#msc – Cruise Ship Profiles

Southampton set to open its 5th cruise terminal next year

The port of Southampton is set to cement its title as the UK’s busiest cruise port with the opening of a fifth terminal next year. Due for completion in late spring the new terminal will help Southampton handle the 2million passengers, which already pass through the South Coast port each year.

The opening follows the announcement by the port owners Associated British ports (ABP) of a strategic partnership with two of the world largest cruise lines MSC Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings.

The terminal which is being constructed in the city’s Western Docks will be “next-generation-ready”, and able to accomodate world’s biggest ships, which currently carry 6,000 passengers or more.

The new terminal under construction November 2020 (Image Andrew McAlpine)

Alastair Welch, director of ABP Southampton, said: “We’re very pleased to announce this major advance in our cruise infrastructure at the port, delivering further access to Southampton for the industry, whilst supporting our commitment to accelerate improvements in local air quality. This investment is a huge vote of confidence in the future of cruise in Southampton and we’re excited to be at the forefront of a growing industry.”

The upper storey of the new yet to be named terminal (Image ABP)

The new £55 million terminal will feature ultra-modern technology including roof-mounted solar power and ship to shore power connectivity. Also known as ‘cold ironing’, The technology allows for ships to shut down their own generators and obtain power by plugging into local shore based electricity grid.

It scheme has received support from the Solent Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) with an £8 million grant through the government’s Getting Building Fund.

Christopher Hammond, leader of Southampton City Council and Solent LEP director, said: “We are committed to ensuring we can emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic with the strongest foundations for future growth. I’m pleased that this investment joins a growing list of public and private commitments to making our city greener, fairer and healthier, whilst providing much needed jobs in our economic renewal.”

MSC Magnifica in Southampton from 2021 (Image Andrew McAlpine) — MSC Magnifica will homeport in Southampton from 2021 (Image Andrew McAlpine)

Gianni Onorato, MSC Cruises’ CEO, said: “We are in a unique position that not only will we be committing to having an MSC Cruises’ ship home port from Southampton every year, but several of our ships will be visiting Southampton as a destination as part of our wider cruise.

Antonio Paradiso, managing director of MSC Cruises UK & Ireland, said: “Whilst we’ve always had loyal passengers from the UK & Ireland, over the last five years we’ve been on a real journey in the UK market.

“We were delighted to see such strong organic growth which lead to our first ever full season sailing from the UK in 2018, followed by the naming ceremony of MSC Bellissima in the port of Southampton bringing guests from around the world to the city to celebrate the milestone event in 2019. We ended 2019 with the most successful year of sales ever in the UK & Ireland, something we are incredibly proud of.”

He added: “MSC Cruises is serious about the UK market and now more than ever we believe in the potential here and making this long-term commitment to bringing even more passengers to Southampton is evidence of that.

Norwegian Encore seen in Southampton (Image Andrew McAlpine)

Steve Moeller, senior vice president of commercial development at Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd, added: “This agreement marks the continuation of the strong partnership between Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and the Port of Southampton and demonstrates our commitment to the region.”

Six cruise ships seen in Southampton (Image Andrew McAlpine) — Six cruise ships in port is set to be a regualr sight in Southampton (Image Andrew McAlpine)

As always thank you for taking the time to read my latest post.

All images copyright Andrew McAlpine unless otherwise stated

MSC CRUISES FURTHER ENHANCES AWARD-WINNING* FAMILY OFFERING WITH NEW TEEN WEB SERIES AND NEW ACTIVITIES LAUNCHING ON MSC GRANDIOSA

· MSC Grandiosa will feature three brand new activities: MSC Dance Crew, The Drone Academy and Spy Mission

· Cruise line introduces new web series developed specifically for teens: Cabin 12006

· MasterChef at Sea Juniors rolling out fleetwide in 2019

Debuting onboard MSC Grandiosa, the Company’s new flagship launching in November this year.

Each year, MSC Cruises welcomes over 350,000 children onboard its ships, with a comprehensive entertainment schedule offering hundreds of hours of activities each week, up to 700 m2 of dedicated kids space with rooms for different age groups as well as exhilarating aqua parks, high-tech virtual games arcade and much much more. The Company is now introducing three brand new activities to MSC Grandiosa, MSC Dance Crew, The Drone Academy and Spy Mission, as well as introducing a new web series targeted at teenagers.

Matteo Mancini, MSC Cruises’ Children’s Entertainment Manager commented: “The growing number of teens sailing with us, 13-17 year olds now make up 40% of our young guests – this has driven our development of exciting new teen-focused entertainment activities and a new web series dedicated to teens. We are delighted to launch MSC Dance Crew, Spy Mission and The Drone Academy onboard MSC Grandiosa later this year, and announce that filming is underway for ‘Cabin 12006’ – our new teens web series coming online early next year.”

NEW KIDS ENTERTAINMENT ACTIVITIES LAUNCHING ON MSC GRANDIOSA

MSC DANCE CREW – developed in partnership with Fremantle, the production company behind the globally successful TV talent shows including Idols, The X Factor and Got Talent series, this brand-new competition experience sees teams of 12-17 years battling it out to win the title of dance crew of the year.
MSC Cruises is working in collaboration with London-based immersive agency, The Department, who specialise in creating theatrical and technology-driven productions for a host of global brands and companies to introduce:

o THE DRONE ACADEMY – taking place in MSC Grandiosa’s Sportsplex venue, this high-tech and high-energy drone relay race comes to life at night thanks to fluo effects and glowing drones. Teens are trained on drone piloting skills before competing in teams to race through the 390m2 arena navigating 15 obstacles in the quickest time possible.

o SPY MISSION – young audiences play a central role in a new, immersive, roaming spy experience, a first for MSC Cruises. Blending the lines between reality and fiction; guests are led through a number of different scenes, taking place throughout the ship to unravel unique storylines, follow clues and solve the mystery to win a host of MSC Cruises prizes.

NEW TEENS WEB SERIES ‘CABIN 12006’ LAUCNHING EARLY 2020

Following the success of ‘Kelly & Kloe Onboard’, MSC Cruises’ kids web seasons, running for three series and attracting over five million views, the Company is now introducing a brand-new web series targeted at teens.

The seven-episode series follows teenager Markus as he embarks on his first ever cruise – however, his holiday doesn’t quite go to plan and turns into an unexpected adventure…

MSC Bellissima’s Cabin 12006 is full of unanswered questions and many surprises, and it’s down to Markus and his friend Lucas to solve the mystery with the help of virtual personal cruise assistant ZOE. Meanwhile, two young guys dreaming of a career onboard a cruise ship come aboard for a unique internship and unintentionally get tangled in the story thanks to an unexpected whirlwind love story.

The series has been written and shot in collaboration with Viacom, the media group behind kids’ channel Nickelodeon, to develop an original, authentic and high-quality web series for kids.

The series features some of the worlds most loved talents including Luciano Spinelli, Max & Harvey, Matteo Markus Bok, Sespo, Valerio Mazzei, Rosalba and for the first time as comedians, kids from UNICEF Ambassador group Kids United. Between them, they have millions of followers across their social channels and are known by kids and teens of all ages worldwide.

Those who have followed the Kelly & Kloe series will be glad to hear that the two main characters also make appearances throughout ‘Cabin 12006’.

Filming is currently underway onboard MSC Bellissima, with the episodes expected to launch early in 2020. For those who haven’t seen ‘Kelly & Kloe Onboard’, head over to kellyandkloe.com now to watch all three seasons.

MASTERCHEF AT SEA JUNIORS

Throughout 2019, MasterChef at Sea Juniors that launched last October on MSC Seaview is rolling out across the entire MSC Cruises fleet, meaning that kids on board any ship will be able to take part in the interactive two-stage cooking competition.

This activity is developed to help inspire a new generation of children to take an interest in cooking and encourage healthy eating. The activity helps children to practice useful techniques and cultivate creativity in the kitchen through recipes devised by Rukmini Iyer, a MasterChef contestant from 2013 and author of two best-selling cookbooks.

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT MSC CRUISES KIDS’ OFFERING

These elements are just the latest enhancement to MSC Cruises’ award winning* family offering that already includes:

The LEGO Experience on-board – a whole day on every cruise itinerary that is dedicated to fun LEGO® activities, which culminates in the children receiving a Jr. LEGO® Master Builder diploma
DOREBRO – a dedicated sports programme for kids of all ages
A range of services for babies and toddlers: including the Baby-Club for children under 3 as well as a dedicated childcare service. Many of these services are offered in collaboration with Chicco® – the leading global baby brand and yet another exclusive MSC Cruises partnership.
Family Explorer Club – tailor-made shore excursion programme to meet the needs of the whole family

For more information about MSC Cruises’ family offering please visit: www.msccruises.co.uk

For more media information about MSC Cruises please visit www.mscpressarea.com

THE COUNTDOWN IS ON: 182 DAYS LEFT UNTIL THE CHRISTENING OF MSC GRANDIOSA IN HAMBURG

First of the enriched Meraviglia-Plus ships to come into service

Inaugural season to be spent in the stunning Western Mediterranean

New flagship to feature two brand new Cirque du Soleil at Sea Shows

With exactly six months before the christening of MSC Grandiosa on 9^th November in the Port of Hamburg, MSC Cruises, the world’s largest privately-owned cruise line and market leader in Europe, South America, South Africa and the Gulf, today revealed they would be welcoming back international TV star Michelle Hunziker to host the glamorous official naming ceremony of the Company’s newest and largest ship to date. Hunziker, internationally known as a TV presenter, actress and singer, also hosted the christening of MSC Seaview in Genoa in 2018. Growing up in Italy and of Swiss descent, Hunziker speaks five languages and embodies the international spirit and Mediterranean soul of MSC Cruises.

MSC Grandiosa will become the largest ship in the MSC Cruises fleet and the first of the Meraviglia-Plus class of ships. Enriched with more cabins, more public space and innovative new features, the highlights include:

· The iconic Mediterranean Promenade will be the heart of the ship. Under the 98.5-metre-long LED sky, guests can enjoy a varied entertainment programme as well as being able to indulge in shopping and world class food and drink.

· MSC Grandiosa takes the onboard shopping experience to a new level with the indoor promenade offering mall-style boutiques, where guests will find their favourite brands of clothing, jewellery, technology and more, all at unbeatable prices.

· The speciality restaurants located in the promenade include the new restaurant concept L’Atelier Bistrot, a French-inspired bar with lounge area, which also offers a stage and dance floor as well as a seated terrace.

· The entertainment highlight will be two brand new shows from Cirque du Soleil at Sea. The shows are created by world-leader in live entertainment, Cirque du Soleil as part of a unique long-term partnership with MSC Cruises.

· MSC Grandiosa will feature the world’s first virtual personal cruise assistant, ZOE. This artificial intelligence guest service will answer guest questions in the comfort of their cabin alongside a ground-breaking feature of connected cruise experience, MSC for Me.

· Designed as a ship for all seasons, MSC Grandiosa will spend winter in the Mediterannean. With less visitors and the perfect winter sun weather, this is the ideal time of year to discover some of the top destinations throughout Italy, France and Spain without the crowds.

Michelle Hunziker commented, “I am delighted to be part of the christening ceremony of MSC Grandiosa in Hamburg. Since the christening of MSC Seaview last year, I feel a part of the MSC family. I am particularly pleased that the christening is taking place in Germany. I have met great people here and celebrated many professional successes. For me, Germany means a piece of home and Hamburg has such a wonderful maritime heritage, it will be an honour to become a part of it. I am also looking forward to discovering everything that this new and stunning ship has to offer.”

A section of MSC Grandiosa’s hull seen at the shipyard © Andrew McAlpine

MSC Grandiosa is the third ship of the innovative Meraviglia generation and the first of the Meraviglia-Plus class. She will become the fifth new next-generation ship MSC Cruises has launched in just two and a half years as part of MSC Cruises’ investment plan of €13.6 billion spanning more than 10 years. MSC Grandiosa will be followed by a further 12 ships through to 2027 with her sister ship, MSC Virtuosa launching next October 2020.

Meraviglia generation ships have been designed to meet every need of today’s cruise guest. The extraordinary design, wide array of facilities and entertainment make these ships ideal for the whole family. Designed for all seasons, they are able to call at most of the world’s international cruise ports.

Last year I was fortunate to get a glimpse of MSC Grandiosa under construction at in Saint Nazaire when I visited the shipyard to see MSC Bellissima float out.

MSC Grandiosa seen under construction at Chantiers de l’atlantique in St.Nazaire

MSC Cruises have also announced that following her christening in Hamburg MSC Grandiosa will visit Southampton on 13th November, afterwhich she will sail on her maiden cruise to the Mediterranean with calls at Lisbon, Barcelona, Marseille and finally Genoa.

As always thank you for taking the time to read my blog

To find out more booking information www.msccruises.co.uk