MSC Divina floats out from drydock

Early Saturday morning,  MSC Divina, the third ship in the Fantasia class, had a successful float-out from the STX France drydock at St. Nazaire.

The $804 million new ship was towed by eight tugboats through the Loire estuary to her berth where she will be outfitted and work completed in May 2012. She will be the 12th ship in the MSC fleet which boasts the youngest fleet in the cruise industry.

“Today marks the start of the final one-million hours of work required to ensure MSC Divina is ready for her debut on May 26, 2012 in Marseille, France,” said Emilio La Scala, general manager of MSC Cruises’ technical department.

The design theme for the MSC Divina is that of a divine goddess, with Sophia Loren representing the same. Once again, Sophia Loren will be deemed the Godmother of the MSC Divina. Sophia Loren is the Godmother for several of the newest ships of MSC including the MSC Poesia, Fantasia and Magnifica.

In keeping with this theme, the ship’s 18 decks (13 decks are for passengers) will be named after the gods and goddesses of Ancient Greece which includes Urano, Afrodite, Aurora, Giunone, Artemide, Zeus, Mercurio, Cupido, Iride, Minerva, Apollo, Saturno and Elios.

As no three sisters are exactly alike, the MSC Divina will have a few subtle differences from her older siblings, the MSC Splendida and MSC Fantasia. A unique concept in shipboard pools is the gorgeous Infinity Pool in the aft of the ship, with its “beach zone” adjoining the glass balustrade, offers a unique view of the ship’s wake fading into the sunset.

Following a new ship design trend, there will also be a “serenity” area at the aft Garden Pool, where guests can relax and unwind in quiet comfort.

Again MSC has repeated the ship within a ship concept with the Yacht Club class offering the ultimate in luxury, privacy and personal service combined with world-class leisure and entertainment.

Unlike her sister ships, there will be an additional 100 staterooms built on the MSC Divina. This seems to be an industry-wide trend; Celebrity, Royal Caribbean and others are all adding more cabins when their ships go into drydock or on their sister-ships newbuilds. When you are dealing with ships carrying 4,000 passengers, a scant 200 additional guests is not even noticed.

In keeping with a going-green and energy efficiency commitment, technical changes on MSC Divina include more powerful propulsion motors, rated at 21.8 MW each (compared to 20.2 MW on the MSC Splendida); new alternators, and state-of-the-art HVAC chillers. The ship will feature a new reverse osmosis system for fresh water production that requires 40 percent less power, therefore, providing less of an impact on the environment.

The MSC Divina will sail 7-night Mediterranean cruises to Italy, Greece, Turkey and Croatia.