Royal Caribbean Unveils New Ship - MSC Cruises Provides New ‘Stay & Cruise’ Packages
Royal Caribbean unveils name of 6th OASIS-class ship
Royal Caribbean announced that their 6th OASIS-class ship - scheduled to debut in 2024, will be named Utopia of the Seas.
Utopia OTS is also the 4th RCI "Oasis-Plus" class unit, with sisterships Wonder (2022), Harmony OTS (2016), Symphony OTS (2018). She slightly exceeds in size the original Oasis-class vessels Oasis OTS (2009) and Allure OTS (2010). Utopia OTS has a building cost of US$1,35 billion (2019 shiporder rates).
The newbuild will be even bigger than Wonder OTS and will become the world's largest cruise ship ever built.
The first piece of steel was cut on Utopia OTS on Tuesday, April 5, in Saint-Nazaire (France) to mark the start of construction. The boat will carry nearly 10,000 people (passengers plus crew) when finished and in service.
Utopia OTS will be also first LNG-powered Oasis-class liner.
Royal Caribbean has yet to reveal Utopia's homeport and inaugural season (deployment and itineraries) in 2024.
MSC Cruises provides enriched experience with new ‘Stay & Cruise’ Packages
MSC Cruises will introduce new ‘Stay & Cruise’ packages during the summer months to provide passengers with the opportunity to get the most out of their trip both ashore and at sea via an enriched and complete experience.
The company’s passengers for East Mediterranean cruises will be able to spend up to 2 days exploring either Venice (Marghera, Italy) or Piraeus (Athens, Greece) before they set sail for their 7-night holidays.
The offering will be rolled out in late summer 2022 for MSC's U.S. sailings from PortMiami Florida and Port Canaveral (Orlando, Florida) with New York City added in summer 2023.
The new offer includes up to 2-nights’ accommodation in a 4-star hotel (breakfast included), a half-day city excursion, luggage transfers (hotel-guest cabins), and private ground transportation to the embarkation port.
The hotels will have dedicated MSC staff on hand in the lobby at convenient times throughout the day to provide vacationers with information and ‘top tips’ for getting the most from their excursion.
Air travel can also be reserved through MSC and added to the ‘Stay & Cruise’ packages in order to allow passengers to also book convenient flights and spend up to 2 days of discovery on land ahead of the cruise.
The new packages for Eastern Mediterranean itineraries will be on sale by the end of the month and can be booked via MSC Cruises’ website/travel agents.
The 2-day ‘Venice Viewpoint’ will be for passengers looking to sail on MSC Armonia, MSC Fantasia, MSC Sinfonia, and MSC Musica from the Italian ports of Venice, Monfalcone, and Trieste.
Passengers for MSC Lirica’s cruises from the port of Piraeus can opt for up to 2 days of ‘Athens Attractions’ ahead of their voyage.
MSC Cruises ‘Stay & Cruise’ packages were put together in partnership with its 100%-owned Italian tour operator, Going.
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