MSC Divina
Encyclopedia
MSC Divina is owned and operated by MSC Cruises. She will enter service in May 2012. Modeled on her sister-ships, MSC Splendida
and MSC Fantasia
, she features some remarkable enhancements.
had disclosed to Gianluigi Aponte, MSC’s owner and a close personal friend, that she would one day love to have a ship named after her. It was a wish he instantly fulfilled by suggesting the name Divina, which means ‘divine’. The naming ceremony is scheduled for 26 May 2012 in Marseille
, planned, true to the tradition of MSC Cruises, baptized their new ships in a major port for the shipping company.
; Bari
; Dubrovnik
; Katakolon; Pireus; Civitavecchia
; Messina; Valletta
; Alexandria
; Haifa
; Ashdod; Izmir
; Istanbul
; St Nazaire; Lisbon
; Cadiz
; Gibraltar
and Valencia
.
MSC Splendida
MSC Splendida is owned and operated by MSC Cruises. She entered service in March 2009, as a sister ship to MSC Fantasia. She was to be named MSC Serenata, but the name was changed in May 2007 to MSC Splendida "to reflect the ship's beauty and elegance".MSC Splendida's itineraries cover...
and MSC Fantasia
MSC Fantasia
MSC Fantasia is a Fantasia class cruise ship owned and operated by MSC Cruises. She entered service in December 2008. She is the largest ship operated by MSC Cruises to date, along with her sister ship MSC Splendida. as well as the largest passenger ship ever constructed for a European...
, she features some remarkable enhancements.
Naming
Originally, MSC Divina was to be christened MSC Fantastica. Nevertheless, the actress Sophia LorenSophia Loren
Sophia Loren, OMRI is an Italian actress.In 1962, Loren won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Two Women, along with 21 awards, becoming the first actress to win an Academy Award for a non-English-speaking performance...
had disclosed to Gianluigi Aponte, MSC’s owner and a close personal friend, that she would one day love to have a ship named after her. It was a wish he instantly fulfilled by suggesting the name Divina, which means ‘divine’. The naming ceremony is scheduled for 26 May 2012 in Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
, planned, true to the tradition of MSC Cruises, baptized their new ships in a major port for the shipping company.
Itineraries
MSC Divina's itineraries cover Mediterranean ports including MarseilleMarseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
; Bari
Bari
Bari is the capital city of the province of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, in Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy after Naples, and is well known as a port and university city, as well as the city of Saint Nicholas...
; Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik is a Croatian city on the Adriatic Sea coast, positioned at the terminal end of the Isthmus of Dubrovnik. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations on the Adriatic, a seaport and the centre of Dubrovnik-Neretva county. Its total population is 42,641...
; Katakolon; Pireus; Civitavecchia
Civitavecchia
Civitavecchia is a town and comune of the province of Rome in the central Italian region of Lazio. A sea port on the Tyrrhenian Sea, it is located 80 kilometers west-north-west of Rome, across the Mignone river. The harbor is formed by two piers and a breakwater, on which is a lighthouse...
; Messina; Valletta
Valletta
Valletta is the capital of Malta, colloquially known as Il-Belt in Maltese. It is located in the central-eastern portion of the island of Malta, and the historical city has a population of 6,098. The name "Valletta" is traditionally reserved for the historic walled citadel that serves as Malta's...
; Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
; Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
; Ashdod; Izmir
Izmir
Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...
; Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
; St Nazaire; Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
; Cadiz
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
; Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
and Valencia
Valencia
-In Spain:* Valencia , Spain, capital of the Valencia Autonomous Community* Valencian Community, an autonomous community of Spain**Valencian people, an ethnic group or nationality whose homeland is the Valencian Community...
.