A magical Christmas and New Year cruise makes the perfect gift this festive season

As a family company, MSC Cruises knows that the festive period is an incredibly important time of year and that getting it right is all in the detail. On board the MSC fleet, Christmas and New Year cruises are the perfect recipe for a fabulous experience for the whole family, from young couples looking for a romantic getaway to multi-generational groups keen to make sure that everyone’s entertained.

For the upcoming Christmas and New Year, each luxury ship in the MSC Cruises’ fleet has been decked out for the occasion with traditional trees and decorations, creating the perfect setting for Christmas travellers to enjoy time-honoured traditions including carol singing, choir performances and midnight mass, as well as the unique sight of fairy lights twinkling on the waves.

Santa Claus will be of course on board to delight MSC’s youngest guests with gifts during a special event in the theatre, and the young at heart are sure to enjoy Santa Claus contests and make the most of the live music in bars and lounges and disco beats until the early hours. As there’s only one true Santa Claus, luckily he’s sent 60 of his favourite professional santas to MSC Cruises for Christmas, making sure there’s enough red suits, white beards and sacks of presents to make children’s dreams come true on every ship.

Just the right amount of bubbly

Nearly 3,000 bottles of champagne and 9,000 bottles of spumante will soon be embarked for celebrations across the fleet, as well as over 3,000 traditional panettoni, a typical Christmas cake from Milan.

On Christmas night, 1,500 kg of one of MSC’s famous signature fresh pasta dishes, ravioli filled with porcini mushrooms, as well as 1,000 kg of riso superfino ‘carnaroli’ and nearly 900 kg of Grana Padano cheese will be savoured by guests.

Mediterranean Christmas dishes

Christmas lunch and dinner will include all of the trimmings, with a wide range of culinary delicacies from across the Mediterranean as well as many international favourites available. Travellers celebrating the festive season on board will be able to choose from supreme of turkey with chestnuts and green apples, Emilian-style Tortellini in capon broth, oven-roasted turbot steak, honey-glazed duck breast with orange, slow-cooked lamb with cinnamon, pumpkin pudding, crab soup, creamy risotto with aromatic herbs, spiny lobster in a Prosecco saffron sauce, and glazed beef fillet in Chianti wine sauce.

New Year’s Eve dinner and New Year’s Day lunch will be equally spectacular. On New Year’s Eve, guests will enjoy a fabulous five course dinner, with main courses including spiny lobster with tarragon mousse accompanied by roasted mushrooms and braised red onion, and fillet of beef in crispy thyme and Parmesan breading with Merlot wine and mini baked potatoes with sour cream. Divine desserts will include a traditional New Year chocolate log and nougat parfait with caramel sauce.

Lunch on New Year’s day will be a truly delightful way to start 2013, with smoked Norwegian salmon studded with asparagus and smoked wild boar loin accompanied by an apple tapenade for starters, and rosemary-scented turkey,  roast fillet of sea bass with saffron-scented broth and fillet of pork stuffed with Grana Padano cheese among the choices for main course.

Exciting destinations

On Christmas and New Year’s eve, travellers on board the MSC fleet will enjoy traditional festivities in warmer climes, with a multitude of exciting and sunny destinations to choose from.

MSC Lirica will be sailing through the idyllic waters of Martinique on her Caribbean experience, while MSC Armonia will be in Eilat, Israel, allowing guests to sail through history with an unforgettable drive and fly tour to the holy city of Jerusalem.

Other highlights include MSC Opera’s Christmas visit to the tiny beach village of Anakoa in Madagascar and Portuguese Island, Mozambique, while New Year on board will be celebrated under La Reunion skies, with a call in Mauritius on New Year’s day.

MSC Sinfonia will be in Fort Dauphin, Madagascar while MSC Musica and MSC Fantasia will be sailing off Brazilian coasts, celebrating News Year’s eve, Brazilian style, in Copacabana.

Cozumel, in Mexico, and the twin-island nation Antigua and Barbuda will be MSC Poesia’s festive destinations, while MSC Magnifica will visit Uruguay and MSC Divina will spend Christmas in Malaga, Spain and the first day of 2013 in Funchal, in the Azores islands.

MSC Splendida guests can enjoy Spain’s most famous fiestas, with a call in Barcelona on New Year’s Eve.

Entertainment

Children’s activities, including games, tournaments, baby disco, and arts and craft programmes, will all be Christmas themed, with other highlights including a Children’s Christmas Parade the talent show for children Doremi Christmas Live, and gift distribution at the theatre during Santa Claus is Coming.

In the theatre, travellers will be amazed by the new selection of shows, several of which are dedicated to MSC’s destinations and all of which are sure to put everyone in the festive spirit.

Viva, a dazzling variety show includes Spanish flamenco dancing, a foot juggling act and magic demonstrations (MSC Sinfonia); Icons Tribute celebrates America’s most famous hits from the sixties through to the nineties; Solstice, a hymn to the life in a pond, sees dancers and acrobats dressed as spiders, butterflies and frogs (MSC Opera); while Cleopatra, A Queen’s Life  takes guests back to a brother and sister’s dramatic battle for power in ancient Egypt through rich scenography, luxury costumes and dynamic song, dance and acrobatics (MSC Armonia). Five new shows have also been added to MSC Musica’s South American festive season including Luxury and its incredible cancan dancers; and Mr Tango, inspired by the variety of styles of Tango developed in different regions and eras of Argentina.

Spending the festive season at sea with MSC Cruises is a truly magical way of celebrating Christmas or ringing in the New Year with family and friends, old and new.