Off to the construction works of "MSC Seaside", a new generation cruise ship that will be built in the Fincantieri shipyards of Monfalcone (Gorizia). The sheet metal cutting ceremony, held at the Monfalcone plant, was attended by MSC Cruises Pierfrancesco Vago, Executive Chairman and Gianni Honorato, Chief Executive Officer jointly with Giuseppe Bono, Chief Executive Officer of Fincantieri.
MSC Seaside will be delivered in November 2017, while the launch is expected two months later at Miami, where the ship will be positioned year-round to operate Caribbean cruise routes. MSC Seaside will have a gross tonnage of 154.000 tons and will be able to accommodate 4.140 passengers. It will be equipped with cluster cabins, for families and groups traveling together, with suites and roof gardens, as well as a restaurant reserved for children, a club with swimming pool, lounge and private solarium, for a total of over 13.000 square meters of open spaces.
It is the first of two sister ships commissioned from Fincantieri: the second ship will debut in 2018 and the agreement includes an option for the construction of a further Seaside-class unit, which should be delivered by 2021.
“Today we witnessed the start of work on an extraordinary new ship, MSC Seaside. It is a ship that revolutionizes industry standards, with a bold and innovative design that brings guests more in contact with the sea. It is testament to MSC Cruises' constant focus on innovation, as she is the fifth prototype vessel we have designed so far” he stated Pierfrancesco Vago.
“MSC Seaside represents a fundamental pillar of the new 5,1 billion euro industrial plan which, with the construction of seven new ships, will allow us, by 2022, to double the capacity of the fleet” he added Vago. “This order intensifies our investment in Italy and marks our return to the partnership with Fincantieri, which makes me very proud. In fact, the construction of the new Seaside prototypes, together with the Renaissance Program - another current project with Fincantieri worth 200 million euros - are just one example of how a global organization like MSC, of which MSC Cruises is a part, plays a key role in the Italian economy".
“For our group and not only for the Monfalcone shipyard, this ceremony is like no other. In fact, MSC Seaside will be the largest unit produced so far in our factories, the first we build for this owner who, like us, has its strength in being a truly global player in the industry in which it operates. For MSC Seaside we have developed a completely new and very ambitious project and we can't wait for it to take shape to celebrate in two years with MSC a splendid ship of which we can all be extremely proud,” said Giuseppe Bono.
MSC Cruises announced that in 2014 it had grown by 800% and in the same year carried 1,67 million passengers and recorded excellent economic results with a turnover of 1,5 billion euros. For 2015 a further growth of 10% is expected. Among other things, there is also the news that, also in this case two years before the maiden cruise, today the sales for cruises on board the MSC Meraviglia open, the other new generation ship from MSC Cruises. Scheduled to debut in the summer of 2017, MSC Meraviglia is MSC Cruises' most innovative ship to date and will be the first to boast three home ports during her inaugural summer Mediterranean season: Barcelona, Genoa and Marseille.
