Photos: The making of the year's hottest new megaship
MONFALCONE, Italy -- Eager for a peek at what some are calling the year's hottest new megaship? Paste BN this week was among a handful of news outlets to tour the still-under-construction, 4,140-passenger MSC Seaside, and we're posting our first photos of the vessel in the carousel above and at our Facebook page and Twitter page.
Scheduled to debut in late November and still far from complete, the 160,000-ton MSC Cruises ship will feature innovative, extra-wide promenades designed to offer passengers more interaction with the sea than on other large vessels. Jutting out over the sides of the ship, the promenades will offer outdoor eating areas, lounge areas, spa stations and even an outdoor gym area.
Seaside also will boast floor-to-ceiling glass windows and other elements in interior public areas designed to orient the shipboard experience toward the sea to a greater extent than on other large vessels.
Seaside has been specifically designed to sail in the warm waters of the Caribbean, and it will be based year-round in Miami -- part of a big push at Europe-based MSC Cruises to grow in the North American market. A giant of cruising in Europe, MSC has had a relatively small presence in North America until now. Until recently, it only deployed a single ship to the market for part of the year, and it has far less name recognition in North America than such U.S.-based rivals as Royal Caribbean, Carnival and Norwegian.
Seaside will join the 3,502-passenger MSC Divina in sailing year-round out of Miami, more than doubling MSC's capacity in North America, and the line revealed Thursday that it would send a third ship to Miami in 2019.
Seaside is being tailored to the North American market like no other vessel at MSC. Its exterior architecture and pool decks will boast a Miami Beach style that's designed to mimic its new home. While international in flavor, its on-board offerings will have elements that will be familiar to North Americans such as a Pan-Asian restaurant by celebrity chef Roy Yamaguchi.
In all, Seaside will have 11 eateries, including an upscale seafood outlet and a steakhouse. Other features will include an Aqua Park with four water slides, a ropes course called Adventure Trail and two of the longest zip lines at sea (at 394 feet).
In a sign of MSC's seriousness about pushing into the North American market in a big way, Seaside will be christened in December in Miami -- the first time an MSC ship has been christened in North America. It's also the first MSC ship with an English word in its name.
With 10 months to go until Seaside's debut, exterior work on the vessel is mostly complete but the finishing of its interior spaces is only beginning. Still, the rough outlines of its major public areas including its deck-top pool zones and main theater were evident this week during the tour.
Seaside will sail seven-night voyages to the Caribbean and Bahamas starting at $539 per person. While the vessel's 2,070 cabins will be able to hold 4,140 passengers at double occupancy, extra bed spots from pull-out sofas and pull-down bunks will boost the total capacity to 5,179 passengers