MSC Lirica will sail from the Chinese port as part of agreement with CAISSA Touristic Group
By
Rebecca Gibson |
MSC Lirica is to become MSC Cruises’ first China-based ship when she starts sailing from Shanghai next May.
The deployment is part of a new partnership between MSC and CAISSA Touristic Group, China’s main outbound tourism service provider. It is set to be one of the longest running and most financially significant agreement between a cruise line and tour operator in China.
“This partnership stand outs from other traditional agreements between China-based tour agencies and cruise lines by the emphasis that will be placed on the training of the entire onboard staff to ensure that guests receive MSC Cruises’ best-in-class experience and service, as well as the degree of the adaptation of the ship’s hardware and software to fit the customs and tastes of the Chinese guests that it is designed to serve,” said Chen Xiaobing, CAISSA Touristic’s president. “We are convinced that the newly renovated MSC Lirica will bring exciting new holiday-making choices to Chinese guests and are looking forward to welcoming numerous would-be cruisers aboard, at a time when the cruise market in the country for this particular type of product is thriving.”
MSC Lirica is scheduled to reach her new homeport of Shanghai on 1 May 2016, after a 60-day grand voyage from Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, via Barcelona, Spain; Marseille, France; Genoa, Italy; and Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The 65,000gt ship, which can carry 2,600 passengers, will be renovated later this year and will be fitted with onboard features and offer high-end cuisine specifically designed for Chinese cruisers. Once in Shanghai, the ship will be staffed by a high percentage of native Mandarin-speaking crew and provide guests with all services in Mandarin, as well as traditional Chinese entertainment.
“MSC Cruises has been present in China since 2010, successfully bringing Chinese guests to cruise on its ultra-modern fleet to its many global destinations and especially to Europe and the Mediterranean, where our distinctive product made us the number one cruise line across the entire continent,” said Gianni Onorato, MSC Cruises’ CEO. “We are now delighted and excited that through this partnership we are taking our presence in China to the next level.”