MSC Cruises today welcomed its fifth US-based ship, the Fantasia-class MSC Divina, to her new homeport in Miami.

Beginning this weekend, MSC Divina will sail a variety of itineraries to the Caribbean, Central America—and Mexico—including 3-day trips to Nassau and MSC’s private island at Ocean Cay; 7-night trips that include Isla de Roatan (Honduras), Belize City (Belize), Costa Maya and Cozumel (Mexico), George Town (Cayman Islands), Ocho Rios (Jamaica), Nassau and Ocean Cay; and 11-night voyages that include Montego Bay (Jamaica), Cartagena (Colombia), Puerto Limon (Costa Rica), Isla de Roatan (Honduras), Oranjestad (Aruba), Cozumel and Ocean Cay.

A limited-time flash sale this weekend will give potential sailors a chance to try the ship, or any MSC ship sailing from Miami or Orlando, at reduced prices starting at $109. Trips must be booked by December 18.

Introduced in 2012, MSC can hold up to 4,345 passengers and 1,388 crew members. There’s a 4-D theater and four pool areas, including a 22,507-square-foot Aqua Park, as well as eight restaurants, 12 bars and lounges, an MSC Yacht Club with floor-to-ceiling windows, and a Thermal Suite.

Also sailing the Caribbean will be MSC Seascape, Seashore, Seaside, Meraviglia and Magnifica.

South America also will have six ships this winter: MSC Grandiosa, Seaview, Preziosa, Musica, Lirica and Armonia, sailing a series of itineraries to Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay.

MSC also will have a winter presence in the Mediterranean, the Middle East, North Europe, Asia, and South Africa.

The trend toward upgrading private islands has come to MSC Cruises, which last week advised guests and travel advisors that its Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve in the Bahamas will be closed from April 7 to May 22, 2024 “in order to make necessary guest experience enhancements and support the island’s future growth plans.”

The closing will result in program shifts for MSC Seashore, MSC Seascape, MSC Divina, and MSC Meraviglia, including everything from the addition of new ports of call to cancellation of some itineraries. Some itineraries will stop in Nassau, Freeport in The Bahamas, or Isla Roatan in Honduras instead of Ocean Cay.

Guests on the impacted cruises have until July 31 to decide whether to stay with their existing reservation, move to another sailing without penalty, or cancel for a full refund.

Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve opened in December 2019, but closed during the Covid shutdown from mid-March until summer 2021. One of the most beautiful of the private islands, its focus is not on thrills but rather on luxury and calm, including eight beaches, a spa, private cabanas, and an onsite kids program at the family-friendly Seakers Family Cove.

Underscoring its reach into the US market, MSC Group this week offered up details about the naming ceremony of MSC Euribia in Copenhagen, as well as the Owners Suite on Explora I, the first ship in its new Explora Journeys luxury division.

Sporting “the most energy-efficient cruise ship design ever,” MSC Euribia, is powered by LNG and features state-of-the-art environmental technologies including advanced onboard wastewater treatment systems, waste management handling, energy efficiency measures, and innovative underwater radiated noise management systems to reduce the potential impact on the marine environment.

As always at MSC namings, Sophia Loren will serve as godmother. Euribia then will sail 7-night itineraries in Northern Europe, from Kiel, Germany, and Copenhagen, Denmark to the Norwegian Fjords.

New elements on the ship include the new Le Grill “French bistro meets steakhouse” restaurant; a reinvented Carousel Lounge designed to offer more panoramic ocean views; and a brand-new kids area and program of activities dedicated to educating children and teenagers on environmental subjects in the MSC Foundation Lab.

For guests looking for a more luxurious experience, MSC Group’s new Explora Journeys brand unveiled details of the 3,000-square-foot Owner’s Residence on its first ship, Explora I.

Guests there can lounge on a private outdoor terrace that extends over the full width of the ship, sip champagne in their own infinity whirlpool, or dine in private at a table for eight. They will also have unlimited priority reservations for all culinary venues and a complimentary treatment at Ocean Wellness – The Spa.

The suite includes private butler service, a Technogym Bench and Case Kit, a private bar replenished according to their preferences, unlimited priority reservations for all culinary venues, a double vanity bathroom made of Calacatta marble and other “incredible details that create an elegant, yet effortlessly relaxed European sense of luxury,” said Explora Journeys Head of Product Jason Gelineau.

The Residence is available for parties of three adults or two adults and one child under 18 years old.

After 15 years of cruising in Japan, MSC Cruises on May 1 opened sales for its first-ever winter season in the Land of the Rising Sun, beginning this year.

The new program will start in November 2023, sailing on MSC Bellissima, and include 6-, 9-, and 11-night sailings from Yokohama. Then from January to March 2024, MSC Bellissima will add 4- and 5- night itineraries within Japan and to Keelung, Taiwan (China), visiting Okinawa, Ishigaki, and Miyako island, sailing out of a homeport in Naha/Okinawa.

MSC Bellissima is the second ship in the MSC Meraviglia class and one of the largest in the MSC fleet, holding 4,500 guests. It features 12 dining venues and more than 20 bars and lounges, including a steak house, the French specialty restaurant L’Atelier Bistrot and Chocolate & Café, home of unique and elegant chocolate desserts.

It’s a brand new ship, a brand new port, and a brand new lead as MSC World America goes on sale this week—and the line is readying to help the travel advisors who took part in that growth learn about and sell the new ship.

At a press conference at Seatrade Global, MSC’s top executives thanked the travel advisors who have helped push the United States to become the line’s number-one market. This season MSC will return the favor with “a lot of fam trips onboard Meraviglia launching from New York and of course we’ll be planning some on MSC World America,” promised MSC Cruises USA president Ruben Rodriguez. Also in the works are upgrades to the MSC Book platform, to make training and booking easier, he said.

“For a brand that’s still building,” the propensity of a travel partner who sails on MSC to then book customers runs high, Rodriguez noted.

MSC also is investing in a new team to develop the MICE and charter businesses. “Our ships are modern, they have great features and an abundance of meeting space, so that has made us frankly much more competitive, much more attractive to those customers,” he said.

CEO Gianni Onorato noted that “for the first time in MSC history the United States is the first market for MSC, beating Italy—and we’re very excited. We’re a global brand with a European heritage. We try to strike a balance between the global brand attributes with something linked to everyone’s comfort zone that makes them feel at home when they are away from home.”

This summer MSC will have 13 ships and handle 2.7 times the volume of 2019 including exotic destinations like the Emirates and the Red Sea and Japan—and for the first time the world cruise will have more guests from America than any other country.

MSC World America Details

MSC World America will set sail in 2005, with exclusively seven-night Caribbean itineraries. Its brand new, state-of-the-art terminal at PortMiami is nearing completion, and will be the largest cruise terminal in North America. It will include new technologies like facial recognition and shore-based electric power into which ships can plug.
All itineraries will stop at the popular Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve that features a Bahamian village and evening entertainment. By the end of the year a new marine conservation centerthere will open, dedicated to growing and harvesting coral and then propagating it around the Bahamas.

MSC World America will have two itineraries:
•    Eastern Caribbean: Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, The Bahamas
•    Western Caribbean: Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico; Roatan, Honduras; Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, The Bahamas

A brand new outdoor destination designed for kids and families to play and relax together, The Harbor, combines a water park, interactive water features, and F&B options. There’s a High Trail course and zip line, sensory play areas, the Harbor Lighthouse playground and food trucks.
The ship will span 22 decks, measure more than 150 feet wide, feature 2,626 cabins, contain more than 420,000 square feet of public space, and offer top-of-the-line features and facilities, including a re-imagined outdoor World Promenade, and World Galleria with a state-of-the-art LED and kinetic light ceiling.

Thirteen restaurants, including six specialty restaurants, four main restaurants, two buffets, complimentary Luna Park Pizza & Burger, and 20 bars and lounges. There is a sports bar, a comedy club, The Gin Project offering craft gins, a British pub with a full-scale micro-brewery, a coffee house and a chocolate shop.
An 11-deck-high dry slide, six pools and 14 hot tubs, including a spacious indoor pool with retractable roof.
And, of course, the MSC Yacht Club, with a dedicated lounge and restaurant, private pool and sun deck, and 24-hour concierge and butler service.

The best evidence that the cruise market is in flux and subject to wild changes is that Douglas Ward’s Berlitz Cruising & Cruise Ships hasn’t been updated since 2020. The Berlitz Guide used to sit on most travel agents’ desks. For 35 years, it could be counted on to give clients a two-page summary of every vessel promoted to clients by American travel advisors. It was more than a mere directory. The 754-pages of the 2020 edition rated the accommodations, cuisine, and service on each ship. It was the final word on ship statistics, so that passenger space ratios, passenger crew ratios, and tonnage could be reliably compared.

In my 2019 Amazon book, How to Plan Your Next & BEST Cruise: Secrets of Selecting Cruises, Ships & Destinations, I used Douglas Ward’s data in every chapter to show readers how to move beyond the ads and hype, and to make viable comparisons among cruise ships they were considering.  Read the rest of this entry »

A new summer experience awaits MSC Cruises’ guests as five of its ships added new packages for its East Mediterranean itineraries.

As demand for cruise trips surges and the CDC lifts most of the COVID-19 restrictions for cruises, several lines announced new travel packages hoping to entice tourists. On Monday, April 4, MSC Cruises announced an additional voyage opportunity both ashore and at sea.

MSC will upgrade its East Mediterranean summer sailings with its new ‘Stay and Cruise’ tour package. The program will give MSC Cruises’ guests the opportunity to explore the city of Athens, Greece, or Venice, Italy for two days before they set sail for the seven-night sea vacation.

The package includes several perks including 4-star hotel accommodation for two nights, luggage transfers from the hotel to the guests’ cabins, as well as a half-day city exploration. An option to add air travel is available as well and can be booked through MSC Cruises webpage.

“Up to two days spent in the magnificent cities of either Venice or Athens will be a fantastic prelude to our guests’ seven-night cruises in the East Mediterranean,” the Vice President – Global Sales, MSC Cruises said.

The travel package is available for guests onboarding MSC Cruises’ five ships, namely MSC Sinfonia, MSC Armonia, MSC Fantasia, MSC Musica, and MSC Lirica. It will be on sale by the end of April and can be booked via the luxury liner’s official website or through travel advisors.

The package will also be soon available for MSC Cruises’ U.S sailings from Miami and Orlando by the end of summer, while it will be added in summer 2023 for New York sailings.

Half the cruise ships are sailing, carrying half the passengers they once did. At each port, they are beset by differing and ever-changing protocols, negotiating life-and-death decisions with new players with whom they do not have the usual long-term relationships.

And yet, guest satisfaction is off the charts. The new-to-cruise customers that many expected to be frightened off are instead showing up. New ships and new partnerships, new terminals and new ports are on the horizon—and they promise to share the wealth with local communities and to promote a healthier environment for all.

“We built this industry over more than five decades; we deliver a phenomenal experience that our customers love, and the Caribbean is an unbelievably popular destination for our core markets,” said Royal Caribbean International president and CEO Michael Bayley at the Caribbean Spotlight: A Focus on the Future breakout session. “We need to just stay focused and trust each other and, in another year or so, we’ll be looking back trying not to remember any of this.”

In short, this week’s Seatrade Global conference was unlike any other Read the rest of this entry »