Because actions speak louder than words, MSC Cruises was determined to set sail and persevere, demonstrating that cruising with MSC is safer than socializing in your own city. Taking a plane to Italy to embark on the MSC Grandiosa was the perfect way to take that much-needed break we'd been missing since March of last year.
Article from CruisesNews magazine no. 56 – March 2021
A week aboard a cruise ship is usually a great way to combine leisure, relaxation, gastronomy, and culture on your vacation, but taking a cruise during this time can certainly be a departure from the norm, making it both necessary and fair to share the key aspects of the experience. The MSC Grandiosa is a large ship, very large indeed. So large, in fact, that deciding to launch it in August 2020 in the midst of a pandemic and without vaccines was not only a brave, risky, and costly decision, but one based on the absolute certainty that everything the company has invested in passenger and crew safety measures and virus control is completely effective.
The cruise experience has been preserved so that passengers can enjoy life on board, whether watching one of the theatrical productions, dining in the different restaurants, listening to music and having a cocktail, swimming, sunbathing, relaxing in the spa or simply strolling around the decks or the gallery.
Regardless of the city where you choose to embark, you must arrive in Italy with a negative test result. However, once at the terminal, a company team will administer an antigen test to certify that the result is negative at the time of boarding. The bubble begins. The key is not only to ensure safety but also that the passenger perceives it and feels safe.
On this trip, everyone traveling with you has undergone and continues to undergo regular testing.
All passengers receive an “MSC for Me” wristband, which provides them with several contactless options while on board, such as unlocking their cabins, entering and exiting the ship, and making reservations and payments. These wristbands will also facilitate proximity and contact tracing if needed.
The Bubble:
To create the perfect bubble, everyone you interact with must have tested negative and be under strict health monitoring. The crew underwent multiple diagnostic tests and quarantine on board before the ship received its first passenger and subsequently undergo regular checkups. They will not leave the ship again until their contract ends and they return home. Passengers can only board and disembark the ship with MSC excursions; you cannot disembark in any other way, either independently or with an excursion booked through another company. Do not attempt it, or you will not be allowed back on board. MSC only guarantees what it can control. The bubble must be maintained at all times.
And what's an excursion like during a pandemic? Try to imagine the city of Pompeii empty, open only to MSC passengers, but closed to the rest of the world. Stroll through those once-crowded streets you've rushed through, now silent and imbued with a different hue and flavor. These are the experiences to cherish. Everything is different, but here you are privileged.
Safer than in your everyday life.
One can be quite emphatic about this because, unlike what happens in your daily life when going out or socializing, on this trip you have the assurance that everyone traveling with you has undergone and continues to undergo regular testing, you have constant temperature checks, hygiene and disinfection are visible, not just guesswork, all safety and hygiene measures are explained to you along with your responsibilities, and there has been specific and comprehensive coordination between the cruise line, the ship, the authorities, and businesses in each destination where it operates. The immense investment in health and prevention is clearly evident, and all of this is done with meticulous care to ensure your vacation remains a truly exceptional one.
Masks, social distancing, and avoiding contact:
Masks are mandatory; you must wear them, and they are provided in your cabin daily. Everyone—absolutely everyone, passengers and crew—must wear them. You may only remove them to eat or drink. Social distancing is simple: this ship is operating at less than 40% capacity, and although it may increase slightly, reduced capacity will remain in place until the current situation is resolved.
Halfway through the cruise, you will undergo another control test.
Restaurants have also implemented social distancing measures, and to avoid contact, menus are consulted on mobile phones. At the larger buffet, there is temperature control, and nothing is within anyone's reach; everything is delivered personally, including the tray and cutlery.
The cruise experience has been preserved so that passengers can enjoy life on board.
Halfway through your cruise you will undergo another control test and for your return to Spain you can have the PCR test done on board as it is essential for your entry through the airport.
A bubble of happiness and safety. A safe vacation. 50,000 passengers since August 2020 can attest to that.
The MSC Meraviglia Plus
The delivery in Saint-Nazaire of the MSC Grandiosa allowed the discovery of the new flagship of MSC Cruises, the first of the series of three Meraviglia +, a 15-meter lengthened version of the MSC Meraviglia and MSC Bellissima, which entered service in May 2017 and last February, respectively.
The MSC Grandiosa bears a striking resemblance to the first two ships in the series, although it offers some new features, such as variations in the decor and other improvements. This enlarged vessel pushes the physical limits of the prototype, as it can accommodate 400 more people without significantly increasing the installed power (and therefore fuel consumption) or the crew size.
The MSC Grandiosa is equipped with a scrubber, SCR, and electrical grounding connection.
The design is elegant, perhaps more understated than MSC Cruises' ships of a few years ago, but always marked by the brilliant touches of the Italian interior design studio Di Jorio. This cruise ship, like the MSC Meraviglia and the MSC Bellissima, features a grand interior promenade, the Galleria Grandiosa, whose length has increased from 96 to almost 112 meters. It is topped vertically by an LED dome that forms a vast digital screen whose projections evolve throughout the day, creating different atmospheres. This Galleria is undoubtedly the ship's central artery, the epicenter of all its activity.
All passengers receive an “MSC for Me” wristband to avoid touching the cabin door, making payments, and tracing contacts if necessary.
Spread across two levels, the ship features several restaurants, including a French bistro, a British pub, a sushi bar, a teppanyaki restaurant, and a steakhouse, as well as bars and lounges, two shopping arcades, a television studio, and a chocolate factory run by French pastry chef Jean-Philippe Maury. This promenade culminates at the bow in the Comedy Theatre (Deck 6) or the Spa (Deck 7), while at the stern lies the imposing atrium, adorned, like all MSC Cruises ships, with a dazzling staircase of 96 steps crafted from 61,000 Swarovski crystals.
A new addition to the Galleria is the MSC Foundation shop, which showcases the work carried out by the Foundation in collaboration with its partners, including UNICEF, the Andrea Bocelli Foundation, and Mercy Ships. It also highlights the coral restoration work around the private island of Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve in the Bahamas and offers a selection of gift items related to the organization.
The Grandiosa Bar, with its gear-based decor, is the meeting point for going to the theater.
The Atrium
The atrium extends over three decks (5, 6 and 7) and includes around its lower deck the reception, in the middle the Edge Bar, and in the upper the Champagne Bar, in addition to a jewelry store, the digital photography area, etc.
On the sides of decks 6 and 7 there are two large windows that offer beautiful views of the sea.
The Champagne Bar is decorated in shades of gray and violet, with ice as its central theme. The Edge Bar, located directly below, is decorated in shades of green and gray and serves as a meeting point for the main restaurants.
The theater, with a capacity of one thousand people, occupies two decks forward of the Galleria. It is decorated in shades of blue and gray, and offers a different show every night.
The mask is essential, you have to wear it and they leave it for you every day in your cabin.
The Carousel Lounge, located at the aft end of Deck 7, features a central rotating stage with a new two-meter elevator in the center, specially designed by Cirque du Soleil. Given the current circumstances and Cirque du Soleil's financial situation, it remains to be seen what show will be presented there, although the Carousel is currently being used for live music.
The ship is 10% larger with the same installed power.
To reach the Carousel Lounge, you must pass through the Casino, which requires crossing a glass bridge found on both Meraviglia and Seaview class ships. It is decorated in black and red tones, with a red carpet featuring Roman numerals, a feature also found on its predecessors.
Dining options
The MSC Grandiosa offers 20 bars and lounges, as well as thirteen different dining options, including the five main restaurants:
Il Campo, La Perle Grise and its twin La Perla Grigia, the Purple Crab and at the stern La Loggia.
• Il Campo, the dining room for the Aurea class, has been installed in the Galleria, on the golden mile.
• The Loggia offers a geometric decoration in shades of gray and violet, and gains height as we approach the stern windows.
• Also on deck 6, La Perle Gris & La Perle Grigia are arranged around a central glass wine cellar, which unfolds like a tree inside both dining rooms.
• And the Purple Crab, which is located on deck 5.
The buffet (which includes a mozzarella factory capable of producing 300 kilos per day) is located on deck 15, next to the swimming pools. Situated between the aft elevator block and the stern end, it features over 100 meters of counters (on each side) in a classic layout (facing inwards), offering a wide variety of dishes. It is decorated in brown tones and includes an outdoor section at the stern end.
Themed restaurants
There are also themed restaurants such as Hola Tapas Bar, by the Spanish chef Ramón Freixa, which maintains its layout around a central high table, with an olive tree in the background.
A bubble of happiness and safety. 50,000 passengers since August 2020 can attest to that.
Kaito Teppanyaki and the Sushi Bar are located to port; the Butcher's Cut, which was on the starboard side of the two Meraviglia ships, has been downsized (58 seats) and moved to port; and the Aurea-class dining room appears to starboard of the Galleria on deck 7. But the star of the paid dining options on the MSC Grandiosa is undoubtedly the 437m² L'Atelier Bistrot, which doubles as an art gallery thanks to its collection of original Degas drawings. The first MSC Bistrot appeared on the MSC Bellissima in March 2019.
The buffet has temperature control and nothing is within easy reach; everything is handed to you personally, including the tray and cutlery.
In just a few months, the concept has evolved to double the size of the original, featuring a large open-plan lounge with a small stage for live music and a bar at the opposite end. This lounge surrounds the restaurant. The establishment offers the chic atmosphere of Parisian restaurants, with waiters in aprons and vests, in a classic décor dominated by greens and browns.
More environmentally friendly.
In technical terms, the MSC Grandiosa virtually replicates the facilities of its two Meraviglia-class predecessors. Improvements in hull efficiency, propulsion equipment, comfort features, and lighting have resulted in no increase in installed power, despite the ship being 10% larger.
One of its main new features is the SCR system to reduce nitrogen oxides.
Together with the scrubber, which reduces sulfur oxides by 97%, they form a complex of installations crowned by the three paired chimneys. The MSC Grandiosa also has the option of being powered by electricity from land.
MSC Grandiosa,
the first ship in the Meraviglia-plus class, retains some features that were already prominent in the Meraviglia-class ships. The most famous is undoubtedly the Gallery, a veritable passageway or boulevard inside the ship with an LED dome and filled with shops, bars, and restaurants.
You can only get off the ship on excursions organized by the company, where you do not interact with the local population, except for the guides and drivers, who have passed negative tests.
The Grandiosa offers the highly acclaimed Yacht Club, a true luxury ship within a ship, and many other amenities that make it especially suitable for families looking for a little something extra. Spacious outdoor areas, specialty restaurants, a spa, and a fitness center add to the value of this ship, which also retains the elegant style that distinguishes MSC Cruises' decor in many areas.
