MSC Cruises, based in Europe but growing rapidly, is moving into the New York market for the first time, a market largely dominated by Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean.
MSC, which has expanded rapidly in the past few years to be the world’s third-largest cruise operator, with 19 ships and more on order, will move its 4,500-passenger MSC Meraviglia to New York in April 2023, operating 6-to-11-night voyages to the Caribbean and to New England and Canada. Bookings are already open.
Up to now, MSC’s only U.S. home ports have been at Miami and Port Canaveral in Florida. MSC is an Italian company headquartered in Switzerland. Before its recent rapid cruise expansion, it was largely known as a major operator of cargo ships.
Meraviglia will operate from the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, also used by a number of other lines including Cunard for its trans-Atlantic service. Other cruise lines such as Carnival, Celebrity and Disney only offer seasonal service from New York.
