on making sure that there’s never a dull moment for families on board, and these latest features guarantee bucket loads of fun for children, teenagers and the young at heart.

Opening hours of the Vertigo waterslide are likely to fluctuate depending on itinerary and season, so guests should check out the times directly on board.

 Does this kind of on board attraction appeal to you?