MSC Cruises

**MSC Cruises**, officially **MSC Crociere S.A.**, is a cruise line belonging to the Mediterranean Shipping Company.

It is the fourth-largest cruise operator in the world and the second-largest in Europe, surpassed only by Carnival Corporation & plc, Royal Caribbean Group, and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. It has a worldwide market share of approximately 6.4% (in 2015).

By April 2025, it will operate a fleet of 25 ships, including the first two vessels of its subsidiary Explora Journeys.

## History

It was founded in 1987 and the following year began operating the Monterey (formerly the Matson Lines ocean liner Monterey).

In 1989, it acquired the Starlauro shipping line, renaming it MSC-Starlauro. In 1995, the company was renamed again due to its loss of popularity due to several fires that sank the company's two ships. MSC Cruises was born.

## Logo

MSC Cruises' logo has changed format several times since the acquisition of Starlauro. Initially, the logo was exactly the same as that of the parent company, Mediterranean Shipping Company: a lowercase "m" on a curved line and a lowercase "s" and "c" together.

Later, the logo changed to the format most similar to the current one, with the initial logo inserted into a Mediterranean Compass Rose, reflecting Mediterranean shapes and style. Next to the logo are the capital letters MSC, and in some versions, the word cruises is written in different languages below the letters MSC.

The logo changed tones several times, but blue dominated in this second logo. Noteworthy are the characteristic MSC Cruises funnels, all painted in a very noble and nautical navy blue.

### Current fleet

|Ship|Built|Builder|Joined MSC|Gross tonnage|Flag|Notes|Image|||||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
||2001|rowspan="4"|Chantiers de l'Atlantique|data-sort-value=2004-05|May 2004|65,542||align="Left"|Built as the MS _European Vision_ for Festival Cruises|||
||2002|data-sort-value=2005-03|March 2005|65,542||align="Left"|Built as the MS _European Stars_ for Festival Cruises|||||
||2003|data-sort-value=2003-03|March 2003|65,591||align="Left"|First purpose-built new build for MSC Cruises|||||
||2004|data-sort-value=2004-03|March 2004|65,591||align="Left"||||||
||2006|rowspan="2"|Aker Yards (Saint-Nazaire)|data-sort-value=2006-07|July 2006|92,409||align="Left"||||
||2007|data-sort-value=2007-05|May 2007|92,409||align="Left"||||||
||2008|Aker Yards/STX Europe (Saint-Nazaire)|data-sort-value=2008-10|Oct 2008|92,627||align="Left"|||||
||2010|STX Europe (Saint-Nazaire)|data-sort-value=2010-03|March 2010|95,128||align="Left"|Modified _Musica_ class||||
||2008|rowspan="2"|Aker Yards/STX Europe (Saint-Nazaire)|data-sort-value=2008-12|Dec 2008|137,936||align="Left"||||
||2009|data-sort-value=2009-07|July 2009|137,936||align="Left"||||||
||2012|rowspan="2"|STX Europe (Saint-Nazaire)|data-sort-value=2012-06|June 2012|139,400||align="Left"|Modified _Fantasia_ class|||
||2013|data-sort-value=2013-03|March 2013|139,400||align="Left"|Modified _Fantasia_ class|||||
||2017|rowspan="2"|Fincantieri|data-sort-value=2017-11|Nov 2017|153,516||align="Left"||||
||2018|data-sort-value=2018-06|June 2018|153,516||align="Left"||||||
||2021|rowspan="2"|Fincantieri|data-sort-value=2021-083|August 2021|170,412||align="Left"||||
||2022|data-sort-value=2022-11|November 2022|170,400||align="Left"||||||
||2017|STX Europe (Saint-Nazaire)|data-sort-value=2017-05|May 2017|171,598||align="Left"|||||
||2019|Chantiers de l'Atlantique|data-sort-value=2019-03|March 2019|171,598||align="Left"|||||
||2019|rowspan="3"|Chantiers de l'Atlantique|data-sort-value=2019-11|November 2019|181,541||align="Left"||||
|_MSC Virtuosa_|2021|data-sort-value=2021-05|May 2021|181,541||align="Left"||||||
|_MSC Euribia_|2023|data-sort-value=2023-05|May 2023|184,011||align="Left"|Second ship powered by liquid natural gas (LNG) to join the fleet.|||||
|||2022|rowspan="2"|Chantiers de l'Atlantique|data-sort-value=2022-12|December 2022|215,863||align="Left"|Originally named _MSC Europa_. Largest ship built for MSC Cruises and first in the fleet powered by LNG with solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) and having "G"-shape bow design.||
|_MSC World America_|2025|data-sort-value=2025-03|March 2025|216,638||align="Left"|LNG-fueled cruise ship. Construction started on 22 October 2022. Sea Trials completed and delivered in March 2025|||||

### Future ships

|Ship|Due to enter service|Builder|Gross tonnage|Notes|Image|||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|_MSC World Asia_|2026|rowspan="4"|Chantiers de l'Atlantique|216,638|align="Left"|LNG-fueled cruise ship||
|_MSC World Atlantic_|2027|216,638|align="Left"|LNG-fueled cruise ship||||
|World Class 5|2029|216,638|align="Left"|LNG-fueled cruise ship||||
|World Class 6|2030|216,638|align="Left"|LNG-fueled cruise ship||||

MSC is also in negotiations with Finnish, Italian and French yards for new builds.

### Former fleet

|Ship|Built|Builder|In service for MSC|Gross tonnage|Notes|Image||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
||1947|Scheepsbouw-Maatschappij De Schelde, Vlissingen, Netherlands|1988- 1994|23,629|align="Left"|Built for Royal Rotterdam Lloyd as the _MS Willem Ruys_. Sank after catching fire in 1994.||
|_Monterey_|1952|Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., Maryland, United States|1990- 2006|20,000|align="Left"|Originally known as _SS Free State Mariner_. Previously _Monterey_ for Matson Lines and _Monterey_ for Aloha Pacific Cruises. Scrapped in 2007.||
||1951|Swan Hunter and Wigham Richardson, England|1994- 2000|16,000|align="Left"|Previously _Provence_ for SGTM Line and _Enrico C _for Costa Cruises. Scrapped in 2001.||
|_Rhapsody_|1977|Burmeister & Wain, Denmark|1995- 2009|17,095|align="Left"|Previously _Cunard Conquest_ and _Cunard Princess_ for Cunard Line. Scrapped in 2022.||
||1982|CNIM (La Seyne-sur-Mer), France|1997- 2013|35,143|align="Left"|Previously _Atlantic_ for Home Lines and _StarShip Atlantic_ for Premier Cruise Line. Scrapped in 2018.||

## Infobox (company)

- **name**: MSC Cruises
- **logo**:
- **logo upright**: House Flag of MSC Cruises.svg
- **image**: House Flag of MSC Cruises.svg
- **type**: Privately held company
- **location city**: Geneva, Switzerland
- **area served**: Worldwide
- **industry**: Transportation
- **products**: Cruising (maritime), Cruises
- **num employees**: 23,500
- **parent**: Mediterranean Shipping Company
- **subsid**: Explora Journeys
- **foundation**: Naples, Italy
- **founder**: Gianluigi Aponte