MSC Cruises is to showcase its new ship MSC Magnifica to almost 2,000 agents during an overnight visit to Southampton next February.
The ship, which carries 2,550 passengers based on double occupancy, will be in Southampton on February 26 and 27. It will come straight from the STX Europe shipyard in St Nazaire, France, where it is being built.
From Southampton, it will go to Bremerhaven, near Hamburg, in Germany, for a naming ceremoney on March 6.
More than 2,000 agents and media will be invited to see the vessel and join a gala dinner during the overnight stay. They will also witness the exchanging of the crest to mark MSC Magnifica’s maiden visit to Southampton.
MSC Cruises UK and Ireland managing director Giulio Libutti said the Southampton visit is an important opportunity to showcase the new ship to UK agents at a time when the cruise line is experiencing “rapid growth in the UK market”.
He said: “MSC UK and Ireland has experienced a 50% increase in UK passengers in the past 12 months, which is 39% higher than the UK industry average, and also a 60% increase in revenue.
“We look forward to the arrival of our new ship and to welcoming agents onboard for an overnight stay. We have ship visits, conferences and celebrations planned. It is going to be an informative and enjoyable weekend.”
MSC Magnifica is the fourth in a series of Musica-class ships and a sister to MSC Poesia, which was named in Dover in 2008.
Once it has been named in Germany, MSC Magnifica will relocate to Venice, from where it will be sailing year-round seven-night cruises calling at Bari in Italy, Katakolon in Greece, Izmir and Istanbul in Turkey, and Dubrovnik in Croatia.