MSC Bellissima
MSC Bellissima is the second Meraviglia Plus-class ship — delivered in 2019, with an AI-enabled assistant and a focus on the Asian market
MSC Bellissima (2019) is the second Meraviglia Plus-class ship, at 167,600 gross tons carrying up to 4,888 guests at double occupancy. Her delivery came just months after class lead Grandiosa in the same year. Bellissima was launched with a particular focus on the Asian cruise market — her naming ceremony took place in Southampton with international guests — and she has operated significant deployments in the Far East alongside Mediterranean seasons. The ship introduced ZORA, MSC's AI-enabled virtual assistant, across the ship's interactive platform.
The Meraviglia Plus class on Bellissima carries the same LED promenade, Carousel Lounge, and stern infinity pool as Grandiosa. The interior décor departs somewhat from the Mediterranean-classical aesthetic of the class lead, drawing on a broader international reference set reflecting MSC's ambitions in the Asian market. The ship was designed for multi-cultural guest demographics from the outset, with multilingual service and an onboard product adjusted for both European and Asian preferences.
ZORA, introduced on Bellissima, is MSC's chatbot-based assistant accessible through smart devices and kiosks throughout the ship. The system handles service requests, restaurant reservations, activity bookings, and informational queries. The practical use is mainly queue-reduction: guests can book specialty dining, spa appointments, and excursions through the ZORA interface rather than visiting the relevant desks in person. The AI component is pattern-matching and scripted rather than generative; ZORA works well for straightforward requests and less well for unusual or complex ones.
Bellissima's Asian deployments have included home ports in Shanghai, Osaka, and Singapore at different points in her sailing history. The Asian cruise market, particularly the Chinese market, contracted sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic period and has been recovering at an uneven pace. MSC has maintained Bellissima in the rotation for Asian deployment when commercial conditions support it; the ship's multilingual programming and culturally-adapted food and beverage offer are designed for that market in a way that general fleet ships are not.
For Mediterranean deployments, Bellissima operates on the Western and Eastern circuits from Genoa and occasionally from Piraeus. The ship's passenger capacity and the MSC Yacht Club private section are comparable to Grandiosa; guests who have sailed one will find the other operationally familiar with the décor differences providing the main differentiation.