MSC Cruises’ ship MSC World Atlantic was recently launched at Chantiers de l’Atlantique’s yard in Saint-Nazaire, France.
MSC Cruises said the ship will remain at the French yard while interior outfitting and final technical work continue. Delivery is scheduled for 2027, ahead of her first Caribbean season.
The vessel is the fourth LNG-fuelled ship in a series and is expected to become the 25th overall ship in the MSC Cruises fleet.
MSC Cruises plans to deploy the ship from Port Canaveral from November 2027, offering Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries that alternate between seven and 14 nights. The deployment was initially announced for winter 2027–28.
The company said the sailings will include calls at Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, its private island in the Bahamas. It also identified Grand Turk as a destination.
The 215,863GT vessel is 333.3 metres long, 47 metres wide, and about 68 metres high. Her stated maximum speed is about 22.7 knots.
Up to 6,762 passengers can be housed in 2,626 cabins while the ship will be manned by 2,138 crew.
The ship will be fitted with a dual-fuel propulsion system that will run primarily on LNG. This arrangement will consist of five engines providing a combined output of around 80 MW.
MSC Cruises and Chantiers de l’Atlantique marked the start of construction with a steel-cutting ceremony at Saint-Nazaire on March 27, 2025. At that stage, the company identified Port Canaveral as the ship’s intended deployment port.
The series began with MSC World Europa, which was delivered in 2022.
MSC World America was handed over in March 2025, while MSC World Atlantic is scheduled to join the fleet after MSC World Asia.
MSC World Asia completed final sea trials in September 2026 ahead of its planned November delivery.
