MSC announced a new partnership with Cirque du Soleil today. Under the agreement, the newest MSC ships (“Meraviglia” class) will feature a dedicated dinner theatre and lounge where guest can enjoy a specific Cirque du Soleil performance while being served dinner.
The cruise line will invest more than 20 million Euros in the 1.000 sqm facility that will feature 450 seats. It will also have a dedicated lounge and 200 seat dining facility so that guests can enjoy an exquisite dinner or drinks before the performance. Cirque du Soleil will play two shows per night, 6 days a week.
Pierfrancesco Vago, Executive Chairman of MSC Cruises declared: “Together with our newest world-class partner, Cirque du Soleil, we imagined and are now designing a totally new, live entertainment experience exclusively for our guests; original shows in a multimillion-euro custom-built venue aboard a ship we designed ourselves, down to the last detail. It’s this commitment to innovation, and the vision and creativity that only a family-owned company can apply, that make MSC Cruises so distinct.”
Yasmine Khalil, President 45 DEGREES, Cirque du Soleil’s Special Projects Company, commented: “We have found in MSC a long term partner with a clear vision about trends in the cruising industry and a strong desire to be the leader by bringing entertainment on board to a whole new level. For Cirque du Soleil, this is what inspires us and provides us with a great creative challenge that we require for each new relationship and project that we embark on. ”
This new entertainment offering will first be available aboard MSC Meraviglia. The cutting-edge 5,700-guest, 167,600-GRT ship — due to be delivered in May 2017 — will spend her first summer sailing the western Mediterranean.