MSC Cruises Plans MSC Seaview Christening for June 9

MSC Cruises recently announced European actress, singer, and TV presenter Michelle Hunziker will host the christening ceremony of the new flagship MSC Seaview on June 9 in Genoa, Italy.

Screen legend Sophia Loren will serve as godmother, as she has for all MSC Cruises ships since 2003.

Other special guest stars at the christening include Lorella Cuccarini and the 50-strong children’s choir “Piccolo Coro Dell’Antoniano” who previously recorded the song “I Can Believe – MSC for UNICEF” as the soundtrack for the UNICEF awareness-raising efforts on MSC Cruises ships.

MSC Cruises also revealed that Spanish chef Ramon Freixa will launch his first restaurant at sea onboard MSC Seaview. Ocean Cay by Ramon Freixa is a luxury fish and shellfish restaurant that will offer dishes made with scallops, Iberian ham, king crab, duck confit and roasted sea bass.

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Pan-Asian chef Roy Yamaguchi will introduce his second restaurant for MSC Cruises on the MSC Seaview. Asian Market Kitchen will feature a variety of Yamaguchi’s dishes, all made with fresh ingredients inspired by flavors of his Hawaii and Japanese heritage.

MSC Cruises also revealed that its new digital personal assistant, Zoe, will be introduced on the MSC Bellissima. MSC Cruises is employing the next-generation technology to create a connected cruise experience that puts the guest in control of their cruise, tailoring the way they receive information.

“As a family-owned company with over 300 years of seafaring heritage, it is a maritime tradition to involve the female members of the family in key events and developments,” said MSC Cruises CEO Gianni Onorato. “Zoe is a family name as well as being a name that is internationally recognized and easy to pronounce no matter what language a guest speaks. Choosing a family name was a way to combine tradition with our continued focus on innovation.”

An industry first, Zoe is being developed in partnership with Harman International, a wholly owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics, experts in the field of voice-enabled technology having developed audio solutions also for technology leaders such as Amazon, Google, and Microsoft.

Zoe will be a device designed for use in the staterooms and will be available in seven languages: English, French, Italian, Spanish, German, Brazilian Portuguese, and Mandarin. The objective of this digital service is to provide guests with a simple way to find out information traditionally asked in person at the Guest Relations desk. As with all of the technology on board, this is not designed to replace human interaction between crew and guest, but rather complement it by answering frequently asked questions, the company said.