Sunwing & MSC Cruises highlight 2017 cruise program

Sunwing and MSC Cruises hosted agents at a special VIP lunch yesterday to discuss what’s new in cruise for the coming season and beyond.

Held at the Jazz Bistro in downtown Toronto, David Wright, director of sales for Ontario and Atlantic Canada for Sunwing, was joined by Mary Anne Lachance, business development manager for Ontario for MSC Cruises, as they discussed their partnership and what it means for agents and customers.

On the MSC Cruises side, Lachance gave attendees an overview on the cruise line, along with an update on what they can expect in 2017.

Among the 11 new ships MSC will be introducing to the world’s oceans by 2026, Lachance highlighted the MSC Meraviglia, which will join the fleet in June 2017 sailing seven-night Mediterranean itineraries. The ship will have triple home ports – in Genoa, Marseille and Barcelona – making it appealing to Canadian guests, as well as a purpose-built theatre for Cirque du Soleil, among many other features.

Another new addition that Lachance highlighted is the MSC Seaside, which will debut in December 2017. This ship will sail year-round, seven-night Caribbean itineraries out of Miami, and features a ‘beach condo design concept’, including terraced balcony staterooms (an industry first) and sweeping promenades.

“This (ship) is truly, truly unique,” said Lachance. “In this day and age when all of us cruise lines are bringing more and more ships into service, it’s really hard to stand apart, to create something that is totally different, and MSC Seaside really is. She’s our ship that follows the sun… she has a waterfront promenade that circumnavigates the whole bottom area of the ship, so it will have open deck spaces, bars and restaurants, so she has to be doing warm-weather cruising for that.”

Cruises into Cuba was another topic covered, with Cuba/Caribbean itineraries available on the MSC Opera, and packages available through Sunwing. The MSC Opera will sail roundtrip out of Havana every Saturday from Dec. 3, 2016 to Apr. 8, 2017, and Sunwing's winter program to Varadero will kick off on Dec. 23.

With these cruise packages, customers will not only receive their flights to/from Varadero, transfers to/from Havana, and the cruise itself with all that entails, they will also receive the ‘Allegrissimo’ all-inclusive beverage plan as part of their package.

For more information, visit sunwing.ca.