The largest ever cruise ship to be christened at Port of Southampton in the UK was impacted by bad weather conditions but fear not as the celebrations continued onboard MSC Bellissima.
Cruise Ship Christening Doesn’t Go to Plan
Bad weather which included strong winds impacted the christening ceremony of MSC Bellissima last night at the Port of Southampton in the UK. According to the Mirror, celebs were evacuated from the pier side marquee as the winds became too strong.
Never mind the rain, Team Triangle have boarded the brand new, & very beautiful MSC Bellissima! Time to be spoilt!
— ?️Triangle Travel?️ (@TriangleTravel) March 3, 2019
Among those evacuated was the celebrity host Holly Willoughby who is known for presenting the “This Morning” show on ITV. Sophie Loren who is the godmother to MSC Bellissima and tasked at cutting the ribbon was also included in the celebs evacuated.
When it came to the actual naming by Sophie Loren it was done onboard at the Mediterranean-style promenade which features the longest LED Sky Screen at Sea at 262 ft. long. The champagne then smashed against the bow of the second Meraviglia-class vessel.
Cruise Hive readers can watch some of the highlights below along with stunning views of the new cruise ship:
The bad weather came as Storm Freya was approaching large parts of the country with 70-80mph guests through Sunday according to the Met Office.
No matter what the ceremony continued onboard the new MSC cruise ship. The festivities included performances from three-time Grammy Award-winner Nile Rodgers and world-famous tenor Andrea Bocelli and Matteo Bocelli. It was the largest ever cruise ship to be christened at the port and it seems the weather certainly didn’t dampen the mood.
The largest ever MSC class cruise ship so far was recently delivered from the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in France and is an impressive 171,598 gross tons. The ship can carry 4,434 passengers at double occupancy along with 1563 crew members.
Also Read: 2 New Ships and a Private Island Coming to MSC Cruises in 2019
She truly is a mega cruise ship and even features ZOE, the world’s first virtual personal cruise assistant. The ship also has 12 dining venues and more than 20 bars and lounges.
MSC Bellissima will depart Southampton on March 4 and her maiden voyage will end at Genoa, Italy to begin her inaugural season. The vessel will sail the Mediterranean offering 7-night cruises then will be based from the Emirates for Winter 2019/2020 following Asia in 2020.
Photo Credit: MSC Cruises
