06/16/09 - Another cruise line unveils plans for bowling alleys on ships

ndustry publication Seatrade Insider today reports MSC plans to follow NCL in adding bowling alleys on cruise ships starting with its next vessel, the MSC Splendida.

Debuting next month in Barcelona, the Splendida will include two ten-pin bowling lanes in its Sports Bar, the publication says. But unlike on NCL, the lanes will be smaller-than-normal "miniature" versions -- scaled down to work in a bar environment, the news outlet adds (NCL's, too, are not quite regulation size but only off by about 12 inches).

Norwegian Cruise Line rolled out the first bowling alleys at sea in 2006 and 2007 on the Norwegian Pearl and Norwegian Gem, respectively, and they have been highly popular. Each of the NCL ships had four bowling lanes, and NCL already has said its next ship, the Norwegian Epic, will have even more.

Seatrade Insider says MSC's bowling lane floors will be made of a tough phenol compound that will allow passengers to bowl without having to change into special bowling shoes as is required on the NCL ships. Bowling balls will be slightly smaller than normal, too.