Port of Kiel chalks up 350th call by an MSC cruise ship

Posted on 5 September, 2017 by Spacejunkie2

The port’s cruise shipping director Nicole Claus welcomed the ship’s captain Guiseppe Galano

MSC Fantasia arrived at the Port of Kiel’s Ostseekai berth from St Petersburg in Russia on 2 September, marking MSC Cruises’ 350th visit to the German port.

To mark the anniversary, the port’s cruise shipping director Nicole Claus welcomed the ship’s captain Guiseppe Galano. Together, Galano and Claus unveiled a bronze plaque on Kiel’s Cruise Ship Walk of Fame, which honours shipping companies and events that are of special significance for Kiel as a cruise shipping location.

MSC’s cruise ships have been regularly calling at the port of Kiel for twelve years, after the first vessel visited on 4 September 2005. The company began using Kiel as a base port in 2006 and since then, the city has been a constituent part of the company’s northern Europe route planning. To date, nine different MSC cruise ships have visited Kiel, while 1.3 million passengers have embarked or disembarked from an MSC cruise ship in the city.

“With 350 visits to the port under its belt, MSC is the cruise shipping company which has been our most frequent caller to date,” said Claus.

MSC Fantasia has already undertaken 18 cruises from Kiel this season. Three more are to follow up to the season finale on 16 September, when the ship heads for the Mediterranean. These northern Europe cruises take guests to Baltic destinations including Copenhagen, Denmark; Stockholm, Sweden; Tallinn, Estonia; Helsinki, Finland; St Petersburg. The ship also sails from Kiel to Copenhagen and the Norwegian fjords in Geiranger, Flåm and Stavanger.

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MSC and Mein Schiff in the Port of Kiel.

International cruise ship passengers who board in Copenhagen can enjoy day excursions ashore from the port of Kiel into the surrounding region and to the Hanse city of Lübeck and the north German metropolis of Hamburg.

“Because of its geographical location, Kiel is particularly attractive as the starting point for so-called butterfly cruises,” said Claus. “The combination of Baltic and Norwegian routes is a very interesting option.”

This year, Kiel will host 142 calls from 28 different ships, which will bring around half a million cruise ship passengers to the port. In addition, about 1.6 million ferry passengers will pass through the port.

MSC Seaview floated out from Italian shipyard

Posted on 24 August, 2017 by Spacejunkie2

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MSC Cruises latest new generation ship MSC Seaview was floated out at the Fincanteri shipyard in Trieste, Italy today.

The 5,179-passenger vessel is the second ship in the Seaview class of ships and is part of a €9 billion, ten year investment plan.

Sister ship MSC Seaside is due to enter service in November following MSC Meraviglia in June.

MSC Seaview is set to join the fleet in June 2018 with an inaugural season in the Mediterranean before transferring to Brazil for winter 2018-19.

Chief executive, Gianni Onorato, said: “We are truly leading the way with our ship designs, as each new class of ships that we bring into service is rooted in meeting the needs of holidaymakers of different ages, demographics and holiday desires.

“With MSC Seaview, in particular, our vision has been inspired by our passion for the sea and we are appealing to guests who are seeking the classic elements of a holiday – sun and sea – taken to the next level with a one-of-a-kind fully immersive and interactive seaside experience even whilst cruising at sea.”

Executive chairman Pierfrancesco Vago said: “The float out of MSC Seaview is another significant milestone in the expansion of our fleet.

“She is part of a ten year investment plan that will have already seen the delivery of six new ships by 2020.

“We are already the market leading cruise brand in the Mediterranean and Europe and the deployment of MSC Seaview in this key region will help us further push boundaries by bringing one of the most innovative cruise ships to an area that we are deeply committed to and is a cornerstone of our business.”

STX France reveals newly-christened MSC Meraviglia’s ‘advanced’ propulsion

Posted on 6 June, 2017 by Spacejunkie2

Exclusive: STX France reveals newly-christened <i>MSC Meraviglia</i>’s ‘advanced’ propulsion

MSC Cruises’ MSC Meraviglia, built by STX France, has been christened

MSC Cruises’ 171,598gt MSC Meraviglia has been christened at Le Havre, France. As well as being the largest ship belonging to a European shipowner, it has an advanced, “very ambitious” propulsion plant and is the first of MSC Cruises’ fleet to debut digital innovation programme ‘MSC For Me’.

STX France vice president of projects Stéphane Cordier told PST: “From a building efficiency standpoint, the construction of this prototype was extremely smooth; the overall design and architecture of ship developed very efficiently and according to schedule.”

One of the main standout features is MSC For Me, which will be rolled out across the fleet and debuts on MSC Meraviglia.

MSC Meraviglia will be powered by an all-electrical plant consisting of four 12-cylinder diesel engines. Mr Cordier said this arrangement was “very ambitious”. Usually ships of this size have five or six engines.

Singling out the benefits of MSC Meraviglia’s engine arrangement, he said: “The limited number of machines allows them to run at higher power, contributes to the general efficiency and is a more compact arrangement.”

“We have an ambitious vision for the future and MSC Meraviglia marks the start of the second phase of growth for our company,” said Pierfrancesco Vago, MSC Cruises’ executive chairman in a statement. “For this reason, this evening is an extremely proud moment for all of us at MSC Cruises as we see the first of our next-generation ships being named.”

“The new ships that we are building — between 2017 and 2020 alone, we will receive six new ships — are purpose-built, featuring innovation in both product and design, as well as the very latest-cutting edge marine and consumer-facing technology to create unforgettable holiday experiences at sea for guests of all ages. MSC Meraviglia is the first to make this vision come to life, as it sets a new standard for cruise ships as a destination in itself.”