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a ship takes shape
Condé Nast Traveler US
|July - August 2025
Few acts of human engineering rival the making of a giant cruise liner. Hannah Towey reports on the construction-and launch-of MSC Cruises' MSC World America
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I'D SET OUT TO WALK from bow to stern across what would soon become the world's eighth-largest cruise ship. Hundreds of men and women in hard hats and harnesses swarmed its 22 decks. Drills whirled; saws buzzed. After 1,094 feet-just over the length of three football fields-I reached the aft, where I entered what MSC Cruises, the company building the ship, calls a promenade, which was lined with restaurants and boutiques. A worker dangled from the ceiling next to a crane. Seeing his tiny form suspended in the air, the sea visible behind him, underscored the immense scale of this hulking vessel.
This story is from the July - August 2025 edition of Condé Nast Traveler US.
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