There’s only so much daytime TV one can watch………

I’m sure many of you are aware that I’ve been off for 2 weeks on the sick as I’ve had to have a hernia fixed……..not pleasant but had to be done!  I’ll be honest, I never expected it to be as painful and uncomfortable as it is but I’m sooo bored I just have to get back to work before I crack up.  There’s only so much daytime TV one can watch.

I’ve just been catching up on some cruise news to see what I’ve missed and found the following info from MSC regarding their extension of the Armonia.  It amazes me everytime.

MSC have started to upgrade the first of their ‘Lirica’ class ships, MSC Armonia.  This €50 million upgrade has began by cutting the Armonia in 2 !!!

Work has started to insert a new pre-built section into the 60,000gt at the Fincantieri shipyard in Palermo, Sicily. When completed, the cruise ship will be 24 metres longer than before and boast an additional 193 cabins.

4 ships are to be extended, currently called the ‘Lirica’ class which include the Lirica, Armonia, Sinfonia and Opera.  Once complete they will become part of the ‘Renaissance’ class.

If everything goes to plan, the extension should take approx. 9 weeks, with the ship due to sail from the shipyard on the 17^th November.  The new look Armonia is then based in the Canary Islands for the winter period with weekly cruises out of Las Palmas in Gran Canaria.

Sister ship MSC Sinfonia goes in for the same treatment in on January 12 2015, with work starting on MSC Opera and MSC Lirica in May 2015 and August 2015 respectively. The whole ‘Renaissance’ programme should be completed by November 2015.

In addition to the new cabins for passengers and crew, each ship will undergo a host of on-board and technological improvements (shown below). These include the addition of a spray water park for children, extended designer shopping outlets, refitted restaurants and public areas and new storage areas. MSC Armonia and MSC Sinfonia will also benefit from improved bow thruster technology.

• Removal of a lounge at deck 7 and installation of new passenger cabins.
• Conversion of the deck 9 window cabins to balcony cabins.
• Removal of the crew area at deck 7 and creation of new passenger cabins.
• Addition of a new ship section of approximately 24m in length. The new ship section will provide additional open spaces, passenger cabins, public areas and crew cabins.
• Deck 6: new public areas include lounge and library area larger teen area and video games
• Deck 11: four kids’ club areas catering for different age group (0-14 years); larger massage area; refreshed buffet and pizza/grill; new gelateria (ice cream station)
• Deck 12: pool refit with addition of spray water park for children; new canopy over bar area
• Additional cold and refrigerated food storage rooms and extra common areas for crew.
• Additional lifeboats/tenders shall be provided to comply with the new LSA of the vessels, increased by 500 persons, taking the new total to 3,300 persons on board.

An amazing bit of engineering I’m sure you’ll agree.

Take a look at some of our deals with MSC, i’m sure you’ll agree they offer great value for money. Click here.

Well, hopefully now everything for me will be back to normal, doc still thinks a good 6 weeks until i’m 100% but at least I can work.   I’ve certainly got my money’s worth from Netflix……….starting to get addicted was on 3 movies a day!!

Many thanks for those of you who emailed your best wishes, really appreciate it.

As always if there’s anything I can help you with please give me call on 0330 303 8207 or drop me an email to [email protected].