- First delivery in Spring 2023
- 8 ships to be built by Fincantieri
- Inspired by MSC Yacht Club
Pierfrancesco Vago chair of MSC, Antonio Paradiso and Gianni Onorato CEO of MSC,
MSC Cruises and Fincantieri have signed a memorandum of agreement for the €2bn construction of four ultra-luxury cruise ships.
The first will be delivered in Spring 2023, will have a gross tonnage of approximately 64,000 GT and will feature 500 cabins, similar in size to Crystal Serenity. The remaining three ships will come into service one per year over the following three years. See renderings of the new ships here or connect with the album on Facebook.
MSC Cruises, represented in the Irish market by Rebecca Kelly and her team, is the world’s largest privately-owned cruise company. This order will bring to eight the number of MSC Cruises ships to be built in Italy with Fincantieri of a total 17 new ships to be built by 2027, for an overall investment of €13.6bn. Of these, three have already come into service since June 2017: MSC Meraviglia, MSC Seaside and MSC Seaview. Two more – MSC Bellissima and MSC Grandiosa – will be delivered in February and October 2019, respectively. All five ships will feature MSC Cruises’ existing ship-in-ship luxury concept, the award-winning next-generation MSC Yacht Club (website).
Pierfrancesco Vago
Pierfrancesco Vago, MSC Cruises’ Executive Chairman, said: “entering into the ultra-luxury segment is a natural evolution of the MSC Yacht Club. These ships will be able to offer unique itineraries, thanks to their size, and the guest services will be taken to another level, including our personalised MSC Yacht Club butler service, available 24/7. I am especially pleased to be able to further extend our partnership with Fincantieri through this new order. The award-winning Seaside and Seaside-Evo class have already been recognised as ground-breaking and innovative designs. We are now introducing another new class, which will establish a new standard of ultra-luxury at sea with ships that will showcase the quality and highest standards that are associated with Made in Italy.”
Giuseppe Bono, CEO of Fincantieri
Giuseppe Bono, CEO of Fincantieri, stated: “It is with pride that two great brands – an Italian one and one with a strong Italian DNA -, well-known all over the world, today announce an important construction program. We are extremely satisfied that, to launch a new class of ships in the luxury segment, MSC Cruises has recognized that our design will help them create a new generation of ships that will be cutting edge both in terms of safety and technological content, and with particular attention paid to passenger comfort. With this project Fincantieri can count on 53 cruise ships in its order book, confirming its position as absolute market leader”.
