MSC Cruises is currently finalising plans for the naming ceremony in Barcelona in early December ahead of the 6,762-passenger ship's debut season in the western Mediterranean.

Paradiso stressed the UK and Irish agent allocation has not yet been confirmed before adding he would expect "around 100 agents" to be invited to Barcelona, with one place being allocated to the agent who promotes MSC in the "most original" way.  

"Our World Class fleet is very popular with UK and Irish agents and the fact World Asia is in Europe works in our favour," Paradiso added. "I want to reward our top agent partners. This is an opportunity to do that. This type of ship is very popular in the UK and has always sold very well here. I'm looking forward to the launch.

"We had a strong delegation in Miami for the launch of MSC World America last year."

On the recently-announced New Frontier Class ship class, Paradiso said: "It's still early days. The message here is we're still committing to more and more capacity. That is great news for UK and Irish agents who are always looking for more opportunities and capacity. These ships will unlock more opportunities for them.

"We've got a rather ambitious growth plan but the UK market is performing well."

MSC Yacht Club roll out

Paradiso revealed the UK market is the second largest source market for MSC Yacht Club. MSC completed a major refurbishment of MSC Magnifica before Christmas which included the addition of 63 MSC Yacht Club suites.

Next month, MSC Poesia will enter the same shipyard in Malta for similar upgrades, including MSC Yacht Club suites, an All-Stars Sports Bar before its rejoins the fleet for its Alaska debut in May 2026.

Paradiso confirmed the UK and Irish market sits among MSC's top five source markets but suggested it could rise given the strong start to wave, with ex-UK cruise bookings tracking 10% ahead year-on-year.

"The fourth quarter of 2025 was a little bit soft than what we were expecting," he said, adding: "We're now performing well. The thing that has caught my eye is the demographic that is booking ex-UK sailings.

"Passengers aged between 25 and 48 are the most predominant demographic. Normally, it's a little bit older 45 to 58 years old. That's something that I've found rather interesting."

He revealed the number of UK and Irish agents selling MSC Cruises had reached a level he had only seen once before "a couple of years ago". "We're seeing homeworkers, individual agencies, online travel agents and consortia – there's a really nice mix," he said. "All our hard work is definitely paying off."

'Simplifying the message'

MSC's latest brand campaign, which launched on 8 January, invites "guests to plan their perfect holiday while embracing the unexpected moments that make a cruise with the cruise line truly unforgettable".

"Last year, the campaign was all about the greater beauty. We've also done sustainability before. We try to do a different concept each year," Paradiso explained. "It's all about simplifying the message so we never mention the word 'cruise' so we have better engagement with the consumer. I think sometimes we overcomplicate things a bit."

Paradiso said the campaign would run across "many" TV channels for a "longer period of time not just during wave but throughout the year".

"Booking trends change every year," he said, adding: "We've actually had a really good start to this wave season. Often I hope to see a spike on Boxing Day and I don't but this time it happened. Booking levels are higher this year than then last two years.

"There's way more consistency across the board which makes our lives easier. I think our wave campaign is pretty straightforward. It does not talk about price. 

"We've been working through different options, like low deposits, reduced drinks packages. More and more I'm seeing the customer looking for value."