MSC Cruises takes delivery of Brazil-bound MSC Grandiosa

MSC Cruises took delivery of its newest cruise ship on Friday, the 4,888-guest, 181,541-gross ton MSC Grandiosa, the latest in the Meraviglia Plus-class.

Built by Chantiers de l’Atlantique, the same shipyard that is building MSC’s new World-class cruise ships, the second-largest class of cruise ships in the world, MSC Grandiosa will spend her inaugural season in the Mediterranean before being repositioned to Brazil.

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MSC Grandiosa will host a series of press events in Hamburg, Germany until her christening, she’ll then sail her inaugural cruise from the city on November 10^th, with passengers able to embark or disembark in in Hamburg, Genoa or Marseille, with calls in Southampton, Lisbon, and Barcelona.

From November 23^rd, 2019, MSC Grandiosa will begin her inaugural season in the Mediterranean, cruising week-long itineraries to Rome, Palermo, Valletta, Barcelona, and Marseille.

These itineraries will be repeated weekly until she repositions to Santos, Brazil in fall 2020 to cruise around South America for the 2020/21 season, making her the largest cruise ship to ever homeport in South America.

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Gianluigi Aponte, MSC Group Chairman, attending the delivery ceremony, said MSC Cruises’ newest flagship was one of the most environmentally advanced ships at sea.

In addition to a hybrid “closed-loop” exhaust gas cleaning system (EGCS), which reduces ship sulphur emissions by 97 percent, MSC Grandiosa will also be the first MSC Cruises’ ship to feature a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system that helps reduce nitrogen oxide by 80 percent.

All other MSC Cruises ships currently under construction will feature the SCR technology including MSC Grandiosa’s sister ship, MSC Virtuosa, due to come into service in October 2020, as well as MSC Seashore, currently under construction at Fincantieri.

MSC Grandiosa will showcase a richness of guest experiences, from world-class entertainment, an enhanced MSC Yacht Club, two brand new Cirque du Soleil at Sea shows, to a wide choice of international dining options, offering 8 dining venues and 12 bars & lounges.

Families will have access to a range of original activities and dedicated kids’ areas.

MSC Grandiosa also features ZOE, the world’s first virtual cruise personal assistant in every cabin and new updates to the MSC for Me digital innovation program.