Switzerland-based cruise line MSC Cruises and Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri have celebrated the float out of MSC Seaview, the second of two identical ships in the Seaside generation.
The ceremony took place on August 23 at the Monfalcone shipyard in Italy, where the ship is being built.
MSC Seaview, which will be able to accommodate 5,429 passengers, is set to come into service in June 2018.
MSC Seaview’s sister vessel, MSC Seaside, is expected to come into service in December 2017 with its voyage from Trieste, Italy to Miami, USA. The ship was floated out in Monfalcone in November last year.
As informed, the 154,000 gross ton MSC Seaview will sail its inaugural 2018 summer season in the Mediterranean. The newbuilding will have three Mediterranean home ports: Genoa, Marseille and Barcelona and will also call at Naples, Messina and Valetta.
Following this inaugural season, the 323-meter-long vessel will sail to Brazil and the Southern hemisphere for the winter 2018-2019 season, with an itinerary that includes Santos, Ilha Grande, Buzios, Porto Belo and Camboriu.
“The float out of MSC Seaview is another significant milestone in the expansion of our fleet. She is part of a ten year investment plan that will have already seen the delivery of six new ships by 2020,” Pierfrancesco Vago, MSC Cruises’ Executive Chairman , commented.
The float out is a key milestone in the construction of a cruise ship, as it is the moment when the vessel is first touched by water as its dry dock is flooded and the ship is moved to a wet dock for the final phase of the construction. The exterior of the ship is now complete and work moves to complete interiors, fixtures and furnishings.
MSC Seaview will be the third next-generation ship coming into service in just 12 months, following on from MSC Meraviglia and MSC Seaside.