A 13-year-old boy became the millionth passenger to enjoy a luxurious cruise with the most modern fleet in the world, when he boarded the acclaimed MSC Fantasia in Genoa last week.
This important milestone for the innovative, family-owned cruise company highlights its impressive year-on-year growth. MSC Cruises estimates that 1,085,000 passengers will have cruised with the company by the completion of 2009; an impressive increase of 36% on 2008.
MSC Cruises UK and Ireland has seen unprecedented growth of more than 60% this year. In response to meet the growing popularity of EX-UK sailings to Northern Europe, MSC Opera will sail from Dover for the 2010 summer season. This will increase capacity by 76 cabins and 172 balcony cabins per cruise.
These extraordinary achievements in the current economic climate shows strong public recognition of the outstanding value for money the company offers in the quality cruise sector, as MSC Cruises’ CEO Pierfrancesco Vago explains, “We are particularly proud to be celebrating the landmark of our millionth guest, a young passenger on the MSC Fantasia.
“This achievement testifies to our unprecedented growth. The capacity of our fleet – the most modern in the world – has increased tenfold in five years. But this increase hasn’t just been a matter of numbers. The high standards of professionalism and technological innovation to which we are committed have also improved the quality of our ships, which are now universally recognised as true gems of Italian excellence in terms of style, elegance, design and ecology.”
MSC Cruises’ millionth guest, from Vercelli in Northern Italy, received free transfers and his family enjoyed an upgrade to MSC Yacht Club.
MSC Cruises currently has 10 ships cruising five regions of the world. The fleet will be increased with the arrival of the dazzling MSC Magnifica in March 2010, when the company will be carrying 1.2 million guests per year.
