MSC Wants to Become the Largest Cruise Line

[JT1962]

https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2023/01/msc-goal-to-become-largest/
 

[Hlitner]

I think MSC is well on the way to achieving their goal of being the World's largest cruise line.  Their competitiors are all saddled with huge debt, mostly due to the COVID shutdown, and some other questionable management decisions.  Meanwhile, MSC just keeps growing as they take advantage of their large container ship roots and some smart management decisions not hindered by being a public company and having to make short sighted decisions to get immediate results.  

[Two Wheels Only]

Being the biggest doesn't make one the best.

 

Being the best doesn't make one the biggest.

 

MSC should try to be BOTH the biggest and the best.

[Nunagoras]

4 hours ago, Hlitner said:

I think MSC is well on the way to achieving their goal of being the World's largest cruise line.  Their competitiors are all saddled with huge debt, mostly due to the COVID shutdown, and some other questionable management decisions.  Meanwhile, MSC just keeps growing as they take advantage of their large container ship roots and some smart management decisions not hindered by being a public company and having to make short sighted decisions to get immediate results.  

This exactly! They're doing for the mainstream cruising what Amazon has done to the book and other retailer stores worldwide!... My unique note would to be that if they really want to be the leader, or to grow for more than what they now have, on the US market, they should to have something that works on that specific market in partnership with a local hospitality business or by the way of purchasing one of the current competitors. Acquiring NCL group seems for me the easiest out of the box solution for their problem right now, with minimal to no problems with the EU competition authorities, but I don't believe them to go that way!... JIMHO, and once I have family in the US, I have cruised with RCI and gone on several US hotel chain venues in Europe, it is clear that the Europeans are surprisingly more demanding than the US residents... But, paradoxically, in some ways the US residents seem to be "creatures of habit", which I can translate to costumers whom will only to accept things as they really know them elsewhere. For most of those cruisers, the highest standards they already know is made of the CCL/RCL/NCL combo... So; if MSC wants a share on that market they need to have a division on that market that I'd to describe as being something like CCLRCLNCL with an Italian twist to cope with the segment. Or face reality and redeploy some of the current ships elsewhere: The US market won't accept the European healthier food, less salty and less sugary, as it is, it won't accept the European's "reserved professionalism" on where your server's goal is to serve you your drink or dinner and not to be your best friend for the day, and It will await those employees pestering for up-sell opportunities with open arms!... Why? Because this is the model they so well know from the past. No matter if on this side of the pond we think differently, or not. Oh: And the US market wants to go more digital and less dependent on TA's to solve the odds that may happen, and that requires a knowledgeable of the market and well fueled post-selling costumer service crowd in force. Only a well oiled venture in the US market will try to modify the current state of the art on that market on whether, at least out of the ones writing reviews here in CC, some 9 over 10 reviews state they won't cruise MSC again, apart perhaps the YC related ones. If MSC happens to be able to solve this challenge on the next 2 years nobody will stop them to become number one cruise group in the global cruise industry by 2030!... Explora will to be a success on the mid-to-full luxury market. They'll to add something for the adults oriented upper-mainstream market (X/Princess) before 2030 for certain as well. Other than on the US they're a success elsewhere, and they have it all to continue. Time will tell but if all goes as predictable my bet is for them to be largest cruise group by 2030!...

Edited January 17, 2023 by Nunagoras

[BoundForSea]

MSC wants to replace CCL as the largest cruise line. Their mainline product is about the same in terms of quality and culture and quantity over quality. The addition of YC Ship within a ship and the YC Luxury ships bring the option of Luxury and expedition to the product. 
 

I believe they will run over CCL however ONLY if they can provide a product that is lower cost and high quality. Their Miami terminal

will berth 3 vessels. That speaks volumes to me. 
 

I believe the safety of MSC surpasses that of CCLC significantly. Their attention to safety, regulatory compliance and the environment far far surpasses that of CCLC. 
 

We shall see!! There is a distinct advantage not having to answer to a bunch of bean counters. Its a massive advantage in my opinion. 
 

Ciao!!

[phissy]

 

 

Possibly ending the article with a joke?
This sentence caught my eye.

 

 

The message to travel agents is that MSC is committed to being easy to do business with, offering amazing experiences to their clients, and opportunities to earn money.

[mowogo]

2 hours ago, phissy said:

 

 

Possibly ending the article with a joke?
This sentence caught my eye.

 

 

The message to travel agents is that MSC is committed to being easy to do business with, offering amazing experiences to their clients, and opportunities to earn money.

The site is very much a regurgitation of press releases.  

 

MSC is definitely growing as they still have many ships on order for construction, while others are seeing the end of their fleet expansion/renewal plans.  The next travel slowdown will likely lead to a lot of ship retirements while MSC will then be able to capitalize.  

 

[sidari]

Until the Left hand knows what the Right hand is doing MSC will never be the best, land based agents who know less than those who have sailed with them many times and give conflicting answers, Guest services staff who often have no clue how to resolve issues and food complaints ongoing since we first sailed with them in 2012. They may get bigger but that is not always better.

[dexddd]

This has been talked about here before.  Even speculation about taking over NCL which posts got deleted.

 

IMO NCL having issues and would be a great fit despite FDR making bank on any sale.

[RandomUser123]

My first cruise with MSC will be in November. I could not believe the deal I got for it with my wife and kids. It was too good to pass up. I have seen mixed reviews but I am looking forward to it. As long as I have chairs to relax by the pools, as long as the kids enjoy the kids club on the ship, as long as the drinks keep flowing with the Easy Plus package that was included then it should be all good.

[perakcruiser]

11 hours ago, BoundForSea said:

I believe they will run over CCL however ONLY if they can provide a product that is lower cost and high quality.

You also can see it from the other side.

 

Are RCCL, Carnival and NCL really offering a good product for the Non-US-market? If they want to keep up with MSC they need to improve. I am not sure if they are able to compete at all. 

[sidari]

52 minutes ago, perakcruiser said:

You also can see it from the other side.

 

Are RCCL, Carnival and NCL really offering a good product for the Non-US-market? If they want to keep up with MSC they need to improve. I am not sure if they are able to compete at all. 

Not in Europe where the other lines usually send their older ships, though NCL and Royal have a newer ship each this year sailing in Europe.

[quattrohead]

The family need to give the running of the USA based ships over to American AND European travel professionals, not bean counters. The ship side of things is already there with well run ships that are clean and beautiful, even the oldest, Armonia is in fantastic condition and in her own understated way a great "smaller" ship to spend time on.

Only then with high customer satisfaction can they be biggest and best.

[JAGR]

13 hours ago, BoundForSea said:

Their Miami terminal will berth 3 vessels. That speaks volumes to me.

Agree entirely!

[Nunagoras]

1 hour ago, perakcruiser said:

You also can see it from the other side.

 

Are RCCL, Carnival and NCL really offering a good product for the Non-US-market? If they want to keep up with MSC they need to improve. I am not sure if they are able to compete at all. 

That's it. Couldn't agree more!...

 

CCL is closing down Costa for a reason. And they're becoming such an US+UK sort of thing quickly.

 

RCL closed Pullmantur for a reason.

 

NCL didn't even really ventured out to this side of the pond for a reason, despite redeploying a relatively new ship here from time to time.

 

The luxury lines are another subject, of course. Time to talk on them at another thread and board, perhaps, but there is a common sense growing on me: The European cruisers are ready to pay more to get more, not to pay less to get less. And to be competitive the "US" cruise lines will need to just understand this. At least RCI do bring an Oasis class ship here annually, and a Quantum class to the northern Europe here and there. And MSC pricing at this side of the pond is becoming very similar to Oasis class in Europe, at least on the newer ships!... Sometimes to cruise MSC can be more expensive than to cruise RCI/NCL, and ships are mostly full... For a reason!... But budget Costa (CCL in Europe) is going down... For a reason!...

[sidari]

But budget Costa (CCL in Europe) is going down... For a reason!...

Nuna

 

Costa are the only ones with a decent 15 night cruise itinerary in the Med this year and at a reasonable price.

[perakcruiser]

29 minutes ago, Nunagoras said:

CCL is closing down Costa for a reason. And they're becoming such an US+UK sort of thing quickly.

I don´t really understand why CCL is destroying Costa (and maybe also Aida). These are great products that can compete with MSC. Which by the way 10 years before were bigger in Europe than MSC, hard to believe nowadays. 

 

 

[BoundForSea]

23 minutes ago, perakcruiser said:

I don´t really understand why CCL is destroying Costa (and maybe also Aida). These are great products that can compete with MSC. Which by the way 10 years before were bigger in Europe than MSC, hard to believe nowadays. 

 

 

Because they don’t have the revenue to sustain them. They aren’t making money for the investors and the entire CCLC needs to cut losses to try and stay afloat for their investors.  All of the lines are cutting back benefits and inclusions for passengers while raising prices. 
 

Look at RCCL and Celebrity- Celebrity just took delivery of three going on four now very very expensive ships. Every commercial break on some networks is the X commercial which in years past wasnt a thing. They need desperately to bring in revenue to make the bottom line start looking appealing to their investors. This is where MSC has the edge. No pun intended of course haha. 

[styles27]

4 hours ago, RandomUser123 said:

My first cruise with MSC will be in November. I could not believe the deal I got for it with my wife and kids. It was too good to pass up. I have seen mixed reviews but I am looking forward to it. As long as I have chairs to relax by the pools, as long as the kids enjoy the kids club on the ship, as long as the drinks keep flowing with the Easy Plus package that was included then it should be all good.

Good luck getting chairs by the pool. Last week on Divina we used our balcony more in 14 days than ever before because of the lack of chairs available on deck.
Plenty of chairs with towels on them being saved. 
We sat on the edge of the pool deck one day and witnessed towels on chairs for an hour and nobody using the chairs.
Went to lifeguard asked him to remove the towels and he refused.
Aft pool lifeguard would remove towels after 30 min. 
Drinks=meh. Every bar was out of some kind of alcohol and was using lessor “easy plan” alcohol instead. (Wells spirits) not cool.
 

Personally I hate the “all in” drink experience. I would rather pay for each drink and have a higher quality drink, but I don’t drink because it’s unlimited.  🤷🏻‍♀️

 

If you go on your cruise with an open mind and remember how little you paid for the cruise you will be okay. Don’t expect Regent quality at these prices. 
 

As far as MSC wanting to be the biggest? I think we all know size doesn’t matter…quality is key. 😉

YC seems to be their most consistent product but we’ve seen posts talking about the decline in that area as well. 

I’m not sure there are any 5* across the board cruise lines at the moment. 
 

We’re looking for our next cruise in Europe and I can pretty much guarantee it won’t be on MSC and I was one of their biggest cheerleaders. This last cruise really changed that.  
 

[Nunagoras]

1 hour ago, BoundForSea said:

Because they don’t have the revenue to sustain them. They aren’t making money for the investors and the entire CCLC needs to cut losses to try and stay afloat for their investors.  All of the lines are cutting back benefits and inclusions for passengers while raising prices. 
 

Look at RCCL and Celebrity- Celebrity just took delivery of three going on four now very very expensive ships. Every commercial break on some networks is the X commercial which in years past wasnt a thing. They need desperately to bring in revenue to make the bottom line start looking appealing to their investors. This is where MSC has the edge. No pun intended of course haha. 

And then, there are the European specific dynamics: Aida is a German club holidays, and even considering German as an apart specific market, club holidays are all of them in decline these days, including in Germany, because people want more flexible holiday schemes. Also, both Costa and to an extent Aida were 3* like cruise lines till very recently. The transition to 4* like was starting by the pandemic, whereas MSC was 4* like from the beginning. Europeans in general are now ready to pay a little bit more to get a little bit more as well. And there are lots of Germans doing MSC cruises. Costa now builds their market on certain specialty cruises plus some really very young cruisers whom won't likely to spend more on their mostly ugly ships. European cruise market dynamic is turning very much toward the X/Princess cruise segment rather than the baseline one. This also helps to explain why Costa will be ditched out. There are no miracles.

[SeaShark]

Interesting to see that Cruise Industry News has edited their story and completely moved away from the "biggest cruise line" angle.

[sealynx]

On 1/18/2023 at 12:01 AM, Nunagoras said:

JIMHO, and once I have family in the US, I have cruised with RCI and gone on several US hotel chain venues in Europe, it is clear that the Europeans are surprisingly more demanding than the US residents... But, paradoxically, in some ways the US residents seem to be "creatures of habit", which I can translate to costumers whom will only to accept things as they really know them elsewhere.

Very well said. My experience exactly.

[sidari]

19 hours ago, Nunagoras said:

That's it. Couldn't agree more!...

 

CCL is closing down Costa for a reason. And they're becoming such an US+UK sort of thing quickly.

 

RCL closed Pullmantur for a reason.

 

NCL didn't even really ventured out to this side of the pond for a reason, despite redeploying a relatively new ship here from time to time.

 

The luxury lines are another subject, of course. Time to talk on them at another thread and board, perhaps, but there is a common sense growing on me: The European cruisers are ready to pay more to get more, not to pay less to get less. And to be competitive the "US" cruise lines will need to just understand this. At least RCI do bring an Oasis class ship here annually, and a Quantum class to the northern Europe here and there. And MSC pricing at this side of the pond is becoming very similar to Oasis class in Europe, at least on the newer ships!... Sometimes to cruise MSC can be more expensive than to cruise RCI/NCL, and ships are mostly full... For a reason!... But budget Costa (CCL in Europe) is going down... For a reason!...

Think your reading of Costa and Aida might be wrong.

Another Carnival Cruise Brand Touts Record Bookings (cruisehive.com)

[Nunagoras]

1 hour ago, sidari said:

Think your reading of Costa and Aida might be wrong.

Another Carnival Cruise Brand Touts Record Bookings (cruisehive.com)

Yeah! But they're removing older, and sometimes not so older ships with no replacements for a reason, not? Pretty much every other cruise line is now reporting "best booking day ever"... But that will only to surprise the ones that make them to be surprised after this huge lock down of the last 2 years in raw. Truth is that, mostly, the current clients being served, even on MSC, are the ones with FCC's from the pandemic era and new money is scarcely incoming right now. No surprise, pretty much all cruise lines are making cutbacks and such. CCL is removing ships from Costa and AIDA in droves!... Obviously they won't to talk about that... Nor about the understaffed ships crisis. Costa and AIDA might to be better positioned right now as you note... But far from their glorious past. And I believe Costa will to be finished in next 2 years or so. P&O will have another chance, but me thinks the UK market as being more confident on cruising than elsewhere in the world right now. AIDA, only time will tell. Thanks!...

[mowogo]

2 hours ago, sidari said:

Think your reading of Costa and Aida might be wrong.

Another Carnival Cruise Brand Touts Record Bookings (cruisehive.com)

Within 2 years Carnival is moving 4 ships from Costa to Carnival.  With the amount of work that takes, Carnival corporate has not shown long term confidence in Costa.  The whole Costa by Carnival thing getting ready to launch is really just an attempt by Carnival to see if there is room where they can salvage the brand or if Costa is a likely candidate for shutdown in any financial restructuring.