Tag Archives: MSC

Jamaica Port Authority plans $40 million Montego Bay Upgrade

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Montego Bay Cruise pier

The Port Authority of Jamaica (PAJ) will spend $40 million to upgrade the country’s cruise ship port in Montego Bay according to local media reports. The upgrade is being designed to create a “regional, multi-purpose port” operators hope will host more cruise ships.

Jamaica officials anticipates “homeporting” cruise ships for scheduled departures from the revamped Montego Bay facility, said Dr. Horace Chang, a ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation official, in a Jamaica Observer report.

“The current cruise ship pier has to be improved significantly to support the traffic we are going to have with home porting,” he said.

William Tatham, PAJ’s vice president of cruise shipping, said  Montego Bay “will have seven [ships] home porting, up from five” in the 2016-1017 season. Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Breeze, Carnival Dream and Carnival Freedom will sail regularly from Montego Bay this fall and winter along with ships from MSC Cruises, Princess Cruises and several European cruise lines.

In an earlier interview on the government-run Jamaica Information Service (JIS) website, Chang said PAJ is placing “serious focus” on expanding and improving the resort city’s cruise shipping facilities. “We expect cruise shipping to grow in Montego Bay and not just cruises coming through, but home-porting in particular,” he said.

Montego Bay is the smallest of Jamaica’s three major cruise ship ports, hosting 210,000 cruise passengers in the 2014-2015 season, trailing Ocho Rios (400,000 passengers) and Falmouth (800,000) passengers according to PJA data.

Jamaica’s 1.5 million cruise passenger arrivals during the 2014-2015 season represents the country’s best-ever annual total and is a 20 percent increase over 2014. Overall cruise ship calls increased 19 percent to 433 compared with 363 in 2014, according to PAJ data.

The ports of Falmouth and Ocho Rios accounted for 44 percent and 32 percent, respectively, of ship calls and 52 percent and 30 percent of passenger arrivals

MSC Cruises to open private island in Persian Gulf

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MSC plans to open Sir Bani Yas Island Beach Oasis in December.

Rick Sasso, president of MSC Cruises USA, said a new private island that MSC plans to open in December off the coast of Abu Dhabi is a sign of the company’s global reach.

The island, called Sir Bani Yas Island Beach Oasis, includes about 1.5 miles of beachfront on a barrier island. It will offer horseback riding, water sports, and a dhow tour around the island, among other attractions. “It’s not just a beach with cabanas,” Sasso said.

A bridge from the beach oasis to the main island of Sir Bani Yas will provide access to a nature reserve with dozens of indigenous species. “It will be a huge attraction because it’s unique to the region,” Sasso said.

“We’re thinking very globally now,” said Sasso, noting that MSC has a “pause” between ship deliveries that has allowed it to focus on some off-ship projects.

A bridge from the beach oasis to the main island of Sir Bani Yas will provide access to a nature reserve with dozens of indigenous species.

A bridge from the beach oasis to the main island of Sir Bani Yas will provide access to a nature reserve with dozens of indigenous species.

MSC has 11 ships on order. The next to be delivered is MSC Maraviglia, due a year from now.

“We’ve got to start putting in some stronger anchors beyond the Mediterranean,” Sasso said. “South America was one of those, for the past 10 years. China has opened up as of two months ago. And North America is now getting a swarm of attention with the Divina here year-round and the Seaside coming.”

Sir Bani Yas is the second private island announced by MSC in recent months. It previously disclosed plans for a large private island with extensive facilities in Bimini for use by its ships deployed in the Caribbean.

The island off the southwest coast of Abu Dhabi will initially host passengers from the MSC Fantasia. MSC has been working with the Abu Dhabi Port Authority for about two years to bring the project to fruition.

MSC rolls out new faster internet and social media packages

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MSC Cruises has worked with business communications provider Marlink to develop new faster, more reliable and cost-effective internet and social media packages for guests.

Now live onboard MSC Preziosa and MSC Divina, the high bandwidth internet packages are available via the Marlink Sealink Cloud and will be rolled out across all 12 MSC ships over the coming months. The packages will also be available on the line’s next-generation ships that are currently under construction, including MSC Meraviglia and MSC Seaside.

“We are constantly seeking new ways to innovate and enhance the guest experience aboard what is already the most modern fleet at sea,” said Gianni Onorato, MSC’s CEO. “We know that staying connected while on holiday is increasingly more important to our guests hence we are rolling out state-of-the-art technology to allow them to stay connected whether they are looking to share experiences and memorable moments, stay in touch with friends and family, need to stay on top of work e-mails or simply catch up with daily news.”

Aimed at those who want to be connected 24/7 to social media, the Social Package allows guests to post pictures and chat with friends via popular social platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, Snapchat, WeChat and Pinterest. Prices start from €3.90 per day or €14.90 for a seven-day cruise.

The Surfer Package is designed for moderate internet users who want to read news, sports scores and catch up on e-mails. It also includes access to social media platforms as per the Social Package. Prices start from €9.90 per day or €29.90 for a seven-day itinerary.

Meanwhile, the Streamer Package has been created for heavy internet users who need access either for work or for personal use and enables full internet and social media access, including audio and video. Prices from €19.90 per day or €59.90 for a full seven-day voyage.

Guests will be able to select their package prior to embarkation and will be easy to upgrade or top up.