Tag Archives: Miami

MSC Seaside bookings open

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The MSC Seaside is scheduled to sail its maiden voyage in December 2017.

MSC Cruises said it has begun accepting bookings from repeat customers for MSC Seaside, a new ship that will be based in Miami.

Guests who are members of MSC’s Voyager Club will get their standard 5% discount, plus a bonus Classic drink package applicable to first and second guest in a stateroom. Bookings for the general public open Dec. 29 with the same drinks package offer.

The 4,100-passenger ship is expected to sail week-long Caribbean cruises; its first cruise is scheduled to leave Dec. 21, 2017. Prices start at $589 per person, MSC said.

Seaside will feature a unique 360-degree ocean level promenade on Deck 8 that will include indoor/outdoor shops and restaurants, as well as a buffet area and a pool, which are traditionally located on a cruise ship’s higher decks.

Report: MSC in talks to acquire a private island near Bimini

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MSC Cruises may be in the process of acquiring an island in the Bahamas for use as a private destination, according to comments made by a Bahamian minister.

A private island would fill a competitive gap in MSC’s Caribbean product with other major cruise lines there, all of which have their own islands as part of their itineraries.

To date, MSC has not had enough ships sailing from South Florida to justify its own stop in the Bahamas. But starting in 2017 it will have a new ship, the MSC Seaside, sailing Caribbean itineraries in addition to the MSC Divina, which currently sails from Miami.

Ken Muskat, MSC’s executive vice president for sales, public relations and guest services, said he couldn’t comment on the possibility, saying, “It all has been pure speculation thus far.”

Buzz about an MSC private island intensified after Bahamian Prime Minister Perry Christie brought up the project in a communication to the House of Assembly in late November.

Christie said MSC is considering an island about 20 miles south of Bimini known locally as Ocean Cay.

“We are negotiating an [agreement] now that they’re going to put a new destination there, hire Bahamians, and as a result of approval they will also start an academy to train Bahamians in Freeport,” Christie was quoted as saying in the Nassau Guardian newspaper.

He said the budget for developing Ocean Cay as a cruise port ranges between $100 million and $200 million.

Ocean Cay covers 95 acres and was built through a dredge-and-fill process in 1970 as a base for a sand-mining operation. It was recently discussed as a site for a liquefied natural gas import terminal.

Royal Caribbean seeks new terminal in Miami

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Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has started negotiations aimed at building a new $100 million terminal at Port Miami that would accommodate Oasis-class ships.

Specifications call for a 170,000-square-foot terminal with a berth of 400 meters, or about 1,312 feet. Oasis of the Seas is 1,186 feet long.

The specifications are in a memorandum of understanding to be considered by the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners on Sept. 16. If approved, the memorandum would become a roadmap for a final negotiation. The memorandum said the terminal is “assumed to become operational” by the end of 2018.

“By the nature of a memorandum of understanding, there is still a long road to go,” said Rob Zeiger, Royal Caribbean’s vice president of communications.

Royal Caribbean currently docks at Terminal G at the port, the closest one to downtown Miami. The new terminal would be built partly on a cargo area in the easternmost part of the port furthest from downtown. Designated Terminal A, it would be developed and owned by Royal Caribbean except for a small contribution from the county.

The agreement, which would last for a minimum of 20 years, calls for Royal Caribbean to pay an initial rent on leasing the land beneath the terminal for $9.5 million a year, or about $250 million over the life of the agreement, after annual escalators. The lease would have four 10-year optional extensions. A summary of the memorandum calls it a new model for financing terminals at the port.

“This deal structure is extremely attractive to the port because it transfers risk from the county to a private company,” said the summary, signed by Jack Osterholt, deputy county mayor.

The memorandum said that ever since Miami lost the deployment of Oasis and Allure of the Seas to Fort Lauderdale’s Port Everglades in 2009, the port has been talking with Royal Caribbean about ways to boost the number of passengers. Currently, that number is about 730,000 a year.