MSC Cruises Completes Overhaul Programme

MSC Cruises has this week announced the completion of its Renaissance Programme — a multi-million dollar renovation project intended to refresh, enhance and renew four of the cruise line’s flagship ocean liners. After several months spent in dry dock, rejuvenation of the vessels has now been completed, spearheading the firm’s imminent expansion into new cruise markets and bolstering its presence in its current cruising sectors.

Speaking at a recent press conference aboard MSC Lirica; Gianni Onorato, chief executive of MSC Cruises, told journalists that the final ship — the aforementioned Lirica — in the Renaissance Programme has now been completed, later adding that the project as a whole has helped reinforce the elements that distinguish MSC’s cruises from other lines.

Asked to summarise the details and intentions behind the improvement works, Onarato said that many of the enhancements — including a more varied choice of dining options, additional entertainment and an expansive new wellbeing offering — provided the four vessels with touch of MSC’s trademark Mediterranean style whilst being more appealing to families. Each of the four ships now has five unique clubs for young passengers up to 17 years of age — two of which were designed by children’s brands, Chicco and Lego.

On top of improvements to the ships’ dining, entertainment, on-board amenities and facilities; Onarato went on to say that Lirica in particular has been given new features and innovations which will better cater to Chinese guests when the ship commences its Shanghai deployment ahead of the 2016 cruise season.

He said: “Renaissance is the first pillar of MSC Cruises’ second growth phase, while the four next-generation new builds we’ll launch between 2017 and 2019 are the second. Renaissance has delivered four holistically improved ships that will serve strategic segments of the global cruise market with the standard-setting experiences, amenities and service that are synonymous with MSC Cruises today.”

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Image sourced via Flickr Creative Commons. Credit: Roderick Eime.