The MSC World Europa docked for the first time this Friday at the Port of Barcelona, from where it will depart weekly for a year to make its route through the Mediterranean. With capacity for more than 6,700 passengers and an offer of almost 3,000 cabins, the ship is one of the novelties of the season and has generated so much expectation that, according to the general director of MSC Cruises Spain, Fernando Pacheco, 80% of the places for this summer are already sold.
"The Spanish cruise market is healthy and has returned with strength," Pacheco remarks. In fact, with the summer months just started, they have already sold 20% more than the entire summer of 2019, the one before the pandemic. Four years ago, they moved about 145,000 cruise passengers between April and October, reaching 184,000 throughout the year. The executive points out that this growth is based, especially, on the company's commitment to new ports, including more offerings in Malaga, Alicante, and Santa Cruz de Tenerife. "Bringing cruises closer to customers' homes is proving to generate demand," he explains.
These three ports join those already regularly integrated into MSC's programming in Spain: Barcelona, Valencia, and Palma de Mallorca. Except for Palma, which has limited the arrival of cruises, the company has expanded its offer in Barcelona and Valencia compared to 2019. Regarding the decision made by Palma, a debate that has been open for years in the Catalan capital, the spokesperson for MSC Cruises Spain asks to address it "with numbers," citing as an example the report presented this week by the UB, and reminds that his company is part of a group that also brings cargo and ferries to the city, "the Port of Barcelona is tremendously strategic and we have a vision to grow."
With the reinforcement of Valencia and Barcelona this summer, in the case of the Catalan capital, one more ship has been added, going from two to three. "Barcelona is the main embarkation port for MSC in Spain," he emphasizes, with between 40-50% of passengers, followed by Valencia, with 30%. For this summer season, the company foresees 111 calls at the Port of Barcelona, through which some 550,000 tourists will pass.
This summer, from Barcelona, the MSC Seaview, the MSC Grandiosa, and the MSC World Europa will set sail, with the MSC Divina joining in autumn, all four with their home port in the Catalan capital, a concept understood by the shipping company as the ports where passengers embark and disembark along the cruise routes. Generally, 40% of MSC cruise passengers embarking at the Port of Barcelona are foreigners, so, Pacheco indicates, they spend at least one night in the city before boarding the ship. Additionally, 40% of MSC passengers embark in the Catalan capital, and the rest do so in the other ports where it docks in the Mediterranean.
In the case of the MSC World Europa, the Catalan capital will be the only home port in Spain, where it will begin a seven-day Mediterranean route every Friday, stopping in Marseille (France), Genoa, Naples, and Messina (Italy), and Valletta (Malta). Prices per person range from 700 euros per week in low season to 1,400 euros per week in high season, both options for interior cabins, the cheapest ones.
One of the main novelties of this ship is that it is the largest to arrive in the Catalan capital completely propelled by liquefied natural gas (LNG), a transitional fuel that reduces pollution compared to conventional ones. The first cruise ship to arrive at the Port of Barcelona propelled by LNG was the AIDAnova, from the Costa group, in 2019. Likewise, the MSC World Europa incorporates a fuel cell, which will allow the vessel to adapt to the use of energy sources that end up being prioritized as less polluting in the future throughout its useful life ---about 30 years---.
Beyond measures to reduce its environmental impact, the MSC World Europa incorporates novelties for the entertainment of its users, such as an academy to learn how to pilot drones, an 80-meter-high slide, or bumper cars. With a total of 22 decks and more than 40,000 square meters of public space, the vessel offers a wide range of dining options, including a restaurant with food made from vegetables grown on the ship itself and a brewery that makes its drink with seawater.