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Queen Latifah Names Carnival Horizon

The Carnival Horizon was named by godmother Queen Latifah in a ceremony in New York on Wednesday evening that also showcased the talented young artists from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital whose artwork adorns the Dreamscape, a stunning three-deck-high LED sculpture in the ship’s atrium.

“Carnival Horizon’s naming ceremony was one of our best yet, with Queen Latifah carrying out her duties as godmother then battling it out with Super Bowl champion Jake Elliott of my hometown Philadelphia Eagles in an entertaining Lip Sync Battle,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. “We were also delighted to showcase the wonderfully talented children from St. Jude whose artwork on the Dreamscape will be forever associated with this spectacular ship.”

Added Latifah, “My time aboard Carnival Horizon was nothing short of incredible. In addition to having the honour of serving as the ship’s godmother, meeting the amazing kids from St. Jude and their families and squaring off against Jake in an all-out Lip Sync Battle is certainly something I will always cherish.”

Following the ceremony, Latifah squared off against Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl champion Jake Elliott in Lip Sync Battle: Horizon modelled after the hit Paramount Network TV series and rolling out across the Carnival fleet.

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital received a $100,000 donation from Carnival representing monies raised from various fundraisers, both onboard and ashore. The funds continue the line’s ongoing support of St. Jude with more than $16 million raised in the fight against childhood cancer since the partnership began in 2010.

“This is an absolute thrill for our patients and their families to have their artwork featured as a permanent display on this magnificent ship,” said Richard Shadyac Jr., president and CEO of ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. “The ongoing support of Carnival team members and their customers around the globe for our lifesaving mission plays a critical role in advancing research and treatment for pediatric cancer and other life-threatening diseases.”

MSC is betting big on U.S. cruisers

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MSC Cruises may be relatively small in North America, so it is easy to overlook the magnitude of the line, which has a much bigger presence in Europe and also claims a large market share in South America.

A presentation by executive chairman Pierfrancesco Vago aboard the newly-delivered MSC Seaside offered a broadside of statistics, some of which were eye-opening.

Vago said the 2 million passengers MSC expects in 2017 will take 1.8 million shore excursions, see 8,960 Broadway-style shows while onboard its 12 ships and consume over 50 million meals.

He said MSC has the most international passenger base of any cruise line with 170 nationalities represented. The line visits 86 countries on 194 different itineraries and calls at 199 ports (Carnival Corp. claims over 700).

Founded in Naples, Italy, MSC sells in 67 countries around the world, Vago said, and the average passenger is 45 years old.

Without saying which day it was, Vago also said that MSC’s record for a single day of sales was 10,993 bookings.

The company, a subsidiary of Geneva-based Mediterranean Shipping Co., has 17,778 onboard and shoreside employees and expects to create 25,000 new jobs by 2026 as it proceeds with a $10.2 billion shipbuilding program.

To date, MSC has only had one ship in the North American market at a time, but that is about to change as its new ship, the MSC Seaside, joins the MSC Divina in Miami on Dec. 21. The 4,138-passenger Seaside is the first MSC ship to have an English name, and the first newbuild to be sent to North America directly from the shipyard.

By the fall of 2019, they will be joined by a seasonal deployment of the MSC Meraviglia, giving MSC three ships in Miami for the 2019-20 winter season with a weekly combined capacity of over 12,000 passengers.

And that doesn’t count the two ships MSC currently operates for Europeans (and Canadians) from Havana, Cuba, or the ship it deploys seasonally from Martinique and Guadeloupe.

By 2019, MSC plans to have opened a private island near Bimini that will serve all of those vessels.

At a ceremony to accept delivery of the Seaside from Italian shipbuilding powerhouse Fincantieri, Vago and Mediterranean Shipping Co. owner and chairman Gianluigi Aponte announced a contract would be signed for two more Seaside ships, each with capacity for 350 more passengers than the Seaside.

“We are determined to become one of the most important cruise operators,” Aponte said.

MSC Meraviglia to sail three cruises from New York

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The 4,488-passenger MSC Meraviglia will come to America earlier than scheduled, sailing three cruises from New York in the fall of 2019.

The ship will sail two 10-night round trip Canada/New England cruises as well as a 13-night Caribbean cruise that ends in Miami.

As previously reported, after the Meraviglia arrives in Miami, MSC will have three ships in the Miami market in the winter of 2019-2020: the Seaside, Divina and Meraviglia.