MSC Cruises has announced that cabins for the inaugural summer 2017 cruises of MSC Meraviglia, its first next generation of ship, are now on sale.

Sales of cruises on Meraviglia will initially be open exclusively to MSC Club members, with the ship going on general sale on July 5.

Due to be delivered in May 2017, it will spend its first summer sailing the western Mediterranean and will be the first to have three homeports: Genoa, Marseille and Barcelona.

On board, guests will be able to access facilities via the latest Near Field Communication technology. By using NFC wristbands, cruise cards or their smartphone, guests will be able to make payments, book spa treatments and speciality restaurants, access their cabin and safe, and even geo-locate their children.

The sales announcement came as the cruise line started the building of its new ‘Seaside-class’ ship MSC Seaside, which was marked with an official steel-cutting ceremony at Fincantieri’s shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy.

The ship is set to debut in November 2017, and will be christened the following month in Miami – the first time an MSC Cruises’ ship is christened in the USA.

In addition, MSC Cruises’ Miami-based cruise operations – with the addition of MSC Divina in Autumn 2015 – will have a renovated dedicated berth and terminal at PortMiami.