MSC Cruises’ MSC Meraviglia officially arrived in Manhattan for the first time on Monday, October 7. The ship, which was launched in June 2017, is the first in the cruise line’s Meraviglia class of vessels and the largest ship ever to port in Manhattan, MSC said.
With a double occupancy capacity of 4,488 passengers weighing in at 171,598 gross registered tons, the MSC Meraviglia is also MSC Cruises’ largest ship sailing from the U.S. As it continues sailing along the East Coast, the ship will also be the largest ship ever to call in Boston, as well as Portland and Bar Harbor, ME.
From New York City the ship will operate three sailings, including two itineraries to New England and Canada and one repositioning cruise to the ship’s new homeport in Miami. On its first Caribbean sailing, departing New York City on October 28, MSC Meraviglia will be the first ship to call at Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, the cruise line’s new private island destination in the Bahamas, which is set to open November 9.
From November 10, 2019, through April 5, 2020, MSC Meraviglia will sail two different seven-night western Caribbean itineraries, visiting ports in Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, Mexico, Belize, Honduras and the Bahamas.
Following its inaugural season in Miami, the ship will return to Northern Europe for summer 2020 before heading back to the U.S in October 2020. Then, the ship will again operate three 10-night sailings from New York to Canada and New England before homeporting back in Miami for seven-night Caribbean sailings.
The MSC Meraviglia has a two-story, Mediterranean-style promenade lined with a variety of shops and specialty restaurants, including the HOLA! Tapas Bar and Ocean Cay, restaurants by two-Michelin-starred Spanish chef Ramón Freixa, and Jean-Philippe Chocolat & Café, an open-fronted chocolate atelier by pastry chef Jean Philippe Maury.
Also onboard is the MSC Yacht Club, the cruise line’s luxury ship-within-a-ship concept, which offers 24-hour butler service, as well as the MSC for Me digital program. This program allows guests to use an app, interactive displays and their in-stateroom TV to book services, find information, plan activities, stay connected with friends and family and easily navigate around the ship.
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