PHOTO: MSC Cruises ordered two 5,300-passenger "futuristic" ships for delivery in 2017 and 2018. (Courtesy of MSC Cruises)
For a cruise line born with the ill-fated Achille Lauro and rooted in the less-glamorous container shipping industry, MSC Cruises has emerged as a modern-day success story with staggeringly fast growth.
With news on May 22 that it placed an order for two 5,300-passenger, 154,000-ton ships at Italy's Fincantieri shipyard - in addition to two bigger vessels already under construction in France - MSC Cruises is on track to operate a fleet of 16 ships by 2019 and possibly 19 by 2022 if three options are exercised.
The latest order is for two €700 million (about US$950 million) ships of a new "futuristic" class called "Seaside," named for a sea-level promenade that circles the ship with outdoor spaces, shops and restaurants. Delivery is expected in November 2017 and May 2018. The two 167,600-ton, 5,700-passenger ships previously ordered from STX France are scheduled for delivery in 2017 and 2019.
What's more, MSC Cruises in December announced the $273 million Renaissance program to expand the four Lirica-class ships built between 2003 and 2005 - the MSC Lirica, Armonia, Sinfonia and Opera. The 60,000-ton, 2,069-passenger ships will be cut in half so a 350-ton section can be inserted. When complete, the ships will be 65,000 tons in size and have 193 more cabins each, along with a new water park and boutiques. The work is slated for completion in late 2015.
It's all more impressive when you consider that MSC Cruises was born in the late 1980s when owner Gianluigi Aponte, a native of Sorrento, Italy, bought the Achille Lauro - yes, that Achille Lauro, the liner hijacked in 1985 by the Palestine Liberation Front - and operated it as the StarLauro line. In 1994, the ship caught fire and sank.
Aponte didn't abandon the cruise industry, however, but he did change the name of his fledgling company to MSC Cruises, after the highly successful container operation he had founded in 1970, Mediterranean Shipping Company. You've probably seen the name and logo on containers on cargo ships, trains and semi-trucks.
But the Italian cruise line was all but invisible to North Americans until 2003 when it began operating MSC Lirica and, within two years, its three sister ships, all of which had been operated by the failed First European Cruises (also known as Festival Cruises) or were unexercised newbuild options.
It also was in 2003 that Aponte hatched his ambitious €6 billion growth plan, which built the four-ship, 3,000-passenger Musica class, followed by four Fantasia-class vessels, which carry more than 4,000 guests each.
"In 2003, we had about 5,000 berths on somewhat older ships," says Rick Sasso, who heads MSC Cruises' U.S. headquarters. "Now we have 12 ships with almost 39,000 berths. Our position is we are the fastest-growing cruise line in the history of cruising. No one has grown 640 percent in a 10-year span. This growth also gives us the youngest fleet in the industry. Our ships are full, and we're successful. It's an incredible success story that is probably unprecedented."
Americans will undoubtedly become more familiar with MSC Cruises in the next few years. The company based its 2012-built MSC Divina in Miami last November for what was to be its year-round homeport. However, the company has since announced that the Divina will operate in the Mediterranean in summer 2015, although it remains targeted at the North American market.
"We tailored the Divina for North American guests with the language, food, entertainment and activities," Sasso said. "They are all geared to North American tastes, and will stay that way."
But all signs point to more MSC Cruises ships in North America. In the May 22 press release announcing the newbuilds, the company said the ships will sail in "the most sought-after warm weather destinations in the Mediterranean, South America and Caribbean." Caribbean itineraries almost always sail from the U.S. Also, the U.S. headquarters in Fort Lauderdale has doubled its sales force, signaling more capacity to fill in the near future.
"You can connect the dots that there will be more growth here in North America," Sasso said. "We have expanded our office here, so we are setting the groundwork for more expansion here in North America."
Robin M. Farley, a financial analyst with UBS Investment Research, commented on the latest newbuild order, speculating that MSC Cruises will base a ship in the New York area.
"We believe these ships, together with the April 2014 orders by MSC, mark a renewed push into the North American market for MSC that we had flagged earlier this year, after trying a ship year-round in the Caribbean this year for the first time," Farley wrote in a May 23 research note. "We believe one ship could end up in the NYC market, though it would not be for several years."
Farley also took note of the line's aggressive growth. "MSC's new orders are bigger than its most recent (March 2013) 3,500-berth Preziosa," she wrote. "It's unusual for any fleet to add more than one ship per year, so it's notable that now MSC has four deliveries in a three-year period (and options for additional), which is a significant amount of capacity even for larger brands to absorb."
MSC Cruises is able to grow so fast thanks to the deep pockets and global reach of its giant container shipping parent company - it has a fleet of 460 cargo vessels that serves 200 ports on five continents. It is often referred to as the world's second-largest container company, close to rival Maersk.
"We come from a marine environment. We are masters of the sea," Sasso said. "We have 47 specific cruise line offices around the world, while most cruise lines have a dozen and use GSAs or other kinds of support. We have our own independent offices, so our ears are to the ground everywhere."
MSC Cruises remains privately held by the Aponte family, which injects a shot of glamour into its business when their personal friend Sophia Loren serves as godmother at ship christenings; she's handled the honor about 10 times so far.
"We believe she is the icon of Italian style and class, which ultimately brings us very good luck," Sasso said.
The future definitely looks bright for MSC Cruises. It'll be interesting to see what happens next.
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
