EMB: MSC Cruises guarantees to home port at least one ship in UK

MSC Cruises will have at least one ship home porting from the UK as part of a new partnership with the port of Southampton.

Magnifica will become the cruise line’s first ship to home port at Southampton’s new terminal, due to open next year.

It said Magnifica will make Southampton its home for part of its second ever full season sailing from the UK.

MSC Cruises said there will be at least one ship home porting from the UK for the duration of its partnership with ABP Southampton as well as several of its17 ships visiting the port and the UK on sailings including grand voyages, northern Europe cruises and transatlantic crossings.

MSC UK & Ireland Managing Director Antonio Paradiso said the company had seen strong growth out of the UK over the past five years, which led to the first ever full season sailing from the UK in 2018.

"We ended 2019 with the most successful year of sales ever in the UK & Ireland, something we are incredibly proud of," he said.

‘MSC Cruises is serious about the UK market and now more than ever we believe in the potential here and making this long-term commitment to bringing even more passengers to Southampton is evidence of that.

"In 2017 we invested in a new office in the UK, we then focused on growing our teams and putting the right expertise in place to ensure we can provide the best possible support to our passengers and our travel agent partners, and now we are really proud to be further investing in the UK cruise industry at this incredibly important time for both the industry and the UK economy in having a home for our ships here in the UK."

The cruise line has further enhanced the itineraries available from Southampton with two 14-night sailings to the Mediterranean departing in June and August calling at ports including Malaga, Lisbon and Monte Carlo, weekend mini sailings to Northern Europe and seven-night cruises to the Norwegian Fjords.

"We have seen good demand for our ex-UK sailings for 2021 despite the difficult circumstances and are sure this demand will continue into 2021 as we see more travel corridors open up and guests start to feel more confident in booking holidays," added Antonio.

MSC Cruises became the first major cruise line in August to set sail following a global pause in operations due to the pandemic. MSC Grandiosa continues to offer a limited number of cruises for Italian passengers only.