MSC Cruises to ramp up Yacht Club focus down under

MSC Cruises will amplify awareness and messaging for its high-end MSC Yacht Club experience in the Australia/New Zealand market, as part of a new strategy LATTE can exclusively reveal.

The initiative aligns with recently announced upgrade plans for the 2,550-passenger MSC Magnifica that will be fitted with the MSC Yacht Club by the time the ship next sails down under on its World Cruise.

MSC Magnifica will have a brand-new five-deck addition added during dry dock over two months in Q4 2025. When she emerges, she will feature a 68-berth Yacht Club with a private restaurant and sundeck with pool, along with the new MSC Aurea Spa and MSC Gym, Powered by Technogym.

Previous MSC ships visiting Australia on their world cruises – Orchestra, Poeisa and Magnifica – haven’t featured the Yacht Club. When the enhanced 16-year-old ship sails to Australia in March 2026, the Yacht Club will be so new, it won’t yet have been occupied by paying guests.

Speaking exclusively with LATTE in Sydney last week, Antonio Paradiso, VP International Sales at MSC Cruises & Explora Journeys Managing Director, UK, Ireland & Australia said Magnifica will be the first of the contemporary brand’s ships that sail world cruises fitted with MSC Yacht Club. (Such is demand for MSC’s luxury product that the Yacht Club on the 2027 World Cruise has already sold out.)

Paradiso told LATTE the move is fueled by demand for MSC’s ‘ship within a ship’ concept.

“MSC Yacht Club used to be the best-kept secret, but now we don’t have enough suites to sell. Once guests try the Yacht Club they never go back. Forget about balconies, they just love the overall experience,” he boasted.

“However, in Australia, we want to make sure Yacht Club is no longer a secret and it becomes more prominent in our offering. That will be a new angle going forward.”

“We’ve seen this happening time and time again in other countries. It starts as a secret, but we want that to generate to word-of-mouth interest.”

Paradiso noted that it’s common for potential Yacht Club guests to focus on the price of the product.

“The price isn’t always a true reflection of the value, because, yes you can easily book an Inside cabin for a much, much lower price, but by the time the guests adds in a drinks package, and the gratuities, and the Wi-Fi, and this and that, the guest may end up spending an amount that is approaching that of Yacht Club. “

“Yacht Club is truly an all-inclusive experience. Food and drinks are included, Wi-Fi is included, there’s a dedicated lounge, a dedicated swimming pool, 24/7 concierge.”

Michelle Warren, Marketing Manager for ANZ at MSC Cruises says the local team has run limited tactical campaigns for Yacht Club, however expanding the appeal of the luxe product to Australia/New Zealand cruisers is a “big objective”. That push would include a big focus on trade, educating advisors on the concept and “understanding the benefits…and what the points of difference are with other contemporary cruise brands that have a similar concept.”

Getting travel advisors and trade partners in this market on board to see the product first-hand will be “one of the most important initiatives,” Warren adds. This will be the case when MSC Magnifica sails to Sydney on 3 March next year.

Warren says if an advisor is comfortable selling MSC Cruises’ Aurea product, which is at the top end of MSC’s premium offering, then the next step is to train those frontliner sellers on how to embrace Yacht Club and upgrade those guests.

Questioned if MSC Yacht Club guests often upgrade to sister brand under the MSC Group’s Cruise Division, Explora Journeys, Paradiso says the two brands offer two distinct propositions that are “quite different.”

“Guests may want the glamour of the MSC Yacht Club experience, with the exclusivity and butler service, boutique dining, etc, but still want to enjoy the facilities of a ‘big’ ship. Whereas Explora Journeys is a completely different experience, from the second you set foot on the ship. It’s a game changer.”

“Explora Journeys is more about relaxation, enjoying amazing food. It’s more about reconnecting with your inner-self, and achieving the ‘Ocean State of Mind’.”

Going into more detail, Paradiso explained: “The first thing that hits me whenever I switch from an MSC ship to an EXPLORA ship is the pace. Nobody is rushing. There are no queues and there’s so much space.”

“At the beginning, it is quite overwhelming because I’m expecting action, action, action. So I find myself after a couple of hours relaxing and chilling. There are a variety of activations happening around the ship, but there’s no pressure to go to one venue instead of another. You can just take your time.”

“There’s also the obvious differences, like the size of the ship and the venues are very, very different.”

“Of course, we’ve had guests that are Yacht Club fans and try Explora Journeys, and they love it, but we’re looking at two slightly different customers.”

When MSC Magnifica returns to service in mid-December, the ship’s Yacht Club will offer five suite types, including ocean-view balcony suites and a Royal Suite that accommodates up to six people and features a 78 square metre terrace complete with a private whirlpool.