MSC Cruises has achieved strong results in the GCC market with over 20,000 domestic cruise passengers sailing in the region in 2023, a 20 per cent growth compared to the previous year.

The cruise line made the announcement during its inaugural awards ceremony to honour the top-selling travel agents in the Middle East. 

The event took place aboard MSC Virtuosa during her turnaround in Port Rashid in Dubai. More than 60 agents and partners participated in the ceremony, which included both an award presentation and a tour of the ship.

For the coming 2024/25 cruise season, the cruise line has already achieved 45% of its sales target, said Angelo Capurro, Executive Director MSC Cruises SA. 

Dubai will see MSC Euribia deployed on rotation from November 24th to March 25th, supporting MSC Cruises’ position as the largest cruise brand by capacity in the region.  

“MSC Cruises is the third largest cruise brand [globally] by capacity with 22 vessels,” said Capurro. “MSC will have an additional three world-class ships coming into service in 2025, 2026 and 2027. Explora will add three new ships  by 2027 (Explora II in 2024, Explora III 2026, and Explora IV).”

“Our deployments are all over the world except for Alaska and Australia, and we cover all segments of the market on each ship including our affordable luxury offering the MSC Yacht Club,” he added. “We are leaders in the Mediterranean covering winter and summer, and we are the only cruise line operating out of South Africa.”

Although the 20% growth in domestic cruise passengers in the Arabian Gulf is significant, it shows the room for further penetration still available in the market.

MSC Cruises carries around 500,000 passengers out of Dubai during its annual winter cruise season, with the 20,000 domestic passengers representing less than 5% of the total.

Middle Eastern cruise passengers are known to prefer Mediterranean and North American cruise itineraries, however, especially during the hot summer months in the region, while the Arabian Gulf cruise itineraries are more popular with European and Asian fly-cruise tourists.

MSC Cruises homeports in Dubai alongside Costa Cruises, AIDA Cruises and TUI, but typically represents almost 50% of the total capacity in the region as it is the only cruise line that regularly deploys two ships to the Arabian Gulf.