Bucket Travel: MSC Cruises Milestones

MSC Cruises today took delivery of MSC Grandiosa from Chantiers de l’Atlantique, one of the world leaders in cruise ship construction.  The delivery ceremony of MSC Cruises’ newest flagship and one of the most environmentally-advanced ships at sea took place in the presence of Gianluigi Aponte, MSC Group Chairman.

Earlier in the morning a second important milestone event took place with the traditional cutting of the first steel and naming of the first World Class ship, MSC Europa, by MSC Cruises’ Executive Chairman, Pierfrancesco Vago. MSC Europa is the first of five liquified natural gas (LNG)-powered cruise ships on order and the first LNG ship to be built in France.  The two events marked another important step forward in MSC Cruises’ long-term commitment to environmental stewardship, both at sea as well as ashore.

Pierfrancesco Vago, MSC Cruises’ Executive Chairman, says, “Since its inception, MSC Cruises has embraced a commitment to environmental stewardship and ways to minimise and continuously reduce our environmental footprint, both at sea and ashore, with the use of innovative, leading-edge and effective technologies across our entire fleet. With each new ship we raise the bar of environmental performance and our ultimate goal is zero emissions operations. MSC Grandiosa moves us another significant step forward in that genuine ambition.

Mr Vago continues, “Today is even more significant as we begin the construction of the first of five LNG-propelled ships, which will further elevate our standards in environmentally-sound cruising, thanks to this use of alternative fuels, as well as other cutting-edge technologies.”

Mr Vago concludes, “Our commitment to environmental protection, both while at sea and when calling at the port communities that we serve, does not stop here. With each new ship we will push further the boundaries of innovation in terms of environmental technology. We will specifically focus our R&D investment into accelerating the development of next-generation advanced solutions and other technologies – from more alternative fuels, shore power availability, batteries, fuel cells and beyond. All of this while we retrofit and upgrade our existing fleet – one of the most modern at sea – with the latest technologies to continuously improve our environmental performance fleet-wide.”  

Laurent Castaing, General Manager, Chantiers de l’Atlantique, adds, “The delivery of MSC Grandiosa and the official start of construction of the first world-class ship are two major milestones in the history of our partnership with MSC Cruises.  At Chantiers de l’Atlantique, we are happy and proud to provide our privileged customer with state-of-the-art solutions that significantly lessen the environmental impact of the ships.  MSC Cruises can thus benefit from the result of our R&D programmes on energy saving schemes and environmentally-friendly technologies that we have been leading for the last ten years.”

MSC Grandiosa is MSC Cruises’ most environmentally-advanced ship at sea yet and is testament to the Company’s long-standing commitment to protect the seas and respect the communities that it touches. The ship is equipped with advanced cutting-edge technologies geared to ensure ever cleaner air emissions and improved overall environmental performance, both while at sea and ashore.

In addition to a hybrid ‘closed-loop’ exhaust gas cleaning system (EGCS) that reduces ship sulphur emissions by 97 per cent, MSC Grandiosa will also be the first MSC Cruises’ ship to feature a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system that helps reduce nitrogen oxide by 80 percent. All other MSC Cruises’ ships currently under construction will feature the SCR technology, including MSC Grandiosa’s sister ship, MSC Virtuosa, due to come into service in October 2020, as well as MSC Seashore, currently under construction at a different shipyard. This active emissions control technology conducts nitrogen oxide from the engine operations through a catalyst – a high-density device made from noble metals – and converts them into harmless nitrogen and water.

When speaking of alternative fuels, MSC Cruises is investing €5 billion in the construction of five LNG-powered ships. Compared to standard marine diesel, LNG reduces sulphur oxide emissions by more than 99 percent and nitrogen oxide emissions by up to 85 percent. It also largely eliminates particulate matter in the ship’s exhaust and reduces greenhouse gas emissions by as much as an additional 20 per cent. The 205,700 GT LNG-powered world-class ship MSC Europa will come into service in May 2022 and is the first of four futuristic world-class ships to be constructed at the French yard, with further deliveries scheduled for 2024, 2025 and 2027. In addition, one Meraviglia-Plus ship will also be propelled by LNG when the ship comes into service in 2023.

Bucket Travel: MSC Grandiosa - Grand Launch

MSC Cruises is to embark on the Company’s most comprehensive new ship launch ever and will carry out the largest face-to-face engagement drive with more than 14,000 travel agents on board MSC Grandiosa. The events will commence in St Nazaire, France when the Company’s newest flag ship officially comes into service on 31 October.

Achille Staiano, MSC Cruises VP Global Sales, comments, “The events for the launch of MSC Grandiosa have been carefully designed to enable an extensive programme of activities and celebrations for the travel agency community, as well as other guests and stakeholders. We have designed an inaugural itinerary for the ship with overnight stays in multiple ports to enable as many travel agent partners as possible to stay on board or visit the ship in order to experience it first-hand.”

Staiano continues, “Looking ahead, as MSC Grandiosa will be one of the most environmentally-sound ships at sea, we will utilise the MSC Masters e-learning platform to educate our travel agent partners around our environmental stewardship practices and other environmental initiatives. This will allow them to understand the latest advancements in environmental technology and practices, which will be invaluable information for them and their customers.”

During the course of the launch itinerary, seven ‘All Stars of the Sea’ awards events will be held to recognise the efforts and achievements of travel agents from all around the world, acknowledging MSC Cruises’ distribution in more than 80 countries. Separate familiarisation tours and presentations will also be given to travel agency front-desk staff, managers, proprietors and tour operators.

MSC Grandiosa will remain in the Port of Hamburg from 6 to 10 November, with the christening on the evening of the 9^th. The Blue Port will be condensed into a maritime stage around the Elbphilharmonie. Twenty locations in Hamburg's harbour will become ambassadors of light art, shining with a significant blue light, mixing industrial harbour light with graphic drawings. The colour blue is significant for the events as it is part of MSC Cruises livery, as well as representing water to symbolise MSC Cruises’ long-standing commitment to the ocean.  To respect the environment and the climate, small lights with low-energy consumption will be used. The dazzling installations will be created by renowned international light artist, Michael Batz.

MSC Grandiosa is equipped with two new and important technological innovations, including a selective catalytic reduction system, which will decrease nitrogen oxide emissions by 90 percent and transform it into pure water and nitrogen.  The ship is also fitted with a state-of-the-art advanced wastewater treatment system that will lead to nearly zero impact on discharges and allow MSC Grandiosa to operate in delicate environments such as the Baltic Sea and Alaska.

The new features add to other effective technologies found on MSC Cruises’ fleet to reduce any further environmental impact, including a cutting-edge hybrid exhaust gas cleaning system, systems for the prevention of oil discharge from machinery spaces, a ballast water treatment system and various energy-saving improvements such as heat recovery systems and LED lighting.

Some of the guest highlights of this new state-of-the-art ship include:

·         Two original new shows from Cirque du Soleil at Sea

·         A Mediterranean Promenade lined with restaurants, including the new restaurant Il Campo and mall-style shopping, with a 93-metre-long LED Sky Screen that displays atmospheric images and animations throughout the day and night

·         An immersive art experience in L’Atelier Bistrot with 26 original etchings by French Impressionist, Edgar Degas

·         Dedicated kids areas designed in partnership with LEGO and Chicco

·         The world’s first virtual personal cruise assistant, ZOE, in every cabin.

MSC Grandiosa will commence her regular seven-night cruises in the Western Mediterranean from 23 November with six embarkation ports, calling at Genoa and Civitavecchia, Italy; Palermo, Sicily; Valetta, Malta; Barcelona, Spain and Marseille, France.

Bucket Scene: Eora - Kitchen & Bar

Like I said from the start, this segment is to discover new places that are a step away from the norm, we're so used to our usual places we go to that we forget the fun in exploring and trying out new places. A couple weeks back my mates wanted to go out for a quiet dinner and drink, instead of opting for our usual hangout I suggested we try Eora, a new Mediterranean restaurant that opened up in Umhlanga that was getting raving reviews from people who have tried it. I followed them on instagram, had a look at what to offer and it was a done deal. Everything looked good on pictures so it was time to see if the food tasted as good as it looked.

Located at 190 Ridge Road in Umhlanga Rocks, the venue is located conveniently at the entrance of the village area with ample street parking and paid parking available at the centre across the road. We were greeted by our hostess and seated upon arrival. The decor is quite cool and I like the fact they have posters of old South African products that served as the art. Being a bar as well, they serve a host of drinks abd cocktails, the craft beer however is limited to local KZN brewers, so there isn't much variety but at the same time, it's nice to see them promoting the local guys and giving them exposure as they're normally outshone by Cape Town or German brewers. 

While enjoying our local beers we ordered a few of the starters to munch on, they have a good range of starters catering for every ones taste buds. We opted for the crispy calamari and satay chicken, both of which were awesome. The calamari as the name suggested was crispy, coated in a light tempura style batter and fried till crisp, served with a harissa mayo that just  made the taste buds tingle, it was also quite a healthy serving as they don't feel shy to load the bowl. The chicken satay was perfect, the chicken was well spiced and cooked just right, moist and full of flavour. What I liked about the starters is that you can also choose to have them as tapas which is bigger in size. So if you're looking to go out and have some snacks instead of full meals, this is now an option. 

Tapas/ Starters selection

Onto the mains, there are mains to choose of the menu and they have weekly specials written on a chalk board above the entrance. Being a lover of lamb I was sold on the lamb burger that was offered on the menu. Others at the table ordered the Hake and Chips, Steak with mushroom sauce and Sword Fish with prawns. 

Lamb burger

My burger looked great and just like the pictures had me salivating just by looked at it. Organic lamb patty with melted mozzarella topped with tomato relish, served on a toasted bun with sweet potato fries on the side. I like to eat my burgers the way its meant to be eaten, with both hands but due to the size of the patty and the bun being a tad bit too crispy, I couldn't force my mouth open that wide, yes its that big of a burger! I opted to use the utensils instead, the patty for me was a bit dry, but the relish sort of made up for it in a way, the bun as said was a tad bit crispy as well, which made it a bit tricky to eat. 

Hake and chips

My mates on the other hand enjoyed their meals, fish and chips which to be honest is very hard to screw up was great but he felt the chips were a bit oily but its chips... that's the best way to have it. The other enjoyed his steak, cooked well and very tasty. The swordfish was done to perfection, had great flavour and prawns were great too, his only gripe was that the portion was too small as he was still a bit peckish after the meal, I guess that's why they have dessert on the menu but his form of dessert was another craft beer. 

Swordfish and prawn

On the whole, my dinning experience was great, yes my burger wasn't what I expected it to be but everyone else that's had it loved it so it could just be me. Never the less we had an awesome time and the service was top notch. There's loads of things on the menu that I still want to try, including a tapas evening so I will definitely pay them more visits in the future. They also serve breakfast daily from 7am till 11:30am.

website: http://www.eora.co.za/
instagram: http://instagram.com/eorarestaurant
facebook: www.facebook.com/eorarestaurant