New MSC Armonia cruise countdown promotion

Posted on 7 October, 2014 by Spacejunkie2

MCS Cruises now has a page dedicated to the New MSC Armonia cruise countdown, which has the number of days, hours and minutes left. There are currently 42 days, 9 hours and 30 minutes as of writing this. That’s not all, as the company is also showing off a countdown promotion for the newly refitted Armonia.

If you manage to book on the inagural MSC Armonia cruise it will be an all-inclusive one, and so comes with a free drinks package, 3 MSC excursions, and a 30 percent discount off all laundry services. That is not all, as this first cruise following the MSC Armonia’s refurbishment will be packed with a number of celebrations while heading to the Canary Islands.

Remember, this is a one-off and so you really do need to get on this cruise, as you will be one of the first to try out the new facilities. Such as the refitted staterooms, improved restaurants, revitalized shows and tasty food during the Special Gala Dinner.

MSC has said the Armonia changes have been made with the passengers in mind, as everything onboard will suit your needs.

WHAT’S NEW ON MSC ARMONIA

CABINS TAILORED TO YOU

There are few cruise experiences that compare to stepping onto your own private balcony and gazing out at the ocean.

MSC Armonia will have 94 beautifully appointed balcony cabins, each redesigned to bring our guests total comfort and style with a wealth of wonderful features.

Quality pillows and mattresses created by leading Italian bedding designer Dorelan mean always waking up refreshed and primed for a new day of discoveries.

And our en suite bathrooms are fitted with stylish contemporary units that optimise space without compromising on comfort.

DINING TAILORED TO YOU

We believe food is a key ingredient that can turn a good holiday into a great one.

With ‘choice’ the watchword, MSC Armonia has exciting new restaurants and bars so that you can experience the authentic pleasure of an Italian ice cream parlour, savour timeless Italian favourites and world cuisine influenced by the itinerary’s ports of call.

La Pergola

Aurea experience and balcony cabin guests can enjoy exclusive service at La Pergola, a smart panoramic restaurant offering diverse delicacies from around the globe three times a day.

Enjoy a beautifully presented international breakfast in the morning and discover our Pronto Bistro menu featuring sought after dishes from around the world at lunchtime – including lunch specials by MSC corporate chef Paolo Tarantino – and an atmospheric, upscale dinner when the mood takes you, thanks to the completely time flexible “My Choice Dining”option.

Marco Polo Restaurant

For attentive service in a relaxing setting at breakfast or lunch head for the Marco Polo Restaurant. Our new breakfast options offer a fantastic choice, from granolas and fresh fruit to cakes and cold cuts. At lunch, treat your palate with the fashionable selection from the Pronto Bistromenu, a daily special chef’s salad or a variety of vegetarian options, and top off your meal with a dessert or something from the fruit bar.

La Brasserie and Lido Buffet

La Brasserie buffet will be open for 20 hours a day – an ideal solution for those who live life at their own pace. La Brasserie offers hot and cold breakfast selections, a lunch choice including delicious burgers and handmade pasta and pizza, and a range of casual dinner options. Anything from La Brasserie can be enjoyed in the open air before a stunning, unhindered view of the ocean.

Bars and lounges

MSC Armonia’s distinct bars and lounges have each been designed to have individual personality and soul, although one service is common to all of them: good food available non-stop.

Bar del Duomo
Aperitif and wine corner; Non-stop snacks and bar bites.

Red Bar – Martini & Alchemist Experience
Discover the Fusion List combining the classic soul of Martini and the innovative spirit of the Alchemist’s cocktail with creative recipes like Jelly and Molecular Cocktails.

The White Lion
An authentic English pub at sea! Relax at the Beer Bar or find a quiet corner to enjoy a whisky or choose from a full list of premium spirits. There’s a complimentary selection of ‘pub grub’ including roast beef, club sandwiches, English cheese and pickle platter; or hot sausages and pies.

The Coffee Bar
A special place to enjoy a selection of hot and frozen coffee delights from around the world. We will surprise you with the amazing Milk Art. Enjoy a selection of sweet treats available throughout the day.

The Gelateria
An authentic Gelateria Italiana offering a range of quality ice creams

Vitamin Bar
Fresh fruit smoothies and cocktails made to order

AREAS FOR KIDS AND TEENS

MSC Cruises puts a lot of thought into younger travellers’ needs, which can be very different from those of their adult counterparts. Many Renaissance enhancements are being made with this in mind, not least of which a new Youth Centre housing separate clubs for the Baby (0-3), Mini (3-6), Juniors (7-11), Young (12-14) and Teens (15-17) age groups.

MSC Armonia will be the first ship in our fleet to offer dedicated areas and activities for 12-14 and 15-17 year olds, including a well- equipped state-of-the-art NAMCO® virtual arcade. In addition, any guests from 7 to 17 can sharpen their gaming skills on Wii, PlayStation or Xbox consoles.

BABY CLUB

Our new Baby Club, for under threes, has been developed with market-leading childcare company Chicco. Not only will it be the first under 3 MSC area, but it will also be the first baby area at sea to carry the famous Chicco brand.

The whole MSC BabyCare experience has been built with Chicco’s knowledge, expertise and products – from training MSC’s child carers and defining onboard activities, to the strollers, bottle warmers, baby bouncers and shore excursion backpacks we offer to parents. With Chicco, MSC Cruises has made cruising totally stress-free for young families.

OUTDOOR SPRAY PARK

What is more, the renewed ships will each feature a fantastic new outdoor spray park – a fun-filled wet zone packed with interactive water jets, musical fountains and slides.

WELLNESS TAILORED TO YOU

MSC Cruises has created a range of special pampering spa experiences that will help make your cruise a meaningful journey that leaves you rejuvenated, centred and happy.

Additional room has been devoted to our unique Aurea Spa massage spaces. MSC Armonia now has a massage room for individuals and another for couples, where a menu of select treatments can be enjoyed.

MSC Aurea Spa is unique to MSC Cruises, offering the latest gym, spa treatment and beauty facilities in sumptuous surroundings. You will be served by expert Balinese masseurs, beauty therapists, manicurists, pedicurists, hair stylists, yoga instructors and personal trainers. A qualified spa doctor will be on hand with a private consultation room available as required.

ENTERTAINMENT TAILORED TO YOU

An MSC cruise is always packed with entertainment for all ages and tastes. Each day onboard MSC Armonia will offers 20 hours of spectacular shows and activities, many inspired by the fascinating countries and cultures encountered en route.

Music, dance, creative workshops, fitness and wellbeing, kids’ parties and inspiring expert talks are just some of the choices in our extensive programmes.

And our dedicated onboard spaces provide the perfect setting to bring our itineraries on board, be it a full-blooded Flamenco performance, a spicy Moroccan evening or a multi-faceted show inspired by the wonder of nature.

MSC Armonia’s elegant new music lounge, her Fenice Theatre, bars bursting with personality and shimmering dance floors are where firm friendships are made and memorable moments shared.

Why not leave the winter in your wake and enjoy a cruise aboard an elegant ship full of new and innovative features?

The curious art of ‘stretching’ a cruise ship

Posted on 18 September, 2014 by Spacejunkie2

Things didn’t go entirely to plan when Jane Archer watched the “stretching” – the pulling apart and inserting a new section – of MSC Armonia in Palermo

Video of MSC Armonia being cut in half

Over the past five days Italian shipyard workers in Palermo, Sicily, have been preparing to insert a new pre-built section of ship into an exisitng MSC cruise ship, Armonia. They have spent the past week cutting the 60,000gt vessel in half ahead of its “stretching”. The ship is cut just in front of the funnel (slightly behind the mid-way point) and then separated so the new section can be inserted. The hull is then resealed.

When completed, the ship will be 24 metres longer than before and have an additional 193 cabins.

During a visit to the yard yesterday a group of us stood in the blazing September sunshine to watch the next stage – the ship being pulled apart and a new section angled into place. The stretch should have started at 9am, but by 10am we were informed of a problem with the 22 “skid shoes” that would pull the ship’s front section forward.

^{Extra piece of the ship being rolled into dry dock at Palermo, Italy (photo: MSC Cruises)}

The “shoes” were made by Fagioli, the Italian company responsible for uprighting the Costa Concordia last year (an operation known as parbuckling), and use a system of hydraulics to lift and pull the 14,000-ton forward section 23.7 metres along tracks at the bottom of the yard’s dry dock.

“It’s a bit like watching the ancient Egyptians using modern technology,” commented one onlooker who had flown in from Canada to see the skid shoes in action (they are to be used for moving parts of an off-shore platform his company is building in South Korea).

Suddenly there was movement. It was slow, inches at a time, with regular stops for safety checks. At the same time, the 2,200-ton new section, which was at the back of the dry dock, began to move into position.

The section was built at the shipyard, took three-and-a-half months to complete and in good maritime tradition was blessed by a madrina, or godmother. If all goes according to plan welding into place will begin on September 25 ahead of the interior refit.

The extension will not only making Armonia bigger (the additional cabins will take passenger count from 1,566 to 1,952) and add 90 balcony cabins, it will also create space for a water park, a crèche, teenager clubs and a new library. Fire safety and fuel consumption will also be improved.

These are cutting-edge technologies,” Emilio La Scala, general manager of MSC’s technical department, told me, I assume with no pun intended. “We need to upgrade these ships to stay competitive.”

^{MSC Armonia was cut in two and a new section inserted (photo: MSC Cruises)}

Armonia’s three sister ships, Sinfonia, Opera and Lirica will all be stretched at the Palermo yard over the next 12 months. In all, the work will cost €200/£159 million – a tidy sum but significantly less than the cost of building a new ship (Royal Caribbean International’s Quantum of the Seas is costing $1 billion). Each ship will take approximately nine weeks to lengthen and refit, with the new-look MSC Armonia sailing out of the shipyard on November 17.

Back at the yard progress was slow. With just a metre gap between front and back our group was called to a press conference. We returned two hours later to find that nothing had happened. The skid shoes did not malfunction; we were told, but balance technicalities took longer than expected.

“The workers are at lunch,” project manager Georgio Pollina said. “We will continue while it is light and finish tomorrow.”

As most of the media was flying out that evening, I suspect that was news for the cruise line, too.

MSC Cruises: MSC Armonia extension of in full swing

Posted on 11 September, 2014 by Spacejunkie2

Extension of the MSC Armonia has begun: The MSC Armonia gets on the Fincantieri shipyard in Palermo a new 24-meter mid-section used.

Yesterday in Palermo, the extension of the MSC Armonia has begun, which is the first of four ships of the Lirica Class as part of the modernization program “Renaissance” rebuilt by MSC Cruises.

On the Fincantieri shipyard of the 14,000-ton bow was separated and 30 meters on rails from the rear. In the space between the walls, the new, 24-meter and 2,200-ton center section is used.

The separation is a milestone in the 200 million-euro Renaissance program of MSC Cruises. As part of this project enlarged and renewed the shipping company, MSC Armonia, MSC Sinfonia, MSC Opera and MSC Lirica and equipping the ships with additional comfort offers from to perfectly respond to the needs of today’s cruise passengers.

Comprehensive and precise preparatory work was needed to prepare the separation of the ship perfectly: The steel cutting work had already started on September 2, with the highlight of the cut line. On September 3, the electrical systems of the MSC Armonia were shut down. On September 8, ended the cutting work before started on 10 SeptemberThe separation.

By converting the MSC Armonia and their environmental impacts are significantly reduced. A special treatment of the hull surface minimizes water resistance and saves considerable amount of fuel one. In addition, is used in the future in all common areas LED technology, which brings a much lower energy consumption.

In addition, a drive with a frequency converter for variable speed control is installed on the MSC Armonia, an energy-saving system that significantly reduces the power consumption of the vessel by flexible adaptation to different operating conditions. Furthermore, MSC can try out a new propeller blade design that will improve energy efficiency even further and thereby reduce fuel consumption also with its propellers suppliers.

Emilio La Scala, Director of the Technical Division of MSC Cruises, explained during the occasion of the ship separation taking place in Palermo press conference: “MSC Cruises have long been planning a modernization program of this magnitude. But we did not start before we had chosen the best partner in the shipbuilding industry. Because we want our ships not only larger, but also provide them with high standards in terms of technology, safety and sustainability. Fincantieri has the know-how and the experience to carry out a so extensive project which will meet our requirements in every respect.The long partnership with Fincantieri has already proven itself in various maintenance and conversion projects in our ships. “

As part of construction work, the MSC Armonia receives 193 additional cabins. In addition, other areas of the ship will be refurbished to enhance the comfort and entertainment and services available on board.

The new ship, for example, to offer a new baby club, which was designed and created jointly with the partner Chicco. There will also be a new kids’ club, a young club, junior club and a teen club. Food lovers can enjoy the rich specialties offer in the buffet restaurant 20 hours a day. As part of modernization also a new lounge area and an extended restaurant area be established.

The MSC Armonia is also equipped with a library and the Aurea Spa is ready with new offers on. As a special highlight of the modernized vessel loads a new water park with water features on deck for a swim.

The MSC Armonia, which has been available since August 31 in dry dock Fincantieri shipyard in Palermo and will remain a total of 11 weeks there, stands on November 19, 2014 from Genoa to its second maiden voyage to the Canary Islands in the lake.