MSC Cruises GCC, the Middle East arm of the Italian cruise line, has announced an exclusive deal for residents of the region booking a cruise aboard its new cruise liner MSC Seaside.
Deals start at AED 1,900 (US $509) per person for a 7-night roundtrip cruise from Miami to the Caribbean. The starting price is for an inside cabin and includes a meal-time drinks package (that’s unlimited by the way!).
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This meal-time drinks package also applies to bookings of outside, balcony and Aurea and Yacht Club suites. Aurea Spa and Yacht Club suites also include a US $50 shipboard credit.
These prices are roughly 50% of the ‘list price’ for an interior stateroom aboard MSC Seaside, widely regarded as one of the most advanced cruise ships launched in recent years.
Fancy a 7-night Caribbean cruise aboard @MSCGCC's newest and most advanced cruise ship ever for just AED1,900? pic.twitter.com/6bOZRoww3A
— Cruise Arabia (@CruiseArabia) March 12, 2018
Among her many on-board features is a custom-designed multi-story aqua park built by WhiteWater West of Canada. There’s also a waterfront boardwalk, panorama pool, a four-deck atrium, and nine restaurants and cafes, along with five main lounges.
The ship’s most impressive feature is undoubtedly her boardwalk. This innovative super-wide promenade encircles Deck 8 and is lined with eateries, bars, shops and pools. It gives the ship a true floating resort feel.
This promenade also includes two 40m-long glass-floored catwalks designed to simulate the feeling of “walking on water”.
There are two full-size bowling alleys (putting Dubai-based MSC Splendida’s Sports Bar to shame) and the world’s longest zipline at sea. It runs almost the full length of the ship’s expansive pool deck. At 105m it puts Royal Caribbean’s Oasis-class behemoths to shame. There’s also a 5D cinema and an F1 racing simulator.
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The Seaside-class ships are the first built by MSC specifically for the North American market.
That doesn’t mean, however, that Middle East cruise passengers should miss out. This ship is basically all that is good about Dubai, packed into a 153,000-gross ton footprint and sailed out to sea. She’s a destination within herself.
The MSC Seaside accommodates 5,179 passengers in total (4,140 double occupancy) with 73 percent of cabins featuring balconies. These balcony staterooms range from an enlarged MSC Yacht Club suite enclave, to mid-sized suites with private whirlpool tubs on each balcony, and spa and family cabins.
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MSC Seaside will visit Nassau (Bahamas), Ochos Rios (Jamaica), Georgetown (Cayman Islands) and Cozumel (Mexico) on her 7-night Western Caribbean cruises. Her 2018 season will include visits to St John’s (Antigua and Barbuda), Freeport (Bahamas), Costa Maya (Mexico), Charlotte Amalie (US Virgin Islands), Philipsburg (Sint Maarten) and San Juan (Puerto Rico) on select itineraries.
Seaside is the second cruise ship to be deployed in the North American market by MSC. Divina, which is operating seasonally from Miami, paved the way in 2014. Seaside and Divina are part of MSC Cruises’ goal to have four to five ships cruising out of the States, carrying one million North American passengers annually.
MSC has also announced that the 5,741-passenger MSC Meraviglia, launched in June 2017, will reposition to North America. She will cruise from New York in the fall of 2019 before moving to Miami for winter Caribbean cruises. Sister ship MSC Bellissima, will be homeported in the Middle East.
Bookings can be made through MSC Cruises GCC (yousuf.mohammed@msc.com, +971 4 396 6969).
Categories: Middle East Cruise News, News
