The ship joined MSC Meraviglia in the company's Meraviglia class of cruise ships. She has a tonnage of 171,598 gross tonnage (GT) and a capacity of 4,500 passengers.[1][3] The ship debuted in March 2019.
MSC Cruises announced the suspension of all North American itineraries until 30 June 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[4]
History
MSC Cruises and STX France cut the first steel of MSC Bellissima on 28 November 2016,[5][6] with £750M investment.[7] Her keel laying and coin ceremony happened on 15 November 2017.[8] It also features 2,217 cabins and 1,418 balconies that can accommodate 5,686 guests,[9] with the length of 315.8m and a width of 43m.[10] On 14 June 2018, the ship was floated out.[11] Her sea trials took place in December 2018.[12]Andrea Bocelli, alongside his son, performed during the christening of the ship.[13] The ship joined MSC Meraviglia in the company's Meraviglia class of cruise ships which it has a tonnage of 171,598 GT and a capacity of 4,500 passengers.[14][3]
MSC Bellissima in Saint-Nazaire the day before its departure on 26 February 2019
Her delivery ceremony took place on 27 February 2019. MSC Bellissima was officially named on 2 March 2019, at Southampton, by the actress Sophia Loren.[15] The original ceremony in a marquee on the quayside had to be abandoned due to high winds, so a substitute ceremony was quickly organised and Loren pressed a button on the ship's bridge to smash the bottle of champagne on the ship's bow.[16]
MSC Cruises collaborated with Harman International to bring "ZOE," the first virtual assistant to be featured on any cruise ship, to MSC Bellissima and future MSC Cruises ships.[17] In September 2019, as a part of MSC Cruises' longstanding relationship with Swarovski, MSC Bellissima featured a suite fully embellished with 700,000 crystals.[18]
On 13 February 2020, MSC Bellissima was featured on Ultimate Mega Cruise Ship on Channel 5 in the United Kingdom.[19]
Route
MSC Bellissima departed for her maiden voyage on 4 March 2019,[20] and made an inaugural call in Spain on 12 March 2019.[21] She will spend her maiden season in the Mediterranean, before re-positioning to the Persian Gulf in November 2019, cruising from Dubai for the winter season,[22][15] and made a maiden call at Doha, Qatar in December 2019.[23] She will then be redeployed to Asia to serve MSC's China program in spring 2020.[11][15] In 2020, the ship will be heading in Asia,[24] such as China.[25]
On 21 March 2020, officials from the Indian state of Telangana reported that a 33-year-old crew member of MSC Bellissima had tested positive for SARS-CoV-2.[26] The crew member was also reported to have been to Dubai, and was stable at the time of the report.[26]
On 24 March 2020, it was reported that three Azoreans who were former passengers of MSC Bellissima during its cruise to Dubai from 7 March 2020 to 14 March 2020 had tested positive.[a][27]
On 2 April 2020, a 22-year-old crew member of MSC Bellissima, who had quarantined himself at home in Trappeto, Sicily after returning from Dubai, announced that he had tested positive that day.[28] On 10 April 2020, a dancer from Klagenfurt, Austria, who performed in Cirque du Soleil shows aboard MSC Bellissima, tested positive for the virus while she was still on board the ship.[29][30] The crew member was tested a day before she was scheduled to leave for home, and the result came as a surprise as she had been asymptomatic.[30] As of 4 May 2020, she has been stuck aboard MSC Bellissima for 50 days.[29]
Notes
^Two cases were from São Miguel Island, a 31-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman, while one case from São Jorge Island had been diagnosed previously, but had been in contact with a newly-diagnosed case from Terceira Island.[27]
