The lead vessel
Mistral was originally ordered by
Renaissance Cruises in the summer of 1996, but the order was later withdrawn. The yard and bankers together held ownership of the ship through a company called Auxiliaire Maritime. Festival Cruises had an option for two more ships of the enlarged
Mistral design, but the company decided not to use the option. Two more
Mistral class ships were however built for
MSC Cruises as
MSC Lirica and
MSC Opera. When Festival Cruises went bankrupt in early 2004, all the company's ships were laid up and subsequently auctioned to other operators;
European Stars and
European Vision were sold to
MSC Cruises and renamed
MSC Armonia and
MSC Sinfonia respectively, In 2013,
Grand Mistral exited the Ibero Cruises fleet and was transferred to sister brand Costa Cruises as the
Costa neoRiviera. Costa reportedly invested €10 million into transforming the ship to integrate it into its fleet. In 2014, MSC Cruises announced that the four
Lirica-class ships would undergo renovation under the "Renaissance Programme". Each of the vessels was lengthened by in 2015, adding 193 extra cabins.
Costa neoRiviera exited Costa's fleet in 2019 and was transferred to sister brand AIDA Cruises as
AIDAmira. She was sold in 2022 to
Ambassador Cruise Line, which intends operating her as
Ambition from 2023.
Incidents On 2 June 2019,
MSC Opera allided with the quay and struck a river cruise ship moored at the San Basilio Pier in the Giudecca Canal at Venice, Italy. The cause was later found to be technical difficulties with the engines while under tow. She sustained superficial scratches, while the smaller river vessel was more heavily damaged and five people were slightly injured. On 12 March 2021,
MSC Lirica was damaged by a fire amidships, which is believed to have started in a lifeboat; there were no casualties. The area affected (part of the vessel that was added in the 2015 lengthening) was later repaired. ==Ships==