MSC Cruises has announced its newest and biggest cruise ship, set to launch in 2025. This means the race is on between two cruise lines, both trying their best to launch the biggest cruise ship. It was recently reported that Royal Caribbean is launching a new, giant cruise ship in January 2024. With 20 decks and 1,198 feet in length, Icon of the Seas will be a giant theme park, shopping mall and hotel all in one. However, in 2025, MSC will finally launch one of its giant new World-class vessels for the first time
MSC Cruises building new World-class cruise ship
While the brand is based in Europe, MSC says the second ship in its new World-class series will be dedicated to the US market when it arrives in 2025. It even has its name already: MSC World America.
The new World-class ships are reportedly around 19 percent bigger than any of the current MSC Cruises vessels. In fact, they offer an amazing 22 decks, higher than Royal Caribbean’s Wonder of the Seas and the upcoming Icon of the Seas.
The MSC World-class ships are also 1,093 in length, longer than any previous MSC ship. They also offer loads of amenities, with a larger water park, six pools and an interior promenade with entertainment, bars and shops.
MSC Cruises vs. Royal Caribbean
It is clear that MSC’s World-class ships have been designed to counter Royal Caribbean’s largest ships. Currently, they dominate the mega-ship market with its five huge Oasis-class vessels. They announced the new Icon-class ship last week, which is set to weigh 250,800 tons, much larger when compared to their previous ships.
Meanwhile, MSC recently took delivery of its first World-class ship from Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in France. Moreover, the shipyard has built many of the world’s largest cruise ships. This latest was named MSC World Europa and will set sail in the Persian Gulf during the coming winter. After that, the new ship will be repositioned to the Mediterranean.
Next in line is the next in the series, MSC World America, which will debut in 2025. Moreover, this ship will be followed by two more World-class ships by 2027. Of course, these MSC World-class ships are a little smaller than Royal Caribbean’s largest. However, they are much bigger than any vessel currently operated by any other line besides Royal Caribbean. This includes cruise lines like Norwegian Cruise Line, Princess Cruises and Carnival Cruise Line.
The World-class ships are designed to accommodate almost 7,000 passengers if all berths are filled. Meanwhile, the new Royal Caribbean Icon of the Seas will carry 7,600 passengers at full capacity. When taking the crew into account, this means 10,000 traveling on one ship.
MSC Cruises announcement
The latest MSC Cruises World-class ship has been announced amid a huge expansion in the cruise line. In fact, since 2017, MSC has added eight new ships and has more ships joining the fleet this year.
While currently, MSC Cruises are best known to European travelers, the line has been moving aggressively with its new ships in North America. In fact, the cruise line announced earlier this month that it will have a record five ships based in North America by the end of 2023. In fact, the company is currently building the largest cruise terminal in North America at Port Miami. Reportedly, this terminal will be able to accommodate three of the cruise line’s largest ships at once.
Readers, what do you think about Royal Caribbean and MSC Cruises’ new giant ships? Will you be happy to travel on such huge ships? Or would you prefer a smaller, luxury cruise line, like the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, Four Seasons Yachts, or Silversea Cruises? Let us know by dropping a comment below.