I examined out the sector’s first cruise send swing – however it isn’t the one theme park trip in this unbelievable record-breaking vessel

Pirates would possibly as soon as had been pressured to stroll the plank, however I’m being robotically swung proper off the highest deck. 

Luckily, this postbox-red trip on the most recent mega cruise send additionally delivers me again once more – as soon as my abdomen stops flipping like a cavorting dolphin.

Cliffhanger is the most recent high-tech toy to enroll in the MSC Cruises fleet, aboard the freshly-minted MSC World America. 

It’s the one over-water swing trip at sea and launches passengers 50m above the open ocean – however up to now I’ve been satisfied it is a gimmick designed to entice influencers and restock Ariel’s mermaid grotto with stray sneakers.

When onboard for the send’s naming rite voyage from Miami, I rush to the ‘journey district’ to check out Cliffhanger out for myself, nevertheless it briefly proves no mere playground jolly. 

Securing riders with just a T-Bar, the outsized swing beneficial properties momentum and I’m quickly hurled many times overboard like shaken-out laundry. 

Toothpaste-blue strips of Caribbean Sea swell up earlier than me with every exhilarating surge over the send’s edge. 

‘I’m flying, Jack!’ I just about cry as my adrenaline fizzes – now this can be a king-of-the-world view.

Harriet rides Cliffhanger, the one over-water swing trip at sea, which launches passengers 50m above the open ocean

Attracting adolescence is the function of maximum cruise traces now, and this new 6,762-capacity send gives lots for more youthful visitors

Swayed (actually), I concede: Cliffhanger is a brag-worthy method to soak up the ocean air, supplied you do not worry heights. 

OK, it isn’t wholly unique – the foundation was once a identical appeal atop Amsterdam’s A’DAM Tower – however this can be a crimson (mild) zone excessive I will be able to legally counsel.

The large purple seat is not the one novelty for MSC Cruises in 2025: in April MSC World America welcomed American actress Drew Barrymore as godmother, regardless of Italian famous person Sophia Loren enjoying main woman to almost 20 earlier ships.

Why? Well, if the USA flag fluttering at the LED ceiling did not give it away, this floating resort is a part of the logo’s newest force to make MSC Cruises a family title in the USA. 

After all, that is the place the cash is; the States is the biggest and maximum influential cruise marketplace globally, with 19 million Americans predicted to take ocean cruises in 2025.

World America then, objectives to serve up each European taste and American convenience because it plies the Caribbean; and so the brand new sports activities bar, adults-only comedy membership, ‘Dirty Dancing in Concert’ theatre display, native beers and transatlantic meals – all set to trap the Yanks.

As for home-grown Californian Barrymore: ‘She’s were given loads of power [and] enthusiasm; I feel that is precisely what we’d like now,’ grins Antonio Paradiso, MSC’s VP of International Sales. 

I think the phrase he is on the lookout for is younger(er): Loren is 90, Barrymore, a spry 50.

in April, MSC World America welcomed American actress Drew Barrymore as godmother (pictured)

The send has a shuffleboard space onboard (pictured)

There are a variety of eateries onboard, from a brand new Santorini-vibes Greek eating place and an Eataly, to brunch, tacos and late-night pizza, plus top of the range espresso

This verve was once evidenced on the christening rite when relatable, ever-perky Barrymore excitedly bopped alongside to the leisure, offered a wide-mouthed hype face as she stepped on level, and squealed: ‘This is so cool!’ forward of the bottle damage. 

Meanwhile, doddery Loren – who needed to be guided through two males on the remaining MSC christening in 2023 – is somebody more moderen generations slightly recognise.

MSC’s shift is hardly ever unexpected. 

Attracting adolescence is the function of maximum cruise traces now, and Paradiso is keen to percentage that the typical age of an MSC cruiser is now 42 – in reality moderately spectacular given the business reasonable is 55. 

So, but even so a godmother whose heyday post-dated color TV and a Thorpe Park-worthy swing, what else does this new 6,762-capacity send be offering more youthful visitors?

For this millennial cruiser it is the vary of eateries (from a brand new Santorini-vibes Greek eating place and an Eataly, to brunch, tacos and late-night pizza) plus top of the range espresso. 

It’s the gargantuan gleaming fitness center with Pilates, HIIT categories and extra. 

It’s the massive spa with a snazzy snow room and a system that burns 600 energy through supping in your sweat, no injections required. 

It’s versatile, releasing and all simply… proper there.

The deluxe cabin room that Harriet stayed in onboard the send

The send includes a gargantuan gleaming fitness center with Pilates, HIIT categories and extra, in addition to an enormous spa

The spa even has a snazzy snow room (pictured) and a system that burns 600 energy through supping in your sweat, no injections required

The send was once even a part of a Guinness World Record, as MSC Cruises celebrated the vessel’s release through assembling the longest line of Lego ships alongside the World America’s decks – 1,391, to be actual. 

After darkish, the send’s multipurpose venue transforms right into a right kind party-pumping nightclub (a rarity at sea). 

‘Après’ whisks you to a European ski season with snow machines and Euro pop, whilst ‘Miami Nights’ is all Latin track and sultry salsa – and you will not want an overpriced Uber domestic.

Daytime kicks come by the use of myriad swimming pools – adult-only, botanical, scorching and bubbly – and water slides. 

I to find the vertical drop an infinitely scarier proposition than Cliffhanger: tanding at the trapdoor, palms crossed like a deceased Pharaoh, I concentrate to the ominous countdown. 

The floor all at once falls away underneath me and I plummet, handing my panicked corporal envelope over to gravity earlier than water and plastic upward thrust to fulfill it, and I swoosh southwards, my center thumping like a Tribal House beat.

It’s a identical (tall) story over at Jaw Drop, one of the most longest dry slides at sea. 

The spiralling behemoth corkscrews throughout the heart of the send’s open-air prom, affording a rapid trip down 11 decks and handing over you prefer a flushed Royal Mail parcel underneath, blinking within the daylight earlier than the al fresco aft’s huge rectangle of blue sea and sky, MSC’s very personal Rothko.

The send may be domestic to Jaw Drop, one of the most longest dry slides at sea (pictured). The spiralling behemoth corkscrews throughout the heart of the send’s open-air prom, affording a rapid trip down 11 decks

I’m granted extra theme park power in this send in 24 hours than I’ve for weeks

I’m granted extra theme park power in this send in 24 hours than I’ve for weeks, so it is little marvel an afternoon at MSC’s non-public Bahamian island, Ocean Cay – the place there’s little to do however flow within the lagoon, sunbathe on honeycomb sands and swim in transparent waters – is this sort of welcome reduction. 

All ex-Miami sailings forestall right here and it is the final seaside day. 

With 0 vacation FOMO – no sightseeing, no historical past to swot up on, no native gemstones – you’ll simply…transfer off.

So sure, MSC has created an revel in that makes more youthful travellers wish to e book; and whilst older, conventional cruisers have not been given the heave-ho simply but (there are nonetheless buffets, tribute bands, out there shore tours), I will be able to’t assist however really feel this send could be wasted on them.

Those swingers so stereotypically related to cruising, even though? Send them to Cliffhanger, they are going to are compatible proper in.