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Wowza! This new New York-based cruise ship is bigger than the city's biggest hotel

April 21, 2023
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5 min read
MSC Meraviglia
Wowza! This new New York-based cruise ship is bigger than the city's biggest hotel
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What's the biggest hotel in New York City?

If you guessed the famously massive New York Marriott Marquis near Times Square, with its 1,971 rooms, you would have been right ... on Wednesday.

But as of Thursday, there's a new giant in town, albeit one that you won't be able to access every day. It'll be coming and going.

It's the MSC Meraviglia, the first cruise ship from fast-growing MSC Cruises to be based in in the Big Apple. One of the biggest cruise ships in the world, it has a whopping 2,224 rooms — edging out the New York Marriott Marquis' room count by a comfortable margin.

We know MSC Meraviglia is not a "hotel" in the strictest definition. But cruise ships essentially are just hotels that float. When MSC Meraviglia is docked at its new home base in New York City, something that will happen every few days year-round, it'll be hard to argue it's not the biggest lodging establishment in the Five Boroughs.

Eighteen decks high and more than 1,000 feet long, MSC Meraviglia can hold about 5,700 passengers with every berth filled, and it sails with 1,500-plus crew members.That means that, on any given day, it could have more than 7,000 people on board.

The arrival of MSC Meraviglia in New York City marks a significant milestone for MSC Cruises, a Europe-based brand that, until now, has only offered sailings in North America out of the Port of Miami and Port Canaveral. MSC Meraviglia has been based out of Port Canaveral until now.

The arrival comes as the battle for cruisers in the New York area heats up, with rival lines such as Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line deploying some of the newest and biggest ships to the market.

Related: New Norwegian Prima to sail from New York, Texas and Florida

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MSC Meraviglia will depart Saturday on its first sailing from New York — a seven-night voyage to Florida and the Bahamas. It'll then run a year-round schedule of six- to 11-night voyages to the Caribbean, Bermuda, New England and Canada.

When it's in New York, the ship will dock at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, which is in the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn.

The new MSC Cruises sailings out of New York will include:

  • Seven- and eight-night voyages to the Bahamian port of Nassau and Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, the line's private island in the Bahamas.
  • Six-night trips to Bermuda that feature three days docked at King’s Wharf.
  • Ten and 11-night sailings to New England and Canada that bring calls at Boston; Portland, Maine; Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island; Halifax and Sydney, Nova Scotia; and Saint John, New Brunswick. The 11-night itinerary also includes a stop at Newport, Rhode Island.

MSC Cruises is joining Royal Caribbean and Norwegian in basing ships in the New York area year-round for sailings to the above regions. Other lines that sail regularly out of New York-area ports on a seasonal basis include Carnival Cruise Line, Disney Cruise Line and Celebrity Cruises. Cunard Line also has a major presence in New York City with regular transatlantic sailings from New York to the United Kingdom.

MSC Cruises has been rapidly building its footprint in North America in an effort to woo more Americans. In 2017, MSC Cruises only had a single vessel based in North America. It now has two vessels based in Miami, one based in Port Canaveral and one based in New York.

All of the North America-based ships are marketed heavily to Americans.

Founded in 1989 in Naples, Italy, and now based in Switzerland, MSC Cruises in recent years has been building big, resort-like vessels that compete with the biggest ships from the likes of Royal Caribbean and Norwegian. It currently operates seven of the 20 biggest cruise ships in the world.

The line is also in the midst of building the largest cruise terminal in North America, at PortMiami. It'll be able to accommodate three of the line’s largest ships at once.

Note that MSC Meraviglia isn't the first cruise ship with more rooms than the New York Marriott Marquis to dock in New York City. On days when Norwegian's Norwegian Epic is in town, for instance — something that will happen just once this year — it surpasses the New York Marriott Marquis in size. Norwegian Epic has about 2,100 rooms.

In addition, MSC Meraviglia will be eclipsed in size among cruise ships sailing out of the New York area on May 7 when Royal Caribbean's giant Oasis of the Seas returns to the city for a short-term series of sailings through October. The giant ship, which has more than 2,700 rooms, began sailing seasonally out of New York in 2021.

Planning a cruise? Start with these stories:

Featured image by MSC CRUISES
Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.

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  • Solid welcome bonus

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  • Some may have trouble using Uber and other dining credits
  • You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
  • Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
  • Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
  • Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
  • Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com.
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  • $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an American Express Card for your transaction. That’s up to $120 Uber Cash annually. Plus, after using your Uber Cash, use your Card to earn 4X Membership Rewards® points for Uber Eats purchases made with restaurants or U.S. supermarkets. Point caps and terms apply.
  • $84 Dunkin' Credit: With the $84 Dunkin' Credit, you can earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you enroll and pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin' locations. Enrollment is required to receive this benefit.
  • $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
  • $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings, sweet or savory, with the $120 Dining Credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
  • Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property.
  • No Foreign Transaction Fees.
  • Annual Fee is $325.
  • Terms Apply.