MSC Splendida is a owned and operated by MSC Cruises. Constructed at STX France in Saint-Nazaire, she commenced service in July 2009 with $550m investment.
History
MSC Splendida was completed in 2009 at a cost of $550 million and is a
sister ship to
MSC Fantasia, originally, she was to be named
MSC Serenata, but the name was changed in May 2007 to
MSC Splendida She measures 137,936 GT, and is 333.30 m long with a beam of 37.98 m, a height of 66.81 m and a draft of 8.29 m. Her capacity is 3,900 passengers.
The two
Neopanamax vessels were to be the largest ships in a European cruise line's fleet at the time of delivery.
The then-unnamed vessel was part of a two-ship order made by MSC Cruises with STX France on 16 November 2005, for a tentative delivery in spring 2009.
Areas of operation
MSC Splendida has cruised the
Mediterranean and Far East.
She was refurbished in 2017 before deploying to China.
In 2020 March, the ship docked in Palong,
Thailand beach during the coronavirus pandemic, after more the 2,700 passengers was disembarked.
The ship is scheduled to serve
Southeast Asia until summer 2020 before repositioning to
Northern Europe and the Mediterranean.
The ship is scheduled to be based in
Durban for the 2023/2024 cruise season and will serve the
South Africa market sailing to
Mozambique,
Mauritius, Reunion,
Namibia,
Port Elizabeth &
Cape Town.
Amenities
The ship's horn system is programmed to play multiple songs, including "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions" by Queen, "Seven Nation Army" by The White Stripes and "Happy Birthday to You".
Incidents
Bardo National Museum attack
On 18 March 2015,
MSC Splendida was in port in
Tunis with
Costa Fascinosa when gunmen opened fire on tourists at the Bardo National Museum. Twelve passengers hailing from Japan, Italy, Colombia, Spain, Britain, Australia, Poland, and France, were killed.
Coronavirus pandemic
On 23 March 2020, around 14:00 CET, a Thai crew member working aboard as a buffet attendant was medically evacuated via lifeboat after she exhibited symptoms consistent with COVID-19 and was having difficulty breathing.
At the time, the ship was near the island of
Sardinia and headed to
Marseille to disembark all of its passengers.
On 24 March 2020, MSC Cruises informed the crew that the sick crew member had tested negative.
By 1 April 2020, 26 crew members had been placed under quarantine, with 3 crew members running high temperatures.
In popular culture
MSC Splendida is featured on
Tamil language film,
Manmadan Ambu.
Notes
External links
