Through the years, MSC Cruises has grown at an astounding pace and solidified a foothold in the North American market.

More recently, the line has gained global attention for successfully operating Mediterranean voyages in the age of the coronavirus – without a single positive case as of press time in late September.

"As a company, we were thrilled to welcome guests back safely onboard and start bringing our fleet back to sea, beginning with our flagship, MSC Grandiosa," said Ken Muskat, chief operating officer of MSC Cruises USA. "Our main goal during these last few months has been to put in place the right measures that will protect the health and safety of our guests, crew and the communities we visit."

He added, "At the same time, we worked hard to ensure that we are still able to provide our guests with the cruise vacation and experience that they have come to know and love, including everything from entertainment and activities onboard through to the ability to explore local destinations, but now through a protected ashore visit. We’ve seen our protocol working effectively from embarkation procedures, life on board, through to disembarkation."

Muskat said guests are following the safety measures – including social distancing and wearing a mask at times – and still enjoying the experience. "We have also provided guests with MSC for ME wristbands to facilitate proximity and contact tracing on board," he said. "Guests are also able to make good use of them for contactless bookings and payments in particular."

Foraging Ahead

With operations resuming, MSC Cruises is moving ahead on several other fronts. When U.S. cruising resumes, the company will introduce a new homeport, Port Canaveral. MSC Seaside will sail from the destination until March 2021 and will then be replaced by MSC Divina through November 2021.

The company also is offering a mix of cruises with MSC Divina, MSC Seaside and MSC Armonia, all of which will sail on three-, four- and seven-night itineraries from Port Canaveral and Port Miami.

Port Miami also will be the homeport for the new MSC Seashore, an evolved version of the Seaside class of ships. The 169,500-ton, 4,540-passenger vessel is scheduled to debut in the Mediterranean in August and move to Miami in November 2021 to sail seven-night Caribbean itineraries.

MSC Cruises is building a new terminal at PortMiami to homeport four ships there. "MSC Cruises is committed to continuing its long-term partnership with PortMiami and work on MSC Cruises Miami Terminal project continues to progress," Muskat said.

Fleet Expansion

Also confirmed are all existing firm orders, he said, including the first two World Class ships powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) as well as a fifth Meraviglia-class ship, which will also run on LNG, for a total of five new ships to be delivered through to 2024.

"We expect all our 17 ships, plus MSC Virtuosa and MSC Seashore, which are currently under construction at European shipyards, to be back in service and ready to welcome guests during the summer 2021 season," Muskat said.

The 181,541-ton, 6,334-passenger MSC Virtuosa is scheduled to enter service in May.

New Private Island

Another milestone for MSC Cruises was the opening of its own private island in The Bahamas – Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve – in December 2019. Ships can dock there, which makes it easy to get on and off the vessels.

"Future guests will have their choice of four ships, each with a distinct personality, sailing to Ocean Cay from both Port Miami and Port Canaveral – MSC Meraviglia, MSC Armonia, MSC Seaside and MSC Divina — with options of three-, four- and seven-night cruise itineraries," Muskat said.

"Private island destinations will be popular as cruising resumes, since it is an environment that we can control, and our comprehensive health and safety measures onboard our ships will extend onto the island," he said. "Guests will have plenty of room to spread out with 95 acres and more than two miles of white-sand beaches spread across eight distinct beach areas."

Working Hand-in-Hand with Travel Advisors

As MSC Cruises has grown into a major force in the North American market, it has consistently relied on travel advisors – a partnership that has become especially important during the pandemic.

"We have been committed to working hand-in-hand with our partners throughout this entire situation. That is why we have protected commissions from the beginning, on the original bookings as well as providing full commissions on the rescheduled cruises advisors book for any sailings canceled," said Michelle Lardizabal, commercial sales officer of MSC Cruises USA. "Trusted advisors are key to propelling the industry forward, and their guidance, advice and insight is vital to clients who are wary, but also eager to get back to traveling."

Lardizabal encourages agents to keep in touch with their clients. "While in this temporary pause, travel advisors shouldn’t wait for sailings to resume from the U.S. to rebuild their business and begin booking their clients on future cruises," she said. "Now is the time to reach out to let clients know that their trusted advisors are here whenever they are ready to book. Advisors can gather insight to understand their clients’ comfort level when they are looking to begin traveling again, how far, and what kind of cruise they are looking to take."

And what kind of traveler would like an MSC cruise?

"The right guest for MSC Cruises is someone who enjoys exploring, trying new things and discovering hidden gems," she said. "Travel advisors may want to look to clients who appreciate an internationally inspired experience, glamorous design, cuisine from around the world and world-class entertainment filled with music and dance."

MSC Cruises introduced Total CruiseFlex, which enables guests to move their booked cruise to any ship and any sail date up to 48 hours before their cruise. This program applies to any new bookings made between Aug. 5 and Dec. 31, 2020, on any sailing departing between Nov. 1, 2020, and Dec. 31, 2021.