Tag Archives: MSC Seaside

MSC Cruises Anticipates American and Chinese Expansions

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MSC Cruises Anticipates American and Chinese Expansions
MSC Seaside, soon to home port in Miami; Florida

For a company like MSC Cruises with eleven new ships set to come online between 2017 and 2026 – contributing to a total $10.2 billion growth investment – it’s important to establish the firmest foundation possible in which to deploy in new markets, and both North America and China are still relatively new to the European line.

MSC Cruises has dedicated the MSC Divina to sailings roundtrip from Miami, Florida, but the line has vacillated on its year-round commitment – establishing it in 2013, leaving it temporarily and then returning again in 2015.

As it is, the Divina was an existing ship that was retrofitted for the U.S. market, and its success was questionable at the start. Initially, service and dining were particularly not up to standards, but the ship has much improved since then, making the Divina a wonderful Mediterranean experience in the Caribbean.

Now, the line is anticipating the launch of its MSC Seaside (rendered above) which, come December 2017, will be the line’s first ship to be exclusively based in the States from the very start, and with the ship’s launch will also coincide the opening of the line’s new Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve in the Bahamas.

With the island destination alone costing $200 million, there is a lot at stake for MSC Cruises in the Caribbean next year.

READ MORE: MSC Cruises Appoints President, Chairman to Lead North American Growth 

So, the line is making a fresh start with its North American leadership team. It is bolstering it up by effectively putting two in the driver’s seat: 12-year-veteran Rick Sasso becomes Chairman of MSC North America, and executive Roberto Fusaro takes the role of President of MSC North America after his success in South America on behalf of the cruise line.

“With the ultra-modern and beautiful MSC Divina home-porting in Miami, the revolutionary MSC Seaside to be christened in Miami in December 2017 and to also home-port there, as well as the development of Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve – the most exciting new private destination ever built by a cruise line – it is clear that MSC Cruises is committed to the North American market,” said Fusaro.

“I am honored to have the opportunity to take on this new challenge and excited to work with Rick and the rest of the North American team as we look to further grow our business in the region and deliver a unique vacation experience to guests on board one of the most modern and elegant fleets at sea.”

 Similarly in China, MSC Cruises has meanwhile opened up an office for the line in Shanghai, where its MSC Lirica has been recently deployed, and appointed Helen Huang as President of MSC Greater China. She comes to MSC after regional endeavors with Costa Asia and Costa China. As more and more cruise lines enter Asian markets, competition rapidly grows, and MSC Cruises’ new developments in China show that the company means business.

“I look forward to a new journey to contribute to making MSC Cruises – in the footsteps of what the company has already accomplished in China – the most attractive brand to Chinese vacationers,” added Huang.

MSC Cruises to open private island in Persian Gulf

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T0606SIRBANIYAS1_HR.jpg
MSC plans to open Sir Bani Yas Island Beach Oasis in December.

Rick Sasso, president of MSC Cruises USA, said a new private island that MSC plans to open in December off the coast of Abu Dhabi is a sign of the company’s global reach.

The island, called Sir Bani Yas Island Beach Oasis, includes about 1.5 miles of beachfront on a barrier island. It will offer horseback riding, water sports, and a dhow tour around the island, among other attractions. “It’s not just a beach with cabanas,” Sasso said.

A bridge from the beach oasis to the main island of Sir Bani Yas will provide access to a nature reserve with dozens of indigenous species. “It will be a huge attraction because it’s unique to the region,” Sasso said.

“We’re thinking very globally now,” said Sasso, noting that MSC has a “pause” between ship deliveries that has allowed it to focus on some off-ship projects.

A bridge from the beach oasis to the main island of Sir Bani Yas will provide access to a nature reserve with dozens of indigenous species.

A bridge from the beach oasis to the main island of Sir Bani Yas will provide access to a nature reserve with dozens of indigenous species.

MSC has 11 ships on order. The next to be delivered is MSC Maraviglia, due a year from now.

“We’ve got to start putting in some stronger anchors beyond the Mediterranean,” Sasso said. “South America was one of those, for the past 10 years. China has opened up as of two months ago. And North America is now getting a swarm of attention with the Divina here year-round and the Seaside coming.”

Sir Bani Yas is the second private island announced by MSC in recent months. It previously disclosed plans for a large private island with extensive facilities in Bimini for use by its ships deployed in the Caribbean.

The island off the southwest coast of Abu Dhabi will initially host passengers from the MSC Fantasia. MSC has been working with the Abu Dhabi Port Authority for about two years to bring the project to fruition.

Latest ship launches illustrate a shift to Europe

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Harmony of the Seas

It seems like U.S. agents are having to wait longer to see brand-new ships, or to send their clients on them, unless they want to fly to Europe.

Nearly all the ships coming out of European shipyards this year will be dedicated in Europe and spend the summer and fall sailing there.

The exception is the Seabourn Encore, which will be even farther away, in Singapore, when it is christened next January.

Once the primary window for ships to be delivered was in the fall, when they could be pressed into service in the Caribbean. That was the case in November when the Norwegian Escape was christened by Pitbull and began a series of cruises from Miami.

But while the Carnival Vista, the Koningsdam and the Harmony of the Seas will all arrive in South Florida in November, and will have occasions for travel agents to tour them or sail on them, they will be six months into their service by the time that happens.

I don’t know when the shift began. Clearly the larger cruise lines have enough ships in their fleets that leaving newbuilds in Europe for the summer doesn’t disrupt their plans for North America.

That may be different from the past, when every ship counted in the strategy to beat the competition.

And it may be good luck that Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean International and Holland America Line have some of their most attractive ships in Europe at a time when that region needs a boost.

Ironically, the next big ship introduction scheduled for North America comes in November 2017 when a European-based cruise line, MSC Cruises, debuts its MSC Seaside in Miami.