MSC Bellissima in Saint-Nazaire (France) shipyard on 19 February 2019
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History | |
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Name | MSC Bellissima |
Owner | MSC Cruises |
Operator | MSC Cruises |
Port of registry | Valletta, Malta |
Ordered | 20 March 2014 |
Builder | Chantiers de l'Atlantique |
Laid down | 15 November 2017 |
Launched | 14 June 2018 |
Christened | 2 March 2019 |
Acquired | 27 February 2019 |
Maiden voyage | 4 March 2019 |
In service | 4 March 2019 |
Identification |
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Status | In service |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Meraviglia-class cruise ship |
Tonnage | 171,598 GT[1] |
Length | 315.83 m (1,036 ft 2 in)[1] |
Draught | 8.75 m (28 ft 8 in)[1] |
Decks | 18[1] |
Installed power | 38,400 kW (51,500 hp) |
Propulsion | 2 × ABB Azipods[1] |
Speed | 21.8 knots (40.4 km/h; 25.1 mph)[1] |
Capacity | 4,500 |
MSC Bellissima is a cruise ship operated by MSC Cruises. She was constructed at the Chantiers de l'Atlantique in Saint-Nazaire, France.[2]
The ship joined MSC Meraviglia in the company's Meraviglia class of cruise ships. She has a tonnage of 171,598 gross tonnage (GT) and a capacity of 4,500 passengers.[1][3] The ship debuted in March 2019.
MSC Cruises announced the suspension of all North American itineraries until 30 June 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[4]
History
MSC Cruises and STX France cut the first steel of MSC Bellissima on 28 November 2016,[5][6] with £750M investment.[7] Her keel laying and coin ceremony happened on 15 November 2017.[8] It also features 2,217 cabins and 1,418 balconies that can accommodate 5,686 guests,[9] with the length of 315.8m and a width of 43m.[10] On 14 June 2018, the ship was floated out.[11] Her sea trials took place in December 2018.[12] Andrea Bocelli, alongside his son, performed during the christening of the ship.[13] The ship joined MSC Meraviglia in the company's Meraviglia class of cruise ships which it has a tonnage of 171,598 GT and a capacity of 4,500 passengers.[14][3]
Her delivery ceremony took place on 27 February 2019. MSC Bellissima was officially named on 2 March 2019, at Southampton, by the actress Sophia Loren.[15] The original ceremony in a marquee on the quayside had to be abandoned due to high winds, so a substitute ceremony was quickly organised and Loren pressed a button on the ship's bridge to smash the bottle of champagne on the ship's bow.[16]
MSC Cruises collaborated with Harman International to bring "ZOE," the first virtual assistant to be featured on any cruise ship, to MSC Bellissima and future MSC Cruises ships.[17] In September 2019, as a part of MSC Cruises' longstanding relationship with Swarovski, MSC Bellissima featured a suite fully embellished with 700,000 crystals.[18]
On 13 February 2020, MSC Bellissima was featured on Ultimate Mega Cruise Ship on Channel 5 in the United Kingdom.[19]
Route
MSC Bellissima departed for her maiden voyage on 4 March 2019,[20] and made an inaugural call in Spain on 12 March 2019.[21] She will spend her maiden season in the Mediterranean, before re-positioning to the Persian Gulf in November 2019, cruising from Dubai for the winter season,[22][15] and made a maiden call at Doha, Qatar in December 2019.[23] She will then be redeployed to Asia to serve MSC's China program in spring 2020.[11][15] In 2020, the ship will be heading in Asia,[24] such as China.[25]
Incidents
Coronavirus pandemic
On 21 March 2020, officials from the Indian state of Telangana reported that a 33-year-old crew member of MSC Bellissima had tested positive for SARS-CoV-2.[26] The crew member was also reported to have been to Dubai, and was stable at the time of the report.[26]
On 24 March 2020, it was reported that three Azoreans who were former passengers of MSC Bellissima during its cruise to Dubai from 7 March 2020 to 14 March 2020 had tested positive.[a][27]
On 2 April 2020, a 22-year-old crew member of MSC Bellissima, who had quarantined himself at home in Trappeto, Sicily after returning from Dubai, announced that he had tested positive that day.[28] On 10 April 2020, a dancer from Klagenfurt, Austria, who performed in Cirque du Soleil shows aboard MSC Bellissima, tested positive for the virus while she was still on board the ship.[29][30] The crew member was tested a day before she was scheduled to leave for home, and the result came as a surprise as she had been asymptomatic.[30] As of 4 May 2020, she has been stuck aboard MSC Bellissima for 50 days.[29]
Notes
- ^ Two cases were from São Miguel Island, a 31-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman, while one case from São Jorge Island had been diagnosed previously, but had been in contact with a newly-diagnosed case from Terceira Island.[27]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h "MSC BELLISSIMA (9760524)". BV Fleet. Bureau Veritas. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
- ^ "MSC Bellissima Cruise Ship: Review & Photos on Cruise Critic". www.cruisecritic.com. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
- ^ a b "MSC Bellissima Ship Stats & Information- MSC Cruises MSC Bellissima Cruises: Travel Weekly". www.travelweekly.com. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
- ^ "MSC Cruises is latest to suspend operations through summer". Fox News. 30 April 2020.
- ^ "Cruise ship launch timeline | MSC Bellissima| MSC Cruises". MSC Cruises Australia Website. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
- ^ "MSC Cruises Finalizes Contract for Two New Meraviglia-Plus Ships". TravelPulse. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
- ^ "Why you should join your grandparents for a cruise holiday". 21 September 2019.
- ^ "MSC Cruises Cuts Steel for First Meraviglia Plus-class Ship, MSC Grandiosa; Coin Ceremony Held for MSC Bellissima". www.cruisecritic.com. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
- ^ "MSC Cruises' Zoe: meet Bellissima's new AI companion". Ship Technology. 23 May 2019.
- ^ Holland, Kaye (28 February 2019). "Introducing the world's newest cruise ship – does MSC Bellissima live up to its name?". The Telegraph.
- ^ a b "MSC Bellissima Casts Off for Sea Trials | World Maritime News". worldmaritimenews.com. 20 December 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
- ^ Mathisen, Monty (21 December 2018). "MSC Bellissima Departs from Chantiers de l'Atlantique For Sea Trials". www.cruiseindustrynews.com. Archived from the original on 6 August 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
- ^ "World of Cruising Magazine - MSC Bellissima Adds Andrea Bocelli to Star-Studded Naming Ceremony". World of Cruising Magazine. 25 February 2019. Archived from the original on 24 September 2020. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
- ^ Sloan, Gene. "New cruise ships for 2019: MSC Cruises' MSC Bellissima". USA TODAY.
- ^ a b c "MSC Bellissima Christened". The Maritime Executive. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
- ^ Ross, Andrew (2 March 2019). "Star-studded naming of MSC Bellissima halted by bad weather". Daily Echo. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
- ^ "This New Cruise Ship Will Have Virtual Assistants to Give You Everything You Could Possibly Need". Travel + Leisure. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
- ^ "MSC Bellissima to debut Swarovski suite, Grandiosa will have fine art experience". Seatrade Cruise News. 9 September 2019. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
- ^ "MSC Bellissima becomes star of Channel 5 documentary". Cruise Trade News. 13 February 2020.
- ^ Staff, C. I. N. (27 February 2019). "Chantiers de l'Atlantique Delivers MSC Bellissima". www.cruiseindustrynews.com. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
- ^ "MSC Bellissima Makes Inaugural Call in Spain". 12 March 2019.
- ^ "MSC Cruises' newest mega cruise ship MSC Bellissima will cruise roundtrip from Dubai in 2020 -". 12 February 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
- ^ Staff, C. I. N. (2 December 2019). "MSC Bellissima Makes Maiden Visit to Doha". www.cruiseindustrynews.com.
- ^ "MSC Bellissima is heading to Asia in spring 2020". seatrade-cruise.com. 24 April 2018.
- ^ Mathisen, Monty (24 April 2018). "MSC Bellissima to China in 2020". www.cruiseindustrynews.com.
- ^ a b "Two more persons test positive for COVID-19 in Telangana". Telangana Today.
- ^ a b "Açorianos que participaram no cruzeiro devem contactar a Linha Saúde Açores". Açoriano Oriental.
- ^ "Trappeto, positivo un ragazzo di 22 anni che lavorava sulle navi MSC". 2 April 2020. Archived from the original on 7 June 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
- ^ a b red, kaernten ORF at (4 May 2020). "Kärntnerin sitzt seit 50 Tagen auf Schiff fest". kaernten.ORF.at.
- ^ a b "MSC Kreuzfahrten: Crew nach Hause geschickt - Cirque Du Soleil Artistin in Isolation mit positivem Befund". 5 May 2020.
External links
- MSC Bellissima webpage at MSC Cruises website