MSC Cruises celebrated simultaneous construction milestones for two new cruise ships. At the STX France shipyard, the coin ceremony for MSC Bellissima and the cutting of the first steel for their first Meraviglia-Plus ship were conducted the same time.
Pierfrancesco Vago, executive chairman of MSC Cruises said:
“Today we are celebrating a truly unique moment, as it is the first time that key shipbuilding milestones for two different ships are celebrated on the same day,”
“This is a testimony of the strength and ambition of our investment plan.”
During the event, Mr. Vago also announced that the name of the new Meraviglia-Plus ship will be MSC Grandiosa.
The second part of the proceedings was the traditional coin ceremony for MSC Bellissima, where two commemorative coins were placed into one of the ship’s blocks as a sign of blessing and good fortune for the ship and her crew. The two mega-ships — MSC Bellissima and MSC Grandiosa — are due to come into service in March 2019 and November 2019, respectively.
Laurent Castaing, general manager of STX France said:
“Today as we celebrate a cutting of the first steel and then a keel laying in the same day, we are living an unprecedented experience that marks the beginning of a new era, both for our client and for our yard,”
“For MSC Cruises, it is the realization of an extraordinary investment plan, which will elevate the Company to become one of the three largest players in the global cruise industry; for us, it is the illustration of our very healthy order book, which leads us to deliver two ships a year until 2022. We are partners in the same virtuous circle, where boldness and the performance of each is a benefit to the other.”
The two ships are part of an aggressive growth plan for MSC Cruises’, which includes the development of new prototypes for each of the three new classes of ships – the Meraviglia class, Seaside Class and World Class. In June 2017, MSC Cruises launched the first of these new ships, MSC Meraviglia in Le Havre France, and will welcome MSC Seaside to Miami in December. In June 2018, MSC Seaview will join the ultra-modern fleet.
