MSC Cruises Inaugurates MSC World America Expanding U.S. Presence
MSC Cruises celebrated the entry of the MSC World America, one of the largest cruise ships in the world, into service with a spectacular event in Miami, Florida on Wednesday, April 9. It comes as the cruise line, which is already the largest in Europe, is further expanding its presence in the North American market including its largest deployment to date in 2026-2027.
The MSC World America was delivered by Chantiers de l’Atlantique on March 27 as the second of a planned four-ship class. At the same time, assembly began on the third cruise ship, MSC World Asia, which will enter service in late 2026 in the Mediterranean. Steel cutting also began for MSC World Atlantic which will be delivered in 2027 and will begin sailing from Port Canaveral, Florida. The class began with MSC World Europa delivered in 2022.
At 216,638 gross tons, MSC World America is one of a few cruise ships to currently exceed the 200,000 gross ton threshold. MSC became the second cruise company to reach the mark with this class after Royal Caribbean International. Later this year, Disney Cruise Line will also deploy Disney Adventure which will be 208,000 gross tons, and both Carnival Cruise Line and Norwegian Cruise Line have ordered ships that will exceed this size threshold being built by Fincantieri.
Arrival in PortMiami on Monday, April 7 (courtesy PortMiami)
MSC World America is 1,094 feet in length (333 meters) with 2,614 passenger cabins. The ship accommodates 6,762 passengers and has 2,138 crew. Like all modern cruise ships, it offers a wide array of amenities, including 19 dining venues and 18 bars and lounges. There is an outdoor water park with an over-water swing and ropes course, as well as both interior and exterior promenades with bars, cafes, and shops. The line highlights the additions of a sports bar, comedy club, and an outdoor family entertainment area among the efforts to tailor the ship to the American market.
The naming celebration included appearances by music stars Mark Anthony, Gloria Estefan, and Kimberly Davis. At the naming ceremony Drew Barrymore and Orlando Bloom, who are in MSC’s new branding advertisement “Lets Holiday” appeared and Barrymore was the ship’s godmother. The evening was capped off by a drone show over the MSC World America before sailing to the Bahamas on a preview cruise. The ship starts commercial service on Saturday, April 12, sailing year-round from Miami.
During Miami drone show (Allan Jordan)
The ship is the latest in the cruise line’s expansion in the North American market. MSC is using four homeports, Miami, Port Canaveral, Galveston, and New York, plus scheduling its first cruises to Alaska from Seattle. The 2026-2027 season will include a total of seven ships cruising in North America.
As another part of the expansion, the group officially opened what they are calling the world’s largest cruise terminal in PortMiami with nearly 500,000 square feet and the ability to process 36,000 passengers per day. Designed by Arquitectonia and built by Fincantieri Infrastructure at a cost reported between $400 and $500 million (including $186 million from PortMiami), it can handle three large cruise ships at one time and will be the terminal for both MSC Cruises and its luxury brand Explora Journeys. Among the advanced technologies in use will be biometrics to speed up the handling of passengers.
(courtesy MSC Cruises)
MSC Cruises highlights that MSC World America is the company’s 23rd cruise ship. In approximately 20 years, the group has built 19 cruise ships at Chantiers de l’Atlantique and Fincantieri using five prototypes. In addition to the two ships under construction in France, MSC’s Explora brand has four cruise ships being built in Italy. During tonight’s presentation, Chief Executive Officer of MSC Cruises, Gianni Onorato, said the family-owned business has promised to build even more cruise ships.