MSC Cruises dreams of Alaska / INTERVIEW

Abu Dhabi - New destinations in the Persian Gulf and the small possibility of an IPO in the future. Gianni Onorato, head of MSC Cruises, made the announcement on board the “MSC Musica”, during its maiden call to the new cruise terminal in Abu Dhabi.

The announcement concerns firstly the Middle East: “Given the success that this winter destination is getting, thanks to its pleasant climate and the short flight from Europe,” said Onorato, “next year we will increase our capacity by 26%, by bringing in a larger ship, the “MSC Fantasia”, and we will open new destinations such as Bahrain and Qatar.”

The new cruise terminal in Doha will be ready in 2018. Next year, the ships will moor at Port Hamad, located 40 km from the Qatari capital. In addition, the new itineraries of the MSC Fantasia will include the UAE island of Sir Bani Yas, which will become a seaside and nature destination, along the lines of the private Caribbean islands; in this case, however, the property shall not pass to the cruise lines, but will remain in the hands of the Abu Dhabi Port Authority. “The services on the island will be managed by their staff,” continues Onorato. “We advised local authorities to involve as many companies as possible in this location, in order to make the investment more productive. With an area of 87 sq km, the passengers who disembark there can opt to spend the day at the beach, taking advantage of the many services available for water sports, or venture inland with a jeep safari in a protected park, where different species of animals live in freedom.”

The three new ports will be part of a weekly itinerary, together with the home ports of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, which will be alternated with a route similar to the one landing in Oman this year (both legs of Sir Bani Yas Island will be called at). The two cruises can be combined into a single two-week trip. “The success of this destination, after the debut of the MSC Lirica in 2011, has allowed the gradual increase of passenger movements in the area: in the winter of 2014/15 there were 32,400; for the 2015/16 season, we are expecting 48,000; and for 2016/17 a further increase to 63,300, thanks to the news that we have announced.”

With the new business plan that will bring seven new ships and the additional hiring of 36,000 people by 2021, MSC Cruises will continue their expansion to new routes. After reaching Cuba and China which is planned for next year, we asked Onorato if Alaska, the last major cruise destination that MSC has yet to reach, will be included in their catalogue in the coming years: “Of course we’re going to Alaska, it is one of our objectives, but only when we have the full availability of the new ships. That is an important market for North America and we want to increase our strength in that area.”

In fact, by basing “MSC Divina” in Miami and in the future the new “MSC Seaside” (the second ship of the class will instead debut in the Mediterranean in 2018), the company is setting out a very aggressive strategy in the US market which, combined with the management lease for a century of the Bahamian island “Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve”, will greatly increase the MSC “brand awareness” among American cruise passengers.

Finally, in regards to the possible IPO of the company on the Stock Exchange, Onorato stated that “At the moment, this assumption is not expected, although we do not exclude it in the future, if we can think of obvious benefits for our development strategy.”