MSC CRUISES ANNOUNCES GRAND OPENING OF ITS ONE-OF-A-KIND OCEAN CAY MSC MARINE RESERVE NOW FOR OCTOBER 2019

12/27/2016

Ground breaking ceremony to take place in the presence of the Prime Minister of the Bahamas on October 6

MSC Cruises — the Swiss-based world’s largest privately-owned cruise line and market leader in Europe, South America and South Africa — announced today that Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve will now open in October 2019.

“As we sat out to finalize construction plans for this one-of-a-kind destination, we realized that to ensure the level of quality and attention to details in both infrastructure and services that our guests have rightfully come to expect from MSC Cruises, it was only appropriate to allot a longer time frame,” said Pierfrancesco Vago, executive chairman of MSC Cruises. “In fact, while working on the final project, it was hard not to further enrich this unique beach destination with new and additional unique services for our guests. This naturally called for more time than originally planned.”

“At the same time, today I am also pleased to announce that works on the island have already started in earnest, as originally planned,” added Vago.

The official ground breaking ceremony for Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve will take place on October 6, 2016 in the presence of the Prime Minister of the Bahamas, The Right Honourable Perry G. Christie, and other high dignitaries from the country’s government.

MSC Seaside and MSC Divina calls to Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve — formerly scheduled between December 2017 and the new date of its grand opening to guests — will be substituted by calls to Nassau. Further details on these and other related itineraries will be communicated separately and in due course.

Working in collaboration with the Bahamian Government and ecologists, MSC Cruises is developing the cay from an industrial site, into a flourishing marine reserve that will harmoniously co-exist with the local ecosystem. This is a complex project that will transform the local economy base from resource exploitation to resource conservation and provide a unique, authentic Bahamian experience exclusively for MSC Cruises guests.

In connection with the expanded set of services that the island will now make available to its guests upon opening, additional works will include, amongst other, much-expanded quarters for the greater number of personnel that will work on the island to receive and serve MSC Cruises guests six days a week.

ENDS