MSC Cruises confirms talks under way with shipyards over new ship class
The boss of MSC Cruises has revealed the line is already developing a prototype for its next ship class, which he hopes will “raise the bar higher”.
Speaking at the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France, on Friday (15 November) where MSC’s second World-class vessel – MSC World America – is being built, executive chair Pierfrancesco Vago confirmed designs for the ship are being drawn up.
Recent media reports in Italy have suggested MSC is in talks with Finnish shipyard, Meyer Turku, to build a class of ship bigger than Royal Caribbean International’s 365-metre tall, 7,600-passenger Icon-class vessels.
While Vago stopped short of saying that MSC’s next ship class would be bigger than Icon-class, he did confirm a prototype is being developed.
“We’re looking at new prototypes, new platforms, it’s true," said Vago. "So, we’ve been talking to yards, most specifically the Finnish and the Italian ones.
"After the vision we presented here with the different continents [Europe and America], naturally we go for the next project and we want to take the bar higher, yes.”
An MSC Cruises spokesperson stressed no agreement had been reached with any shipyard to build the line’s next ship class after the World-class vessels launch in 2026 and 2027.
MSC World America is due to launch to April 2025 with a series of eastern and western Caribbean sailings from Miami. When asked what role the UK market is expected to play in filling the 6,762-passenger ship, Vago said MSC saw itself as “a global company with a local approach”.
“We have a ship in Southampton, but we have many different embarkation opportunities in Europe with our fly-cruise programme,” he said.
“Brits can embark anywhere in the Med or in northern Europe. We recently opened up Alaska and we had boom in bookings from Europe, especially from the UK.”
He added: “The idea is for MSC to become a global company with a local approach while paying particular attention to the geopolitical situation in regions. We have the incredible British market that we love.”
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