CRUISE RESTART
MSC Virtuosa set sail with 1,000 cruise-hungry Britons on its maiden voyage from Southampton last MSC Virtuosa
LED sky dome on MSC Virtuosa
Paradiso proud to add Liverpool and Greenock sailings
MSC Cruises’ UK boss says the addition of embarkation points in Scotland and northwest England for MSC Virtuosa’s debut season makes cruise “more accessible” to people across the country. The line is offering seven-
night sailings with embarkations in Greenock and Liverpool, as well as south coast itineraries. UK & Ireland managing
director Antonio Paradiso said: “Bringing this ship to Liverpool and Scotland has made it more accessible. Rather than bringing thousands of customers to Southampton, we are bringing the ship to their city. It is one of the best things I’ve done.” MSC offers up to 15
embarkation ports across its Mediterranean sailings, but until now has not offered multiple embarkation ports in the UK.
MSC heralds travel restart to appeal to new-to-cruise
M 8 27 MAY 2021
SC Cruises’ UK boss believes the pandemic has created an opportunity to entice
new-to-cruise passengers on board the industry’s ships in 2021. This summer, 21 ships across 16
lines are set to operate UK sailings, including MSC’s new flagship. Speaking on board MSC Virtuosa,
the line’s UK & Ireland managing director, Antonio Paradiso, outlined plans to seize the chance to welcome customers who had not previously considered a cruise holiday. According to Paradiso, almost
55% of passengers on the Meraviglia Plus-class ship’s maiden voyage along the south coast were new to cruise. He said the “surprising and
encouraging” percentage was the highest he had seen on an MSC sailing in the past five years.
The situation has
brought customers to us. Cruises are one of the best alternatives for a short stay away
“We’ve had the opportunity to
engage with completely different customers and audience,” he said. “The situation [Covid] has
brought those customers to us. “People were thinking ‘what are
the options available to us?’ You can go to Cornwall or the Lake District, but you know what – what about cruise ships?” He added: “Cruise ships are one of the best alternatives for all those customers looking for a short stay away.”
travelweekly.co.uk
Antonio Paradiso
The first five reduced-capacity
ex-UK sailings on Virtuosa sold out within five weeks, and Paradiso hopes the trend will continue throughout the summer. He said a mix of product
positioning, new marketing channels and UK partnerships, including with Chelsea Football Club, had helped
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