The first vessel in the new Meraviglia Plus class of MSC Cruises will be named MSC Grandiosa. The name of the new ship was revealed during a couple of back-to-back ceremonies which marked key construction milestones for 2 of the upcoming new cruise ships of the line.
Held at STX France, the events celebrated the coin ceremony for the 2nd ship in the line’s new Meraviglia class, MSC Bellissima, and the steel cutting for MSC Grandiosa, the first in the new Meraviglia Plus class. The two vessels are scheduled to launch in March 2019 and November 2019, respectively.
MSC Grandiosa will boast with a new “fine art museum at sea.” She will be the 3rd of 4 MSC Cruises ships to feature Cirque du Soleil at Sea, hosted in the Carousel Lounge. The two vessels will incorporate several sustainability features, such as SCR-Catalysts, hybrid exhaust gas cleaning systems, advanced wastewater treatment, updated waste management & recycling capabilities, emission-reducing energy & heat recovery systems.
The Meraviglia Plus class builds on the new Meraviglia class, including MSC Meraviglia which launched in June 2017 and MSC Bellissima. They will feature a maximum capacity of 6,334 passengers, as well as new original shows - eight shows will be available on MSC Meraviglia and Meraviglia-plus ships. Each of the 4 ships will sail with 2 new contrasting shows, with the first 2 debuted onboard MSC Meraviglia in June 2017. Creative work is underway on 2 more shows for Bellissima.
Currently, MSC Cruises has 4 new cruise ships under construction – Seaside, Seaview, Bellissima and Grandiosa. MSC Seaside is to be delivered in 2 weeks in Miami. The US$10 billion investment plan of the line calls for 6 out of 11 new liners to come into service between June 2017-November 2020, more than doubling the fleet capacity of MSC Cruises in 3 and a half years.
Sales are now open for the inaugural summer season of MSC Bellissima in the Mediterranean. The opening of sales for Grandiosa is to be announced soon.