MSC Cruises has placed a landmark order at Fincantieri today to build two new state-of-the-art cruise ships at a price of 700 million euro each, plus an option for one additional ship.  The order was signed by MSC Cruises’ Executive Chairman, Pierfrancesco Vago, CEO of MSC Cruises, Gianni Onorato and CEO of Fincantieri, Giuseppe Bono.

Called “Seaside,” these ships will be the largest ever built by Fincantieri and will have a gross tonnage of 154,000 tons while measuring 323 meters in length, 41 meter beam and 70 meters tall.  The ships will include accommodations for nearly 5,200 passengers plus 1,413 crew members. Deliveries are planned for November of 2017 and May 2018, respectively. 

Pierfrancesco Vago, Executive Chairman of MSC Cruises commented on the order:

“Seaside is a futuristic prototype structure, agility and shapes. Along with Fincantieri we prepare for a new and compelling challenge for the construction of ships representing a real renewal of the world cruise market, an excellent product for the unique and innovative architectural solutions and cutting edge technology. With this order the MSC group, which already has 10,000 Italian employees, reaffirms the centrality of Italy in its development strategies and continues to invest in the beautiful country by creating wealth and jobs for the whole economic system.”

With the arrival of new ships, MSC Cruises will reach a capacity of about 80,000 passengers per day according to Onorato.  By 2022, his company’s capital investments of around 5 billion euro will have contributed to a 200 percent growth of their fleet capacity with newbuilds at Fincantieri as well as at STX France .