SA says farewell to MSC Sinfonia

13 Mar 2014

After over 20 departures during the 2013/14 local summer South African Season, MSC Sinfonia will set sail for Genoa Italy, and bid a fond farewell to South Africa on 17 March 2014. The SA favourite will be replaced in the upcoming season by the MSC Opera, and newly revamped MSC Armonia for the 2015/16 season.

MSC Sinfonia first arrived in South Africa in 2009, rapidly becoming one of the most popular cruise ships the SA market has experienced to date.

The MSC Sinfonia will leave South African shores, heading back to Italy during a 19 night voyage up the west coast of Africa. Ports of call include Walvis Bay, Las Palmas, the North African Moroccan port of Casablanca, Palma de Mallorca, Ajaccio and the Roman sea port of Civitavecchia.

MSC Sinfonia's first local cruise season created great excitement as it took local cruising to another level and set new standards with South African cruise enthusiasts.

The Ship with greater capacity and more luxurious in class, offered South Africans a taste of the finest floating resort South Africa has ever seen.

"It has been a record breaking season with both MSC Opera and MSC Sinfonia in our waters at the same time and has enabled around 115 000 passengers to experience local cruising" notes Allan Foggitt of MSC Cruises SA. "MSC Sinfonia will be sadly missed by the South African Market but we are confident that the arrival of her sister ship MSC Armonia in 2015 after she has been stretched to accommodate an additional 500 passengers will herald a new dawn in local cruising and that she will quickly become the new S.A. favourite."

MSC Sinfonia will be part of the MSC Renaissance programme which will see the stretching and upgrading of the full fleet of Lirica Class Ships. The almost €200 million "Renaissance Program " will involve lengthening the vessels by approximately 30 metres to incorporate exciting new entertainment options, a new on deck water park, technological advancements, extended shops and nearly 200 new cabins on each of the ships." The MSC Armonia, MSC Lirica, MSC Sinfonia and MSC Opera will all undergo this major transformation with work expected to be completed by the end of 2015.l

MSC Opera remains in South African waters until the 28th April 2014, operating the popular Mozambiquan itineraries.

For more, go to www.msccruises.co.za