MSC Lirica

The 2003-built//2015-stretched MSC Lirica cruise ship is the 3rd of MSC's Lirica-class liners, with sisterships Opera, Sinfonia, Armonia.

The vessel (IMO number 9246102) is currently Panama-flagged (MMSI 356042000) and registered in Colon.

History - construction and ownership

MSC Cruises (MSC Crociere) is a passenger shipping company headquartered in Genoa and Naples. It was established in 1960. Today, MSC Crociere is a subsidiary of MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Company) - the world's 2nd largest containership company. MSC Crociere is the world's largest privately-owned cruise company.

By annual passenger shipping volumes, MSC is ranked the world's 3rd largest cruise shipowner - following only Carnival Corporation and RCG-Royal Caribbean Group.

All 4 vessels of this class (Armonia, Lirica, Opera, Sinfonia) were enlarged/elongated by 24 m (80 ft), adding around 193 new cruise staterooms (including Balcony), 59 more crew cabins, plus new public spaces, new kids facilities (with LEGO and Chicco themed activities), outdoor water park ("Spray Park" with interactive slides, jets and water toys).

The 2000-passenger ship MSC Lirica was lengthened as part of MSC’s Renaissance Program (EUR 200 million). Lirica has some new features specifically created for the Chinese market, such as signage in Mandarin, upmarket shops, different color schemes, Chinese food and entertainment. During the summer season MSC Lirica entertains mainly Europeans with multiple languages used onboard, so prepare to learn some Italian, German, French and Spanish if you want to communicate with fellow passengers.

Decks and Cabins

MSC Lirica staterooms (992 total, in 9 grades) include 130 Suites, 94 Balcony, 409 Oceanview and 355 Inside cabins. Most staterooms are sized 140 ft2 / 13 m2. Most cabin balconies are sized 40 ft2 / 4 m2. The largest are the Balcony Suites (250 ft2 / 24 m2 plus 55 ft2 / 5 m2 terrace). The ship has only 5 wheelchair-accessible cabins (type Inside).

The boat has 13 decks, of which 9 are passenger-accessible and 5 with cabins.

MSC Lirica decks are named after Italian composers.

Shipboard dining options - Food and Drinks

There are no dining surcharges onboard the MSC Lirica because there are no speciality restaurants on this ship. Lirica offers an abundance of Italian food, but the quality can vary. The La Bussola Restaurant on Deck 5 is the larger of the two main dining rooms. It features tables for two to six diners. The casual buffet is located on Deck 11 and provides an alternative to the main dining rooms.

Follows the complete list of MSC Lirica restaurants and food bars.

• La Bussola Restaurant (aft Dining Room, capacity 950 seats, open for Breakfast 7-10 am, Lunch 12-2 pm, and Dinner (with 2 fixed seatings- at 7 and 9:15 pm, with 3-course lunch and 7-course dinner menu, size 1065 m2)
• L’Ippocampo  Restaurant (aft Dining Room, capacity 406 seats, size 583 m2, dinner only- with 2 fixed seatings- at 7 or 9:15 pm)
• Le Bistrot Restaurant (aft location, capacity 324 seats complimentary self-service cafeteria/buffet restaurant, open 6 am - 2 am, including for Afternoon Tea between 4-5 pm, size 710 m2)
• La Pergola Restaurant (262 seats alfresco buffet, consisting of a full Bar, Pizzeria and an Outdoor Grill/burger bar, size 268 m2)

Shipboard entertainment options - Fun and Sport

MSC Lirica public rooms are spacious and uniformly elegant, with grand touches of marble, brass accents, and lots of wood. The refreshing lack of glitz is more than compensated for by the sparkle of glass and a mixture of primary and neutral colours. MSC Cruises Lirica entertainment facilities include a casino, cinema, library, and all the rest professional venues that take place onboard all MSC vessels. Don’t forget to think about health – stay slim in the modern fitness centre, try the two pools and two jacuzzis, or relax in the sauna. The “Lord Nelson” English pub is not to be missed, too. For kids, a special playroom is provided.

Additional amenities include complimentary 24-Hour Room-Service, Supervised Children Program, Internet/WiFi Access, Laundry.

Follows the complete list of MSC Lirica lounges, clubs and other entertainment venues for kids, teens and adults.

• The Broadway Theatre (capacity 713 seats, grand-style musical productions and shows, including concerts, acrobatics, cabaret, with 2 night shows- at 7:30 and 9:30 pm, level 1 of 2, size 1135 m2)
• Lord Nelson Pub (144 seats English pub bar/smoking allowed area, with multiple TVs, size 300 m2)
• Card Room, Library & Internet Cafe (18-seat, size 50 m2)
• Voyagers Club Info Point
• Reception Desk (33-seat guest services, reservations, bookings, size 903 m2)
• Shore Excursions Desk (booking, planning, information, size 40 m2)
• Rodeo Drive Shopping Arcade (shopping alley/outlets and stalls)
• Gallery (shop for luxury jewelry, sunglasses, brand watches, size 40 m2)
• Jewelry Shop (luxury accessories and jewelry, size 40 m2)
• Vogue Boutique (shop for casual and fashion clothing, size 60 m2)
• MSC Shop (brand perfumes, cosmetics, size 75 m2)
• Duty-Free Shop (liquor, snacks, tobaccos, essentials)
• Beverly Hills Bar (239-seat piano bar with live music, could also host bingo games and art auctions, size 902 m2)
• The Coffee Corner (100 seats specialty coffee bar/a la carte charge, with complimentary desserts, offers coffee packages, size 245 m2)
• Le Cabaret Lounge & Bar (139 seats dancing lounge with dance floor, own full bar, hosts trivia quizzes, Italian language lessons, size 345 m2)
• Casino VIP Lounge (20 seats, size 50 m2)
• Las Vegas Casino (capacity 111 seats/smoking allowed venue, slots, gambling tables, own full bar, size 460 m2)
• Shopping Arcade
• L’Atmosphere (101-seat piano bar, live music, size 300 m2)
• Jia Yao
• Video Games Arcade (size 41 m2)
• Photo Gallery & Shop (photo-video services, cameras, accessories, size 70 m2 - Photogallery / 45 m2 - photographer)
• Medical Center (4-seat Infirmary, size 107 m2) is the ship’s hospital operated by resident doctors/physicians and nurses on 24-hour duty. Payments are made by the boarding pass (treatments equivalent to a private doctor’s visit). General health insurance policies do not apply, so buying cruise health insurance is recommended
• MSC Lirica Aurea Spa & Fitness Complex (with Thalassotherapy Room, Treatment Rooms, 2 Saunas, 1 Steam Room/Turkish Bath, Relaxation Room, Beauty Salon, complimentary Gym/Gymnasium, with an aerobics studio/classes; open 9 am - 9 pm, size 943 m2)
• Baby Club & Mini Club - I Pirati Playroom (kids play club area with TVs and Playstations, games, toys, craft and arts, movies, size 54 m2)
• Lirica’s Le Piscine Pool Area (with 2 twin saltwater pools, 2 Whirlpools, Tennis Tables, size fore 152 m2/fore, 157,5 m2/aft)
• Doremi Spray Park (size 146 m2)
• La Canzone del Mare (146 seats poolside bar, consisting of 3 sections- main full Bar, La Gelateria (Ice Cream Bar, open 10 am - 6 pm/surcharge, size 2364 m2) and Vitamin Bar (for fresh juices)
• Power Walking/Jogging Track (8 laps = 1 mi, size 1200 m2)
• Shuffleboard (size 20 m2)
• Young & Teens Club (34-seat, size 51 m2) /  Karaoke, Juniors Club (teenagers lounge area for dance classes, live music, disco, sports and video games competitions, size 107 m2)
• Virtual Reality Video Games Arcade (also has foosball and tennis tables)
• Kaito Sushi Bar (40 seats, size 40 m2)
• The Blue Club Disco & Nightclub (215 seats, has a full bar; during the day is a quiet area for panoramic views and relaxation, size 739 m2)
• Sundeck / Top 13 Solarium (adult-only relaxation area with loungers, size 742 m2), Golf Simulator (at surcharge)
• 8-hole Mini-Golf Course (size 270 m2, complimentary equipment is provided from Deck 5’s Reception).

Itineraries

MSC Lirica itinerary program was based on South American cruises leaving from Rio de Janeiro and Santos, and on 7-day Eastern Mediterranean voyages leaving from Venice to Greek Islands. Lirica also operated cheap Transatlantic repositioning crossings between South America and Europe.

The refurbished in 2015 ship was homeported in Shanghai China - starting May 1, 2016, for 2 years. In China, MSC Cruises operates a joint partnership with CAISSA Touristic (China), which runs domestic cruises for many years.

In April 2018, Lirica was repositioned from China back to Europe. On the Asian market, the ship was replaced by the bigger MSC Splendida 3300 passenger). Lirica's European itinerary program is based on homeports Venice and Bari. The roundtrip Adriatic Sea cruises (Eastern Mediterranean) visit ports in Greece, Croatia (mainly Dubrovnik) and Albania (Sarande). Shorter itineraries (3-day roundtrips from Venice) visit Zadar (Croatia) and Koper (Slovenia).

For winter season 2018-2019, Lirica was homeported in Dubai and Abu Dhabi UAE (starting November 2018) for 11- and 14-night roundtrip itineraries. The ship offered 2 overnights in Dubai, and also visited Abu Dhabi UAE, Muscat Oman and ports in India (Mumbai, Goa, Mangalore). An 11-night itinerary from Dubai visited Sir Bani Yas Island. MSC Lirica Dubai cruises were also bookable as fly-cruise packages.

Due to the Coronavirus crisis, the MSC ship Lyrica was paused for 2+ years (between March 2020 and April 2022), restarting operations on April 11 (Mediterranean from Athens). The homeporting in Piraeus-Athens Greece offers Eastern Mediterranean roundtrips (7-night itinerary) visiting Mykonos Island, Haifa (Tel Aviv, Israel), Limassol (Cyprus), Rhodes Island, Kusadasi-Ephesus (Turkey). MSC offers fly-cruise deals to Greece (Athens Airport) with cruise fares inclusive of flights from Northern European cities.

The vessel (Chantiers de l’Atlantique yard/hull number K32) has volume 65591 GT-tons, DWT-deadweight tonnage 6561 tons, max draught 7 m. The powerplant is based on Wartisla marine diesel engines (model 12V38) with combined output 31,68 MW (42480 hp). The registered shipowner is NEWCO LIRICA SA, while the registered manager is MSC MEDITERRANEAN SHIPPING CO.

Lirica is MSC's 3rd Lirica-class liner, with sisterships Armonia, Opera, Sinfonia. One of the MSC's smallest ships, Lirica is also the first-ever newbuild MSC passenger vessel and the fleet's first one to be christened by Sophia Loren (1934-born Italian actress).

In 2015, MSC Lirica was stretched (elongated by 25 m / 82 ft) in) during a drydock refit done at Fincantieri's shipyard in Palermo Sicily. During the dry-dock (between August 31 and November 9), the vessel was cut in two and a pre-built section was inserted midship.  Ship's reconstruction project was part of MSC Cruises' USD 273 million "Renaissance Program", by which besides Lirica were also enlarged the sisterships Armonia, Opera, and Sinfonia.

MSC Lirica refurbishment 2015 review

Majorly refurbished in 2015 (drydock refit between August 31 and November 9), MSC Lirica was also stretched (elongated by 25 m / 82 ft).

The list of deckplan changes after the refurbishment includes:

• All passenger rooms were renovated and upgraded.
• A total of 193 new cruise cabins and suites were added (on decks 9-Albinoni, 10-Bellini, 12-Rossini) plus 59 new crew cabins. The ship’s capacity was increased from 795 cabins (1560 passengers / 2070 max) to 988 cabins (1976 passengers / 2371 max).
• New stateroom categories were introduced.
• An Aqua Park (named Spray Park, with waterfalls and interactive slides) was installed.
• Boutique shops were upgraded (new designs, new upmarket shopping brands). A new luxury perfumes shop was added.
• The supervised kids' clubs and play areas were upgraded with equipment and toys by Chicco and LEGO.
• The onboard children program now includes 5 kids clubs (age groups).
• The pool deck has now several newly installed canopies (shaded seating areas) plus a new water park for kids.
• The onboard boutiques sell top-luxury European brands in the likes of Gucci (handbags), Bulgari (jewelry), Longines (Swiss watches), Tag Heuer (watches).

Most of the ship’s personnel were replaced with Mandarin-speaking. The appointed Cruise Ambassadors (expert guest assistants) spoke both Mandarin and English.

The MSC China cruise bookings and program management (activities, entertainment, amenities, gaming) were by MSC’s local partner CAISSA Touristic.

The 10-week drydock was valued at nearly EUR 50 million. 

As part of the new MSC Cruises China itinerary program, on Lirica were created new features targeting the Chinese market. Among those are Mandarin (signage), new color scheme, new dining options (Asian cuisine menu items) and entertainment program changes. The casino area was enlarged and new Chinese favorite and classic games were added. Also added were a private gambling room for playing baccarat (card game) and sic bo (aka tai sai / 3-dice game of chance).

In September 2015, MSC announced the company's new partnership with one of China’s largest tourism companies - CAISSA Touristic Group. Under this partnership, in 2016 the Lirica ship was homeported in Shanghai China, starting operations in May 2016. This was MSC's first-ever year-round ship deployment on the Chinese market. In April 2018, Lirica returned back to Europe, being replaced on the Chinese market by the larger Splendida.