Surprise new ship for MSC

Normally we get loads of notice of a new ship. There's loads of hype, loads of teasers for details onboard and most of all a huge fanfare.
And then sometimes you just get a small notification email from the cruise line........


The press release I received from MSC this morning read:

"MSC have just finalised the negotiations of a new ship, the MSC Preziosa, which will be launching in March/April 2013. The official MSC press release reads:
MSC Cruises continues its rapid expansion with the announcement that the company has finalised negotiations with STX France and signed a contract to take over a 140,000 ton cruise ship following the termination of the agreement with the original owner.

The new ship is named MSC Preziosa and will become the 13^th addition to the MSC Cruises’ fleet, as well as the precious fourth ship in the series of fantasia-class ships, which include MSC Fantasia, MSC Splendida and the long-awaited MSC Divina. MSC Preziosa is in fact the sister ship of MSC Divina, who is currently having her final touches applied in the STX ship yard in St Nazaire, France, before her christening in May 2012.

The new ship represents an investment of 550 million euros and will be delivered at the end of March 2013. Negotiations with STX France have lasted over nine months; a significant but understandable period of time considering the importance of the investment and the unexpected nature of the takeover,” said Mr Pierfrancesco Vago, CEO MSC Cruises. “When MSC Preziosa is delivered we will have four ships of every class, giving us a total capacity of over 40,000 berths and the strength to sail in all seas. MSC Preziosa herself will sail the Mediterranean, exploring the beauty of Greek Islands, which represents the highlight of European cruising.”

Call me cynical if you want but I've been expecting something like this for a few weeks now. MSC are the second largest cruise line in Italy after Costa cruises and after everything that's happened with the Concordia and then more recently the Allegra the big wigs in their head office have obviously seen a chance to slip into first place.
What do you think? If you were to do an Italian cruise would you prefer MSC to Costa cruise?
Or am I just being cynical and this is just a big coincidence?

Happy Cruising


PS Are there any ship geeks out there that want to see some statistics?

MSC Preziosa
1751 cabins of which
69 will be exclusive yacht club cabins.
26 lifts
18 decks, (14 of them passenger decks)
Choice of 4 main restaurants
2 speciality restaurants
21 bars
1 casino
4 swimming pools
12 whirlpools
1 bowling alley
1 sports area with playing fields
1 fitness area, (so a gym I'm guessing then?)
Plus kids/clubs/areas
333 metres long
38 meters wide