MSC DIVINA Out of the Dock STX France 05 09 2011

MSC Divina Yacht Club Suite

THE number of inquiries and bookings for cruises aboard MSC Cruises’ international fleet continue to grow at a “healthy” rate as the family-owned cruise line prepares to launch its 12th vessel – the luxurious MSC Divina - in France in late May this year.

“We enter the year with high expectations, and so too the many Australians and New Zealanders who have been preparing for this day,” said Lynne Clarke, managing director of MSC Cruises Australia and New Zealand.

“Inquiries and bookings have been and will continue to be healthy,” she forecasts.

Mediterranean cruises remain MSC Cruises’ strong point with many Australians and New Zealanders opting for a Grand Mediterranean experience . . . back-to-back Western and Eastern Mediterranean cruises.

“The strength of the Australian dollar coupled with affordable pricing and a growing desire by travellers to take a cruise holiday is driving business in 2012, as it has for the past few years,” said Mrs Clarke.

“This will be an especially important year for MSC Cruises as we will soon have a 12th member to the fleet, the beautiful MSC Divina, which will be christened by screen legend Sophia Loren at a gala ceremony in Marseille on May 25.

“Thus, we will have a bigger capacity to cater for the demand which is growing globally.”

The ship’s maiden voyage will be a six-nighter from Marseille to Venice before it begins a series of seven-night East Mediterranean cruises, prices from A$939 per person twin share.

MSC Cruises is the world’s leading cruise company in the Mediterranean, South African and Brazilian markets and has a modern fleet of 11 ships - MSC Splendida and MSC Fantasia (both the largest ships ever built for a European ship owner’s fleet), MSC Poesia, MSC Orchestra, MSC Musica, MSC Sinfonia, MSC Armonia, MSC Opera, MSC Lirica and MSC Melody. MSC Magnifica, the newest ship in the fleet, was launched in March, 2010. The fleet cruises year-round in the Mediterranean and seasonally in Northern Europe, the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean, North America and Canada, South America, the Indian Ocean and South and West Africa.

MSC Cruises is the only company in the world to receive the "6 Golden Pearls" award from the Bureau Veritas in recognition of its high level of quality management and environmental responsibility. MSC has also achieved ISO 9001 and ISO 22000 certification for the quality and food safety of all aspects of its catering, both onshore and onboard. MSC Cruises also cares about the welfare of children, and as a responsible market leader believes in making a positive impact in the regions where it operates.