MSC Group

MSC Group is one of the largest privately-owned maritime companies in the world. Founded by Gianluigi Aponte in 1970 as a container shipping business, the group entered cruising in 1988 with the acquisition of Lauro Lines and today operates two distinct cruise brands: MSC Cruises in the contemporary and premium segments, and Explora Journeys at the ultra-luxury end of the market.

The group is unusual in cruising for being family-owned rather than publicly traded. That structure allows long capital cycles — MSC has committed roughly €13 billion to fleet renewal through the end of the decade — and a house style of European-flavoured design, multilingual service, and aggressive value pricing that distinguishes it from the US-listed majors.

MSC Cruises is now the third-largest cruise line in the world by passenger capacity, behind only Royal Caribbean International and Carnival Cruise Line, and by 2027 is projected to overtake Norwegian in the fleet stakes.