MSC has been criticized in the past for not understanding the American Market. Well the company announced just last month that over the next few years, it will build three new mega ships each holding over 4,000 passengers. First to be built is the Seaside. The three ships will sail out of Miami cruising the Caribbean. I hope that these new ships will be just as elegant as their other ships. English will be the main language spoken on the ships.
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Contributor Level:
Admiral
MSC to build 3 new mega ships geared to the Amnerican market
7 Answers
Contributor Level:
Cruise Director
I cruise mostly on Carnival, but am quickly getting annoyed with them reducing vifp perks to gold members, among other cutbacks and inconsistencies. I have been looking at MSC already and think that they would be a possible alternative, as well as NCL. I think it is good to broaden one's horizens anyway when it comes to "brands"
Contributor Level:
Admiral
Two of my friends just returned from taking an MSC cruise to Bermuda. They had a fantastic time & want to book another cruise with MSC.
Contributor Level:
Captain
Never sailed on MSC, but if the price is right I will give it a go.
I think it is great. Hopefully MSC will continue to to monitor feed back and keep growing. Having 3 more ships in the Caribbean may help to keep the cruises reasonable priced. On port stop in Grand Turk we ported next to MSC. I talked to people that were on the MSC ship and they said it was nice, food was good and service was good (they said ood on MSC had gotten much better then 5 years ago on the line)
I will try MSC in the Caribbean in the future.
Contributor Level:
Captain
I recently read comments by Stan Kruse, CEO of Holland American Group. Kruse is top dog now over HAL, Princess, Seabourne, P&O Australia plus all the Princess and HAL land based facilities and operations in Alaska. 36,000 employees, 41 ships with 25 million passenger sailing days a year.
Kruse said that in a few years the smallest HAL ships will be 100,000 gross tons while Princess smallest will be 140,000 gross tons. That is a significant increase in volume and size over what both companies have provided in the past.
Large Resort ships fall in the category of 2,001-6,500 passengers which ships generally measure 50,000 to 220,000 gross tons. Mid-size ships fall in the category of 751-2,000 passengers and the ships generally measure 25,000-50,000 gross tons.
The other categories are small ships, below 25,000 tons and boutique ships; many small lines using these ships generally offer executive type accommodations, luxury and all inclusive bookings. There are a few exception here but these pretty much differ from the mainstream standards today which have a lot in common, although many will have considerable variance in small details. The average cruise in the mainstream market is around 7 days.
It appears to me that the mega-liners, with their nickel and dime game, are here to stay. That must be where the dough is. MSC may be the exception, it is my understanding that they haven't got into stuff like, art auctions, bingo, shopping talks for ports, wedding vow renewals and internet centers. Not saying all that is good but they do appear to be an outlier of sorts.
Contributor Level:
Captain
That's good news. Haven't been on MSC but have been keeping an eye on them. The most up and coming line of the top eleven majors. The world's largest privately owned cruise line, owned by family; unlike most of the rest owned solely by profit motivated shareholders. Relatively new to the cruise business though, except not new to ocean transport as Mediterranean Shipping Company is the second largest container shipping company in the world.
I like the looks of their cruise business model, perhaps I'm wrong, but it appears they are going in the opposite direction of most majors which are undergoing decimation of many of the finer aspects of cruising familiar to many of us from the days of yore, I for one hold a lot of the past practices dear. Perhaps MSC will be the only line where the MDR is a place one can look forward to each evening for a pleasant dining experience.
We have seen on this site, quite a few comments on the tendency to go big or stay home regarding the ships that are coming out now. Personally, I like smaller more intimate venues, but there seems to be a market for large crafts. Somebody's marketing is telling them that this is the way to go. I just wonder what the critics will say.