Harbour Hunt

MSC Cruises

Modern cruise ships are marvels of engineering – less like traditional vessels and more like floating theme parks. This is especially true of MSC World America, one of the first of MSC Cruises’ new World Class ships. Designed with families in mind, it features everything from restaurants and live entertainment to water parks, thrilling rides, and luxurious accommodation – even the Cliffhanger Swing, the world’s first over-water swing soaring high above the sea.

As part of MSC’s commitment to delivering world-class play experiences at sea, PRELOADED was brought on board as a strategic partner to help reimagine the future of play across the fleet.

The first challenge in this exciting collaboration was to design a low-threshold activity for kids, teens, and families within The Harbour – a vibrant, multi-level space in the Family Aventura district, packed with water slides, splash zones, themed attractions, and sky-high rope walks.

Playful exploration

Harbour Hunt is a unique, self-led scavenger hunt experience designed to spark curiosity and encourage exploration of the Family Aventura district. It invites children to uncover hidden clues throughout the environment, ultimately earning their place in the exclusive Discovery Club.

At the heart of the concept is playful wayfinding – helping kids and teens orient themselves within the Harbour through hands-on discovery. Strategically placed throughout the space are visual icons inspired by the theme of Caribbean Fun.

Using a printed clue sheet, guests follow visual prompts to locate these icons – for example, spotting a shark’s head on the sheet that leads them to a snorkel icon at the entrance of the Jaw Drop slide. This familiar, intuitive format requires minimal staff support, while the clear visual language allows for quick and easy validation.

The result is a 15–30 minute adventure that engages kids and families of all ages – making exploration part of the fun from the moment they arrive.

Discovery Club

We knew that for a scavenger hunt to truly resonate, it needed to feel intrinsically rewarding – while also offering extrinsic incentives to drive maximum engagement.

At the end of the adventure, intrepid young explorers were awarded a unique Discovery Club badge and taught the secret club handshake by MSC Cruises’ beloved mascot, Doremi. This gave them something playful to practise – and a fun, social ritual they could use throughout their Kids Club journey.

The result was a huge hit, with children, parents, and crew members all enthusiastically sharing the handshake throughout the voyage.

Visually engaging

Establishing a visual identity for the Harbour Hunt that seamlessly integrated both the Family Aventura district and the broader MSC Cruises brand was a rewarding challenge.

PRELOADED were tasked with creating a bold and engaging visual scheme that brought together the unique, Caribbean-inspired Harbour colour palette, newly developed key iconography, and iconic physical elements – such as the Ocean Cay lighthouse – into a cohesive and easily navigable worksheet layout.

With MSC Cruises’ global, multilingual audience in mind, it was essential that the experience be instantly understandable without relying on heavy text. Clear, intuitive visuals were key to ensuring accessibility and engagement for all.

We also designed the Discovery Club logo for the collectible badges – and had great fun crafting the signature handshake!

A scalable approach

The Harbour Hunt marks a fantastic first step towards a range of scalable experiences – expanding not only across the ship through additional scavenger hunt-style adventures but also to future World-Class ships with new themes and stories to tell.

Initial guest feedback from the first few sailings was overwhelmingly positive, with families embracing the simple, intuitive format that encouraged exploration and discovery within this vibrant new District.

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