La Dolce Vita at Sea
MSC Cruises will eventually be cruising in every destination, according to MSC USA president Rick Sasso.
He said: “As we continue to build more ships, we will be looking to expand our deployments worldwide to places like Asia.”
Although it has recently withdrawn one of its three original smaller and older ships, MSC Monterey, the other two – MSC Melody and MSC Rhapsody – will be used as pathfinder ships for new itineraries in places like South America and South Africa.
Sasso also revealed that MSC has renamed its innovatory luxury ship-within-a-ship concept which will appear on the two largest ships it is building (the 133,500t MSC Serenata/MSC Fantasia).
He said: “The original name sounded good in Italian but the English translation – Happy Island – meant nothing to people so we’re now calling it La Dolce Vita.”
This will comprise 68 butler-serviced suites across the forward section of three decks and their occupants will have exclusive access to the spa as well as their own solarium, Jacuzzis, lounge, bar and other facilities.
It is MSC’s way of offering a higher-yielding luxury product without going to the expense of setting up a separate brand with its own luxury ships.
NCL has already responded by upgrading its Courtyard and Garden Villas and Royal Caribbean is monitoring this MSC innovation development closely to see if it proves successful.
Phil Davies
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