MSC Sinfonia
Encyclopedia
MS
MSC Sinfonia is a cruise ship
owned and operated by the Italy
-based MSC Cruises. She was built in 2002 by Chantiers de l'Atlantique
in Saint-Nazaire
, France
for the now-defunct Festival Cruises
as MS European Stars. She was the last newbuilding ever to be built for Festival Cruises.
from Chantiers de l'Atlantique
in Saint-Nazaire
, France
(the first sister being ). The contract price for the ship was $245 million, and her yard number was X31. Both new ships were built on the same platform as , built by the same shipyard for Festival Cruises in 1999, but with an added 35 metres (114.8 ft) mid-section providing more passenger spaces, and one additional deck of cabins with private balconies.
Newbuilding X31 was launched in Saint-Nazaire on 2001-03-04. Following fitting out, she was delivered to Festival Cruises on 2002-04-18 and officially christened European Stars the following day in Saint-Nazaire.
. Her career with Festival proved short however, as the company went bankrupt in January 2004 and the European Stars was subsequently impounded and laid up in Barcelona on 2004-01-19. The ship remained laid up for several months, until she was sold to MSC Cruises in July 2004 for €
220 million and renamed MSC Sinfonia (her sister European Vision also joined the MSC fleet, as MSC Armonia
). The MSC Sinfonia entered service with her new owners in March 2005.
by cruise review author Douglas Ward, with minimalist
furniture that is in places impractical. The public spaces include two main dining rooms, a self-serve buffet
, cafeteria
, two-deck high showlounge, a discothèque, several bars, a casino
and a library
. The lido deck includes two outdoors swimming pool and two thalassotherapy
jacuzzi
s.
Ship prefix
A ship prefix is a combination of letters, usually abbreviations, used in front of the name of a civilian or naval ship.Prefixes for civilian vessels may either identify the type of propulsion, such as "SS" for steamship, or purpose, such as "RV" for research vessel. Civilian prefixes are often...
MSC Sinfonia is a cruise ship
Cruise ship
A cruise ship or cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience, as well as the different destinations along the way...
owned and operated by the Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
-based MSC Cruises. She was built in 2002 by Chantiers de l'Atlantique
Chantiers de l'Atlantique
Chantiers de l'Atlantique is part of the South Korean STX Shipbuilding Group and one of the world's largest shipyards, based in Saint-Nazaire, France...
in Saint-Nazaire
Saint-Nazaire
Saint-Nazaire , is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France.The town has a major harbour, on the right bank of the Loire River estuary, near the Atlantic Ocean. The town is at the south of the second-largest swamp in France, called "la Brière"...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
for the now-defunct Festival Cruises
Festival Cruises
Festival Cruises was a Greece-based cruise line that operated between 1994 and 2004. It was founded in 1992 by the Greek entrepreneur George Poulides using second-hand ships...
as MS European Stars. She was the last newbuilding ever to be built for Festival Cruises.
Concept and construction
European Stars was the second in a pair of two sister ships ordered by Festival CruisesFestival Cruises
Festival Cruises was a Greece-based cruise line that operated between 1994 and 2004. It was founded in 1992 by the Greek entrepreneur George Poulides using second-hand ships...
from Chantiers de l'Atlantique
Chantiers de l'Atlantique
Chantiers de l'Atlantique is part of the South Korean STX Shipbuilding Group and one of the world's largest shipyards, based in Saint-Nazaire, France...
in Saint-Nazaire
Saint-Nazaire
Saint-Nazaire , is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France.The town has a major harbour, on the right bank of the Loire River estuary, near the Atlantic Ocean. The town is at the south of the second-largest swamp in France, called "la Brière"...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
(the first sister being ). The contract price for the ship was $245 million, and her yard number was X31. Both new ships were built on the same platform as , built by the same shipyard for Festival Cruises in 1999, but with an added 35 metres (114.8 ft) mid-section providing more passenger spaces, and one additional deck of cabins with private balconies.
Newbuilding X31 was launched in Saint-Nazaire on 2001-03-04. Following fitting out, she was delivered to Festival Cruises on 2002-04-18 and officially christened European Stars the following day in Saint-Nazaire.
Service history
European Stars entered service for Festival Cruises on 2002-04-25 on a cruise from BarcelonaBarcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
. Her career with Festival proved short however, as the company went bankrupt in January 2004 and the European Stars was subsequently impounded and laid up in Barcelona on 2004-01-19. The ship remained laid up for several months, until she was sold to MSC Cruises in July 2004 for €
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
220 million and renamed MSC Sinfonia (her sister European Vision also joined the MSC fleet, as MSC Armonia
MSC Armonia
MS MSC Armonia is a cruise ship that was built in 2001 for the now defunct Festival Cruises as MS European Vision. She is currently operated by MSC Cruises. She can accommodate 2,065 passengers in 783 cabins. Her crew complement is approximately 760...
). The MSC Sinfonia entered service with her new owners in March 2005.
Exterior design
The European Stars and her sister European Vision shared a similar box-like exterior appearance as the Mistral, but with a longer and higher hull, which has been said to have improved the ship's external appearance compared to the Mistral. As European Vision the ship had an all-white hull and superstructure, with blue and yellow decorative stripes painted on the hull, and a blue funnel with the yellow F logo of Festival Cruises. As MSC Sinfonia she retained the blue funnel colour but now with the white compass logo of MSC Cruises. Initially her hull was all-white without decorations, but on 2008-04-15 MSC made known their intention to paint their compass logo on the sides of all their ships during 2008.Interior design
The interior decorations of the MSC Sinfonia are described as European ModerneModernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
by cruise review author Douglas Ward, with minimalist
Minimalism
Minimalism describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is set out to expose the essence, essentials or identity of a subject through eliminating all non-essential forms, features or concepts...
furniture that is in places impractical. The public spaces include two main dining rooms, a self-serve buffet
Buffet
A buffet is a system of serving meals in which food is placed in a public area where the diners generally serve themselves. Buffets are offered at various places including hotels and many social events...
, cafeteria
Cafeteria
A cafeteria is a type of food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or school; a school dining location is also referred to as a dining hall or canteen...
, two-deck high showlounge, a discothèque, several bars, a casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
and a library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
. The lido deck includes two outdoors swimming pool and two thalassotherapy
Thalassotherapy
Thalassotherapy is the unproven medical use of seawater as a form of therapy. The properties of seawater are believed to have beneficial effects upon the pores of the skin. Thalassotherapy was developed in seaside towns in Brittany, France during the 19th century...
jacuzzi
Jacuzzi
Jacuzzi is a company that produces whirlpool bathtubs and spas. Its first product was a bath with massaging jets. The term "jacuzzi" is now often used generically to refer to any bathtub with massaging jets.-History:...
s.
Decks and facilities
Only including decks with passenger-accessible facilities.- Beethoven Deck - Showlounge (lower level), pub, cigar room, receptionWaiting roomA waiting room is a building, or more commonly a part of a building where people sit or stand until the event they are waiting for occurs.There are generally two types of waiting room. One is where individuals leave one at a time, for instance at a doctor's office or a hospital, or outside a school...
, cafeteriaCafeteriaA cafeteria is a type of food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or school; a school dining location is also referred to as a dining hall or canteen...
, shopRetailingRetail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...
s, barBar (establishment)A bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises.Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Some bars have entertainment on a stage, such as a live band, comedians, go-go...
, dining roomDining roomA dining room is a room for consuming food. In modern times it is usually adjacent to the kitchen for convenience in serving, although in medieval times it was often on an entirely different floor level...
- Mozart Deck - Showlounge (upper level), cafeteria, business center, casinoCasinoIn modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
, bar, shops, dining room
- Brahms Deck - Lounge, bar, libraryLibraryIn a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
, medical center, crew accommodations, outside and inside cabinsCabin (ship)A cabin or berthing is an enclosed space generally on a ship or an aircraft. A cabin which protrudes above the level of a ship's deck may be referred to as a "deckhouse."-Sailing ships:...
- Bach Deck - Outside and inside cabins
- Tchaikovski Deck - Outside and inside cabins
- Sibelius Deck - BridgeBridge (ship)The bridge of a ship is the room or platform from which the ship can be commanded. When a ship is underway the bridge is manned by an OOW aided usually by an AB acting as lookout...
, outside (Suite with personal balcony) and inside cabins
- Debussy Deck - SpaSpaThe term spa is associated with water treatment which is also known as balneotherapy. Spa towns or spa resorts typically offer various health treatments. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters goes back to prehistoric times. Such practices have been popular worldwide, but are...
, gymGymThe word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...
nasium, saunaSaunaA sauna is a small room or house designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions, or an establishment with one or more of these and auxiliary facilities....
, bars, swimming poolSwimming poolA swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
s, cafeteria, grill restaurant, buffetBuffetA buffet is a system of serving meals in which food is placed in a public area where the diners generally serve themselves. Buffets are offered at various places including hotels and many social events...
restaurant
- Bizet Deck - Games Arcade, teen's club, discothèque and Outside rooms (Suite with personal balcony)