MSC Group’s Cruise Division today officially took delivery from Fincantieri of its new flagship MSC Seascape in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Sustainable Infrastructure and Mobility, Hon. Matteo Salvini, according to Fincantieri's release.
The vessel is the 21st to join the MSC Cruises fleet and MSC Seascape is the fourth to have been built by Fincantieri as part of a €7 billion investment package for 10 ships. The shipyard will also build six new vessels for MSC’s luxury travel brand, Explora Journeys.
MSC Seascape is the largest and most technologically advanced cruise ship ever built in Italy and features important innovations from an environmental perspective.
MSC Seascape will begin her inaugural season in the United States, where she will be christened on 7th December in New York. She will then move to the Caribbean, offering two different weekly itineraries departing from Miami. The first, in the eastern Caribbean, will sail to Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, Nassau (Bahamas), San Juan (Puerto Rico) and Puerto Plata (Dominican Republic). The second itinerary, in the western Caribbean, will call at Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, Cozumel (Mexico), George Town (Cayman Islands) and Ocho Rios (Jamaica).
MSC Seascape features state-of-the-art technologies and equipment to minimise the ship’s environmental impact. This includes cutting-edge hybrid exhaust gas cleaning systems (EGCS) and selective catalytic reduction systems (SCR), achieving a 98% reduction of sulphur oxide (SOx) emissions and reducing nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions by 90%. The wastewater treatment system is designed in line with the International Maritime Organization’s MEPC 227(64) Resolution and achieves higher purification standards than most wastewater treatment plants ashore.
MSC Seascape has been designated “Green Plus”, the highest-level additional notation in environmental sustainability issued by the RINA certification body. The notation recognises design solutions, on-board equipment and operational procedures voluntarily implemented – both during construction and during the ship’s operation – aimed at improving environmental performance beyond the minimum levels required by applicable international regulations.
MSC Seascape is the second Seaside EVO-class ship, an evolution of the pioneering Seaside class, and joins MSC Seaside and MSC Seaview, which launched in 2017 and 2018, respectively, and sister ship MSC Seashore delivered in 2021. This class of ships is known for its innovative and glamourous design features and was conceived with the aim to take guests closer to the sea. MSC Seascape offers a range of brand-new features, venues, and experiences for guests, as 65% of the public areas have been reimagined to take the guest experience to a new level. The ship offers 13,000 square metres of outdoor space, with a wide array of outdoor bars and dining, swimming pools, and areas for relaxing and sunbathing, as well as different vantage points to take in striking views of the sea.