MSC Cruises welcomes their new ship 'MSC Virtuosa' to the fleet.

By: Alana DeRose

On Thursday February 4, 2021 MSC cruises officially welcomed their new ship ‘MSC Virtuosa’ to their fleet after almost two years of construction.

Four years ago in the year 2016, MSC Cruises confirmed the $1.7 billion dollar order for the new Meraviglia-Plus ships.

“MSC Cruises said it has converted options into firm orders for two ships scheduled for delivery in October 2019 and December 2020.”, according to Travel Weekly.

Then two years later on June 14, 2018, MSC Cruises officially announced the name of their December 2020 ship at a “steel cutting ceremony for MSC Cruises’ newest Meraviglia-Plus II cruise ship”, Offshore Energy stated.

“To be named MSC Virtuosa, the second Meraviglia-Plus ship is scheduled for delivery in 2020.”

MSC has said on their website that Virtuosa’s name has “come from the word virtuoso, meaning someone highly skilled in any field of activity, and so MSC Virtuosa was named to pay homage to the skill and expertise of the MSC Cruises architects and shipyard partners at Les Chantiers de l’Atlantique who designed and built this innovative class of ships.”

Virtuosa is “one of the two largest in MSC Cruises’ fleet, along with her sister ship MSC Grandiosa”, according to the MSC website.

The ship has a GT or gross tonnage of 181,541, 331m or 1085.96 ft long, 43m or 141.076 ft wide, and 67m or 219.816 ft tall.

This all together fits 6,334 guests, 2,421 cabins, and 1,704 crew members.

Making it slightly bigger than its sister ship.

However MSC Virtuosa offers some of the same amenities as MSC Grandiosa such as: Galleria, family and children areas, MSC Yacht Club, spa areas, an aqua park, theater, F1 simulators, sportsplex, casino, attic club, and a TV Studio and bar.

The ship also has “19 decks named after famous composers”, “21 bars, 4 main restaurants, and 5 specialty restaurants with two brand new restaurants and one specialty bar.”, “5 pools including a magrodome pool on deck 15”, and “1,168 sqm of retail space with 11 different boutiques.”, MSC stated.

Now the new Meraviglia-Plus ship was supposed to start sailing in November of 2020 from Genoa, but due to the Covid 19 pandemic they had to delay the sailing of the ship a couple months.

“This vessel, launched on November 29, was due to enter the fleet next October. But, Mer et Marine learned, it’s owner, MSC Cruises, and Chantiers de l’Atlantique, would have agreed to postpone its delivery to early 2021.”, Mer et Marine stated on their website.

Then on February 4, 2021, MSC officially welcomed Virtuosa to their fleet, with them also showing itineraries sailing to the Mediterranean, Northern Europe, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Qatar on their website.

However we can’t sail onboard the ship due to the continuous Covid-19 pandemic, but MSC is trying to get back to sailing again with their new “safe bubble”, as safety is their number one priority.

“Embarking on an MSC cruise ship is like entering in a safe bubble thanks to our stringent MSC Cruises Health & Safety Protocol. Our priority is the health and safety of our guests and crew. The below measures are applicable to sailings in the upcoming months, including Summer 2021 departures. We are continuously assessing developments in response to the COVID-19 and will adapt the health and safety measures to maintain a safe bubble.”