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Msc Cruises News

15 Apr 2026

Cruise Shipbuilding Keeps European Yards Busy to mid-2030s

Chantiers de l'Atlantique-built Celebrity Xcel can run on methanol as well as standard fuel types.
Image courtesy Celebrity Cruises

A flourishing cruise market and European shipbuilders’ unerring contractual success in the sector has taken orderbooks into the middle of the next decade, ensuring production continuity and underpinning fresh capital expenditure and R&D commitments by the continent’s foremost players.Just how important the segment is to the industry and supply chain may be gauged from the fact that at least three-quarters of the value of European yards’ commercial orderbooks is attributable to


22 Feb 2026

Supreme Court Wades in on US-Cuba Business Disputes

© kmiragaya / Adobe Stock

The U.S. Supreme Court is set to explore legal questions arising from the fraught history of U.S.-Cuban relations when it considers the scope of a 1996 law that lets U.S. nationals seek compensation for property confiscated by the communist-led Cuban government.The justices hear arguments on Monday in two cases centered on the federal law called the Helms-Burton Act, one involving U.S. oil major ExxonMobil and the other involving the cruise lines Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line and MSC Cruises.One of the law's provisions, called Title III, allows for lawsuits in U.S.

04 Nov 2025

MSC Cruises Connects to Shore Power in New York

Source: MSC Cruises

MSC Cruises utilized shore power in New York for the first time when MSC Meraviglia connected to shore power at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal.The connection allowed MSC Meraviglia to switch off her engines to eliminate emissions locally, as part of the City’s and MSC Cruises’ commitment to improving local air quality while the ship is in port.MSC Cruises has fitted shore power capability as standard on all new ships since 2017 and is working to retrofit other vessels in its fleet.

12 May 2025

CSI Americas Announces Conference Program for 2025

May, Brighton - Cruise Ship Interiors Design Expo Americas (CSI Americas) has released its schedule of content for 2025. Speakers from brands including Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, MSC Cruises, AIDA Cruises, The Ritz Carlton Yacht Collection and more will join their peers to discuss the latest and forthcoming developments in the vibrant cruise ship interiors industry. The conference, accredited by the IDCEC will take place 3 - 4 June at the Miami Beach Convention Center, co


30 Apr 2025

Wärtsilä Expands Introduces NextDF Technology for Third Engine

Technology group WÀrtsilÀ has introduced its NextDF technology for a third engine, the WÀrtsilÀ 46TS-DF dual-fuel engine. Credit: WÀrtsilÀ

Technology group Wärtsilä has introduced its NextDF technology for a third engine, the Wärtsilä 46TS-DF dual-fuel engine. While operating on liquefied natural gas (LNG), the Wärtsilä 46TS-DF engine with NextDF feature reduces methane emissions to less than 1.4 percent of fuel use across all load points, achieving as low as 1.1 percent in a wide load range. This is nearly three times lower than the default methane slip factor of 3.1 percent, specified in the FuelEU Maritime and IMO Lifecycle Guidelines for Otto-cycle four-stroke dual-fuel engines.

03 Apr 2025

MSC Opens New Cruise Terminal in Barcelona

Source: MSC

MSC Group’s Cruise Division has officially inaugurated a new MSC Barcelona Cruise Terminal in Spain.The occasion coincided with the first call of Explora II at the new terminal - the second ship from luxury lifestyle ocean travel brand, Explora Journeys.The terminal incorporates energy-saving technologies and sustainable materials including solar panels and optimized natural light, to minimize the need for artificial lighting along with a rainwater collection system to supply water for toilets and landscaped areas to reduce water usage.

20 Feb 2025

Cruise Shipping’s Historic Rebound

Image Courtesy Carnival Cruise Line

Battered by Covid, the cruise industry was down but not out. Today it is setting records in passenger count + the size and cost of a new fleet.Post-Pandemic, the fortunes of the big cruise companies have brightened dramatically. A late December, 2024 earnings release from Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE: CCL), encompassing brands including Carnival Cruise, Holland America, Cunard, Princess Cruises and others, says it all: “This has been an incredibly strong finish to a record year,” said CCL’s CEO Josh Weinstein, in its statement.

19 Dec 2024

Op/Ed: It’s Human Nature to Have an Opinion – About LNG

© MSM / Adobe Stock

Back in August 2024, in its blog Fact from Fiction: Methane Slip, the industry group SEA-LNG stated: “It’s human nature to have an opinion. And everyone is entitled to one. What’s potentially damaging is when emotive opinions with limited substance are heralded as fact.”This week MSC Cruises had to reconsider what it was saying about LNG.NGO Opportunity Green reports that, following a complaint it made in March 2024, the UK Advertising Standards Authority has resolved an issue regarding claims MSC Cruises was making about LNG.

02 Oct 2024

MSC Cruises in Hot Water Over Greenwashing

© Studio Porto Sabbia / Adobe Stock

Sustainability claims by MSC Cruises, including that it targets "net zero by 2050" do not meet standards, the Dutch advertising board found on Wednesday in one of the first decisions against a cruise operator following a greenwashing complaint.MSC, a privately held Swiss-Italian firm that is among the world's largest cruise operators, said in a reaction it welcomed some parts of the decision and had "already implemented most of the changes advised".Greenwashing entails a company giving a misleading impression of its environmental credentials.

28 Aug 2024

Operational Study: Methane Slip Varies with Engine Load

Source: Green Ray project

The Transport Emission Control Team at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland has released a study of methane slip and other emissions from an LNG-powered marine engine operating under real-life conditions.The now published study ‘Methane slip and other emissions from newbuild LNG engine under real-world operation of a state-of-the art cruise ship' details the results of a study conducted on the newbuild cruise ship MSC World Europa. One of its five engines, a Wartsila 46DF


30 Jan 2024

Carnival Warns of Hit to 2024 Earnings After Rerouting of Red Sea Itineraries

© icholakov / Adobe Stock

Carnival said on Tuesday that its annual earnings would take a hit as the cruise operator reroutes its ships that were due to pass through the Red Sea, a key transit route linking Asia and Europe.A growing list of companies have rerouted vessels as the Houthis, a Yemeni militant group, steps up attacks on Israeli ships or ships heading towards Israel, in solidarity with the Palestinians.The rerouting by Carnival is expected to have an impact of 7 cents to 8 cents on its adjusted earnings per share for full-year 2024, with the majority of the impact coming in the second quarter.

26 Jan 2024

Carnival Flags Impact to Operations Amid Red Sea Tensions

© icholakov / Adobe Stock

Cruise operator Carnival on Friday joined the growing list of companies flagging a potential hit to their operations following attacks on ships in the Red Sea by the Iran-backed Houthis."We believe that the instability in the Red Sea region currently impacting shipping could have an impact on our results of operations," Carnival said in a regulatory filing.The company's U.S.-listed shares fell nearly 2% in morning trade.The attacks, which the Houthis say are in support of Palestinians in Gaza


14 Nov 2023

MSC Cruises Orders Two Cruise Ships from Chantiers de l’Atlantique

(Photo: MSC Cruises)

MSC Cruises confirmed it exercised options for two new World Class cruise ships from French shipbuilder Chantiers de l’Atlantique. The liquefied natural gas (LNG) powered newbuilds, currently referred to as World Class 3 and 4, will be delivered in 2026 and 2027. MSC Cruises also holds an option for a fifth ship in the series.The newly ordered ships will be an evolution of the World Class vessels, MSC World Europa and MSC World America, which already perform better than the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) requirement.

19 Oct 2023

Shell Supplying LNG Fuel for MSC Cruise Ships

(Photo: Shell Marine)

Shell LNG has completed the first bunkering of MSC Euribia in Rotterdam, under the agreement with MSC Cruises S.A for Shell Western LNG B.V. (Shell) to provide marine fuels for the line’s second LNG powered newbuild. MSC Euribia is currently operating in northern Europe.This new agreement is in addition to the ongoing cooperation between MSC Cruises and Shell toward achieving broader shared decarbonization objectives, a collaboration which has been in place since 2021.Shell said both companies see LNG as an important lever in supporting their ambition for net-zero emissions by 2050.

18 Sep 2023

NAMEPA Announces Winners of its Marine Environment Protection Awards

Carleen Lyden Walker, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of NAMEPA

The North American Marine Environment Protection Association (NAMEPA) has announced the winners of the Marine Environment Protection Awards for 2023.Winners include MSC Cruises for Sustainability, Tote Services for the Industry Award, Captain Bridget Cooney as an Individual, Dr. Jason Zuidema for Seafarers, New York Harbor Middle School led by example this year for Maritime Academies, Port XChange for Innovation, Maritime Blue in the Non-Profit category, and NOAA’s OR&R for Government.The Awards will be presented at NAMEPA’s Annual Marine Environment Protection Conference


18 Jun 2023

Gasum to Supply LNG to MSC Euribia

Source: Gasum

Gasum and the Cruise Division of MSC Group have signed a long-term agreement for the supply of LNG to the new flagship MSC Cruises vessel MSC Euribia.The companies have also signed a Letter of Intent with the goal of cooperating on the supply of synthetic e-LNG made with renewable energy as part of MSC Cruise Division’s strategy to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions from its marine operations by 2050.MSC Euribia recently sailed the cruise industry’s first net zero greenhouse gas emissions voyage.

11 May 2023

MSC’s World Europa Equipped with GE Propulsion

(Image: MSC)

GE Power Conversion was chosen by shipbuilder Chantiers de l’Atlantique to supply electric propulsion for the first two of the World Class vessels, MSC Cruises’ latest class of ships. The first ship, MSC World Europa, is now in operation at sea, and the second vessel is currently in build.The LNG dual-fuel vessels are propelled by the most powerful cruise ship electrical motors in operation - two 25 MW, 120-127.5 rpm induction motors - which are fed by four press-pack IGBT (insulated gate bipolar transistor) PWM MV7000 converters.

24 Apr 2023

MSC Cruises' New LNG-fueled Ship Completes Sea Trials

MSC Euribia (Photo: MSC Cruises)

MSC Cruises’ second liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered ship MSC Euribia has completed sea trials ahead of planned delivery in the coming weeks.Flowing four days of "intensive systems tests" in the Atlantic Ocean, MSC Cruises’ latest flagship will receive finishing touches at the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in Saint Nazaire, France before being officially delivered to MSC Cruises on May 31.Cleaner burning LNG is set to play a key role in the transition to the decarbonization of international shipping


03 Mar 2023

EU Backs Project to Minimize Methane Slip from Marine Engines

© ozerkina / Adobe Stock

A consortium has secured European Union funding to develop solutions minimizing methane slip from marine engines, advancing the environmental and climate benefits of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a ship fuel.Coordinated by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, the Green Ray project brings together several companies from across the shipping value chain: shipyard Chantiers de l’Atlantique, ship owner CMA CGA, classification society DNV GL, technology group Wärtsilä, the Finnish Meteorological Institute


18 Jan 2023

Soncini Returns to Help Lead Maritime IT Company

Photo courtesy Oceanly

Giampiero Soncini, former officer of the Italian Navy and a retired leader in the maritime IT sector, returns to the helm via his appointment as MD of Oceanly, a new company established in December by Esa Group, following its acquisition from Arribatec of a business unit, formerly of IB srl, which develops and supports "Performance", a software dedicated to the monitoring of ship performance and the control of related emissions.To fuel the growth, Oceanly will have two MDs; alongside Soncini


16 Nov 2022

Largest Italian-built Cruise Ship Delivered to MSC

MSC Seascape (Photo: Fincantieri)

MSC Group’s Cruise Division on Wednesday officially took delivery from shipbuilding group Fincantieri of its new flagship MSC Seascape, said to be the largest and most technologically advanced cruise ship ever built in Italy.The vessel is the 21st to join the MSC Cruises fleet and the fourth to have been built by Fincantieri as part of a €7 billion investment package for 10 ships. The shipyard will also build six new vessels for MSC’s luxury travel brand, Explora Journeys.The 170


03 Mar 2022

Royal Caribbean Joins Rivals Canceling Sailings to Russia

© ymgerman / Adobe Stock

Cruise operators Royal Caribbean Group and Viking Cruises canceled sailings to Russia on Wednesday, joining their rivals and many Western brands in suspending operations in the country after its invasion of Ukraine.Celebrity Cruises, owned by Royal Caribbean, said it was removing Russian port city St. Petersburg from upcoming itineraries, adding that it would visit other Scandinavian ports in its place.Silversea Cruises also said it would re-route summer voyages scheduled to stop in Russia and Ukraine, while Royal Caribbean International said it had canceled its visits to St.

04 Jan 2022

COVID-19 Infects 214 on Five Cruise Ships in Brazilian Waters

© Studio Porto Sabbia / Adobe Stock

Five cruise ships in Brazilian waters have reported 214 cases of COVID-19 among their crew and passengers, including two ships that are in quarantine in the port of Santos, health regulator Anvisa said on Tuesday.Two ships run by the Swiss-Italian cruise line MSC Cruises, each with more than 3,000 passengers are due to arrive in Rio de Janeiro and Santos this week, the regulator said.The MSC Seaside arriving on Thursday in Santos has reported 65 cases among crew members and 25 among passengers