Tag Archives: Manhattan Cruise Terminal

New MSC Ship To Be Christened in New York City

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New York City will serve as the backdrop for an inaugural event when MSC Cruises’ newest U.S. flagship – MSC Seascape – comes into service later this year.

MSC has announced plans to hold the ship’s naming ceremony at the Manhattan Cruise Terminal on Wednesday, December 7, 2022, with Academy Award-Winning star Sophia Loren carrying out her role as godmother to her 18th MSC Cruises ship.

Pierfrancesco Vago, Executive Chairman, Cruise Division of MSC Group, commented: “We are particularly pleased to celebrate this momentous milestone in New York City, which holds a special place in our Group’s history, having been served by ships from the MSC Group’s cargo division since 1985. Today, as MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company leads the container shipping sector globally as well as across North America, MSC Cruises has grown to become a major player in the U.S. cruise industry. Having developed a meaningful operation out of South Florida, we are now preparing a major strategic expansion across the East Coast that will see us launch year-round cruises out of New York in 2023. We could not think of a better way of celebrating such a significant milestone than holding MSC Seascape’s – our latest flagship – naming ceremony in this wonderful city that has been an important hub for MSC Group for over three decades.”

MSC Seascape will be the cruise line’s first ship to be named in New York, reflecting MSC Cruises’ commitment to the North American cruise market and its upcoming expansion to New York and the Northeast with year-round cruises available from the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal beginning in April of 2023, according to a press release. 

Rubén Rodríguez, President, MSC Cruises USA, said: “We are very excited to showcase to New Yorkers our European heritage and the unique international character we bring to cruising, matching the city’s multi-cultural flair. Bringing MSC Seascape to New York City for her Naming Ceremony is a fantastic opportunity for us to host a very special gala event onboard for our valued travel advisors and partners, introducing them to our newest ship. Come next year, New York City will be our third US homeport, alongside Miami and Orlando/Port Canaveral. This is the latest example of the significant investment we’re making in the U.S. and the Caribbean, which includes building the largest cruise terminal in North America at PortMiami and offering Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve as both a stunning tropical destination and a reflection of our commitment to the environment.”

The MSC Seascape will sail to Miami immediately following the ceremony for an inaugural season in the Caribbean.

The ship will be the second Seaside EVO class ship to enter MSC Cruises’ fleet and the fourth vessel in the line’s Seaside class.

The MSC Seascape will offer two different seven-night itineraries from PortMiami including an Eastern Caribbean cruise calling at Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve and Nassau in The Bahamas, San Juan in Puerto Rico, and Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic and a Western Caribbean sailing calling at Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, Cozumel in Mexico, George Town in the Cayman Islands and Ocho Rios in Jamaica.

Manhattan Cruise Terminal to Host Hospital Ship

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USNS Comfort

Manhattan Cruise Terminal and Pier 90 are set to play host to the USNS Comfort hospital ship, which is scheduled to arrive on Monday.

The hospital ship, with 1,000 beds, is set to leave Norfolk over the weekend, while work is speeding along in Manhattan to dredge the berth thanks to the Army Corps of Engineers, according to a spokesperson from the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), which essentially oversees the city’s cruise facilities.

The dredging will be done this weekend and allows the berth to have sufficient depth to accommodate the USNS Comfort, the spokesperson told Cruise Industry News.

The ship is scheduled to stay 14 days at this point, but that could likely extend. The vessel will berth at the north end of Pier 90; it is unlikely the terminal could accommodate cruise operations at the same time.

USNS Comfort

Slightly south, Pier 88 is the city’s main cruise terminal and shares various staging areas with Pier 90.

The ship was deployed via an order from President Donald. J. Trump.

According to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the hospital ship will expand the number of available beds. However, COVID-19 patients will not be treated aboard the vessel. Instead, it will free up hospital beds for COVID-19 patients as other patients are transferred to the ship.

The Comfort previously docked at Pier 92 in Manhattan following the 9/11 terror attacks.

Crystal’s latest project: Restore the SS United States

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Crystal’s rendering of a restored SS United States.

NEW YORK — Crystal Cruises on Thursday revealed a grand plan to transform the SS United States — a mothballed, 65-year-old ocean liner — into a modern, luxury cruise vessel.

The ship has been docked in Philadelphia since 1996.

Edie Rodriguez, Crystal’s CEO, revealed the company’s plans today along with the ship’s current owner, the SS United States Conservancy, at the Manhattan Cruise Terminal here. Rodriguez said Crystal would cover all costs associated with preserving the ship while it undergoes a technical feasibility study to determine if it can be revitalized.

Edie Rodriguez said Crystal would cover all costs associated with preserving the ship while it undergoes a technical feasibility study. Photo Credit: Arnie Weissmann
Edie Rodriguez said Crystal would cover all costs associated with preserving the ship while it undergoes a technical feasibility study.Photo Credit: Arnie Weissmann

 

Crystal plans to transform the liner into an 800-passenger, 400-suite vessel called the United States by Crystal Cruises, preserving historical elements of the original United States, such as its promenade and Navajo Lounge. Crystal said it would be rebuilt extensively to meet current standards and would be in full regulatory compliance.

“Our goal is that it reemerge as a modern luxury vessel,” Rodriguez said, adding that the vessel would have the same 1.6 passenger-to-crew ratio as the 1,070-passenger Crystal Serenity. “It is our aspiration that it emerges as America’s flagship again.”

Susan Gibbs, executive director of the SS United States Conservancy and granddaughter the ship’s designer, William Francis Gibbs, said the conservancy planned to develop a land-based museum dedicated to the United States, and hoped to anchor it in New York.

She conceded that the liner “obviously needs upgrades” in order to “adhere to 60 years of rules and regulations.”

“Change is both exhilarating and challenging,” she said.

This is the second time that Crystal’s owner, Genting Hong Kong, will own the storied ocean liner, long known as the Big U.

Genting’s Star Cruises purchased the United States in 2003, intending to operate the ship as part of NCL America, Norwegian’s U.S.-flagged fleet operating in Hawaii. (Star Cruises owned 100% of Norwegian Cruise Line at the time.)

NCL’s U.S.-flagged operations did not grow as planned, and the SS United States Conservancy purchased the United States from Norwegian/Genting in order to save it from being sent to a scrapyard.

The United States still holds the “Blue Riband” record for fastest transatlantic speed, set in 1952 on its maiden voyage from New York to England.