The first of MSC’s Seaside EVO-class ships arrived in Miami on Sunday ahead of her inaugural cruise to the Caribbean on November 20. The 1 billion dollar ship sailed from Barcelona, Spain, only weeks ago from where she completed her first Mediterranean cruise season.
Originally scheduled to begin sailing earlier this year in June, the vessel sailed with passengers for the first time in August. Before she departs on her inaugural cruises from the United States to the Bahamas, MSC Seashore will sail on a 3-day cruise during which she will be officially named.
Sailing The Caribbean and the Bahamas
Although similar in looks on the exterior as her Seaside-class sister ships MSC Seaside and MSC Seaview, MSC Seashore is, in fact, wholly re-imagined with more than 65% of the public spaces re-designed, the vessel is 16 meters (53 feet) longer, and has different entertainment options, bars, restaurant, more outdoor space (10,000 m2), and 200 more passenger cabins.
MSC Seashore has been designed with the warm Miami climate in mind, while the striking aft section of the vessel mirrors that of the Miami-style beach condos the city is famous for.
The ship is also equipped with state-of-the-art environmental technology, UV-treated air systems, and a fully immersive interactive design that incorporates touch screens around the ship, TVs in staterooms, and the cruise line’s app, MSC for me.
MSC Seashore will be departing on the first Caribbean and Bahamas cruise on November 20. Sailing from her homeport of Miami, Florida, the 169,500 gross tons, 4,560-passenger cruise ship will be based in the US permanently.
Her first cruise will call at Cozumel, Falmouth, Jamaica, and MSC Ocean Cay, in the Bahamas, before returning to Miami, Florida. Guests can combine this cruise with an additional voyage that includes an extra two days at Ocean Cay, a stop in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and a final stop in Nassau, Bahamas.
However, before her first Miami cruise kicks off, the vessel will sail a three-day cruise for invitees.
Sophia Loren to Be Godmother of MSC Seashore
Departing on Wednesday, November 17, MSC Seashore will sail on a three-day cruise to MSC’s private island of Ocean Cay in the Bahamas. Here the vessel will be officially named by MSC’s favorite godmother, Sophia Loren. It will be the sixteenth time the actress has been godmother to an MSC cruise ship.
Loren and the owners of the cruise line, the Aponte family, have had a special relationship for many years: “It’s family,” said Loren, “I’ve known this family since they had children. We live in the same city. It’s a lifetime relationship.”
The christening of MSC Seashore will also double up as the official opening of Ocean Cay. Guests onboard the special naming ceremony cruise will include a select group of travel advisors, agents, company executives and personnel, and special guests. They will have a first look at one of the most innovative and newest ships to sail from PortMiami.
During the cruise, there will be festivities both onboard and ashore at Ocean Cay, while during the evening, guests will enjoy a special gala dinner.
MSC Seashore sails her cruises from cruise terminal F in Port Miami. From 2023 she will be sailing from the cruise line’s new state-of-the-art cruise terminal, which will handle three EVO-class ships at any one time and will be capable of handling 36,000 passengers in one day.
The new MSC vessel will be the final ship in the fleet to begin operations from the US since suspensions started in Spring 2020. MSC Meraviglia was the first in the fleet to resume from the country in August 2021, the ship is currently sailing out of PortMiami in Florida. MSC Divina followers by restarting in September and also becoming the first MSC vessel to homeport in Port Canaveral, Florida.
