MSC Cruises, an official supporter of National Family Week which runs from 31 May to 6 June 2010 is offering a 15 per cent discount on all of its 2010 and 2011 departures booked from now until the 31 July 2010 (terms and conditions apply).

Passengers wishing to take advantage of this fantastic offer should call MSC Cruises reservations number on 0844 561 1955 and quote code ‘MSC/NFW’ at the time of booking.

By supporting National Family Week MSC Cruises aims to highlight the important role families play in society and encourage healthy active lifestyles and quality family time.

MSC Cruises Managing Director UK and Ireland Giulio Libutti comments, ‘MSC Cruises is delighted to be supporting National Family Week. Our cruises are created with families in mind and offer endless family fun in a world of discovery and excitement in a safe, self contained environment.’

MSC Cruises offers great family and group booking rates and its interconnecting cabins allow parents to have their own space and privacy in the knowledge their children are safe just next door.

For further information or to book an MSC cruise visit www.msccruises.co.uk, call MSC Cruises on 0844 561 1955 or contact your local ACE travel agency.

Terms and conditions:
The offer is based on cruise only, valid on new bookings only and taken until 31 July 2010. The offer is not combinable with any other offer and excludes MSC Yacht Club and bookings on MSC Opera.
 

MSC Cruises is proud to announce its involvement as an official supporter of National Family Week from 31 May to 6 June 2010. National Family Week aims to highlight the important role families play in society and encourage healthy active lifestyles and quality family time. Last year’s inaugural event was a huge success with more than 4,000 official events held across the UK and more than 250,000 people attending. 

This year’s event aims to be even bigger and MSC Cruises, the only official cruise line supporter, will be organising competitions for families giving away family cruises as well as offering a 15 per cent discount on all 2010 and 2011 departures booked until the 31 July 2010 (terms and conditions apply). MSC Cruises will support several family activities throughout the UK by attending events and holding regional competitions with local schools and families. 

MSC Cruises is delighted to announce a new partnership with Baume & Mercier, the sixth oldest worldwide Swiss watch brand, building on a reputation forged over 180 years and endowed with an exceptional heritage and expertise in manufacturing elegant and timeless timepieces. For three years, specialist Baume & Mercier boutiques have been present onboard select ships within the MSC Cruises fleet, bringing these luxury hand-crafted timepieces to a discerning clientele of cruise guests. 

Significant similarities

MSC Cruises has acquired the rights to broadcast the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ games aboard all of their cruise ships. 

MSC Cruises has signed an agreement with IMG Media Limited to broadcast all of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ football games aboard the eleven vessels of its fleet.  IMG Media Limited represents FIFA for the exploitation of the in-ship rights worldwide.

“As a fervent football supporter the least I could do was offer fellow fans the opportunity to follow the 2010 FIFA World Cup while cruising aboard our ships. From June 11 and for an entire month until July 11 our guests will be able to experience the thrill of the event and enjoy football fever as if they were in South Africa”, said Pierfrancesco Vago, CEO of MSC Cruises.

The football games will be broadcast in the public areas; some bars, and particularly those ships with sports bars, will be specially branded for the games and will welcome supporters passionately following their own favorite teams.  Dedicated areas will be decorated with football pennants, balloons and paper decorations with the teams’ colours, and activities such as sports-related trivia challenges will be organized to boost adrenaline and friendly rivalry among fans. 

MSC LAUNCHES 2011 ITINERARIES AND PRICES 

To mark the launch of its 2011 sailings and mini brochures MSC Cruises is offering passengers the chance to cruise for just £1*! When one adult books a 2011 Mediterranean cruise paying full brochure price, the second passenger pays just £1. Offer based on two sharing a cabin and bookings must be made between 14 April and 10 May 2010. Children cruise for free with MSC, (paying port taxes, flights and transfers only). 

More than 280 departures, 35 itineraries and 60 ports of call/destinations are available on 11 ships, on all year around Mediterranean sailings, for three, four, eight, 10 and 11 night cruises. Terms and conditions apply.

MSC Cruises has always offered great value for money, with children up to the age of 18 cruising for free, when sharing a cabin with two adults, paying port taxes, flights and transfers only (where applicable). 

Now MSC Cruises offer even more, with the launch of its new all inclusive beverage package, available on all MSC ships, allowing passengers to enjoy free drinks on board, available from all restaurants, the self service buffet, bars and the cabin mini bar. 

To help celebrate the launch of these amazing packages, MSC Cruises is offering, for the month of March, these inclusive packages for free, with all balcony cabins booked this month on sister ships MSC Splendida and MSC Fantasia (offer ends 31 March 2010). 

The packages include select wines by the bottle and by the glass, beer, cocktails, soft drinks, mini bar (excluding champagne), ice-cream and water (at restaurants and the buffet). 

Prices start from £999 pp including fly/cruise and all inclusive drinks package (based on April and November 2010 departures on MSC Splendida and April and October 2010 sailings on MSC Fantasia).  

Oliviero Morelli, MSC Cruises Product and Operation Director for UK and Ireland comments, ‘The MSC Cruises’ all inclusive beverage package has been created to offer even more value for our guests. For a set price our passengers can enjoy free food, beverages and entertainment. There’s no better time to book an MSC Cruises holiday and see more of the world without breaking the bank!’

 The all inclusive beverage packages offered onboard are available on all MSC cruises booked all year. 

The itineraries included in the MSC March 2010 offer include:

MSC Splendida on all seven night Mediterranean cruises, departing from March to November 2010, sailing to France, Spain, Tunisia, Malta and Italy. 

MSC Fantasia on all seven night cruises, departing from March to October 2010 calling at ports in Italy, Tunisia, Balearic Islands, Spain and France. 

For further information or to book an MSC cruise visit www.msccruises.co.uk, call MSC Cruises on 0844 561 1955 or contact your local travel agency. 

About MSC Cruises

MSC Cruises currently has the most modern fleet in the world (fleets of four ships or more), comprising eleven ships: MSC Splendida and MSC Fantasia (the largest ships ever built by a European ship owner), MSC Poesia, MSC Orchestra, MSC Musica, MSC Sinfonia, MSC Armonia, MSC Opera, MSC Lirica, MSC Melody and recently launched MSC Magnifica. The MSC fleet cruises year round in the Mediterranean and seasonally in Northern Europe, the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean, North America and Canada, South America, the Indian Ocean, South and West Africa. MSC Cruises 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. The organisation has earned ISO9001 and ISO22000 certification for the quality and food safety of all aspects of its catering, both onshore and onboard. MSC Cruises cares about the welfare of children, and as a responsible market leader, it believes in making a positive impact in the regions where it operates. To this end, the company recently forged partnership with UNICEF to fund a community project aimed at providing disadvantaged children in Brazil with a high quality education.

MSC Cruises is gearing up for the arrival of its stunning new build MSC Magnifica, which successfully completed her sea trials after 72 hours on open water last week. The eleventh ship to join the most modern fleet in the world will make her debut to more than 2,000 guests in Southampton Port for two days and nights, from Friday 26 – Sunday 28 February before cruising to Hamburg, Germany for her official naming ceremony on 6 March 2010.

Guests will be treated to an exclusive event. All meals and beverages on board will be included, as well as a tour of the ship, a fun casino night and the chance to have a 15 minute ‘taster’ massage in the tranquil surroundings of the MSC Aurea SPA.
 

MSC Cruises are delighted to welcome UNICEF goodwill ambassador Sir Christopher Lee onboard, following its partnership with UNICEF and the ‘Get on board for children’ project, helping children and adolescents in Brazil to receive a quality education. Sir Christopher Lee will make a speech during the press conference held on board.

Offering 22,000 square metres of public areas for her 3,013 guests, and weighing in at 90,000 grt MSC Magnifica combines the intimacy of her three Musica Class sister ships with the state-of-the-art facilities and comfort of the company’s much larger flagships, MSC Splendida and MSC Fantasia. The Magrodome; a retractable roof – one of the largest of its kind - covers one of the four pools and provides versatility and more choice, perfect for all year-around Mediterranean sailing. Another new entry to this class and situated on the top deck, Il Bar Del Sole boasts its own whirlpools, showers and solarium.

The ship’s 17 bars and lounges, 4 restaurants and a large new buffet area will serve the best of Italian and international cuisine, with the à la carte restaurant L’Oasi offering fine dining in an exotic Moroccan atmosphere.

New entertainment features on board include a high-tech 4D cinema and mini-bowling alley, as well as a vintage area in the sports bar dedicated to billiards.

In keeping with an MSC Cruises tradition, the MSC Aurea SPA will be unveiling two new signature massages which will be exclusive to MSC Magnifica. Covering an area of 1,160 square metres, the luxurious MSC Aurea SPA and wellness centre provides resort-standard spa and relaxation services.

Beautifully fitted in Italian style and design, MSC Magnifica has many features both modern and traditional which cater for all, making her a perfect year-round holiday experience for all sorts of cruisers from kids to couples and from newcomers and seasoned cruise veterans.

MSC Magnifica will sail to Hamburg for her official naming ceremony, taking place on March 6. It will be a spectacular evening of entertainment and celebration both on board and ashore.

For further information or to book an MSC cruise visit www.msccruises.co.uk, call MSC Cruises on 0844 561 1955 or visit your ACE accredited travel agent.

MSC Cruises has recently announced Southampton Port as its new base for all 2011 Ex UK sailings, which will operate from May to September and sail passengers on MSC Opera to Northern and Western Europe.

Giulio Libutti, MSC Cruises’ UK and Ireland Managing Director comments, “Ex UK cruising is becoming ever more desirable and popular and we are delighted to be working with Southampton Port in 2011.

“Southampton Port is well suited to our new planned itineraries cruising to the north of France, Spain and Portugal. The infrastructure and amenities at the port and in the city make Southampton a desirable and attractive port for us, with great transport links offered by road, rail and air, which will better service our passengers.”

“The move also allows us to better penetrate Southampton’s local markets, as well as the whole of the South West, which is saturated with established cruisers and an increasing number of first time cruisers.”

Doug Morrison, ABP Port of Southampton Director said, “We are absolutely delighted to be welcoming MSC Cruises to the port in February to show case their new vessel MSC Magnifica. This, together with the exciting announcement of their decision to sail from Southampton in 2011, is wonderful news for the city and the surrounding area.

“In recent years we have invested over £41 million in our cruise terminals to ensure all passengers using the Port experience a high quality and efficient service. MSC passengers will benefit from our bespoke facilities, and we hope will enjoy the plethora of attractions in the region.”

More intimate in size than some of her larger sister ships in the MSC Cruises’ fleet, MSC Opera boasts a range of amenities and services onboard which will keep the whole family entertained throughout its cruise. MSC Opera can accommodate 2,000 passengers, has 856 cabins and weighs 60,000 tons. Facilities include 2 pools and 2 SPA baths, a theatre, discotheque, casino, library, beauty salon, gymnasium, restaurants and bars, boutiques, a jogging track, shuffleboard, solarium and an MSC Aurea SPA.

Families are well catered for with children cruising for free with MSC Cruises (paying flights, transfers and port taxes where applicable) and there is plenty for kids – both big and small to do from children’s clubs, a video games room, children’s play areas and mini golf. There is even a children’s menu for ‘fussy’ eaters.  

Ex UK cruising makes for a hassle-free getaway; UK passengers can take as much luggage as they can carry and buy gifts while holidaying, without the worry of strict baggage allowances, often associated with flying. 

MSC Opera will call at Southampton Port for a total of 13 cruises with a choice of 8 and 10 night itineraries. Passengers can follow the routes taken by Vikings, discover the unique atmosphere of Scandinavia’s finest cities or sail through the Strait of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean.

From the Baltic beauty of the St. Petersburg to the Fjords and glaciers of Norway, every destination is an invigorating treat.   


For further information or to book an MSC cruise visit www.msccruises.co.uk or call MSC Cruises on 0844 561 1955.

-ENDS-

About MSC Cruises

MSC Cruises currently has the most modern fleet in the world, comprising ten ships: MSC Splendida and MSC Fantasia (the largest ships ever built by a European ship owner), MSC Poesia, MSC Orchestra, MSC Musica, MSC Sinfonia, MSC Armonia, MSC Opera, MSC Lirica and MSC Melody. MSC Magnifica will be launched in 2010. The MSC fleet cruises year round in the Mediterranean and seasonally in Northern Europe, the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean, North America and Canada, South America, the Indian Ocean, South and West Africa. MSC Cruises 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. The organisation has earned ISO9001 and ISO22000 certification for the quality and food safety of all aspects of its catering, both onshore and onboard. MSC Cruises cares about the welfare of children, and as a responsible market leader, it believes in making a positive impact in the regions where it operates. To this end, the company recently forged partnership with UNICEF to fund a community project aimed at providing disadvantaged children in Brazil with a high quality education.

Links to high res images of MSC Opera:
https://rcpt.yousendit.com/809852408/f752d3fe59930e7dd1ccde8e51cf0425

https://rcpt.yousendit.com/809852714/b8dfc73d635b0335a934b6c7b44648db

MSC Cruises has launched new regional flights to service Manchester, Birmingham and Edinburgh airports between April and September 2010, full details to be revealed at the ABTA conference between the 6-8 October 2009 in Barcelona. The flights, which have been launched to serve the growing popularity of cruising in the UK, are priced at £249 for a return journey and include transfers to and from the port.

The flights, which will be serviced by Monarch Airlines, Thomas Cook, Flybe and Jet2, will coincide with Mediterranean departures from Barcelona, Venice and Mallorca.

Giulio Libutti, Managing Director of MSC Cruises UK and Ireland said, “As a result of the 50 per cent growth in sales activity between 2008 and 2009 and continued predicted year-on-year growth in the UK, MSC Cruises has expanded its service offering with a range of regional flights. These flights will ultimately open up MSC fly/cruise holidays to a wider UK audience.”

Manchester - Between 2 April to 30 October 2010, flights between Manchester and Barcelona will depart every Friday with Monarch Airlines. UK passengers opting for fly/cruise trips onboard MSC Fantasia will be eligible for these flights.

Between 2 May and 26 September 2010, return flights between Manchester and Venice will depart every Sunday with Flybe. UK passengers opting for fly/cruise trips onboard MSC Musica will be eligible for these flights.

Between 1 May and 25 September 2010, return flights between Manchester and Mallorca will depart every Saturday with Thomas Cook. UK passengers buying fly/cruise trips onboard MSC Lirica will be eligible for these flights.

Birmingham - Between 1 May and 9 October 2010, return flights between Birmingham and Mallorca will depart on Saturdays with Monarch Airlines. UK passengers opting for fly/cruise trips onboard MSC Lirica will be booked on these flights.

Edinburgh - Between 3 May and 13 September 2010, return flights between Edinburgh and Venice will depart on Mondays with jet2 airlines. UK passengers opting for fly/cruise trips onboard MSC Armonia will be booked onto these flights.

To book, please contact your local ACE agent.

The location: the Mediterranean Sea under sunny days and star-filled night skies. The setting: an elegant floating hotel, MSC Poesia. The dates: 17 to 24 October 2009. The event: a culinary cruise for epicureans who want to enjoy exceptional Italian dining.

Europe’s leading line of cruise ships, MSC Cruises, is partnering with Italy’s renowned Buon Ricordo Association to offer guests seven fabulous gastronomic specialties. Each evening guests will have the opportunity of enjoying a different meal, each coming from one of the seven Buon Ricordo’s restaurants situated in Paris (France), Kanagawa (Japan), in various regions of Italy and onboard of MSC Poesia.

Savour Tuscany’s famed truffle soup Ribollita, a creamy polenta and Montasio cheese dish from Friuli, grouper escalopes with citrus fruits from Sicily, lamb with juniperfrom Calabria, or a succulent dish of pigeon, mushrooms and potatoes from France. For an exotic touch, MSC Cruises is bringing in a special chef from “The Bamboo” restaurant, in Kanagawa, to create a fascinating rustic recipe (no sneak previews: you’ll have to be on board to discover it). On the final day of the cruise guests will be treated to the privilege of indulging in the Buon Ricordo MSC Restaurant “L’Obelisco” tastiest dish: king prawns tossed with sweet garlic on a bed of fresh spinach, pine nuts and capers.

For those wishing to take home a lasting souvenir, a limited number of Buon Ricordo plates made by the celebrated ceramicists of Vietri will be offered to guests who chose the Buon Ricordo specialty of the day. Each plate carries an inscription on the back reading “Crociera del Buon Ricordo - Nave MSC Poesia - ottobre 2009”.

There’s more than just fine dining as guests will also have the opportunity to participate in wine tasting and cooking courses.

Master oenologist Genuino Del Duca will lead a wine-tasting demonstration to teach up to 100 MSC guests how to recognise and understand fine wine. Special red and white wines sampled at the tasting will be served with regional Buon Ricordo specialties and include vintages from the Vino della Pace, a unique Friulian cellar with wines from five continents and six hundred varieties of grape.

Buon Ricordo’s award-winning chef Paolo Teverini will both welcome and oversee the cooking classes where groups of guests will be taught how to prepare the daily specialty. Participants will receive an Italian cooking certificate from the Buon Ricordo chefs.

The Buon Ricordo association was founded in 1964 to safeguard and promote local Italian cooking traditions. MSC Cruises and Buon Ricordo Association began working together in November 2008.

About MSC Cruises

MSC Cruises currently has the most modern fleet in the world, comprising ten ships: MSC Splendida and MSC Fantasia (the largest ships ever built by a European ship owner), MSC Poesia, MSC Orchestra, MSC Musica, MSC Sinfonia, MSC Armonia, MSC Opera, MSC Lirica and MSC Melody. MSC Magnifica will be launched in 2010. The MSC fleet cruises year round in the Mediterranean and seasonally in Northern Europe, the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean, North America and Canada, South America, the Indian Ocean, South and West Africa. MSC Cruises 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. MSC Cruises cares about the welfare of children, and as a responsible market leader, it believes in making a positive impact in the regions where it operates. To this end, the company recently forged partnership with UNICEF to fund a community project aimed at providing disadvantaged children in Brazil with a high quality education.

Sunday 12 July 2009, in Barcelona (Spain), MSC Crociere’ stunning new flagship MSC Splendida will be christened in suitably splendid style by screen legend Sophia Loren. The arrival of MSC Splendida brings the number of ships in the MSC Cruises fleet to ten. She and sister ship MSC Fantasia, launched in Naples last December, are the largest ships ever built by a European ship owner. Each capable of carrying 3,959 passengers, these “floating cities” are 333m long, 66.8m tall and weigh 137,936 metric tons.

Featuring a performance by Flamenco dance troupe Los Vivancos and a spectacular display of Castells, the Catalan tradition of human towers, the evening’s entertainment will also include a special concert by world famous tenor José Carreras. Performing in his hometown, the Maestro will be accompanied by the 60 musicians of the Orquestra Simfònica del Vallès.

Completing the colourful ceremony will be a parade of the ships’ officers and, of course, the traditional cutting of the ribbon by the godmother of the MSC Crociere fleet, Sophia Loren.

The christening ceremony will be streamed live. Click here to watch it from 19.30 on Sunday 12 July 2009: http://www.mscwebtv.com  

Saint-Nazaire, 4 July 2009

In a traditional handover ceremony at 11:30 this morning, MSC Crociere officially received its new flagship MSC Splendida from the STX Europe shipyard at Saint-Nazaire (France).

The ceremony involved the lowering of the French flag and that of the shipyard, followed by the raising of the MSC Crociere and Italian flags, to the accompaniment of the French and Italian national anthems. The exchange of flags was followed by the symbolic cutting of a ribbon, the breaking of a bottle of champagne and finally three blasts of the ship’s siren.

Attending the ceremony were Jacques Hardelay, General Manager of STX Europe, MSC Crociere owner Gianluigi Aponte, the company’s CEO Pierfrancesco Vago, Country Manager Erminio Eschena and the ship’s captain Giuliano Bossi. The godmother who cut the ribbon at the ceremony was Rafaela Aponte, wife of Mr Aponte and the true ‘soul’ behind every ship in the MSC Crociere fleet, being closely involved in every stage of their construction from the initial design to the selection of colours and materials.

“We are delighted to take delivery of this fabulous new flagship,” said MSC Crociere’s CEO Pierfrancesco Vago. “Not only is she a pioneering example of environmentally-friendly ship design; but as the tenth ship in the fleet, she also represents an important milestone in MSC Crociere’s growth. The 5.5 billion euro investment programme we initiated in 2003 is nearing completion, and we now look forward to the arrival of MSC Magnifica in 2010.”

The entrance of MSC Splendida in the MSC Crociere fleet confirms its status as the most modern fleet in the world. She and sister ship MSC Fantasia, christened last December, are the largest ships ever built by a European ship owner. Each of them is 333,3m long, 66.8m tall and can accommodate 3,959 passengers.

From Saint-Nazaire, MSC Splendida will depart on a pre-christening cruise, calling at the Spanish port of Vigo (Monday 6th July), Lisbon (Tuesday 7th), Malaga (Wednesday 8th), Palma (Thursday 9th) and Marseille (Friday 10th) before arriving at the port of Barcelona on Saturday 11th July for the official christening ceremony the following day.

MSC Cruises has launched exciting new West Africa itineraries departing from Livorno in Italy and Durban in South Africa which combine the relaxation of a long ocean cruise with a tremendous variety of ports of call and special excursions. The new routes represent decisive action by MSC Cruises to completely remove any threat to its passengers from Somali pirates, following a recent episode involving MSC Melody, which successfully evaded a pirate attempt some 600 nautical miles from the Somali coast on the evening of Saturday 25 April 2009.

Now none of MSC Cruises’s ships will pass through the Red Sea and Suez Canal, with all the company’s transoceanic cruises following the West Coast of Africa only, calling in Morocco, Senegal and Namibia en route to Cape Town and Durban. These itineraries will be served by the luxurious MSC Sinfonia for the 2009 Autumn and 2010 late Spring seasons.

MSC Cruises has always put the safety and comfort of its guests before all other considerations. For this reason, some minor changes have been made to the route taken by MSC Melody on its three-week cruise from Durban, South Africa to Genoa, Italy, departing 17 April.

Given recent developments concerning possible acts of piracy against ships transiting the Somali east coast and the Gulf of Aden, MSC Cruises now adheres to the navigation recommendations of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and the Maritime Security Centre for the Horn of Africa, a co-ordination centre run by the EU Naval Force to safeguard shipping in the region. While in this region, MSC Cruises vessels adopt a range of additional security measures to minimise any risk.

In accordance with the recommendations, the company has slightly modified the itinerary of its cruises on MSC Melody from South Africa to Italy, to ensure total security and peace of mind for guests and crew. The new route is around 400 miles longer than the previous itinerary, maintaining a greater distance from the coast of Somalia.

To allow for the extra time at sea, MSC Melody will no longer call at the Egyptian port of Safaga. However, the ship will continue to call at Aqaba, Jordan and Sokhna, Egypt, allowing guests to enjoy the hugely popular excursions to the ancient wonders of Petra and the pyramids of Giza respectively. The new itinerary also offers more time in the Seychelles, with an overnight stop at Port Victoria.

The overall duration of the cruise is unchanged at 22 days and 21 nights.

MSC Cruises is targeting last minute holiday bookers with its new Deal of the Day offer.  Available to see on www.msccruises.co.uk. the Deal of the Day is valid for a limited number of cabins and can be for departures from as early as one week away or up to a few months off. 

The deals focus particularly on seven-night Mediterranean fly/cruise packages including transfers, but other itineraries will also be available throughout the year. As well as offering the best available price, each special offer provides added value, such as onboard credit or a free upgrade.

The deals change daily except at weekends, when customers can take advantage of a longer on-sale period of 48 hours.

“This is another remarkable offer from MSC Cruises, giving added value to our customers,” remarked Giulio Libutti, Managing Director of MSC Cruises UK and Ireland. “By identifying our best deal on a daily basis we are giving our customers even more choice – and helping to boost agent sales” he added.

To book the Deal of the Day for your customers, call the MSC Cruises reservations team on 0844-561-1955.

Picture caption: Book MSC Cruises’ Deal of the Day to take advantage of Mediterranean sailings offers