Tag Archives: MSC Cruises

MSC Cruises to increase shore excursion commission

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By Hollie-Rae Merrick s
MSC Cruises to increase shore excursion commissionMSC Cruises is increasing commission on shore excursions to a minimum of 10% to encourage agents to book tours directly, instead of using third-party suppliers.

The line currently offers 5% commission on excursions, but within the next month – when MSC unveils its new booking platform – the line will begin a six-month pilot to test whether shore excursion booking volumes increase with a rise in commission.

Agents will earn the same amount of commission on cruise bookings and excursions. The base commission rate is 10%, so agents on that rate will earn the same on excursions.

The line made the announcement at an event in London this evening where it also unveiled its new bookings system for agents, MSC Book.

Executive director Giles Hawke (pictured) said agents were booking through third-party companies such as Attraction World and Cruisingexcursions.co.uk because they could earn more. But he argued that increasing commission would give agents the chance to make more money with MSC.

“This is a way of agents earning more money and we want to see if an increased amount makes a difference – if it does, then we will keep it going.”

Hawke said the new commission structure had been the result of agent feedback.

“There are companies who are just selling excursions and the fact we pay some commission recognises the importance of agents. They are proactively selling the products of these cruise excursion companies and if it is because they can earn money, then we’ll give them the opportunity to earn more so they can sell our cruise excursions.”

MSC also announced it was planning to double its UK sales team to 10 by January, as well as having a further team of 20 on the road promoting the line to agents.

The line is working with former Barrhead Travel director Trevor Davis and his marketing and support company 3For, which is creating a 20-strong field team of ‘MSC Ambassadors’ to train agents nationwide three or four times a year.

The new sales team and the increased commission on shore excursion, together with better account management and a consistent message on deals and pricing, are part of MSC’s ‘Serving You’ campaign, which aims to ensure agents can easily access all they need to book.

Hawke said plans were in place to help the line achieve 200,000 passengers from the UK by 2017 when he expects a ship to return to offer ex-UK sailings. He added that if agents show their support earlier there is a chance they a ship could return a year earlier.

Cruise Giant Increases Megaship Order

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By Michelle Howard
File MSC Preziosa (Courtesy MSC Cruises)
MSC Preziosa (Courtesy MSC Cruises)

MSC Cruises has moved to increase its order of megaships from Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri to two ships, with an option for third. At a cost of AUD $3.2 billion, this investment signifies a confidence that the cruise holiday industry will only continue to strengthen.
The Italian-Swiss shipping company currently operates 12 cruise liners, running numerous different sea routes simultaneously. The two new ships, currently nicknamed Project Seaside I and Project Seaside II, from Fincantieri are larger in terms of gross tonnage than any of the company’s current liners.
Alongside these recent purchases, MSC Cruises also has two even larger ships in production by STX Europe at the moment.
MSC Cruises chief executive officer Gianni Ornato said that the orders fitted into MSC’s fleet development plan: “Today, MSC Cruises adds the last piece to its new industrial plan that will allow us to double the capacity of our fleet by 2022,” he enthused. “With the arrival of the new ships we will reach a capacity of about 80,000 passengers a day.”
Cruise1st reports that Project Seaside I and II are scheduled to make their maiden voyages in November 2017 and May 2018 respectively. Like all MSC liners, the two megaships will sail under the Panama flag.
ImageBoth of the ships will utilise cutting edge design, architecture and technology, affording the ship unusually large amounts of deck space for the passengers to enjoy. Additionally, a unique sea-level promenade will be incorporated, utilising cantilever technology and featuring a large theatre, terraced balcony and panoramic views from an external passenger lift to the upper deck.
UK and Ireland Managing Director, Giles Hawke, explained: “The idea is to bring passengers closer to sea level so they feel as if they are at the beach.”
Other technologically advanced features include glass deflectors and tunnel technology that will give diners indoors the experience of dining al fresco. This has been implemented to take advantage of the warm weather routes that are being targeted by MSC for the two new liners.
Weighing in at 154,000 tonnes each, the 323 metre-long ships will be able to cater for up to 5,300 passengers in 2,070 cabins. The two ships represent a giant leap forward for MSC Cruises in terms of project size and technological ambition.
MSC Cruises executive chairman Pierfranscesco Vago said, “From the moment we started talking with Fincantieri, we had in mind to design and build two completely new ships, revolutionary in their structure, unlike anything that exists on the market today.”
“Seaside is a futuristic prototype because of its structure, shape and versatility. We are getting ready for the new and compelling challenge that the construction of these ships represents. It will be a real revolution in the world’s cruise market, an excellent product for its unique and innovative architectural features and cutting-edge technology.”

Carnival Corp. CEO: Competitors’ newbuilds may hurt pricing

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By Tom Stieghorst
MSC Cruises’ order book of four big new ships is an example of a trend that could spell trouble for an industry struggling to raise prices, Carnival Corp. CEO Arnold Donald said.

“We’ll have to see how it all plays out,” Donald said in a recent teleconference with reporters. “In an ideal world, you wish it wasn’t happening.”

Arnold DonaldDonald was not singling out MSC’s expansion for criticism, but he happened to be making his comments on the day the line ordered two 4,170-passenger ships. That came on the heels of an order for two 4,500-passenger ships, part of a plan to double MSC’s capacity by 2022.

Asked how prices can rise if Carnival Corp. restrains its own brands’ capacity growth while other lines don’t, Donald said he was confident that Carnival’s strategy was sound. It includes incremental growth in onboard revenue and ticket prices spread over 78 million passenger days, coupled with shrinking expenses by employing best practices culled from its 10 brands.

But, he said, if any competitor resorts to “super-aggressive pricing” to fill its ships, “then it can become a problem for the industry.”

Donald said travelers come to view the industry’s lowest prices as a gauge of how much they should pay for any cruise.

“People say, ‘I’m not going to go on that ship, but cruises only cost this much, and I don’t want to pay more than that because I don’t want to get ripped off.'”

On the other hand, he said, the upside of new capacity is more attention being paid to cruise products.

“It just allows them the opportunity to put cruise front and center, to help all of us close on [those] new to cruise,” he said.

MSC Cruises USA President Rick Sasso said that the real pricing stress this year has been in the Caribbean and that MSC wasn’t the initiator of the fare discounting there.

“It should not be a surprise to anybody that we’ve been successful and we’re going to continue to invest in our brand,” he said.