South Africans looking for the most extraordinary holiday at sea in Europe now have the option of cruising aboard MSC Crociere's brand new flagship, the MSC Splendida.
Described as a magical destination in its own right the MSC Splendida was recently handed over to MSC Crociere by the STX Europe shipyard at Saint Nazaire in France during a traditional flag ceremony and christened in Barcelona by screen legend Sophia Loren.
The ship and her sister, the MSC Fantasia are the largest ships ever built by a European ship owner. Each can carry 3 959 passengers.
"We are delighted to take delivery of this fabulous new flagship," said MSC Crociere's CEO Pierfrancesco Vago at the launch. "With MSC Fantasia, we believed we had built the most beautiful ship in the world. Now I know we were wrong. MSC Splendida truly lives up to her name, bringing more splendour to cruising than has ever been seen before.
Vago, who earlier in his career worked in Johannesburg for 15 years, said MSC Crociere is the only company in the world to receive the "6 Golden Pearls" award from the Bureau Veritas in recognition of its high level of quality management and environmental protection.
But check out the statistics... measuring 333,3m in length, MSC Splendida is longer than the Eiffel Tower laid horizontally, and at 66.8m high, she is as tall as a 23-storey skyscraper. She has a gross tonnage of 137 936 tons and each of her two propellers is bigger than a double-decker bus, spanning six metres and weighing over 17 tons. Together, they can move the ship at a speed of 23.3 knots - considerably faster than the average speed of a London bus.
The ships total surface area is the equivalent of 60 football pitches while the onboard 1 600-seat Strand Theatre alone occupies space the size of eight tennis courts.
The MSC Splendida will call at beautiful ports in the Mediterranean as well as Tunis, Valletta (Malta), Messina, Civitavecchia and Genoa. More enchanting ports of call in Malta, Greece, Egypt and Turkey will complete the ships itinerary through to the end of the year.
The MSC Sinfonia will be arriving in South Africa in November and will operate from Durban. It will be the biggest and most modern cruise ship ever operated out of a South African port.
