By
Laura Hyde |
MSC Cruises and French shipbuilder Chantiers de l’Atlantique have celebrated three World-class ship milestones in Saint-Nazaire, France. The shipyard delivered MSC World America, laid the keel for MSC World Asia and cut the first steel for the newly named MSC World Atlantic, which is scheduled to join the MSC Cruises fleet in 2027.
The ceremony was attended by Captain Gianluigi Aponte, founder and group chairman of MSC; Pierfrancesco Vago, executive chairman of MSC Group’s cruise division; Laurent Castaing, general manager of Chantiers de l’Atlantique; and Marc Ferracci, the French government’s minister for industry and energy. They were joined by representatives of MSC Cruises’ newbuild team and shipyard workers who have spent the last 30 months constructing MSC World America.
Pierfrancesco Vago, executive chairman of MSC Group’s cruise division, speaks at the celebration ceremony
“Today is a proud moment for all of us at MSC Cruises and Chantiers de l’Atlantique as we mark these major milestones in the development of our fleet,” said Vago. “Our new flagship is a testament to our longstanding, innovative partnership spanning over 20 years, resulting in five ground-breaking prototypes and 19 ships. Together, we continue to push boundaries, combining cutting-edge design, the latest technologies and a richness of experiences to set new standards in cruising and always striving to further improve the environmental performance of each ship. We look forward to raising the bar even higher with the upcoming MSC World Asia and MSC World Atlantic.”
MSC World America will be officially christened at the cruise line’s new MSC Miami Cruise Terminal at PortMiami in Florida on 9 April 2025. The ship, which is the 23rd in the MSC Cruises fleet, offers guests new venues and concepts specifically tailored to the US market. It will spend its inaugural season, which begins on 12 April, offering alternating seven-night Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries, with every voyage calling at MSC Cruises’ private island Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve in The Bahamas.
MSC World America will be officially christened in Miami on 9 April
Commemorative coins were placed inside MSC World Asia during the keel laying ceremony by two godmothers: Marialuisa Iaccarino, vice president of shore excursions for MSC Cruises, and Flavie Biondo, business manager for Chantiers de l’Atlantique. The maritime tradition of welding coins to the ship’s keel is as a sign of blessing to bring good fortune to the ship. MSC World Asia is expected to enter service in winter 2026-2027 and initially offer itineraries in the Mediterranean.
According to maritime tradition commemorative coins are used to bless the ship with good fortune
The ceremony’s final celebration saw the first steel cut for MSC Cruises’ fourth World-class ship, the newly named MSC World Atlantic. The vessel will be deployed in the Caribbean from winter 2027-2028
The steeling cutting marks the beginning of construction on MSC World Atlantic, which will join the MSC Cruises fleet in 2027
The World-class ships are named after the world’s continents and oceans to reflect the global nature of MSC Cruises.
“It is with great emotion that we are marking today not one, but three MSC World-class ships,” said Castaing. “Continuous improvement of the onboard experience, ever more optimised energy performance – what a journey MSC Cruises and Chantiers de l’Atlantique teams have accomplished so far. To date, MSC World America has the best energy efficiency design index from the International Maritime Organization and, therefore, the lowest carbon footprint of the entire cruise industry. And we will go even further with the two sister ships we are celebrating today.”