The line has noticed an increase in agents either entering the industry for the first time, or returning to it – predominantly as homeworkers. 

Alyshia Bartlett, MSC’s head of retail, homeworking and tour operations, revealed there has been a 10% year-on year jump in the number of homeworkers requesting access to the line’s trade platform, MSC Book.

“We’ve got a really good relationship with agents and that’s why we continue to invest in them,” she told TTG. “We’re very conscious of the turnover in the trade. We always tailor our training to the needs of agents and how much experience they have.”

Bartlett revealed MSC will host ship visits in Belfast, Liverpool and Southampton this year. MSC Preziosa will operate ex-UK sailings at the start of the year, before MSC Virtuosa arrives in Southampton in April for its summer season. MSC Poesia will then offer ex-UK sailings next winter.

Bartlett added: “We’re also hosting our biggest educational programme ever. We’ll have 1,000 UK and Irish agents – that’s more than ever before – on our ships.”

Frontline agents can secure places via incentives running throughout the year, or through invitations sent out to key “decision makers” at agencies selling cruise, Bartlett confirmed. 

Bartlett reported MSC had experienced a “slower start” to wave than anticipated, but sales volumes had improved recently. 

UK and Irish consumers, she added, are looking further afield than in previous years, with the 6,782-passenger MSC World America launching in the US in April. 

“Tuesday 14 January was our best day so far this year,” Bartlett noted. “We’ve seen bookings not just for ex-UK product, but also World America. We’ve seen demand for a real mix of product.” 

MSC’s ’always on’ approach

Bartlett believes customer demand has “spread out” across the year. “The customer is changing their booking habits now,” she said. “We’re seeing a steady flow of passengers booking throughout the year. 

“Although January is still a very important month, we’re seeing demand spread out across the year. We started seeing changes happening last year so we adapted our marketing to ensure we have an ‘always on’ approach.” 

She added: “We have our TV advertising and we sponsor Channel 5 travel programmes. We do not like changing our campaign dynamic too much. We always want the customer to feel there’s something to book.”