Tag Archives: MSC Cruises

The stretching of MSC Sinfonia is underway

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MSC Cruises’ €200m Renaissance Program will see the second ship in drydock for the next 10 weeks as the MSC Sinfonia arrived in Sicily for her stretching.

Fincantieri’s marine engineers will carefully bisect MSC Sinfonia’s hull, after which the two halves of the ships will be slowly drawn apart.

On January 20-21 they will insert a prebuilt 2,200-ton, 24-metre midsection containing 193 extra cabins. Then they will refit and renew much of the ship’s interior, bringing an enhanced sense of comfort and space.

On Jan. 9, the new midsection was floated into the shipyard and hauled into the drydock area where MSC Sinfonia will remain for the duration of her stay.

Once the work is complete and sea trials completed, the larger MSC Sinfonia will weigh anchor from the shipyard on March 25 for Genoa, from where she’ll begin for her maiden cruise to Ajaccio, Barcelona and Marseille.

MSC Sinfonia will feature new purpose-built areas for children created in partnership with Chicco and LEGO,  and a new Baby Club, Mini Club, Young Club and Teens Club. MSC Cruises has also reimagined the onboard dining experiences, keeping the buffet open 20 hours per day and installing fresh new dining spaces, a brand new lounge and an extended restaurant.

The ship’s MSC Aurea Spa will also be enriched with additional massage areas, and a new outdoor spray park will be added on deck 13 – an exciting series of playful water features and jets.

The remainder of the Renaissance Program will progress according to the following schedule:

•    MSC Opera: 2 May to 4 July 2015
•    MSC Lirica: 31 August to 2 November 2015

MSC Cruises currently carries roughly 40,000 guests per day, but by 2022 will double its capacity to 80,000 guests a day – 3.4 million per year – once the Renaissance Programme is completed and the last of seven planned ships is delivered.

 

MSC Cruises USA sweetens inclusives for wave promotion

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MSC Cruises USA kicked off wave season by adding perks including up to $200 in shipboard credits, beverage packages and reduced deposits to its ‘Inclusive Experiences’ pricing categories. Plus, kids 11 and under sail free on all applicable wave season bookings.

Value-added benefits are based on the Inclusive Experience category and stateroom selected.

Among the benefits for the Bella Experience are up to $50 to spend on board and reduced deposits of $100 per person for ocean-view and balcony staterooms.

For Fantastica Experience pricing, ocean-view and balcony staterooms receive up to $100 per room to spend on board, reduced deposits of $100 per person, and a drinks package consisting of 12 vouchers per person for alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.

In addition, Fantastica Experience customers always receive a premium location stateroom, priority choice of early or late dining, 50% off all fitness classes and personal training, free room service delivery between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. and enhanced recreational activities for children including cooking and foreign language classes.

Aurea Experience and MSC Yacht Club passengers in balcony staterooms and suites receive up to $200 per room to spend on board and reduced deposits of $100 per person.

In addition, Aurea Experience passengers always receive ‘My Choice Dining’ flexible times, priority boarding, an all-inclusive beverage package, a spa package, access to the exclusive adults-only Top 18 sun deck and all the perks associated with the Fantastica Experience.

MSC Yacht Club passengers always get an all-inclusive VIP club level experience with priority check-in and check-out, butler service, dedicated 24-hour concierge, exclusive Top Sail lounge and pool, 24/7 complimentary alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages available within the Yacht Club area and a private MSC Yacht Club restaurant.

The wave season promotion applies to select Caribbean, Bermuda, Europe, Canary Islands and trans-Atlantic ‘grand voyages’ that are five days or longer and booked between Jan. 1 and Feb. 15.

In addition, MSC Cruises USA is extending its 18% flat commission for all 2015 and 2016 Caribbean group bookings on MSC Divina to Jan. 31, 2015.

St. Thomas cruise port to expand

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By Gay Nagle Myers

St. Thomas LongBay LandingSt. Thomas is moving ahead with plans to build a new pier at the Havensight cruise terminal, which would enable the busy port to accommodate more ships, including the industry’s largest ships.

The Long Bay Landing project calls for two 1,350-foot-long parallel berths that will be divided by a pier. No construction time line has been announced.

Today, mega-ships such as Royal Caribbean’s Oasis-class vessels must dock at the Crown Bay terminal when calling in St. Thomas. Crown Bay opened in 2007 with two berths.
Of the two ports, Havensight is the busier one. The dock was extended earlier this year so that it could accommodate three ships, but there are times when three berths aren’t enough. Ships sometimes have to anchor in the harbor and tender passengers to and from shore when the pier is full.

The Long Bay Landing project will keep the U.S. Virgin Islands competitive with other Caribbean destinations as well as increase government revenue, according to Joseph Boschulte, president and CEO of West Indian Company (WICO), operator of the Havensight terminal.

“We thought long and hard about how this would affect not only our bottom line, but also the territory as a whole. We had to be sure that any new development would not be at the expense of our environment and our community,” Boschulte said.

Cruise-related revenue accounts for more than 70% of the Virgin Islands economy.

“We can no longer rest on our laurels, thinking that our islands are the automatic first choice for travelers,” Boschulte said. “The competition is tough, and our neighbors have watched both the good and bad choices we have made in order to improve our products.”

St. Thomas cruise passengers numbers totaled 1.47 million through September, up 4% over the same period in 2013. Year-end passenger numbers in 2013 came close to the 2 million mark (1.99 million), up 4.9% over 2012.