MSC christens new ship
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Marseilles witnessed the christening of MSC’s new flag ship MSC Divina last Saturday evening.
The high profile event included a gala dinner and entertainment from a list of well-known performers in the company of more than 2000 guests from all sectors of the media, travel, local government and the line’s senior management. The ship was suitably christened in elegant style by international screen legend Sophia Loren. Themed “Med with Passion”, the event very much highlighting the company’s Mediterranean roots and heritage and was run in collaboration with UNICEF.
Pier Francesco Vago , MSC’s chief executive officer in his opening address to the press confirmed that the line’s newest ship, which was built at the STX France shipyard in St, Nazaire, took five million man hours and £440m to build and is now the 12th ship in the line’s fleet.
The MSC Divina is the third ship in the Fantasia class and becomes a sister to the MSC Fantasia and MS Splendida . It has been built for year-round operations with a retractable roof area over the swimming pool so this area can be used in inclement weather conditions and during the winter months. The ship boasts one of the largest spa areas and fitness centres afloat. With another ship of the same size currently under construction, the MSC Preziosa , which comes on line in March 2013, the line’s capacity will have increased by more than 25% over two years.
“The introduction of this ship is simply another milestone for the company which continues to grow at a very fast pace particularly in Europe and Latin America thus needing the added capacity,” Guilio Libutti, managing director UK at MSC told Cruise News UK. “What it further means is that clients now have three Fantasia class ships to choose from with vastly expanded facilities for families”.
Speaking at the ceremony, Domenico Pellegrino, MSC’s managing director said the global cruise market is expected to carry 17 million passengers this year, which is likely to grow to 24 million by 2015 and reach 30 million by 2020, with capacity needing to be ready. MSC’s biggest markets in Europe are Italy, France, Spain and the UK and each of its largest European source markets is performing very well, with the UK again expected to grow by around 30% year-on-year in 2012. Its growth strategy includes the Americas with Caribbean and South American itineraries.
MSC Divinia’s godmother Sophia Loren cut the ribbon at the ceremony and has also had her own input into the ship. “One of the top suites has been designed and fully decorated by Sophia Loren herself and this suite will be available for bookings,” revealed Libutti.
Before Loren cut the ribbon, the evening’s entertainment included a performance by a local folk dance group; a narrated MSC story by well-known French actor Gerard Depardiou and a performance by Italian artist Paulo Conte and UNICEF’s Maxim Vengerov.
Speaking on behalf of Marseilles, the town’s Mayor Jean -Claude Gaudin said the port will see an upgrade of its infrastructure and facilities as it aims to carry more than one million passengers next year. He congratulated MSC on the new ship and thanked the company for selecting to christen its new ship in Marseille, his city of birth.
“We could not have found a better choice than Marseille, where the majority of our French guests embark all year round and where MSC ships will call 80 times in 2012, bringing over 280,000 international guests to the region,” added Pier Francesco Vago, CEO of MSC. “MSC has also worked alongside the French Government with substantial investment in the local cruise terminal and MSC Divina’s christening event is the perfect opportunity to show MSC guests the comfort and modernity of a state-of-the-art terminal, a fitting gateway to the unforgettable onboard experience they will discover”.
The Marseilles event was staged in cooperation with UNICEF. MSC and UNICEF work together to raise money for under-privileged children living in some of the poorest neighbourhoods in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paolo. Maxim Vengerov, world renowned violinist and a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador confirmed that more than one million Euros had already been raised as a result of the cooperation between MSC and UNICEF in its Get on Board for Children initiative which was put to a good use in many of the Favelas in Brazil and the impact can instantly be seen in many communities. One Euro is donated from each passenger’s fare towards the cause.
