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MSC Cruises history
MSC Cruises company history timeline
The cruise line was launched around the premise of offering Europeans an affordable cruise vacation -- a concept that was fairly revolutionary in 1990.
The cruise fleet of StarLauro remained at two until December 1994 when the Achille Lauro caught fire and sank off the coast of Somalia on her way to South Africa.
In 1995, StarLauro's name was changed to MSC Cruises.
In 1997 the Melody joined the fleet to bring the capacity of MSC Cruises to 4 ships.
MSC Cruises was then established in 2002 when it became a subsidiary of the MSC Group.
In 2003 Pierfrancesco Vago joined the cruise line as CEO and there started a massive 5.5 billion euro investment program that set MSC Cruises on its current growth path.
Sophia Loren and Mr Aponte (right) at the Christening of MSC Preziosa in 2003
The 84-year-old Italian actress was first asked to be MSC Lirica's godmother for the ship's launch in 2003.
By 2004, MSC was operating an eight-ship fleet, which it then bolstered through the acquisition of several vessels from the now defunct First European/Festival.
The MSC Sinfonia and MSC Armonia both Lirica class ships and sisters to MSC Lirica, were purchased from Festival Cruises in early 2004 when the cruise line went bankrupt.
The kicker? The Jade was built in 2006.
2008 MSC Cruises is the first cruise company in the world to be awarded the coveted ‘6 Golden Pearls’ for its outstanding standards in environmental protection, health and safety.
In 2013, MSC Cruises' CEO, Vago, stepped aside to become Chairman to let Gianni Onorato take over as CEO.
2013 was also the first time that the global cruise line brand would target the North American market by deploying the MSC Divina out of Miami.
Both went through a significant refurbishment in 2014/15 including the addition of an 80-foot midsection as part of a $200 million refurbishment program.
After the 2014 initial €5.1 billion investment, MSC announced a further €3.9 billion to further its fleet expansion plan.
In December 2015, MSC Cruises announced the signature of a 100-year lease to develop a private island in the Bahamas.
In addition, the Lirica class ships were enlarged and renewed by Fincantieri under the €200m ”Renaissance Programme”, which was completed by late 2015.
Today MSC Cruises is the world’s largest privately-held cruise line with $2 billion in 2016 revenues.
The line managed to squeeze in another mega-ship in 2017 -- the 4,475-passenger MSC Meraviglia -- which debuted in Europe in June of that year.
An owner of Swiss-based MSC Cruises, Aponte led the interior design efforts on the Seaside, as she does for all her family’s ships; in the weeks before any MSC ship’s maiden voyage, Aponte lingers near the port and sometimes stays on the nearly-ready ship to examine and perfect the design. It’s November 2017 and Rafaela Aponte double-checks that the carpets, curtains, and chairs are just right on the MSC Seaside, MSC Cruises’ newest ship.
To that end, in 2017, the MSC Cruises served nearly 2 million passengers worldwide and is the top cruise line in both Europe and South America.
Meanwhile a sister to MSC Meraviglia debuted in 2018, MSC Bellissima; and a sister to Seaside -- Seaview -- debuted in June 2018.
The MSC Foundation was founded in 2018 to lead and coordinate these conservation and humanitarian commitments worldwide, developing the longstanding philanthropic partnerships of all the MSC Group companies and launching many new initiatives.
Her sister ship MSC Grandiosa (from the Meraviglia Plus Class), came into service in November 2019.
Also in 2019, and after three years of intensive work, MSC Cruises’ private island destination in the Bahamas Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve welcomes its first guests in December.
In 2019, MSC Cruises served nearly 2.7 million passengers and 185 nationalities worldwide.
MSC Virtuosa, is one of the most environmentally-advanced of our fleet, delivered in February 2021.
According to Forbes Gianluigi Aponte, as of 14 June 2021, is worth USD 11.4 Billion.
Explora Journeys, the name of the new brand was announced in June 2021.
The first one, MSC Seashore, was delivered in 2021.
Her sister ship, MSC Seascape will join in December 2022.
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MSC Cruises competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Caribbean International | 1968 | $16.5B | 85,000 | - |
| Oceania Luxuries Cruises | 2002 | $418.3M | 1,854 | - |
| Viking River | 1997 | $124.5M | 5,000 | 25 |
| ncl | 2013 | $5.4B | 3,500 | - |
| AIDA Cruises | 1960 | $1.1B | 5,600 | - |
| Carnival Cruise Line | 1972 | $25.0B | 3,900 | 444 |
| Holland America Line | 1873 | $8.6B | 10,001 | 475 |
| Celebrity Cruises | 1988 | $3.1B | 3,000 | 3 |
| Norwegian Cruise Line | 1966 | $9.5B | 33,200 | 48 |
| Windstar Cruises | 1984 | $3.6M | 58 | - |
MSC Cruises history FAQs
Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of MSC Cruises, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about MSC Cruises. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at MSC Cruises. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by MSC Cruises. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of MSC Cruises and its employees or that of Zippia.
MSC Cruises may also be known as or be related to MSC Cruises, MSC Cruises S.A. and MSC Cruises UK Ltd.