MSC Poesia

MSC Poesia is a cruise ship operated by MSC Cruises and the third ship of the Musica class. Delivered in April 2008 by Aker Yards at Saint-Nazaire, France, she measures about 92,600 gross tons and 294 metres, with 1,275 staterooms across 16 decks.

The Musica class established the interior style that MSC carried through the following decade: a three-deck atrium centred on a waterfall, with a crystal-topped grand piano suspended above a shallow pool of water, surrounded by curved staircases and glass lifts. Around it are a two-level main theatre, several specialty restaurants, a casino, a spa and thermal area, and a sports and pool complex on the upper decks.

Poesia was christened in Dover in April 2008, a ceremony that reflected the growing importance of the British market to the line at the time, with Sophia Loren as godmother.

In late 2022 the ship was chartered to serve as floating hotel accommodation in Doha during the FIFA World Cup, moored in the harbour alongside other vessels pressed into the same role, including the far larger MSC World Europa.

Outside that charter she has sailed a broad range of itineraries, including the Mediterranean, Northern Europe, the Caribbean and South America, and remains in service with her three Musica-class sisters.