Founded in 1987, in 1995 it changed its name to Mediterranean Shipping Cruises, hence MSC – and the cruises are very heavily Italian in style and content, being geared to European travellers, and very popular in particular with the German market. This can lead to one annoyance - announcements are made in Italian, French, Spanish, German and English! The cruise holiday tends towards the traditional, with double sittings in the dining room, confirmed table companions, and classic activities such as the crew doubling as entertainers.
- Brand history – the cruise section of MSC was established in 1987 and competes with Costa Cruises, based in Italy, for a share of the affordable European cruise market
- Signatures of the line – cost effective cruises where both the itineraries and the passengers tend to be European
- Number of ships - 11
- Best for (kids, entertainment etc) – if you like a traditional cruise experience, MSC offers it at a bargain price
- Special dining features – classic two sitting dining
- Special suite features – basic suites offer none of the splashy features seen on American focused ships, but are definitely reasonably priced
- Special kid features – in the summer holidays the ships are full of children, predominantly European, and education-based clubs and programmes are offered at these times
- Entertainment features – very good shows, often in a strange blend of languages to cater to the broad European audience, make up the bulk of the MSC offering
- Spa and fitness features – excellent if unadventurous spa treatments and coaching based gym and fitness programmes make up a high-service concept of healthy cruising
- Routes – traditionally MSC sails around Europe but has recently added South American and South Africa cruises as well as expanding its Caribbean profile