MSC of MSC Cruises stands for Mediterranean Shipping Company and as the name suggests the main focus of the cruise liner remains on providing extensive Mediterranean cruising options to passengers.
The idea of MSC Cruises was conceived in order to offer more focused Mediterranean cruising options to passengers at affordable rates, which was regarded quite a revolutionary idea during the 90s. MSC is relatively new in the industry. Their cruising arm started operating only during 1987 but already they have earned themselves a niche position in offering luxury cruising options to tourists.
MSC Cruises was started by Gianlucci Aponte when he acquired the one-ship cruise line Starlauro. The initial days of MSC Cruises however weren�t smooth. Its acquired ship Achille Lauro caught fire off the coast of Africa and finally sank. However, all the passengers were rescued safely and there were no casualties.
MSC Cruises didn�t include any newly-build ship to its fleet until during the new millennium. Its first two newly build ships, MSC Lirica and MSC Opera had joined the fleet in 2003 and 2004 respectively. With the inclusion of these new ships with more modern designing and amenities, MSC Cruises has seen a spurt in it business, which has further encouraged them tom expand their fleet size.
Getting encouraged by improved demand for their services, MSC Cruises then moved ahead with more aggressive ship build program and later during the decade they introduced new class of ships that were laden with more modern amenities and facilities. These ships were larger in size than their predecessor with higher ratio of verandahs. MSC Musica has the capacity to carry 2,550 passengers.
MSC Cruises launched its master class in 2006 and a series of ships were introduced to the line; namely- MSC Orchestra, MSC Poesia, and MSC Magnifica.
If you are interested in knowing what makes MSC Cruises a unique choice following are the salient features of the line.
- Targeted and focused cruises to the Mediterranean.
- Great experience for the first time cruisers.
- A journey in MSC Fantasia, the biggest and the most stylist ship of the MSC Cruises line.
- Celebrity actress Sophia Loren serves as the Godmother for the ships of MSC Cruises.
- Great choices with itineraries at affordable rates.
MSC Cruises: Sneak-peek of the fleet
MSC Cruises started its journey with two acquired ships from the now defunct liner First European/Festival Cruises. Then they acquired the ship, Achille Lauro, from the cruise liner Starlauro. The entire fleet of MSC Cruises can be categorized in the following four categories.
- The �classic� ships: MSC Monterey and MSC Rhapsody fall under the category of the classic ships of MSC Cruises. These are moderately priced but for some reasons these ships weren�t marketed to the American customers.
- Acquired ships: MSC Cruises started its journey with the acquired ships and didn�t take up ship-building program until the beginning of the new millennium. They had acquired Armonia and Sinfonia from now defunct First European/Festival Cruises.
- Newly build ships: MSC Lirica and MSC Opera are the first two ships build by MSC Cruises. These two ships feature great improvements over their predecessors in terms of facilities and amenities. New cabins, improved staterooms, suits and balconies were attached to make them stand in competition with the other leading cruise liners.
- The Fantasia class: The latest and the best in the line was the Fantasia class which have two ships with the capacity to carry 3, 300 passengers.
MSC Cruises: What to expect on-board?
The Italian influence is very strong in all the ships of MSC Cruises and as a result they attract a great number of European crowds.
MSC Cruises focuses mainly on offering Mediterranean tours and therefore offers Mediterranean cruise trips year round. However, they now also have shifted their focus to other popular destinations and are expected to include South America, Canada/New England, the Caribbean, South Africa in their list of itineraries soon.
since the major portion of their passengers are still from the European continent the passengers must be prepared to hear the announcements being read out in several European languages, such as- Italian, French, Spanish, German and English.
Although the trips are moderately priced these haven�t stopped MSC Cruises from offering personalized services and modern amenities to the passengers onboard. However, often these services will cost you extra. Hence, one may check out with the charges before opting for special services like- a la carte menus and port shuttles.
