MSC Cruises, the Geneva based cruise shipping company, says it has today laid out the first block of new keel section to be inserted into MSC Armonia as part of the cruise line’s four-ship Renaissance programme.
The work, at the Fincantieri shipyard in Palermo, Italy, marks the beginning of the €200 million lengthening and improvement programme, an important step towards ensuring that all of MSC Cruises’ ships benefit from the latest in terms of technology and comfort, the copany said in a statement.
The section laid out today weighs around 350 tonnes. In the next three months an additional three sections will be built, which are currently being cut in the Palermo yard. The whole block will be finished at the end of July, and will be inserted into the mid-section of the ship at the end of August when MSC Armonia. Close to 200 cabins will be added, as well as new entertainment spaces and new technological enhancements.
The ships will boast a completely new spray park, with an exhilarating pathway of water features and water cannons. The impressive onboard boutiques will be enhanced with new interiors, more space and an all-new perfumery with display corners dedicated to leading brands. The end of the work is scheduled for November 17 2014, the day on which the ship will leave the shipyard to sail to Genoa before heading to the Canary Islands.
The Renaissance programme will ultimately see the lengthening and refurbishment of MSC Cruises’ four Lirica class vessels (MSC Armonia, MSC Lirica, MSC Sinfonia and MSC Opera) and will be completed in 2015
Schedule and key figures
MSC’s Lirica class Renaissance programme will follow the below dry dock schedule:
· MSC Armonia (2004): August 31 to November 17 2014
· MSC Sinfonia (2005): January 12 to March 16 2015
· MSC Opera (2004): May 2 to July 4 2015
· MSC Lirica (2003): August 31 to November 9 2015
The four Lirica Class ships were built between 2003 and 2005 at the STX yards in Saint-Nazaire, France. They are currently 251 metres long, have a gross tonnage of 60,000 tons and carry 2,069 passengers. After the “Renaissance programme”, the ships will be 275 meters long, measure at 65,000 gross tons and carry 2,680 travellers, boasting 193 additional cabins (plus 59 new cabins for crew members).
