MSC Cruises is a Swiss-Italian global cruise line based in Geneva, with operations offices in Naples, Genoa and Venice. It was founded in 1988 in Naples, Italy, as part of the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC). In addition to being the world's largest privately held cruise company, employing about 23,500 people worldwide and with offices in 45 countries, MSC Cruises is the third-largest cruise company in the world, after Carnival Corporation & plc and Royal Caribbean Group, with a 10.2% share of all passengers carried in 2021.

History

StarLauro Cruises

In 1988 Gianluigi Aponte, founder of Mediterranean Shipping Company cargo shipping company, decided to enter the cruise industry and purchased the Achille Lauro from Flotta Lauro Line. He retained "Lauro" in the company name in honour of his mentor, naming the new cruise line StarLauro Cruises. The original Lauro Lines was originally founded in Naples, Italy by Achille Lauro in the 1940s. In 1990 Mediterranean Shipping Co. purchased the Monterey to sail for their StarLauro Cruises brand. The ship would retain her original name that she had since sailing with Matson Lines. Both the Monterey and Archille Lauro would sail under the StarLauro Cruises banner into the early 1990s. In November 1994 the Archille Lauro caught fire off the coast of Somalia while en route to South Africa, with 979 passengers and crew aboard, and loss of life of 2 during the evacuation. StarLauro line would go on to acquire the Enrico C from Costa Cruises, renaming the ship Symphony, and the former Cunard Princess, renaming the ship Rhapsody to the fleet.

MSC Cruises

In 1995, StarLauro Cruises was rebranded as MSC Cruises, with the livery changed from the blue funnel star logo to a white funnel with the MSC Logo. In 1997 MSC purchased the Atlantic from Premier Cruise Lines, and renamed the ship Melody.In the early 2000s, MSC initiated a rapid expansion program, and placed its first new build orders with Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard, for 65,000-ton ships. Based on a similar design to the French yard's platform for Festival Cruises, the two-ship order would start the aggressive expansion of the cruise line. The lines first new build, the MSC Lirica, would debut in 2003. The Lirica also became the first MSC ship to be christened by Sophia Loren, a tradition that has continued for all but one of the company’s new-builds. The Liraca would be followed by sister ship MSC Opera in 2004. In 2004, MSC Cruises would acquire the fairly newly built European Vision and European Stars from the bankrupt Festival Cruises, renaming the ships MSC Armonia and MSC Sinfonia. In 2006 the first of the four Muscia Class would debut, also build at STX France. The MSC Musica, would be followed by the MSC Orchestra, MSC Poesia, and the final slightly modified MSC Magnifica in 2010. In 2015, MSC Cruises announced that the four Mistral class ships underwent renovation under the "Renaissance Programme". In July 2018, the company announced that it would build a second cruise terminal at PortMiami for its World-class cruise ships as an expansion of its North American program. It is scheduled to be completed in October 2022. In October 2018, MSC announced an order for four luxury ships of 64,000 gross tons each. These ultra-luxury vessels were to be based on the cruise line's luxury concept, the "MSC Yacht Club." In January 2019, MSC Cruises unveiled the world's first virtual personal cruise assistant — ZOE, an artificial intelligence device designed by Harman International. It is currently featured on MSC Bellissima and MSC Grandiosa and will be featured on future newbuilds upon their delivery. In mid-2020, MSC Cruises suspended most (or all) of their operations for over six months during the COVID-19 pandemic. On 7 January 2021, MSC announced it would restart cruises with the MSC Grandiosa and MSC Magnifica in the Mediterranean. Passengers were initially limited to residents of the Schengen Area. In June 2021, MSC announced a new luxury subsidiary brand named Explora Journeys, with four vessels planned beginning with the Explora I. In March 2022, MSC Cruises signed a multi-year deal with Formula 1 to become their official cruise partner. They were the title sponsor of the 2023 Belgian Grand Prix. In January 2023, MSC Cruises announced a new multi-year partnership agreement with the New York Knicks. The deal gets MSC promotion during Knicks home games, including LED signage, virtual-on-court signage, and the opportunity to serve as the presenting partner during in-game t-shirt tosses. In August 2024, Shipping Italy reported rumors that MSC was in talks with Meyer Turku to build a class of four ships with a gross tonnage of 270,000, which would make it bigger than any other cruise ship at the time.

Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve

In December 2015, MSC Cruises signed a 100-year lease for the private island of Ocean Cay in the Bahamas to develop the land for an exclusive island experience. The site had previously been used to mine white Aragonite sand for decades, and after the original owners abandoned the 95 acre island, the land had to be restored to remove all of the old mining equipment, with MSC Cruises committing $200 million for the project involving restoration and conversion of the island into a private resort. The restoration required the work of many scientists to bring the area back into a functioning marine habitat. And, once the Bahamian government granted the site marine reserve status, the project was then officially named the Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve and was set to open in mid-November 2019, but weather delays pushed the date to 5 December 2019.

Fleet

Current fleet

Future ships

MSC is also in negotiations with finnish, italan and frensh yards for newbuilts.

Former ships