MSC Cruises and Etihad sign feeder flights deal

Posted on 25 June, 2015 by Spacejunkie2

MSC Cruises has signed a deal with Etihad Airways to supply flights from across Europe to feed its winter sailings in the Arabian Gulf.

The Italian line will use the UAE carrier for fly-cruise packages from the UK as well as Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Italy, Spain and Switzerland.

The company is running a series of 16 seven-night cruises on MSC Musica in the region from December 13 featuring Abu Dhabi, Khor al Fakkan, Muscat, Khasab and Dubai.

MSC Cruises has brought more than 100,000 passengers from 115 nationalities to the Emirate between 2011 and 2015.

Abu Dhabi’s overall cruise season last winter attracted a record 200,407 passengers and 94 ship calls.

MSC Cruises chief executive, Gianni Onorato (pictured), said: “Through our partnership and also together with Abu Dhabi Ports Company and Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority we will work to develop Abu Dhabi as an ideal winter cruise destination to further strengthen our offer in the region.”

Etihad Airways president and chief executive, James Hogan, said: “Abu Dhabi is being developed into a leading international cruise destination, with record passenger numbers and ship calls reported during the recent 2014/15 season.

“Future projections are even stronger, as the new Abu Dhabi Cruise Terminal opens at the end of this year, and world-class cultural attractions such as Abu Dhabi’s Louvre and Guggenheim museums enhance the local tourism offering.

“Our partnership with MSC Cruises, as well as Abu Dhabi Ports Company and Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority, for ‘fly and cruise’ will expand source markets for cruises in the UAE and regionally, bringing in more travellers from destinations across Europe.”

MSC Cruises’ return to ex-UK sailings delayed by a year

Posted on 23 June, 2015 by Spacejunkie2

MSC Cruises is unlikely to return to offering a full season of ex-UK sailings until 2018, a year later than the line previously predicted.

Speaking at the steel cutting of new ship MSC Seaside (pictured), Gianni Onorato, chief executive of the line, said the line would be delayed returning to the UK by a year.

Initially there had been hopes that the brand would make a return in 2017, having pulled out this year.

Next year the line is offering a small number of sailings from Southampton, but Onorato said “internal commitments” had meant the operator would not have a ship sailing a full season from the UK until 2018.

He said: “we are going to look more deeply at the North American and UK markets, and then after that we will look at Asia.

“In the UK we want to be the reference cruise line for the Mediterranean, and we’re investing in that. As soon as we have growth in the fleet we will look to have a competitive ship in the UK market.

“I think we will have a one-year delay in coming back to the UK because of other developments internally.”

He said over time he would like MSC to rival domestic cruise lines such as P&O Cruises.

Giles Hawke, executive director for the line who is responsible for the UK market, said it was important for the line to grow and build revenues in the UK if it wants to secure a ship ex-UK.

Onorato also made some announcements about new features onboard MSC Seaside, which will sail year-round from Miami when it launches in 2017.

The ships will offer “super family plus” cabin for groups of up to 10 people, as the line looks to capitalise on the growth of multi generational and group cruises.

It will be “extremely kids-friendly” according to Onorato and will also have a kids-only restaurant. Onorato said MSC was a family company which always had families at heart.

He announced that there would be cluster cabins for groups of up to 10 people, with the super family plus option combining two balcony staterooms and an inside cabin.

MSC Cruises unveils TV ad

Posted on 28 May, 2015 by Spacejunkie2

Photo by Dave Jones

MSC Cruises has launched its first long-term TV branding campaign in the U.S. with an ad titled “In the Summertime.” The commercial will appear on a variety of cable channels.
Click the Image below for the new advert

MSC Advert

The commercial’s music, “In the Summertime,” is a 1970 pop hit rerecorded with MSC’s own lyrics by the original artist, Ray Dorset of Mungo Jerry. “In the Summertime,” which features a washboard introduction, topped the pop charts in 26 countries in the summer of 1970.

“As we plan for MSC Divina to sail year-round from Miami starting in November 2015 and then our next-generation, newbuild, MSC Seaside, to come to Miami in 2017, you’ll see a significant increase in MSC’s marketing efforts,” said Bonnie Levengood, MSC Cruises USA’s senior vice president of marketing.

In June, the company will launch MSC Book, a new booking engine for travel agents that it says will improve the end-user experience and make the booking process as quick and simple as possible.

At the same time, MSC will reveal a revamped travel agent site with a new look and feel, and later this summer it will launch a new consumer website.