MSC Cruises has officially named MSC Seashore at its private island destination Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve in the Bahamas as the second EVO class ship was floated out in Italy.
For the 16th time, Hollywood actress Sophia Loren fulfilled the godmother role for an MSC Cruises ship, with three-time Grammy Award-winner Nile Rodgers and his band Chic performing at the naming ceremony.
Agents, VIPs, stakeholders, and media attended Seashore’s naming event which was split across the island and the 5,632-passenger ship.
Seashore is the first cruise ship to ever be named at a private island. MSC said the ship’s naming would also formally inaugurate Ocean Cay, which opened in December 2019 and closed shortly after due to the pandemic.
The ever-beautiful and inimitable Godmother of #MSCSeashore, Sophia Loren.#OneWithTheSeapic.twitter.com/RInJrBWypa
— MSC Cruises News (@MSCCruises_PR) November 19, 2021
MSC Seashore will start its US season on Saturday, with a seven-night cruise out of PortMiami and will offer a mix of itineraries ranging from five to 16 nights. It is the third MSC ship currently based in the US.
Across the ship, there are 11 types of staterooms and six swimming pools – including a waterpark and an infinity pool.
The children’s area is the largest in the fleet with 7,567 square feet of space.
MSC Seashore has shore power connectivity meaning that it can connect to the national grid supply in the country that it docks in which reduces the carbon emissions it emits.
In Italy, second EVO class vessel, MSC Seascape, was floated out at Fincantieri’s shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy. The ship is scheduled to launch in November 2022.
Pierfrancesco Vago, MSC Cruises executive chairman, said, “The float out of MSC Seascape marks yet another significant milestone in the growth of our fleet.
“We have continued with our ambitious newbuild plans, in spite of the pandemic, and today is a double celebration for MSC as our next flagship MSC Seascape is floated out into water simultaneously as her sister ship MSC Seashore is officially named at our very own private island, Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve.”
Environmental focus
MSC Cruises championed the sustainability and technology credentials of new flagship MSC Seashore when the line’s first EVO-class vessel at the naming ceremony.
The 5,632-passenger ship, MSC’s biggest – and the largest built at Italy’s Fincantieri shipyard – was also dubbed the fleet’s “greenest” by executive chairman Pierfrancesco Vago.
It is the world’s first cruise ship to showcase Fincantieri’s ‘Safe Air’ air sanitation system, which uses UV-C lamp technology to eliminate 99% of viruses and bacteria and provide “100% fresh air” around the ship with no recirculation.
MSC says advanced cleaning systems reduce emissions, that wastewater treatment systems have been improved and shore-to-ship power connectivity allows the ship to connect to local power grids in ports.
An LED light show replaced fireworks at the ceremony over concerns the latter may have disturbed the island’s wildlife were not used at the ceremony, when Italian actress Sophia Loren christened her 16th MSC Cruises ship.
Vago said Seashore was paving the way for sustainable cruising and helping MSC move towards its ultimate goal of zero emissions by 2050.
He said MSC World Europa, launching in winter 2022, would be the first MSC ship powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) – but, while this is seen as one of the cleanest marine fuels currently, he said it was not the industry’s panacea.
“We see it as a transitional fuel and we will carry on investing in new ships, new technology and our environmental commitment,” Vago said.
Reimagined ship
Two thirds of public spaces have been “reimagined” on MSC Seashore compared with its sister ships Seaside and Seaview.
The new flagship combines MSC’s long-standing trademarks, such as glittering Swarovski studded staircases, with new features such as a four-deck LED wall in the atrium displaying changing views of New York City’s skyline.
In another tribute to New York, the ship includes a giant Statue of Liberty model, an Uptown Lounge and three dining rooms named after New York districts.
The ship also features French-themed music lounge Le Cabaret Rouge, and its new bars include the bottle-lined Wine Cellar.
The ship is designed to sail in warm waters, with a wide promenade deck with al fresco seating outside the Butcher’s Cut restaurant, and hot tubs and an infinity pool overlooking the back of the ship with loungers in the water.