MSC VIRTUOSA SET TO BECOME THE NEW STAR OF THE MEDITERRANEAN THIS WINTER WITH INNOVATIVE NEW GUEST FEATURES AND EXPERIENCES

MSC Cruises, the world’s fastest growing international cruise line today revealed new details of the Company’s new flagship due to come into service in October this year. MSC Virtuosa is the fourth ship from the innovative Meraviglia generation and the second of the enriched Meraviglia-Plus ships, boasting an impressive array of guest features. Each new ship that MSC Cruises designs and builds is different, each with their own enhancements, new innovations and new curiosities. MSC Virtuosa is no different. MSC Cruises reveals the latest and greatest that the Company’s new flagship holds in-store for guests later this year.

NEW: First Humanoid Robotic Bartender at Sea
Using technology to create unique experiences for guests is part of MSC Cruises’ DNA and the company introduced in 2017 the most comprehensive, connected cruise experience with MSC for Me and is the only cruise line to offer a voice-enabled digital personal cruise assistant ZOE.

ZOE is an innovative guest service powered by AI to help guests get the most out of their cruise holiday. But MSC Cruises is also innovating with cutting-edge technology to create unique entertainment experiences.  The Meraviglia class ships feature a breath-taking LED sky screen in the main promenade that draws guests into the heart of the ship for immersive entertainment shows. And now with MSC Virtuosa a new entertainment experience has been developed in the form of the world’s first humanoid robotic bartender at sea. The robot will be at the centre of an immersive bar experience and will be able to talk to guests in an impressive eight languages. This will be no ordinary bar and guests will be transported to another world with special entertainment during happy hour.

NEW: LEGO Cabins for Families
MSC Cruises is known for its award-winning family offering and has a long-standing partnership with the LEGO Group to design the kids club areas as well as on board activities. As a family-owned company, a key element of our guest experience is to deliver a fun and enriching vacation. But on MSC Virtuosa, MSC Cruises and LEGO Group are working to take this to the next-level with six very special LEGO® themed cabins so that the holiday adventure literally starts in the cabin!

NEW: Crystal Suite Adorned with Swarovski Crystals
Following on from the introduction of the crystal cabin on board MSC Bellissima, a new cabin is being developed in collaboration with Swarovski on MSC Virtuosa, only this time this will be a duplex suite. Spanning two decks, the spacious suite has a living area with an ample balcony and a private whirlpool bath.

NEW: Indochine Specialty Restaurant
MSC Cruises is passionate about providing guests with authentic cuisine from around the world. With an array of popular international restaurant concepts including a traditional American steakhouse the Butcher’s Cut, a stylish Japanese Teppanyaki and sushi restaurant, and delicious Spanish tapas from Michelin starred chef Ramon Freixa, MSC Virtuosa will feature a brand new Indochine restaurant concept -  a delicious take on the Vietnamese classics with a French twist. Ingredients will be of freshest and highest quality possible with vegan and vegetarian options. Guests will be able to choose from a savoury selection of French-Vietnamese dishes, many of which can be served family style. The carefully selected wine list will be divided into Old and New World wines, whilst tropical signature cocktails will play a big part of the experience.

NEW: Two Cirque du Soleil at Sea Shows
Each of the Meraviglia generation ships features two unique shows from world leader in live entertainment, Cirque du Soleil. The addition of the two new shows on MSC Virtuosa will bring the total to eight original productions exclusive to MSC Cruises guests, each with a different concept, storyline, ambiance, staging, music, costumes and makeup.

About MSC Virtuosa
A virtuosa (or virtuoso) is someone who is a person who has a masterly or dazzling skill or technique in any field of activity  and so MSC Virtuosa was named to pay homage to the skill and expertise of the MSC Cruises architects and shipyard partners at Les Chantiers de l’Atlantique who designed and built this innovative class of ships, which delivers “excellence” in both hardware and software when it comes to the guest experience. However, a virtuosa is also someone skilled in music and so the ship will bring to life the expressive and universal visual language of music to celebrate the innovation of the ship with the passion and spirit of MSC Cruises all coming together in perfect harmony to deliver the ultimate cruise holiday experience for guests.

As with her sister ship, MSC Grandiosa, MSC Virtuosa will be one of the most environmentally advanced ships at sea, featuring a state-of-the-art selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system which helps reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by 80% through advanced active emissions control technology. Nitrogen oxide from the engine operations is conducted through a catalyst – a high-density device made from noble metals – and converts them into nitrogen and water, both harmless compounds.

The new flagship will also be fitted with shore-to-ship power which connects cruise ships while at berth to a port’s local power grid to further reduce the ship’s air emissions while in port to zero. This is a feature that has come as standard across all MSC Cruises new builds since 2017.

These new features add to other effective environmental technologies deployed on the ship and across the Company’s fleet to minimise and continuously reduce environmental impact, including: cutting-edge hybrid Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems (EGCS) that remove up to 97 per cent sulphur oxide from ship emissions; advanced waste management and wastewater treatment systems; ballast water treatment systems; latest-technology systems for the prevention of oil discharges from machinery spaces and various state-of-the-art energy-efficiency improvements – from heat recovery systems to LED lighting.

MSC Virtuosa’s inaugural season will be spent in the Western Mediterranean offering a 7-night six-port cruise calling the popular Italian ports of Genoa, Civitavecchia, Palermo, as well as Valetta, Malta, Barcelona, Spain and Marseille, France. Taking a cruise in the winter months is a great way to visit some of the world’s most popular tourist attractions when they are quieter and what better way to do it than on board a ship that has been designed for all seasons with a lively indoor promenade lined with shops and restaurants and a 93-metre long LED sky screen, an indoor pool and a whole host of entertainment activities around the clock.  In summer 2021 MSC Virtuosa will be deployed to Northern Europe with itineraries to the Norwegian fjords and Baltic capital cities.

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