The newest cruise ship in the world lit up the pre-dawn sky earlier, when MSC Cruises’ United States flagship, MSC Seascape, sailed past the Statue of Liberty and up the Hudson River to dock at Pier 88 at the Manhattan Cruise Terminal.

MSC Seascape is one of the largest cruise ships ever to dock in Manhattan, at more than 170,000 gross tons with a capacity of 5,877 guests.

The arrival in New York marks the end of a 17-day journey from the shipyard where she was built in Italy.

The ship is in New York for a traditional maritime naming ceremony, which will take place on Wednesday evening and include wishes of good luck for her many future sailings from Hollywood legend and celebrated Godmother of the MSC Cruises fleet Sophia Loren.

The ceremony will conclude with the customary breaking of a bottle of champagne against her hull.

MSC Cruises, which is part of the Geneva, Switzerland-based Cruise Division of MSC Group, chose New York for the ceremony to celebrate the brand’s growing commitment to the United States market and upcoming launch of service from the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal.

Rubén Rodríguez, president, MSC Cruises USA, said: “We have ambitious growth plans in the United States and New York City plays a critical role in that expansion.

“We already host a large number of guests from the tri-state area on our ships sailing from Florida and around the world.

“Having the brand new MSC Seascape here this week is our way of celebrating a fantastic future of cruising for New York City.”

MSC Seascape will depart New York on Thursday on route to Miami, where she will offer two different 7-night itineraries for her inaugural season in the Caribbean:

• Eastern Caribbean: Calling at Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve and Nassau in The Bahamas, San Juan in Puerto Rico, and Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic.
• Western Caribbean: Calling at Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, Cozumel in Mexico, George Town in the Cayman Islands and Ocho Rios in Jamaica.

MSC Cruises is the third largest and the fastest growing cruise brand.

Its fleet of 21 modern and highly innovative cruise ships is deployed globally and calls at more than 150 destinations across 70 different countries and five continents.

Each year, MSC Cruises ships welcome over four million guests from more than 170 nationalities.