MSC Cruises

MSC CRUISES

MSC Cruises, also known as Mediterranean Shipping Cruises before 2004 (and formerly StarLauro Cruises), is an Italian privately-owned cruise line that expands quickly in recent years. Its parent company, MSC Shipping, is a well-known container shipping company

Currently MSC Cruises is the third largest cruise operator in the world, which owns 13 ships by 2013. There are several classes in the fleet, including the 130000-ton Fantasia Class, the 90000-ton Musica Class, and the Mistral Class that consists of smaller ships.

MSC Cruises describes itself as "Beautiful, Passionate, Italian". Its ships mainly sail in the Mediterranean, Northern Europe, the Caribbean, as well as exotic destinations such as South America and Africa.

Ship(s) in Operation

FANTASIA Class
Ship	MSC Fantasia	MSC Splendida	MSC Divina	MSC Preziosa
Entered Service	2008 December 18th	2009 July 4th	2012 May 27th	2013 March 14th
Builder	STX Europe, St. Nazaire (France)
Original Cost	US$550 million
Registry	Panama City, Panama
Gross Tonnage	137936 tons	137936 tons	139400 tons	139400 tons
Length x Beam x Draft	333.3 x 37.9 x 8.5 (m), 1093.2 x 124.3 x 27.9 (ft)
Speed	22.6 knots, 23 knots (maximum)
Passenger Decks	14
Number of Cabins (Inside/Oceanview/Balcony)	1637 (294, 85, 1258)	1637 (294, 85, 1258)	1751 (405, 124, 1222)	1751 (405, 124, 1222)
Passengers (Standard Occupancy / Full Occupancy)	3274 / 4363	3274 / 4363	3502 / 4345	3502 / 4345
Passenger Space Ratio (Standard Occupancy / Full Occupancy)	42.13 / 31.61	42.13 / 31.61	39.81 / 32.08	39.81 / 32.08
Total Crew	1370	1370	1370	1370
Crew to Passenger Ratio (Standard Occupancy / Full Occupancy)	2.39 / 3.18	2.39 / 3.18	2.56 / 3.17	2.56 / 3.17
Navigation Officers	Italian
IMO Number, Call Sign	9359791, 3ETR7	9359806, 3FZI8	9585285, 3FFA5	9595321, 3FOA6
Sister Ships	/
History	2008- : MSC Fantasia (MSC Cruises) 2009- : MSC Splendida (MSC Cruises) [originally named MSC Serenata]		2012- : MSC Divina (MSC Cruises) [originally named MSC Fantastica] 2013-2013: Phoenicia (Libya's General National Maritime Transport) [planned but never operated] 2013- : MSC Preziosa (MSC Cruises)

MUSICA Class
Ship	MSC Musica	MSC Orchestra	MSC Poesia	MSC Magnifica
Entered Service	2006 July 1st	2007 May 3rd	2008 April 19th	2010 March 9th
Builder	Aker Yards, St. Nazaire (France)
Original Cost	US$360 million
Registry	Panama City, Panama
Gross Tonnage	92409 tons	92409 tons	92627 tons	95128 tons
Length x Beam x Draft	293.8 x 32.2 x 7.7 (m), 963.7 x 105.6 x 25.3 (ft)
Speed	23 knots
Passenger Decks	13
Number of Cabins (Inside/Oceanview/Balcony)	1275 (275, 173, 827)	1275 (275, 173, 827)	1275 (275, 173, 827)	1259 (249, 173, 837)
Passengers (Standard Occupancy / Full Occupancy)	2550 / 3223	2550 / 3223	2550 / 3223	2518 / 3223
Passenger Space Ratio (Standard Occupancy / Full Occupancy)	36.24 / 28.67	36.24 / 28.67	36.32 / 28.74	37.78 / 29.52
Total Crew	1014	1054	1039	1038
Crew to Passenger Ratio (Standard Occupancy / Full Occupancy)	2.51 / 3.18	2.42 / 3.06	2.45 / 3.10	2.43 / 3.11
Navigation Officers	Italian
IMO Number, Call Sign	9320087, 3EFK6	9320099, 3EFJ3	9387073, 3EPL4	9387085, 3FLO4
Sister Ships	/
History	2006- : MSC Musica (MSC Cruises) 2007- : MSC Orchestra (MSC Cruises)		2008- : MSC Poesia (MSC Cruises) 2010- : MSC Magnifica (MSC Cruises)

MISTRAL Class
Ship	MSC Lirica	MSC Opera	MSC Armonia	MSC Sinfonia
Entered Service	2003 April 13th	2004 June 26th	2001 June	2002 April
Builder	Chantiers de l'Atlantique, St. Nazaire (France)
Original Cost	US$266 million		US$245 million
Registry	Panama City, Panama
Gross Tonnage	59058 tons		58625 tons
Length x Beam x Draft	251.3 x 28.8 x 6.9 (m), 824.3 x 94.5 x 22.6 (ft)
Speed	21 knots
Passenger Decks	9
Number of Cabins (Inside/Oceanview/Balcony)	780 (276, 372, 132)	856 (359, 297, 200)	777 (272, 373, 132)	777 (272, 373, 132)
Passengers (Standard Occupancy / Full Occupancy)	1560 / 2199	1712 / 2199	1554 / 2199	1554 / 2199
Passenger Space Ratio (Standard Occupancy / Full Occupancy)	37.86 / 26.86	34.50 / 26.86	37.73 / 26.66	37.73 / 26.66
Total Crew	700	728	700	700
Crew to Passenger Ratio (Standard Occupancy / Full Occupancy)	2.23 / 3.14	2.35 / 3.02	2.22 / 3.14	2.22 / 3.14
Navigation Officers	Italian
IMO Number, Call Sign	9246102, HOPW	9250464, H3FV	9210141, H8EW	9210153, H8XH
Sister Ships	/		/
History	2003-2003: unnamed (Festival Cruises) [planned but never operated] 2003- : MSC Lirica (MSC Cruises) 2004-2004: unnamed (Festival Cruises) [planned but never operated] 2004- : MSC Opera (MSC Cruises)		2001-2004: European Vision (Festival Cruises) 2004- : MSC Armonia (MSC Cruises) 2002-2004: European Stars (Festival Cruises) [originally named European Dream] 2004- : MSC Sinfonia (MSC Cruises)

MSC Cruises Classic Fleet
Ship	MSC Melody
Entered Service	1982 April
Builder	Constructions Industrielles de la Méditerranée, La Seyne-sur-Mer (France)
Original Cost	US$100 million
Registry	Panama City, Panama
Gross Tonnage	35143 tons
Length x Beam x Draft	204.7 x 27.4 x 7.8 (m), 671.4 x 89.9 x 25.6 (ft)
Speed	18 knots, 23 knots (maximum)
Passenger Decks	8
Number of Cabins (Inside/Oceanview/Balcony)	532 (151, 381, 0)
Passengers (Standard Occupancy / Full Occupancy)	1064 / 1550
Passenger Space Ratio (Standard Occupancy / Full Occupancy)	33.03 / 22.67
Total Crew	530
Crew to Passenger Ratio (Standard Occupancy / Full Occupancy)	2.01 / 2.92
Navigation Officers	Italian
IMO Number, Call Sign	7902295, 3FBS7
Sister Ships	/
History	1982-1988: Atlantic (Home Lines) 1988-1997: Star/Ship Atlantic (Premier Cruises) 1997-2003: Melody (Mediterranean Shipping Cruises) 2003- : MSC Melody (MSC Cruises)

Former Ship(s)


Ship	MSC Rhapsody	MSC Monterey	Symphony
Entered Service	1977 March	1952 December / 1956 December	1951 March
Builder	Burmeister & Wein, Copenhagen (Denmark)	Bethlehem Steel Corporation Shipyard, Sparrows Point (USA)	Swan Hunter Shipbuilders, Newcastle (England)
Original Cost	US$17 million	(originally built as a cargo vessel)	unknown
Registry	Panama City, Panama	Panama City, Panama	Panama City, Panama
Gross Tonnage	16852 tons	20046 tons	17900 tons
Length x Beam x Draft	163.5 x 22.8 x 5.8 (m) 536.3 x 74.8 x 19.0 (ft)	171.8 x 24.5 x 8.9 (m) 563.5 x 80.4 x 29.2 (ft)	176.5 x 22.3 x 7.5 (m) 578.9 x 73.1 x 24,6 (ft)
Speed	18 knots	20 knots	18 knots
Passenger Decks	8	6	7
Number of Cabins (Inside/Oceanview/Balcony)	382 (127, 255, 0)	288 (160, 128, 0)	335 (173, 162, 0)
Passengers (Standard Occupancy / Full Occupancy)	764 / 812	576 / 627	670 / 840
Passenger Spce Ratio (Standard Occupancy / Full Occupancy)	22.06 / 20.75	34.80 / 31.97	26.72 / 21.31
Total Crew	370	280	300
Crew to Passenger Ratio (Standard Occupancy / Full Occupancy)	2.06 / 2.19	2.06 / 2.24	2.23 / 2.80
Navigation Officers	Italian	Italian	Italian
IMO Number, Call Sign	7358573, IBQF	5240904, 3EAH8	5286128, ?
Sister Ships	Ocean Countess (Cruise & Maritime Voyages)	(ex-) Heng Li (China Ocean Shipping)	/
History	1977-1995: Cunard Princess (Cunard Line) [originally named Cunard Conquest] 1995-1995: Rhapsody (StarLauro Cruises) 1995-2003: Rhapsody (Mediterranean Shipping Cruises) 2003-2009: MSC Rhapsody (MSC Cruises) 2009- : Golden Iris (Mano Cruises)	1952-1956: Free State Mariner (United States Maritime Commission) 1956-1971: Monterey (Matson Line) 1971-1979: Monterey (Pacific Far East Line) 1979-1987: Monterey (American Maritime Holdings) 1987-1989: Monterey (Aloha Pacific Cruises) 1989-1995: Monterey (StarLauro Cruises) 1995-2003: Monterey (Mediterranean Shipping Cruises) 2003-2006: MSC Monterey (MSC Cruises) 2006: sold for scrap in Alang, India	1951-1965: Provence (SGTM) 1965-1987: Enrico C (Costa Line) 1987-1994: Enrico Costa (Costa Cruises) 1994-1995: Symphony (StarLauro Cruises) 1995-2000: Symphony (Mediterranean Shipping Cruises) 2000-2001: Aegean Spirit (Golden Sun Cruises) 2001-2001: Ocean Glory 1 (Festive Holidays) 2001: sold for scrap in Alang, India

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