|
|
|
By Tom Stieghorst, South Florida Sun-Sentinel Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Jan. 15--For five years, MSC Italian Cruises has sailed from Port Everglades during the winter but its older ships came and went with little fanfare, literally overshadowed by lines that had newer, bigger vessels. With the North American debut of its new $275 million MSC Lirica this week, MSC hopes for a little limelight. It is the first ship built for the Naples, Italy-based line, which has been sailing for more than a decade with second hand tonnage. Lirica will do 11-night Caribbean cruises from Fort Lauderdale until May 15, when it returns to the Mediterranean for the summer. With the gleaming white and gold ship, MSC expects to boost its North American passenger traffic from 1,500 five years ago to 15,000 this year. Next year, when a sister ship joins Lirica at Port Everglades, 45,000 passengers are projected. "We're not going to stop here," vows Nick Arena, president of the company's U.S. operations based in Moonachie, N.J. "We have ambitious plans." It also has deep pockets. MCS is the cruise arm of Mediterranean Shipping Co., whose fleet of 210 cargo container ships brings in revenue of about $4.5 billion a year, Arena said. The firm diversified into the cruise business in 1992. Until now, it has been an also-ran by virtue of its older ships. Its first vessel was the Achille Lauro, an Italian ship best known for a 1985 terrorist attack in which American passenger Leon Klinghofer was killed. That ship has since been sold. Its other ships include the Melody (1982), Rhapsody (1977) and Monterey (1952). Raising its profile in the U.S. market won't be easy. Competitors in the Caribbean such as Carnival Cruise Lines are increasing their spending on advertising this year after several less active years. New capacity continues to pour into the Caribbean, especially from Princess Cruises, which will bring its 3,100-passenger Caribbean Princess to Port Everglades in April. MSC said its 1,600-passenger ship is 90 percent booked for the coming season. "We don't have to produce 1 million passengers, " said Steve Hirshan, vice president of sales and marketing. The line hopes to sell passengers on its Italian crew, style and cuisine, plus personal attention and service. "Most of the mass-market cruise product has grown much more homogenous," Hirshan said. MSC works with 500 to 600 travel agents, concentrated heavily in Florida and the Northeastern U.S. Its pitch includes a promise to pay commission on port charges as well as the cruise fare, a practice other lines have abandoned. Its clientele is primarily retired people who have the time for an 11-night cruise. That may change next December when the Lirica's sister ship, MSC Opera, arrives to offer 7-night cruises. Prices for the 11-night cruise start at $999 per person and run to $1,999, Hirshan said. Its cruise that leaves today visits San Juan, Puerto Rico; Antigua; Grenada; St. Lucia; St. Barthelemy; Tortola and Nassau, the Bahamas. Eighty percent of the passengers on the cruise are North Americans, with the balance flying in from Europe. On the ship's summer itineraries in the Mediterranean, over 80 percent of the guests are European. While other European lines send ships to the Canary Islands or Barbados for the winter, MSC feels it has to tap into the U.S. market to play in the big leagues. "We are a global cruise line," said Hirshan, "and we want to take advantage of the large market here." MSC ITALIAN CRUISES -----To see more of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel -- including its homes, jobs, cars and other classified listings -- or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.sun-sentinel.com. (c) 2004, South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. |
