MSC Cruises is beckoning wine and cuisine aficionados with new specialty dining options set to debut aboard the MSC Euribia when the ship enters service in June 2023. International flavors and immersive restaurant experiences await cruisers sailing on the 6,334-guest vessel.

Wine Bar, French Brasserie Debut on MSC Euribia

MSC Cruises’ newest ship, the Meraviglia-class MSC Euribia now under construction at the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in France, will feature five specialty restaurants when she launches in June. The cruise line on April 6 revealed details about two of those dining options, the Helios Wine Bar and Le Grill.

Wine lovers who indulge at the Helios Wine Bar can enjoy the venue’s 96 featured wines while learning the history of the wine they’ve chosen, thanks to high-tech tables and digital coasters that will reveal a particular wine’s grape varieties, the regions it comes from and other interesting facts.

Food pairings will be offered, too, including a selection of cheeses, finger foods and nuts curated to enhance the chosen wine. The venue also will host master classes for guests who wish to learn more about wine.

Le Grill is a traditional French brasserie that will serve classic favorites and shared dishes, including oysters, caviar and lobster, beef and pasta selections, plus French onion soup, Dover sole Meunière and a range of fancy French desserts.

“We are always looking to anticipate the next big thing in food and beverage, and with MSC Euribia, we wanted to offer venues that are unlike anything we have ever done before,” said MSC Cruises Vice President of Food and Beverage Jacques Van Staden.

He added, “The same culinary quality and exceptional service that define our offering will remain at the heart of the experience but will be brought to new heights. We want to offer our guests something to talk about, something to marvel at and something to remember, long after their cruise has ended.”

Another specialty venue and a favorite across the MSC Cruises fleet, Kaito Teppanyaki & Sushi Bar will be featured on the line’s new flagship, dishing up the flavors of the Far East.

Chefs at the eatery’s teppanyaki grills will prepare dishes while guests watch. While Kaito is not a new venue, it is being enhanced onboard MSC Euribia with robatayaki, the popular Japanese barbecue cuisine.

Ship to Feature Five Main Dining Rooms

Along with her specialty restaurants, MSC Euribia will feature five main dining venues and 21 bars and lounges. The main dining rooms, all serving three meals a day and included in the cruise fare, are Colorado River, Green Orchid, Il Campo, Aurora Boreale and Aurora Borealis. Also covered in the fare is the ship’s 1,336-seat Marketplace buffet, which offers international cuisines.

Desserts will abound onboard MSC Euribia, with the Jean-Philippe Maury Chocolat & Café offering 40 types of chocolate goodies, and the Crêpes & Gelato venue tempting cruisers with 17 ice cream flavors and 10 signature crêpes.

Before or after enjoying the new ship’s dining options, cruisers will have a wide variety of entertainment spaces to check out. The cruise line in late March revealed that MSC Euribia will feature seven new theatrical productions, a reimagined Carousel Lounge, and one of the largest big band performances at sea.

MSC Cruises will officially name MSC Euribia on June 8, 2023, during a ceremony at Copenhagen Malmö Port. The ship, which will be the 22nd vessel in the MSC Cruises fleet, will spend her inaugural season in Northern Europe, sailing 7-night cruises from Kiel, Germany, and Copenhagen to the Norwegian Fjords, with calls at Geiranger, Ålesund, and Flaam.

MSC Cruises has announced the cancellation of multiple cruises scheduled for April 2023 due to the extended shipyard stay of the MSC Seaview in Malta. The company is now working to accommodate affected passengers.

The drydock period for MSC Seaview was supposed to take just two weeks. However, this timeline has now more than doubled. 

Unexpected Delays Lead to Cancelled MSC Seaview Cruises

MSC Cruises has been forced to cancel several cruises in April 2023. The cruise ship arrived in Paolo, Malta, on March 31, 2023, following its last voyage, which concluded in Barcelona two days prior. The ship was initially scheduled to spend two-and-a-half weeks in dry dock before resuming cruising on April 17 in Genoa, Italy.

However, the nearly five-year-old ship is now facing longer-than-expected repair times, according to Kreuzfahrt Aktuelles. This has led to the cancellation of seven cruises, with guests being informed by MSC Cruises about the changes to their plans.

During the shipyard period in Malta, technical and inspection work was planned for MSC Seaview. It is not clear what the exact issue is that is taking longer, although several online sources mention extensive engine work that is being performed. The cruise ship’s sistership, MSC Seaside, suffered engine problems in July last year, forcing the vessel into dry dock for repairs. 

The cancelled cruises include those departing from Genoa on April 17, 24, and May 1; Civitavecchia on April 19 and 26; and Palma de Mallorca on April 21 and 28.

MSC Cruises is working to accommodate affected customers and provide them with alternative options for their travel plans while also providing them with onboard credit to be used on a future voyage. MSC Seaview is now expected to resume operations on May 3, departing from Civitavecchia – two and a half weeks later than initially scheduled.

MSC Seaview: Summer in Europe and Winter in Brazil

Upon resuming operations, the MSC Seaview will spend the 2023 summer season cruising the Western Mediterranean through November 18. During the winter month, the cruise ship will sail around Brazil.

During the summer, guests can sail on week-long voyages from various ports in the Western Mediterranean, including La Spezia, Barcelona, Cannes, and Genoa. MSC Cruises offers passengers the flexibility to begin and end their cruises at different ports, with the cruise duration also variable.

From November 18 to December 5, 2023, MSC Seaview will sail on a 17-night MSC Grand Voyage cruise. The voyage will start in Genoa, Italy, on November 18, before going to Palma de Mallorca, Cartagena, and Malaga, Spain.

Following the calls in Spain, MSC Seaview will visit Casablanca, Morocco, and the Canary Islands, from where the ship will sail across the Atlantic Ocean. In Brazil, the ship will visit Salvador de Bahia and Ilheus and conclude in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on December 5. 

The 153,516 gross tons MSC Seaview is a Seaside-class cruise ship constructed by Fincantieri, in Monfalcone, Italy. Delivered in June 2018, the 4,132-guest cruise ship is the sister ship to MSC Seaside. 

Donations from guests sailing aboard the MSC Cruises’ fleet have made it possible for the line to reach a major milestone in its financial contributions to UNICEF, the nonprofit humanitarian agency that helps children across the globe. The fundraising effort onboard MSC Cruises’ 19-ship fleet is coordinated by the MSC Foundation.

Fundraising Passes 12 Million Euro Mark

MSC Cruises, for the past 13 years, has partnered with UNICEF in a program that accepts donations from cruise guests who wish to contribute to the line’s fundraising efforts. The line announced on April 5 that the “Get On Board With Children” campaign has surpassed the 12 million euro mark, or roughly $13 million.

Through its partnership in helping to fund six UNICEF programs, the MSC Foundation since 2009 has extended financial aid to children in eight countries.

The donated funds have provided desperately needed food to more than 115,000 children suffering from severe malnutrition in Ethiopia, South Sudan, Somalia and Malawi, and have supported education programs for some 8,000 children in more than 100 communities in Brazil. Monies also have been distributed to mitigate malaria in African countries and to boost China’s food supplement program that prevents child malnutrition.

MSC Foundation Executive Director Daniela Picco said, “It is an honor to work hand in hand with UNICEF. Our partnership has grown from strength to strength ever since we set out together 13 years ago. It’s been a journey of great teamwork, working on very different programs across the world, but always achieving incredible results for the children.”

She added, “We are extremely proud of this new milestone and very grateful for the generous donations of the millions of MSC Cruises guests who have been moved to assist UNICEF’s wonderful work over these years.”

As part of the “Get On Board With Children” campaign, MSC Cruises also offers shipboard edutainment activities meant to engage young cruisers. The line’s Kids United magazine, for instance, is designed to ben an interactive way for children to learn about important topics as part of their cruise experience.

Multi-faceted Aid Programs Across The Globe

The MSC Foundation’s work with UNICEF doesn’t end with financial assistance to children’s programs. Recent initiatives that benefitted from guest donations include helping communities affected by flooding in Malawi, and by severe weather events in Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

In 2019 the foundation expanded its role with the humanitarian organization by becoming the first partner in a program called “Plastic Waste Goes to School,” in the West African nation of Ivory Coast. The project’s goal is to build schools using bricks constructed from recycled plastic waste. The program empowers the country’s vulnerable women by training them as plastic waste collectors.

So far, 188 women have participated in the program, which enables them to earn money working in the UNICEF-supported plastic waste factory. Some 1.3 million pounds of plastic already has been recycled into construction bricks that today are used in 112 classrooms. As a result, more than 6,000 children have access to those classrooms.

UNICEF Switzerland and Liechtenstein CEO Bettina Junker said: “We are extremely grateful that our partnership with the MSC Foundation has reached yet another impressive milestone with EUR 12 million donations to date. We highly appreciate the MSC Foundation’s generous support and powerful awareness-building around UNICEF’s work. We look forward to the next chapter in our partnership and are excited to continue driving change for children and young people every day.”

MSC World America to Debut in 2025

MSC Cruises currently has four ships sailing Caribbean and Bahamas itineraries from North American ports. The cruise line announced in late March that bookings officially opened for its newest ship, MSC World America, which will debut in April 2025 and be home-ported in Miami. The ship, the second in MSC Cruises’ World class, is under construction at the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in France.

The ship is being designed specifically for the US market, and will accommodate 5,240 guests and 2,138 crew. Once home-ported in Miami, the ship will operate 7-night Eastern and Western Caribbean cruises.

Eastern Caribbean itineraries will call at Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and the Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, The Bahamas. Western Caribbean sailings will visit Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico; Roatan, Honduras; and the MSC Marine Reserve.