As Families Plan Their Summer Vactions, MSC Cruises Further Enriches Kids Entertainment Across Its Fleet

GENEVA, July 19, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- MSC Cruises — the Swiss-based world's largest privately-owned cruise line and market leader in Europe, South America and South Africa — today announced exciting additions to its already rich family cruises offerings that includes the introduction of an innovative kids sports program, DOREBRO; a kids-dedicated interactive cooking class designed with Michelin-starred chef Carlo Cracco; and a new, exclusive MSC Cruises ship toy developed by LEGO.

"As a family-owned company, from day one we have understood and focused on the importance of offering families and their kids on-board our ships a vacation that has all the elements that can make it a truly unforgettable one for the entire family, in addition to being stress-free," said Gianni Onorato, Chief Executive Officer of MSC Cruises. "For this reason, kids-dedicated activities and other family related services have always been at the very core of our guest offering and are strengthened on an ongoing basis by further additions – thus making this element of our offering one of the richest at sea."

Across its entire fleet – which is the most modern at sea – MSC Cruises provides a very extensive offering for family vacations, including:

• Dedicated clubs segmented by age group as well as daily entertainment for all ages;
• Family dining options;
• Modern and fun-filled on-board facilities such as aqua parks and pools, bowling alleys and 4D cinemas; and
• Dedicated shore activities designed with the needs of the entire family in mind.

New this summer is the DOREBRO sports program, an on-board entertainment innovation designed especially for kids who love sports. Children and teens aged from 3 to 17 years old can join the program, which is now available on most MSC Cruises ships sailing in the Mediterranean and the Caribbean. The program offers an exciting variety of sports and active games for all levels, broken down in two daily sessions, with activities designed for the different age groups. The program has been designed in collaboration with King's Active, the UK-based company expert in designing engaging and fun youth activities to inspire sports stars of the future.

Alongside this addition, starting this summer season, MSC Cruises has also introduced "DOREMI Chef by Carlo Cracco," a cooking class designed in collaboration with the two-starred Michelin chef Carlo Cracco. Led by MSC Cruises chefs and the on-board MSC Cruises mascot DOREMI, children aged 3 to 11 will learn, amongst other recipes, how to make homemade pasta from scratch while receiving plenty of cooking hints and tips from the globally renowned chef. Upon completion of the course, each child will receive an official mini-chef certificate signed by Carlo Cracco himself.

Finally, MSC Cruises offers its guests a wide range of on-board entertainment especially for kids, developed in collaboration with the LEGO Group, the world's leading toy producer. As part of this ongoing relationship, LEGO Group has recently launched a very special LEGO® MSC Cruises toy of MSC Meraviglia – the company's new next-generation smart cruise ship that launches in June 2017 and will sail the Mediterranean for its inaugural season. This toy LEGO model – which is available for sale fleet wide at the on-board MSC Cruises Logo shop – will make the perfect souvenir for children who can then relive their MSC Cruises family vacation at home in a fun and creative way. To watch a fun video of the new LEGO toy model visit: https://youtu.be/u8qpf5grIsw

Consumers interested in winning their own MSC Meraviglia LEGO ship – typically only available on board the MSC fleet – can enter now by visiting: http://www.mscpromotions.com/lego.html.

MSC Cruises also offers a range of services for babies and young children including the Mini-Club for children under 3 as well as a dedicated childcare service giving parents the freedom to enjoy the ship, safe in the knowledge that their children are being cared for by dedicated and highly trained staff. Many of these services are offered in collaboration with Chicco® – the leading global baby brand and yet another exclusive MSC Cruises partnership.

Notes to Editors:

THE LEGO® EXPERIENCE KEY FEATURES:

As part of 'The LEGO Experience' on-board, families can expect a whole day on every cruise itinerary that is dedicated to LEGO® activities. The LEGO Experience Day includes a program of activities, which have been specifically developed in collaboration with the LEGO Group to offer something for children of all ages, including:

• DUPLO® Play Pen: a construction challenge for children under the age of three
• Building Happening: two separate challenges for children aged six to eleven to build the most elaborate structure
• LEGO® Vertical Play Wall: a challenge where two teams compete to build a vertical structure against a specially created wall
• LEGO® Tech Challenge: a special area containing all of the latest games consoles to play LEGO videogames

At the end of the day, children will graduate with a LEGO diploma and be presented with a souvenir certificate by the LEGO Sailor mascot – verifying that they are now a Junior Master Builder.

In addition to the special activities created for LEGO Experience Day, on four of MSC Cruises ships that have recently been enlarged and enhanced (MSC Armonia, MSC Sinfonia, MSC Opera and MSC Lirica) as well as MSC Cruises new builds -- MSC Meraviglia, debuting in the Mediterranean in June 2017 and MSC Seaside debuting in Miami in December 2017 – specially designed play areas have been developed in cooperation with the LEGO group and offer up to 1075 sq. ft. of creative play space. The play areas come in two forms: Mini Club for the smaller children with LEGO and LEGO DUPLO themed soft play areas, and Junior Club for slightly older children with interactive play walls and videogame zones.

The LEGO® MSC Cruises ship toy is made up of 180 bricks, suitable for ages 7+ and is available to purchase on-board for $12.

For more information https://www.msccruisesusa.com/en-us/Partnerships/MSC-Lego.aspx

CHICCO SERVICES:

For younger children and babies, MSC Cruises has partnered with Chicco to offer a wide choice of childcare equipment to make cruising even easier and stress-free for families with babies and toddlers.

These services include:

• Baby equipment throughout the ship including Bottle Warmers, Cribs and Strollers (all free of charge)
• A Chicco corner in the on-board shop selling everything a parent would need during their vacation
• MSC BabyTime – a daily program designed to dedicate playtime between babies and their parents
• MSC BabyCare – a daily service that allows parents to leave their babies in the expert and loving care of highly trained staff
• A specially designed children's menu and warm milk available 24 hours a day (for a small charge)

For more information visit: https://www.msccruisesusa.com/en-us/Partnerships/MSC-Chicco.aspx

DOREBRO SPORTS PROGRAM KEY FEATURES:

• Two 45 minutes sports sessions run each day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon
• Sports on offer include football, basketball, baseball, handball and dodge ball
• A dedicated sports coach trains groups of children in age-appropriate activities (3-6; 7-11; 12-17 year olds)
• Parents are invited to join in with family activities which offer fun competitions and prizes
• Children are able to remember their DOREBRO activities with a range of exciting merchandise including t-shirts and sports bags

The DOREBRO sports program also caters for kids at different skill levels, so everyone is able to enjoy a variety of sports to suit them. From fun introduction activities, engaging sports tournaments and social games designed for teens, children can take part and celebrate achievement in something challenging and specifically designed for them.

The DOREBRO sports program is already available on seven ships in MSC Cruises fleet, and by the end of July will be available on a total of nine ships.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160719/390955

SOURCE MSC Cruises USA