MSC Cruises has officially taken delivery of the MSC Seaside from Fincantieri. At the same time, the Geneva-based company announced a deal with the Italian shipbuilder to build two new Seaside EVO-class ships, which will be bigger than the Seaside.

Deliveries are scheduled for 2021 and 2023, with a contract value at 1.8 billion euro.

Following the deliveries of the MSC Meraviglia and Seaside this year, the two additional ships would push MSC’s forward-looking orderbook back to 10 ships, spanning five platforms: Seaside, Seaside Evo, Meraviglia, Meraviglia Plus and World Class.

The 2021 delivery will take the place of an existing Seaside order at Fincantieri. The expanded Seaside platform, EVO, comes in at 169,380 tons with 500 additional passengers.

MSC Cruises Executive Chairman Pierfrancesco Vago said: “MSC Seaside coming into service marks another key milestone in the history and future of our Company, but she also embodies a pivotal moment for the industry. In fact, she is the first ship of the fifth new prototype that we bring into service and introduces a wholly-innovative product that sets a new standard for the industry to follow. The Seaside Class of ships is designed to bring guests closer to the sea and to operate in sunny waters, while continuing to push the boundaries of maritime and guest-centric technology.”

Giuseppe Bono, CEO of Fincantieri, stated: “We are proud to have accomplished such an important project: a ship, for a new customer, the largest one ever built in Italy. This demonstrates not only our ability to satisfy the needs of the shipowners, but also the extraordinary operational level which Fincantieri has achieved. In fact, I would like to highlight that “Seaview”, the sister ship of “Seaside”, will be delivered in just 6 months in this same shipyard”. Bono added: “we believe we have built a highly innovative ship with MSC. She marks a further technological quality leap. Such a milestone has allowed us to gain the customer’s loyalty with another order for two new ships, which will [again] represent a real evolution.”