Three days after the MSC Magnifica flag ceremony at the STX Europe shipyard in Saint-Nazaire (France), MSC Cruises signed a letter of intent for the delivery of a new ship in June 2012, to join the eleven new vessels built over the past seven years.
MSC Cruises’ worldwide CEO, Pierfrancesco Vago, said, “We are immensely proud to announce the signature of a letter of intent for the building of a new ship, MSC Favolosa.”
The general manager of STX Europe, Jacques Hardelay, said, “We look forward to implementing our expertise to again fulfill the promise of exceptional quality, deliverability, and design for MSC Cruises.”
Measuring 1,094 feet in length and 125 feet wide, MSC Favolosa will have 1,751 staterooms and be able to travel at speeds of up nearly 24 knots.
Award-winning naval architects De Jorio Design International is once again designing the newest addition to the Fantasia class, technically called V32. The ship will herald a state-of-the-art concept in space management. Two additional lifts to improve flow of the guests and a total redesign of decks and restaurants to offer guests on board unprecedented comfort and the highest space ratio per guest.
The MSC Yacht Club, this “ship within a ship,” will be enlarged and redesigned as well as the Aft Lounge, adults-only area surrounding the Aft Infinity Pool, the casino and the disco.
To achieve the highest environmental standards, substantial investments will onboard also include more efficient evaporators, chillers, a new generation of propulsor motors, and an additional bow thruster to improve maneuverability.
At a time when many companies are cautious about investing, Vago said, “With this order MSC Cruises again signals the record-breaking extent of its ambition. The new ship will bring our capacity to nearly 1.5 million guests in 2013, confirming both the success of our strategy and our confidence in further growth.”
He added, “This order is also a demonstration of our faith in the STX Europe shipyard, which we are delighted to be able to support in these challenging times. We would like to thank all parties involved in making this initiative possible.”
