36 COVER STORY The epitome of European elegance Trevor Young and Daniel Mocreia of MSC Cruises give Rebecca Gibson an insight into the brand’s ship design process and its latest pioneering newbuild, MSC Euribia Whenever MSC Cruises is designing a new ship, individuals across the organisation come together to help the brand to push the boundaries of innovation and create a pioneering vessel that will exceed guest expectations. The brand’s owners, executive chairman Pierfrancesco Vago and the Aponte family, spearhead these projects, dedicating themselves to ensuring that the design, architecture and engineering teams perfect every little detail. “Vago and the family provide the highlevel direction whenever we’re developing a prototype for a new class of ships,” says Trevor Young, vice president of newbuilding and refurbishment at MSC Cruises. “They will outline what type of venues, features, technical profile and other elements he would like us to include. They also take time to refine elements of the design with us – we once went through 72 iterations of the funnel design for one ship to ensure it looked special. “The family also live and breathe interior design, oversee the whole process and work with us to finalise everything from the colour palettes to the artwork, fabrics, fixtures, fittings and plants. They spend a considerable amount of time onboard a ship in the weeks before it is delivered to supervise all the last-minute outfitting tasks and ensure everything is just right before the first guests step onboard. I don’t know of any other shipowners who are so proactively involved in the entire shipbuilding process.” Vago, the entrepreneurial chairman of the MSC Cruises division, is dedicated to developing newbuild and refurbishment strategies that will enable the brand to realise the ambitious vision for the future. “It’s my job to take the family’s bold visions and work with my team, other departments across MSC Cruises and external partners to make them a reality,” says Young. “Collaboration is key to achieving this. We have monthly newbuild and project with Vago at our Geneva headquarters, and I also check in frequently with the leaders of the hotel operations, food and beverage, entertainment and onboard revenue departments on the ships.” Young’s team constantly seeks feedback from shoreside and shipboard staff, and guests, too. “One of the most valuable times for me is when I go onboard a ship to chat with guests and crew to find out what’s working well and what could be improved, or just simply to observe them as they navigate the ship,” says Young. “For example, when we trialled a new ‘deck destination’ elevator system from
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