First Of MSC’s Lirica Class To Begin The Stretch
Today (May 19), the first 350-ton block of MSC ARMONIA’s new center section was laid down at a shipyard in Palermo, Sicily. In the next three months, an additional three sections will be built and then inserted when the MSC ARMONIA arrives at the shipyard. The 24-meter extension will add nearly 200 cabins, new entertainment venues and a new spray park with an exhilarating pathway of water fixtures and cannons. The work is scheduled for completion by November 17, 2014, when the ship will head to Genoa to embark on a cruise to the Canary Islands.
MSCs Renaissance program, which was announced in December 2013, represents a $273 million investment for the four ships of the Lirica class (MSC ARMONIA, MSC LIRICA, MSC SINFONIA and MSC OPERA) and will be completed as follows:
· MSC ARMONIA (2001 — ex EUROPEAN VISION): August 31 to November 17, 2014
· MSC SINFONIA (2002 — ex EUROPEAN STARS): 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 all built between 2001 and 2005 at the STX yards in Saint-Nazaire, France. They are currently 251 meters long, 60,000 tons and carry 2,069 travelers. Following the “Renaissance Program,” the ships will be 275 meters long, 65,000 tons and carry 2,680 travelers, boasting 193 additional cabins (plus 59 new cabins for crew members).
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To be exact, the MSC ARMONIA was built in 2001 as the EUROPEAN VISION for Festival Cruises, while the MSC SINFONIA was completed in 2002 as the EUROPEAN STARS for the same company. They also differ from the sisters originally built for MSC with different aft superstructures and funnels.
As lengthened these ships will surely seem very long and narrow?
Correct Kalle, also near sisters, not quite sisters !
European Vision, European Stars, Msc Lirica, Msc Opéra were originaly lengthened version of Mistral (today Costa néoRiviera), the hull received no change for those 1st jumboization… and now with additionnal 24m mid section, the ships will be finally 59 m bigger than the 1st vessem, without any enlargement of the hull… I lived a force 9 storm on the Vision in 2001 and the vessel were not very stable ! so with this addition and without enlargement I have some doubt ! but I was at the christienned ceremony of the vision (still have a piece of the champagne rubban with italian’s flag colors) and the Mistral… they stayed forever in my heart !
Yes Clive, as far as I am aware, they will be the narrowest cruise ships afloat….I do stand to be corrected though. They do well here in South Africa even though we only have the MSC Opera for the 2014/15 summer season. Costa have been ‘peeping’ in and I am surprised that MSC have not yet gone down under…
I just received a rendering of one of two new builds for MSC, unnamed as yet.
UGLY comes to mind, with 5300 passengers, Fincantieri new builds.
Dare I say ugly, maybe putrid is more correct.