French shipyard Chantiers de l’Atlantique held today delivery and coin ceremonies for two newbuilds owned by Switzerland-based cruise company MSC Cruises.
At the event held in Saint-Nazaire, the shipyard delivered MSC Bellissima , the second of the Meraviglia generation of cruise ships and the sixteenth vessel to join the MSC fleet.
Welcome #MSCBellissima ! The 16th ship of #MSCCruises ' fleet is officially part of the family. #BeautyAtSea pic.twitter.com/JSve65acTk
— MSC Cruises News (@MSCCruises_PR) February 27, 2019
Following the delivery, the 167,600-ton newbuilding will set sail for Southampton, where it will be named on March 2. With a capacity for more than 5,700 passengers, the new addition to the MSC Cruises’ fleet will become the largest ship to be launched in this UK city.
MSC Bellissima will depart Southampton on March 4 to commence its 10-night inaugural cruise to Genoa. From March 17, the vessel will commence 7-night itineraries in the Mediterranean calling Genoa, Naples and Messina in Italy, Valetta in Malta, Barcelona in Spain and Marseille in France.
Also on February 27, the coin ceremony was held for MSC Virtuosa , the company’s second Meraviglia-Plus ship. The coin was placed in the keel block by MSC Virtuosa’s godmothers as a symbol of good luck.
Joyful moments should always be shared.Take a look at the highlights from #MSCVirtuosa ‘s Coin Ceremony. https://t.co/mcsZ13NzB2 pic.twitter.com/utxvjabpKC
— MSC Cruises News (@MSCCruises_PR) February 27, 2019
As its sister ship MSC Grandiosa, MSC Virtuosa will feature a length of 331 meters, a width of 43 meters and a maximum capacity of 6,300 passengers. It will be one of the two largest ships in MSC Cruises’ fleet when it enters service in 2020.
The newbuilds are part of the company’s EUR 11.6 billion investment plan under which the MSC fleet is set to expand to 25 mega cruise ships by 2026.