MSC Cruises four new luxury cruise ships ordered from Fincantieri will feature a design more akin to a super yacht than a cruise ship according to Pierfrancesco Vago, Executive Chairman of MSC’s Cruises Division.

“While we already serve the premium market with the MSC Yacht Club featured on MSC Cruises’ fleet, our new true luxury brand will deliver to this separate and fast-growing segment with super-yacht vessels and an experience to match that,” said Vago.

They will also showcase a highly-innovative design and introduce ground-breaking options for guest comfort, he added.

MSC’s new luxury ships will be an extension of the MSC Yacht Club concept

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He made the comments as MSC Cruises confirmed its order for four luxury cruise ships to be built by Italian shipyard Fincantieri. While the MoU for the new order was announced back in late 2018, this now converts that agreement into a secured newbuild order, meaning that steel cutting will soon begin.

“With this now firm order, MSC is entering a new segment that bears significant potential globally,” said Vago. “We are proud to partner again with Fincantieri for the development and construction of yet again another highly-innovative and exclusive class of ships.”

The four ships will be built at a total cost of US $2.3-billion. At 64,000-gross tons each and accommodating just under 1,000 passengers in 481 staterooms, that puts them at the same per-ton price point at Regent Seven Seas’ Explorer-class ships, the most expensive in the world on a per-ton basis.

“We are proud to have achieved this important goal in less than five months from the preliminary agreement,” said Giuseppe Bono, Fincantieri’s Chief Executive Officer. “Fincantieri’s reputation in a complex market such as the cruise one is at an all-time high.”

Renderings of the new ships have not been released, but they will be in a similar size bracket and price point for building as Regent’s Explorer-class

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“Our leadership in the luxury segment, among the most active ones, grows even stronger with these four ships, alongside our relationship with MSC and its growth plans,” he added.

MSC first ordered four ships from Fincantieri for its contemporary MSC Cruises brand in 2014. The four Seaside-class ships, valued at US $3.6 billion, are now halfway done.

The first two of these vessels, MSC Seaside and Dubai-bound MSC Seaview, are already in service. The next two vessels will be delivered in 2021 and 2022, with MSC Seashore already under construction at Fincantieri’s yard in Monfalcone.

MSC Cruises is a subsidiary of MSC Group, the world’s second largest transportation and logistics business, which also owns MSC Shipping Company.

The new luxury brand will operate under MSC Cruises, according to a statement from the cruise line, but it’s not yet clear whether the brand name will be different.