The MSC Splendida is completing its 15th year of service this month.

Built for MSC Cruises at the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in France, the vessel was officially welcomed to the company’s fleet during a ceremony on July 12, 2009.

The event took place at the Spanish port of Barcelona and included MSC Cruises’ fleet godmother, the actress Sophia Loren, naming the ship.

One day later, the MSC Splendida started its maiden season in the Western Mediterranean, offering cruises to destinations in Italy, Malta, Spain and France.

The ship’s regular seven-night itinerary featured visits to Civitavecchia, Genoa, Messina, Valletta and  Barcelona and allowed guests to embark on multiple ports.

During the 2009-10 winter season, the 3,300-guest vessel offered ten- and 11-night cruises that also included destinations in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Canary Islands.

A sister to the 2008-built MSC Fantasia, the MSC Splendida was built as MSC Cruises’ second post-panamax vessel.

The 133,500-ton ship was also the second to offer MSC Cruises’ ship-within-a-ship concept, the MSC Yacht Club.

Located on the top deck of the vessel, the VIP suite enclave can only be accessed by guests staying in one of its 90 staterooms and features private common areas that include a lounge, a library, a solarium and a pool deck.

Initially set to be named MSC Serenata, the vessel had its name altered while still in the early stages of construction in 2007.

At the time, MSC Cruises said that the change aimed to better reflect Splendida’s “beauty and elegance.”

The company added that the idea came after the “enthusiastic response” of Raphaela Aponte, wife of MSC’s owner Gianluigi Aponte, to the interior designs of the vessel, which were created by architect De Jorio.

The MSC Splendida continued to sail in the Mediterranean on a year-round basis through 2015 when it debuted in Northern Europe and South America.

In late 2024, the ship is scheduled to return to Asia for cruises departing from the Chinese port of Shenzhen.