The "MSC Virtuosa" enters service in a still sluggish cruise market

It was in small groups that Chantiers de l'Atlantique delivered, on Monday February 1, the

, which becomes one of the largest cruise ships in the fleet of the Italian-Swiss shipowner MSC Cruises.

A second delivery is scheduled this year, that

of Royal Caribbean's

, at the end of 2021. Quai Penhouët, in Saint-Nazaire, the

, worth 1 billion euros, impresses with its 331 meters long , its 19 bridges overhung by a chimney which rises to 50 meters above the surface of the sea. This boat can accommodate 6340 passengers for which it deploys a water park, a theater, restaurants and shops.

Ordered in 2014, the

is the fourth in the series of Meraviglia class boats entrusted to French shipyards.

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In total, 16 of the 18 MSC Cruises ships were built in Saint-Nazaire, which represents, for France, "

".

The shipowner has confirmed an order for three other more “green” liners because they are powered by LNG.

Despite the uncertainties hanging over the cruise market, affected by the health crisis, MSC Cruises has received its liner after having postponed its delivery, scheduled for the end of October.

The shipowner is showing his confidence in the market rebound.

The

will go into service on April 16, with four Mediterranean cruises scheduled from Genoa.

It will then return to its home port of Kiel, from where new cruises in Northern Europe will depart.

MSC Cruises relaunched its activity last summer.

Between August 2020 and January 2021, it welcomed 40,000 passengers, or 5% of the total recorded a year earlier.