MSC USA touts premium service, Italian flavor

MSC Cruises USA rolled out new trade advertising this week that promotes its market positioning in the premium sector, along with its Italian flavor.
‘A True Premium Class cruise experience gives life more flavor ... In our case Italian,’ reads the ad copy line over an image of two cones of gelati. Under the MSC Cruises logo is the trademarked motto: ‘Premium Class ... With a True Italian Signature.’

‘We’ll compete in the Celebrity, Princess and Holland category but hopefully we will differentiate ourselves with more quality and value,’ MSC Cruises USA president and ceo Rick Sasso told Seatrade Insider. ‘Premium class means to me the things you do and the things you don’t do,’ he elaborated. ‘Premium is white-glove service. We greet you when you come on board the ship and show you to your stateroom. We don’t shove a $12 drink in your face. We have quiet ships. We don’t make announcements every five minutes ... We have premium service and dining. All our food is prepared fresh on board and served by Italian waiters. And we have new ships. We will deliver a premium product at a fair price.’

The real advertising push begins next week, in both trade and consumer outlets. Ads will run in key North American trade publications, in some consumer magazines and in newspapers in the top 20 US markets, particularly Florida, New York and the West Coast.

Besides the gelati image, another ad shows a cup of espresso with two biscotti, and still another zooms in on a steward’s white-gloved hands. The campaign not only aims to communicate MSC’s brand position to the US market, where the fast-growing line is not known as well as in Europe. It also touts the MSC Lirica and MSC Opera’s upcoming Caribbean and Panama Canal season, from December to May out of Fort Lauderdale. In a month, the company will launch promotions for the 2005 Mediterranean season, Sasso said.
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As a MSC-enthousiast I have some remarks:
"more quality than Holland America, Princess, Celebrity?"Maybe in the future, but definetely not at this moment!

"We have quiet ships. We don’t make announcements every five minutes" ...? They aren't noisy, but absolutely NOT quiet!

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Originally posted by RobHolland:

Sasso has a tight plan to make MSC bigger in America, but with this campaign they don't reflect the reality. They had problems with the American passengers before (especially last season), who found out onboard that the product did not meet their expectations. MSC still is a standard cruise line(for +/- one year ago they were even under the Budget segment!).

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Sasso just came onboard. These changes are going to take a little time, and they might only be for the ships that cruise in N. America. His plans are to take a mass-market cruise line with fairly good hardware and make it Premium with Italian flair. I think he can do it, and I think the ships are capable of it. The changes won't happen overnight though. I'm certain the MSC of tomorrow will be quite different than the MSC of yesterday.

I'm waiting for Pam's review to see if she has noticed any changes from her most recent MSC cruise to that of a year ago.

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Eroller:
These changes are going to take a little time

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Originally posted by RobHolland:

..Why advertise now with quality improvements that (most certainly, IMO) will be reached in the future?
I call that misleading.

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Cruise lines do this all the time. Take HAL's "Signature of Excellence" initiatives for instance. There are all these great improvements, but many will not be completed until late 2005/early 2006 on much of the fleet. None the less HAL is advertising them. Not that it's right, but it's a common practice.

I cruised Lirica's 3d or 4th and a part of the 11th cruise, both in the West Mediterranean. My other cruises with MSC were with Melody (twice) and Rhapsody. By then, I was so surprised by the fleet-upgrade with Lirica that I even started my own Lirica site.

As you know, MSC appeals to youngers persons (families) and as I always cruised with them in the school holidays, there were more kids;more noise!

[ 08-20-2004: Message edited by: RobHolland ]

I agree with you it's common practice to overvalue cruisebrands, but MSC never did this before. Slogan "Crociere Italiane" was used for a long time, simply saying what to expect. Could be good, could be bad . But now, with Mr. Sasso at the rudder of a large brand launch in America, I think it could do harm to the MSC brand as the American market is very demanding. Nevertheless I am hoping things have changed already, I suppose we'll soon hear Pam's story!

Kind regards,

It seems there will be two different products aimed at the the 2 separate markets, the USA & Europe [or ROTW]. I don't think you can please both Americans & Med based Europeans [as against Brits/N Europeans] with an identical product.

Fine having 2 separate 'arms', but the problems then arise when say an Italian goes on Lirica in the Caribbean, or an American goes on Sinfonia in the Med, both expecting the same experience they had on their home based cruises. It won't be, and both may be unhappy. On the otherhand both may be very pleased & enjoy something different, but I think not.

Splits already are around. Ernie mentioned in another thread the brochure stated free room service, which indeed Lirica had whilst in the Caribbean this year. However, in the Med, this is not so, there is a Euro 3 or Euro 3.40 charge per item, depending on what you have. This is the norm on Med [European based ships], not in the US though. I doubt Iced Tea will ever be on tap in the Med either, no-one drinks it except Americans & the pax base will still be mainly Europeans.

Few announcments are made, agreed, BUT they are looooong being in 5 languages. Are they going to cut the no. of languages in the Caribbean? This will please Americans, but NOT the Europeans who will expect to have announcements as usual in their own language. MSC will be MSC to them, and not MSC USA.

White-glove.. yes Rob, I have always been shown to my cabin by either a white gloved steward or stewardess [in the pinny] More than I can I was on QM2. But not been served any food with gloves, nor even been served 'afternoon tea', that's self-service.

I am in two minds on what will happen. Yes, 'Americanisms' have crept in Ernie. Only a couple, but one which annoyed was the waitresses walking around the buffet at lunches with a tray which had a sign stood up on the front advertising a 'Special' - glass of wine with your meal for Euro 1.80, never before have they done that. If you didn't have a glass on the table someone or other would ask if you wanted a drink.. I find that irritating. Ok, that's cheap still, never had a glass of wine on a US ship for $1.80, and that includes the 'tip'.
I can't really think off hand of any other practices which have changed..

Just one other thing is what appears to be the differences in the alcohol policy re bringing aboard & buying in the duty free shop aboard... I will continue later.. have to go out!

But for Europe, there is nothing in my bits & pieces mentioning any alcohol policy & online it only appears in the actual booking section which can only be used for the US. Indeed on Armonia we took a bottle aboard at embarkation, bought a bottle in the Duty Free shop on the first day of the cruise & took it back to the cabin, & took a few bottles aboard in various ports, no problems. Sounds a bit like we are heavy drinkers! but we only actually drank one bottle on the trip [in the cabin], the rest was to bring back.

Nothing was mentioned at all regarding taking alcohol aboard or having it retained by the DF Shop until the end of the cruise. Others bought things all the time, including cartons of cigarettes and walked out the shop with them. This is the way it should be imo.