MSC Cruises Finalizes Two-Ship Construction Contract with STX France

Posted on 24 December, 2016 by Spacejunkie2

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 Cruises partners with Jean Louis David hair salons

Posted on 29 June, 2016 by Spacejunkie2

Hairdresser Jean Louis David has taken over the salons on several MSC Cruises ships, and the brand will be expanded fleetwide under a new partnership agreement.

Jean Louis David, founded in 1961 in Paris, has over 1,000 salons internationally. It will expand to 11 existing MSC ships and to new ships, beginning with the MSC Meraviglia in June 2017.

The first Jean Louis David salons are already open on the MSC Preziosa, MSC Fantasia and MSC Poesia.

MSC’s agreement with Jean Louis David is the latest in a string of partnerships with brands that include Lego, Samsung, Cirque du Soleil and chocolatier Jean Philippe Maury.

Jean Louis David is owned by the Provalliance Group of Paris.

MSC to suspend Tunisia calls for winter season

Posted on 10 July, 2015 by Spacejunkie2

MSC Cruises said the recent declaration of a state of emergency in Tunisia has led it to suspend calls there for the 2015-16 winter season.

The line said its previously scheduled calls at La Goulette from Nov. 15 to April 23 on the MSC Prezisosa will be replaced by calls in Malta.

The MSC Magnifica and MSC Poesia during their voyages from Venice to Santos in Brazil and Buenos Aires in Argentina, respectively, in November and December 2015 will spend a full day in Alicante, Spain, instead of La Goulette/Tunis, MSC said.

Authorities in Tunisia declared the state of emergency after two terrorist attacks on tourists there in the past four months.