DUBLIN, Ireland – MSC Splendida, a cruise ship so long it has to reverse into Dublin Port, is set for its final visit of 2015 tomorrow.
The ship is scheduled to dock in Dublin from 09.00 to 20.15 on Saturday, August 29, and in Cobh from 06.30 to 18.00 on Sunday, August 30.
MSC Splendida made maritime history as the largest cruise ship ever to dock in Dublin Port during her debut visit last May.
Its staff were “blown away” by the amount of people lining the Liffey to wave it off, according to Giles Hawke, MSC Cruises executive director for the UK and Ireland.
The ship returns to Ireland as part of an 11-day itinerary out of Hamburg, and this weekend’s visits will be its last until May 2016.
At 137,926GT and just over 333 metres in length, MSC Splendida is one of the largest vessels in the MSC Cruises fleet โ one of four โFantasia-classโ ships.
The ship, which launched in 2009, features over a dozen bars and lounges, four swimming pools, a spa, Turkish baths and a Formula 1 simulator over 17 decks.
It also boasts a Swarovski crystal staircase in the main atrium.
Prices for the equivalent 11-day itinerary next year start from โฌ1,199pp, including ‘Broadway-style’ theatre shows and a ‘Premium, 20-hours-a-day buffet’.
The MSC Splendida was at the center of a tragedy last March 18, when 12 of its passengers were killed during a terrorist attack on Tunisia’s Bardo Museum.
The company has halted visits to the country “for the foreseeable future”.
Dublin Port expects up to 100 ships to bring 200,000 visitors during 2015, putting the city on track for a record year in cruise tourism.
MSC Splendida in Numbers:
โข333.3 meters – length of the ship, equal to 35 double-decker buses
โข66.8 meters – height, taller than Liberty Hall
โข4,363 – passengers at full occupancy
โข18 – decks (but thereโs no Deck 17 โ Italians consider โ17โ to be an unlucky number because rearranging the letters in the Roman numerals can spell โVIXIโ, which means โI have livedโ or, more literally, โI am deadโ)
โข1,600 – seats in its on-board theatre
โข55,000 – horsepower, the same as 120 Ferraris
โข1,118 – miles of cable on board (the distance from Dublin to Turin)
โข13,743 – liters of milk passengers will consume on a 12-night sailing