Sally Macmillan (editor, Cruise Passenger magazine) and I were on hand at a function held by MSC Cruises this week celebrating the holiday season, their 40th year in business and the float-out ceremony of their latest luxury cruise ship, MSC Divina.  MSC named this ship after the fleet’s godmother, Sophia Loren, whom I had the pleasure of meeting at the launching of MSC Poesia.

After learning about many of the exciting new features on board Divina, Lynne Clarke, managing director of MSC Cruises Australia, went on to talk about the changing demographics of their cruise customers. The shipboard age is dropping, with 53 years now being the average. This is perhaps due to more family-friendly ships being launched.

Thirteen of the new ship’s 18 decks will be named after the gods and goddesses of ancient Greece.  Zeus, the king of gods and ruler of Mt Olympus, will also have a deck named after him along with Uranus, god of the heavens.

Furthermore, MSC Divina’s expansive 1,603-seat theatre will be named the Pantheon, aptly meaning “to honour all gods”.