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10 Cruise Ship New-Builds to Look Forward to in 2017

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10 Cruise Ship New-Builds to Look Forward to in 2017

MSC Seaside, Photo courtesy of MSC Cruises, Credit: Ivan Sarfatti
 

Seabourn Encore

Technically, Seabourn‘s new Seabourn Encore has already launched, but its official inaugural sailing is scheduled for January 7, 2017, making it the first in the new year. The 600-guest ship will have all the luxuries of the preceding Odyssey-class and more thanks to a slightly larger design.

Viking Sky

Viking Cruises will continue its rapid expansion with the launch of its third oceangoing vessel, the Viking Sky. The award-winning ocean brand is already making waves with a stunning set of luxurious hardware features paired with excellent service software that will be reprised in February 2017.

Norwegian Joy

Also coming online in February 2017 is Norwegian Cruise Line’s new Norwegian Joy for the Chinese outbound market. While it is not slated for North American travelers, we’re hoping its unprecedented go-kart racetrack on deck will make its way to the next Breakaway Plus-class ship, the Norwegian Bliss, coming to Alaska in 2018.

Silver Muse

Plussing the current flagship Silver Spirit’s design will be Silversea Cruises new Silver Muse in April 2017. Hallmark features of the luxury line will return while several additional restaurant options are introduced such as dedicated Asian and seafood dining, as well as an expanded pizzeria.

MSC Meraviglia

One of two separate prototypes being constructed for MSC Cruises, the MSC Meraviglia will set sail in June 2017. The “ship for all seasons” will highlight a 262-foot synthetic LED sky above an interior promenade and showcase Cirque du Soleil performances in the Carousel Lounge.

National Geographic Quest

Not all the new ships are of the mega variety as Lindblad Expeditions will welcome the National Geographic Quest in June 2017 beginning expedition cruises in Alaska. The ship will cater to only 100 guests with 24 kayaks, paddle boards, snorkeling equipment and zodiacs for adventuring.

Viking Sun

Not slowing up at all, Viking Cruises will again launch the fourth of six planned ocean sister-ships, the Viking Sun, in October 2017. This one will almost immediately set out on the line’s first-ever 141-day world cruise from Miami, Florida to London, England starting on December 15, 2017.

MSC Seaside

MSC Cruises other new prototype ship, the MSC Seaside, is being specifically constructed for warm-weather cruising year-round from Miami, Florida. It will begin sailing from its homeport in December 2017 with an expansive water park and wraparound al fresco boardwalk.

Majestic Princess

The second ship next year dedicated to the Chinese outbound market will be Princess Cruises’ new Majestic Princess in late 2017. Already making changes from its earlier sisters, the ship will sport a French bistro in place of the Crooners lounge, a modification that might make its way to the fourth Royal-class ship as well.

Flying Clipper

When Star Clippers’ new Flying Clipper launches in late 2017, it will be one of the smallest vessels to come out next year, but it will also be the largest square-rigged sailing ship. It will carry 300 guests within its 8,770 tons.

MSC Cruises Finalizes Two-Ship Construction Contract with STX France

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STX France and MSC Cruises have announced they have finalized the contracts for two new 177,000-ton cruise ships for MSC.

The two next-generation ships will be the largest ever built for a European cruise line.

Delivery is scheduled for 2019 and 2020, respectively.

The ships will be known as the “Meraviglia-Plus” class, an evolution of the smaller 167,000 GRT “Meraviglia” class. The first of two “Meraviglia” ships are scheduled to enter into service in June 2017. The will have capacity for 6,300 passengers in 2,450 cabins.

“I am extremely pleased to see us continuing to deliver against our industrial plan with the coming into force of the final contract for the two “Meraviglia-Plus” ships,” said Pierfrancesco Vago, Executive Chairman of MSC Cruises. “I view this as a further reflection of the strength of the relationship in place from day one between MSC Cruises and STX France. It is for this reason that, in addition to having built at STX France all twelve of our existing ships, through 2026 up to eight more are currently planned to be built in France at STX.”

MSC Cruises said the two units finalized this week are part of the company’s €9 billion investment plan for eleven new next-generation cruise ships to coming into service by 2026

MSC says world cruise generating buzz, but will it fill up?

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MSC Magnifica

Filling the 2,250-passenger MSC Magnifica for its first world cruise could pose a challenge for MSC. Most world cruises are on luxury lines such as Silversea Cruises or Cunard Line, not contemporary lines.

None of the U.S.-based contemporary cruise lines, such as Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean International or Norwegian Cruise Line, offer a 119-day cruise like MSC’s.

However, Costa Cruises, which competes closely with MSC in the Mediterranean, does offer a world cruise in 2017 on the 92,700-gross-ton Costa Luminosa, which carries about the same number of passengers as the 95,128-gross-ton Magnifica.

Roberto Fusaro, president of MSC Cruises North America, said the Magnifica was picked for the world cruise because it is the right size for the ports included on the itinerary.

“The pool has a magrodome — making the ship ideal for all weather — and the ship has a high proportion of balcony staterooms,” he said.

Image result for MSC Magnifica

Fusaro said adding a world cruise will help MSC gain attention.

“We’ve already heard a ton of buzz and excitement from our travel agent partners,” he said. Clients like the wide range of activities and entertainment and multiple dining options a ship the size of the MSC Magnifica affords, he said.

Another feature that might help MSC fill the Magnifica is a relatively low price. MSC lists a lead-in price for the cruise of $16,999. A 120-day cruise on Cunard Line’s 2,014-passenger Queen Elizabeth departing in January has a starting price of $19,998. MSC’s price also includes 15 shore excursions.

The 7-year-old MSC Magnifica is scheduled to set off from Genoa, Italy, on Jan. 5, 2019, and sail west until it arrives back in Genoa 119 days later.

Along the way it will stop at 49 destinations in 32 countries and stay four days in French Polynesia, three days in both Hawaii and San Francisco and two days in Los Angeles.

Image result for MSC Magnifica

Following a week in the Mediterranean, the Magnifica will spend five days at sea before reaching the Caribbean in mid-January. It will transit the Panama Canal on Jan. 25 and proceed up the coast of Central America, Mexico and north to San Francisco.

The next month will be spent crossing the Pacific with stops in Hawaii, French Polynesia and Fiji before arriving in New Zealand in mid-March. Australia, Singapore, Thailand and the Maldives precede an April 15 arrival in Dubai. The ship transits the Suez Canal in late April to arrive back in Genoa on May 3.

MSC and its predecessor company, Lauro Lines, have been in the cruise business since 1960, but had never entered the world-cruise derby.

“As one of the world’s truly international cruise companies, making available to our guests and travelers from around the globe a product such as a world cruise is a natural progression,” said Gianni Onorato, CEO MSC Cruises.